The Clash

Induction Year: 2003

Induction Category: Performer

Terry Chimes (drums; born January 25, 1955), Topper Headon (drums; born May 30, 1955), Mick Jones (guitar, vocals; born June 26, 1955), Paul Simonon (bass; born December 15, 1955), Joe Strummer (guitar, vocals; born August 21, 1952, died December 22, 2002)

Quite simply, the Clash were among the most explosive and exciting bands in rock and roll history. They played a major role in creating and defining the punk movement. If the short-lived were glorious nihilists, then the Clash expressed punk’s impassioned political conscience. Their explosive, uptempo punk-rock manifestos were unleashed with pure adrenaline and total conviction. Following the ’ dissolution in January 1978, the Clash became the central voice of the punk movement and remained at the forefront for five years. Their albums - The Clash (1978), Give ‘Em Enough Rope (1979), London Calling (1980), Sandinista! (1981) and Combat Rock (1982) - captured the tumult of the times with unerring instinct and raw power.

The Clash possessed an indefinable chemistry that makes for a great band. Rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer wrote most of the words and lead guitarist Mick Jones generated with much of the music. Bassist Paul Simonon’s background in painting and sculpture helped shape the band’s aesthetic overview. Topper Headon was a journeyman drummer who found his niche powering the Clash. “As a mix of personalities,” noted writer Lenny Kaye, “the Clash was a perfect engine.” They ran hottest on a concert stage, where all their political zeal and undaunted idealism found expression in music erupted with an exhilarating forcefulness. Lester Bangs described the Clash in concert as “a desperation uncontrived, unstaged, a fury unleashed on the stage and writhing upon itself in real pain that connects with the nerves of the audience.” Only a month before his untimely death in 2002, Joe Strummer recalled the Clash onstage in similar terms: “It was like a fireworks display,” he told writer Jon Weiderhorn. “It was like, ‘Bang!’ As soon as that first tune came in it seemed to us like three seconds before we hit the last chord of the last tune. It was like a psychedelic, kinetic blur.”

Fittingly, Mick Jones and Joe Strummer met on a dole queue (unemployment line). The group formed in June 1976 when Strummer left his pub-rock band, the 101’ers, to join Jones, Paul Simonon and guitarist Keith Levene - members of the Jones-led London SS - in a new project. Terry Chimes (a.k.a. “Tory Crimes”) was picked to play drums, and Levene left a few months later, eventually forming Public Image Ltd. with Johnny Rotten. When the Clash came together in London, Strummer was living as a squatter in a communal house, while Jones shared his grandmother’s flat. Both were well-situated to write about the rampant boredom, poverty and class warfare that guided the punk outlook. Bassist Simonon suggested they call themselves “the Clash” after noticing how frequently that word appeared in a newspaper he happened to be perusing. With its insinuation of conflict, they couldn’t have picked a better name.

Their landmark first album, The Clash, was cut in three weekends and released in Britain in April 1977. It included such punk-rock anthems as “White Riot,” “I’m So Bored With the U.S.A.” and “London’s Burning.” Their reworking of Junior Murvin’s reggae classic “Police & Thieves” signaled an early recognition of the common ground between the punk and reggae communities. The Clash has been called “archetypal, resplendent punk,” and it was one of those paradigm-shifting albums that forever altered the course of rock. Ironically, it was not initially released by the band’s American label, Epic, which deemed it “too crude.” (As a further irony, the label would later sticker Clash releases with these words: “The Only Band That Matters.”) Word of mouth and favorable press made The Clash one of the best-selling imports in history and Epic released a bastardized version of the album in 1979.

In late 1977 and early 1978, the Clash issued a series of non-album singles - “Complete Control,” “Clash City Rockers” and “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais” - that connected like a series of street communiqués. Their second album, 1978’s Give ‘Em Enough Rope, found the group tightening its sound on such quintessential tracks as “Safe European Home” and “Stay Free.” The group’s acknowledged classic, the double album London Calling, appeared in December 1979 in the U.K. and January 1980 in the U.S. Appropriately, it brought the best aspects of 1970s punk - slamming energy and anti-establishment attitude - into the new decade with a fresh sense of engagement and intelligence. Produced by Guy Stevens, London Calling was one of the essential albums of the 1980s. The Clash charted their first American hit, “Train in Vain” (#23) from London Calling - although, in iconoclastic Clash fashion, the song was added at the last minute and went unlisted on the jacket. Intentional or not, this omission suggested that the band meant to distance itself from the machinations of fame - or at least have control over the process. The film Rude Boy, a 1980 film about the Clash and their punk-rock milieu, contained concert sequences that demonstrate why they were considered one of rock’s greatest live acts.

The Clash followed London Calling with Sandinista!, another multi-sided opus. The Clash agreed to a diminished royalty rate so that the triple album could be affordably retailed. Despite the enormous body of material, song quality remained high throughout Sandinista!, which included the Clash classics “The Magnificent Seven” The Call Up,” “Police on My Back,” and ”Washington Bullets.” London Calling and Sandinista! both fared well in America, charting at #27 and #24, respectively - impressive showings for a double and triple album.

