The Clash

Among the earliest and most influential British punk groups, the Clash stood out prominently. Positioned during the 1970s as the Beatles to the Sex Pistols' Stones, they blended influences drawn from favored roots styles such as reggae, rockabilly, soul, and blues while staying anchored to punk foundations and political engagement. Their landmark 1979 double album London Calling ranks among rock music's strongest and most expansive accomplishments. After the Clash dissolved, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and Joe Strummer each launched separate ventures including Big Audio Dynamite, Havana 3 AM, and Strummer's solo albums. Strummer's death in December of 2002 cut short reunion plans tied to their Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.

Despite their frequent lyrical focus on revolution and the working class, the Clash maintained unexpectedly conventional origins. Joe Strummer passed much of his youth in boarding school. By his early twenties he had performed as a street busker in London and started the pub rock outfit the 101'ers. Around that period Mick Jones fronted a hard rock band called the London SS. Unlike Strummer, Jones grew up in a working-class Brixton household. Throughout his teenage years he developed a deep interest in rock & roll and assembled the London SS to capture the driving style of Mott the Hoople and Faces. Jones' childhood friend Paul Simonon entered the lineup on bass in 1976 after attending a Sex Pistols show, taking over from Tony James who later joined Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. At that stage the group also included drummer Tory Crimes, who had only recently replaced Topper Headon. After seeing the Sex Pistols live, Joe Strummer disbanded the 101'ers in early 1976 to chase a sharper musical path. He exited just before their debut single "Keys to Your Heart" appeared. Together with fellow 101'er guitarist Keith Levene, Strummer entered the refreshed London SS, which had been renamed the Clash.

The band played its opening concert in summer 1976, backing the Sex Pistols in London. Levene departed soon afterward. Bringing in Bernard Rhodes, previously linked to Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, as manager, the Clash joined the Pistols' infamous Anarchy Tour late in 1976. Although just three shows occurred, the exposure lifted their visibility and landed a February 1977 recording deal with British CBS. They cut their first album across three weekends. Once those sessions ended, Terry Chimes exited and Headon rejoined on drums. In spring the Clash issued their opening single "White Riot" alongside the self-titled debut LP, both earning strong critical praise and U.K. sales that reached number 12. The American CBS branch judged the record unsuitable for radio and withheld a domestic release, yet the imported version became the biggest-selling import ever. Soon after the U.K. launch the group embarked on the rapid White Riot tour with support from the Jam and the Buzzcocks; a highlight came at London's Rainbow Theatre where fans ripped out the seats. During that tour CBS extracted "Remote Control" as a single from the album, prompting the Clash to record "Complete Control" with reggae icon Lee "Scratch" Perry.

Across 1977 Strummer and Jones faced repeated short jail terms for minor offenses including vandalism and stealing a pillowcase, while Simonon and Headon were arrested for shooting racing pigeons with an air gun. These incidents strengthened the band's outlaw reputation, yet they also began engaging in social causes such as headlining a Rock Against Racism concert. The summer 1978 single "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" signaled their expanding social awareness. After it reached number 32 the Clash entered the studio for their second album with producer Sandy Pearlman, formerly of Blue Öyster Cult. Pearlman shaped Give 'Em Enough Rope with a polished yet forceful sound aimed at the American market. That breakthrough failed to materialize—the album climbed only to number 128 on the U.S. charts in spring 1979—yet it achieved major success in Britain, entering at number two.

Early in 1979 the Clash launched their first American tour under the banner "Pearl Harbor '79." That summer they issued the U.K.-only EP The Cost of Living, which included a cover of the Bobby Fuller Four's "I Fought the Law." Following the later summer arrival of The Clash in America the band began its second U.S. trek, adding Mickey Gallagher of Ian Dury's Blockheads on keyboards. On both American outings the Clash chose R&B acts such as Bo Diddley, Sam & Dave, Lee Dorsey, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins as support, alongside neo-traditionalist country-rocker Joe Ely and the punk rockabilly band the Cramps. Those choices reflected the group's growing fascination with classic rock & roll and its legends. That fascination powered their breakthrough double album London Calling. Produced by Guy Stevens, who had previously worked with Mott the Hoople, the record showcased a wide range of styles from rockabilly and New Orleans R&B to anthemic hard rock and reggae. Priced as a single album, it entered the U.K. charts at number nine in late 1979 and reached number 27 in the U.S. during spring 1980.

The Clash toured the U.S., U.K., and Europe successfully in early 1980 while the pseudo-documentary Rude Boy appeared in England. During the summer they released the Dutch-only, dub-inflected single "Bankrobber," recorded with DJ Mikey Dread; by autumn the British CBS branch issued it domestically after strong demand. The band then headed to New York for the tense, self-produced sessions that followed London Calling. In November a U.S.-only odds-and-ends EP titled Black Market Clash surfaced. The next month the triple-record set Sandinista! arrived in both the U.K. and U.S. Critical response proved mixed, with American reviewers more positive than their British counterparts. In addition the band's U.K. audience dipped slightly—Sandinista! became the first release to sell more copies in the U.S. than in Britain.

After touring and resting through much of 1981 the Clash regrouped late that year to record their fifth album with producer Glyn Johns, a former engineer and producer for the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin. Headon left shortly after the sessions concluded; the initial press statement cited political differences, though his heavy drug use later emerged as the real reason. He was replaced by former drummer Terry Chimes around the spring release of Combat Rock. The album became the Clash's strongest commercial performer, entering the U.K. charts at number two and reaching the American Top Ten in early 1983 on the strength of the Top Ten single "Rock the Casbah." In fall 1982 the Clash opened for the Who on their farewell tour. While the dates helped Combat Rock climb the U.S. charts, audiences routinely booed the band offstage.

Although the Clash stood at their commercial peak in 1983, internal fractures widened. Chimes was dismissed in spring and replaced by Pete Howard, formerly of Cold Fish. During summer the band headlined the U.S. Festival in California, their final major appearance. In September Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon dismissed Mick Jones for having "drifted apart from the original idea of the Clash." Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite the following year while the Clash recruited guitarists Vince White and Nick Sheppard. Throughout 1984 the revamped lineup tested itself on tours across America and Europe. The new configuration finally issued its first album, Cut the Crap, in November. The record drew overwhelmingly negative reviews and sales; Strummer and Simonon later disowned it.

Early in 1986 Strummer and Simonon chose to disband the Clash permanently. Several years afterward Simonon formed the roots rock band Havana 3 A.M., which released a single album in 1991 before he turned to painting. After reuniting with Jones to co-write songs for Big Audio Dynamite's second album, 1986's No. 10 Upping Street, Strummer moved between music and film, appearing in Alex Cox's Straight to Hell (1986) and Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train (1989). He also scored Permanent Record (1988) and Cox's Walker (1987). Strummer released the solo album Earthquake Weather in 1989. Shortly afterward he joined the Pogues as a touring rhythm guitarist and vocalist. By 1991 he had quietly stepped away from the spotlight. For the rest of the decade he stayed largely inactive, contributing to only one other recording—Black Grape's 1996 Top Ten hit "England's Irie."

Although Strummer and Simonon remained quiet and Jones stayed occupied with various Big Audio Dynamite projects, reunion rumors persisted through the '90s. When "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" appeared in a 1992 Levi's commercial the song was reissued in the U.K. by CBS and reached number one, prompting further speculation. Rumors resurfaced in 1995 and 1996 when the Sex Pistols reunited, yet the Clash stayed inactive. Live: From Here to Eternity, compiling recordings from 1978 to 1982, appeared in 1999 and was soon followed by the documentary film Westway to the World! The Clash received Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in November 2002 and were preparing to reunite for the spring ceremony when Strummer died suddenly from a congenital heart defect on December 22, 2002. In the aftermath the surviving members attended the March 2003 induction but set aside any reunion plans.

Over the following decade both Jones and Simonon remained musically active. Jones produced both albums by the acclaimed rock group the Libertines, who carried a clear debt to the Clash, while Simonon collaborated with Blur's Damon Albarn in the 2007 band The Good, The Bad & The Queen. That project led to a Jones and Simonon reunion within Albarn's group Gorillaz; both performed on the 2010 album Plastic Beach and joined its supporting tour, marking their first shared stage since the Clash.

In 2013 the group issued the major archival release Sound System, featuring new remasters of the band's first five albums plus three additional CDs of rarities, singles, and demos along with a DVD. The box set was accompanied by the new compilation The Clash Hits Back, sequenced to match their July 19, 1982 set list at the Brixton Fair Deal. Reissue activity remained quiet until the 2022 arrival of Combat Rock: The People's Hall Special Edition, which added a bonus disc including several tracks from the rejected Mick Jones "Rat Patrol from Fort Bragg" mix of the album.