Albums by The Clash
ALBUMCut the CrapThe Clash
ALBUMCombat RockThe Clash
ALBUMCombat Rock + The People's Hall (Special Edition)The Clash
ALBUMSandinista!The Clash
ALBUMLondon CallingThe Clash
ALBUMGive 'Em Enough RopeThe Clash
ALBUMThe Clash (2013 Remastered)The Clash
The Clash's Popular Music Videos
Rock the Casbah
The Clash
Should I Stay Or Should I Go
The Clash
Should I Stay or Should I Go (Live At Shea Stadium)
The Clash
Radio Clash
The Clash
London Calling
The Clash
Tommy Gun
The Clash
Bankrobber
The Clash
Radio Clash
The Clash
Radio Clash
The Clash
Train In Vain (Live At the Lewisham Odeon)
The Clash
Artist Playlists
The Clash Essentials
They were once rightfully dubbed "The Only Band That Matters."
The Clash Video Essentials
Their rough-hewn aesthetic is true to their music.
Inspired by The Clash
The punk rock legends take us to school.
The Clash: Best of Reggae
Behind a brilliant punk band lay a considerable Caribbean influence.
The Clash: Deep Cuts
The punks' most thrilling detours and final triumphant rant.
The Clash: Influences
Soul power and garage-rock stomp set the UK punk icons' sound to blazing.
Artist Biography
Political punk as we know it was born in 1976, when guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, and drummer Terry Chimes of pub rock group London SS recruited guitarist Keith Levene and guitarist/vocalist Joe Strummer to form a new band. Named The Clash, their first concert was supporting the Sex Pistols, a pairing that set the ideological goalposts for British punk with the Sex Pistols bringing the destruction and The Clash providing the social conscience. The band, which quickly dropped Levene and replaced Chimes with Topper Headon, found lyrical inspiration in the headlines, blending explosive rock guitars and beats gathered from around the world with an ideology that was anti-fascist, anti-violence, and anti-racist. Their adrenaline-fueled early records (1977’s The Clash and 1978’s Give ‘Em Enough Rope) gave way to the reggae-inspired rebel music of 1979’s London Calling and disco experiments of 1980’s Sandinista!, which were then streamlined into the platinum-selling anthems of 1982’s Combat Rock. The common thread running through these ever-shifting styles was the group’s condemnation of England’s growing authoritarianism. Burning so bright, hard, and fast, it was only inevitable that they’d soon implode. By 1983, Headon and Jones had been ousted from the group while Strummer and Simonon soldiered on through the release of 1985’s Cut the Crap. The Clash broke up the following year, leaving a legacy of in-your-face rebel rock for the ages. Their words still show up on protest signs, their influence is heard in pop-punk and politically conscious bands like U2 and Pearl Jam, and their songs are still mandatory listening for conscious punks worldwide.
Hometown
London, England
Genre
Rock