The Clash: The Only Band That Matters
In the past few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about The Clash as I read and see footage from the Occupy Wall Street events. The band consistently sang about revolution and the struggles of the working class during the late 70’s and early 80’s so I’ve been thinking about them and what music would represent today’s events.
It also inspired some more detailed research on The Clash - a band I really like but didn’t know too much about. Some fun facts:
- The first concert the band even played was opening for The Sex Pistols. No big deal.
- The London Calling album design was inspired by Elvis Presley’s 1956 self titled album.
- Mick Jones wrote “Train In Vain,” the lovelorn closer to London Calling in ONE NIGHT after breaking up with Slits guitarist Viv Albertine.
- “Rock the Casbah,” the band’s highest charting song is also one of their most misinterpreted. Written as a triumphant parable about a ban on music in the middle east it’s often played in support of war.
- Apparently, Joe Strummer wept when he heard that “Rock The Casbah” had been written on bombs that were deployed in the 1991 Iraq war.
- In 1982 despite being at the top of their game commercially - even opening for The Who on their Farewell tour, they were regularly booed off stage.
- Jones went on to form Big Audio Dynamite which ironically saw more commercial success than anything the Clash had done - reaching #1 on the Modern Rock tracks with “Rush” in 1991.