The Clash’s final album, Combat Rock, ushered them out with a somewhat qualified bang. Released in 1982, Combat Rock peaked at #7 on the album chart and yielded a Top Ten hit, “Rock the Casbah.” It also “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” a garage-rock homage. Nine years later, the song would go to #1 on re-release in England, belatedly giving the band its only #1 hit in their homeland. By the time of Combat Rock, the Clash were feuding internally, and it’s perhaps appropriate that this pioneering punk band fractured on the cusp of stardom. The original foursome performed for the last time at a 1983 California rock festival. Shortly thereafter, Jones left the Clash, resurfacing with Big Audio Dynamite. A reconstituted Clash, including only Strummer and Simonon from the original group, released Cut the Crap in 1985 and disbanded the next year.

The three founding members - Strummer, Jones and Simonon - cooperated in the compiling of a live album (From Here to Eternity) and video documentary (Westway to the World), released in 1999. If not exactly a reunion, it was a rapprochement. On November 15, 2002, Jones and Strummer shared the stage for the first time in nearly 20 years, performing three Clash songs during the encore of a London benefit show by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. This raised hopes for a Clash reunion, which were dashed when Strummer died of a heart attack on December 22, 2002.

TIMELINE

August 21, 1952: John Mellor - a.k.a. Joe Strummer, singer and guitarist with the Clash - is born in Ankara, Turkey.

May 30, 1955: Nicky “Topper” Headon, drummer for the Clash, is born in Bromley, England.

June 26, 1955: Mick Jones, guitarist and singer with the Clash, is born in London, England.

December 15, 1955: Paul Simonon, bass player for the Clash, is born in London, England.

June 1976: Joe Strummer joins guitarists Mick Jones and Keith Levene and bassist Paul Simonon in a new band, the Clash.

July 4, 1976: The Clash play their first show, opening for the , in Sheffield, England.

February 1977: With Keith Levene gone and Terry Chimes (a.k.a. “Tory Crimes”) on drums, the Clash sign to CBS in the U.K. and record their landmark self-titled debut album.

March 18, 1977: The Clash’s first single, “White Riot”/”1977,” is released. It hits #38, becoming the first of 18 Clash singles to chart in Britain.

April 8, 1977: The Clash, the British punk group’s debut album, is released in the U.K. With drummer Topper Headon on-board, the Clash undertake their first headlining tour.

September 23, 1977: The Clash’s third U.K. single - “Complete Control”/”City of the Dead,” produced by reggae legend Lee “Scratch” Perry - is released, reaching #28.

April 1978: The Clash begin recording their second album, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, with Blue Oyster Cult producer Sandy Pearlman. It is released that fall.

January 1979: The Clash kick off a tour that includes their first U.S. shows.

May 1979: The Clash release a four-song EP, The Cost of Living, which includes their remake of the Bobby Fuller Four’s “I Fought the Law.”

July 1979: A revamped version of the debut album The Clash is finally issued in the U.S.

December 15, 1979: “London Calling,” title track from the Clash’s third album, enters the U.K. singles charts, where it will peak at #11.

January 1980: The double album London Calling, by the Clash, is released in the U.S. Critics rate it one of the best - and maybe the best - albums of the 1980s.

February 1981: The triple LP Sandinista!, by the Clash, is released in the U.S., two months after it appeared in the U.K.

May 26, 1981: The Clash begin the first of 15 shows in 17 days at Bonds, a former men’s clothing store turned performance space in New York City’s Times Square.

May 10, 1982: Drummer Topper Headon leaves the Clash because of “a difference in political direction.”

May 14, 1982: The Clash’s Combat Rock, their fifth and final studio album, is released. It reaches #7 on the Billboard album chart and goes double platinum.

June 10, 1982: “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” by the Clash, is released in the U.S. Though it gets no higher than #45, it’s a popular club song and reaches #17 in the U.K.

November 13, 1982: “Rock the Casbah,” by the Clash, enters the U.S. Top Forty, where it will peak at #8.

May 28, 1983: The Clash’s performance at the US Festival in California is the last to feature Mick Jones, who will officially leave the group in September.

November 1985: The Clash, now featuring only Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon from the original band, break up after the release of the disappointing Cut the Crap.

March 2, 1991: The Clash, having disbanded nearly six years earlier, score their first #1 U.K. single with a reissued “Should I Stay or Should I Go.”

November 19, 1991: Clash on Broadway, a career-spanning three-CD box set, is released.

October 19, 1999: From Here to Eternity, the first Clash live album - taken from gigs in 1978 and 1980 - is compiled with input from the original members.

December 22, 2002: Joe Strummer of the Clash dies of heart failure at his home in Somerset, England.

March 10, 2003: The Clash is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at the eighteenth annual induction dinner. The Edge of and Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine are their presenters.

Essential Songs

London Calling
White Riot
Career Opportunities
I’m So Bored With the U.S.A.
Police and Thieves
Magnificent Seven
(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais
This is Radio Clash
Train in Vain (Stand by Me)
Rock the Casbah

Otis Redding Plane Part, 1967.

Recovered from Madison, WI crash site 12/10/67.

Photo by Design Photography
Collection of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum