The Clash

        The Clash is known for taking the raw anger of British punk and working it into a political aesthetic agenda. They outlived and outdid all of their fellow bands in terms of depth and length of career. They were seen as rebels with many causes, from anti-Thatcherism, to racial unity, to the Sardinistas. Their experiments with funk, reggae, and rap never took them far from a three-minute pop song. Sometimes referred to as, " the only band that matters," the Clash fell apart just as they broke through to a wide American audience. By then they had shown that punk was there to stay and had delivered an arsenal of unforgettable rock songs.
        The Clash were very much dependant on the chemistry of its four longtime and original band members, Strummer, Jones, Simonon, and Headon. Strummer, the primary songwriter, was the son of a British diplomat, and grew up in a boarding school. He quit school while still in his teens, to form his first band, 101ers.
        Jones and Simonon are both from working class families. Simonon was attending art school when he met Jones. Simonon had never played an instrument until he had heard the Sex Pistols. Inspired by Sid Vicious, the bassist in the Sex Pistols, he began to play the bass guitar, and joined Jones in his band, the London SS. Seeing the Sex Pistols also inspired Strummer to leave the 101ers and along with Levene to join Jones, Simonon, and Chimes in their new group. Jones named it the Clash.
        The Clash played their first gig in summer of 1976 opening up for the Sex Pistols. They opened for the Sex Pistols on their Anarchy in the U.K. tour after Leven quit (he later joined Public Image Ltd. with Johnny Rotten). The Clash were managed by Malcolm McLaren's (who managed the Sex Pistols) associate, Bernard Rhodes. Bernie helped the band articulate its political mission. The Sex Pistols were nihilists, while the Clash were protesters, with songs about racism, police brutality, and disenfranchisement. Over the years, the Clash has been in several political causes and has performed benefit concerts for Rock Against Racism.
        Chimes quit the band in late 1976. Headon, who had been drumming with Pat Travers in Europe since his career in London SS, accompanied the group on their first national headlining tour. The White Riot Tour, named after a current Clash single, ended at a London concert where the audience ripped the seats out of the floor. It was a first of a series of police confrontations, especially in Britain.
        In December of 1981 the band was beginning to record their next album, when Headon was arrested for heroin possession. In April 1982, just as Combat Rock was about to be released, Strummer disappeared to be found a month later in Paris. Upon Strummer return, Headon left the group claiming "political differences", although Strummer later reviewed that it was because the drummer had a drug problem. Chimes signed back up for the following U.K. tour.
        In the fall of 1983 Simonon and Strummer kicked out Jones and replaced him with two guitarists, Vince White and Nick Sheppard. Cut the Crap (1983 release) was poorly received by fans and critics, and soon after the band called it quits realizing they were a feeble imitation of their old selves.