London Calling album LP

London Calling 2LP | DISCOGS

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Stations of the cash, London Calling review

From Aftermath fanzine, London Calling review
1980, Issue 3, here or here

not punk enough

1980 Aftermath Fanzine
(issue 3)

"but thereís a more reserved appraisal of London Calling by The Clash (not punk enough seems to be the conclusion) and a brave but confused attempt to understand the wonderful first album by Nurse With Wound (a broken disjointed yet flowing noise)"

Review of London Calling album

Don't Dictate fanzine,
issue C (1980)

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The Clash Official | Facebook

London Calling video

Also video here of Joe playing wih the Mescaleros

The Clash's ‘London Calling' single was released on this day, 7th Dec 1979, and Joe continued to play the song regularly in sets with the Mescaleros. What was your favourite Clash song Joe would play in his solo years?

The Clash released 'London Calling' 40 years ago today.

In honour of the punk masterpiece, we’re throwing it back to our 1989

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MTV News Interviews The Clash in 1989

The Clash released 'London Calling' 40 years ago today. In honor of the punk masterpiece, we’re throwing it back to our 1989 interview with Joe Strummer where he talked about the album's cover and the band's legacy.

MTV Classic - 34secs New York

Martin Davies - He did it because he heard that song live and thought Jesus I like that sound and so do the punters. I was born in 81 when that band went tit's up but 41 years later by Christ they mean something to me and many more souls out there.

Gaz Hauxwell - London Calling is definitely a masterpiece, but it's not a 'punk' album. Their first, and probably their second albums were. London Calling covers many genres, but not punk, it was The Clash, playing what they liked, and not what they were told...

34 secs - Joe Strummer on London Calling
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Decade 77-87 - Video | Facebook

THE CLASH - LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET

LOST IN THE SUPERMARKET filled the same role on London Calling as ‘Stay Free' did on Give 'Em Enough Rope.

Credited to Strummer and Jones, the song was written by Joe and saw Mick singing confidently and with emotional depth about the former's upbringing: "I heard the people who lived on the ceiling/ Scream and fight most scarily/Hearing that noise was my first ever feeling/ That's how it's been all around me."

A simple four-chord pattern and reemerging guitar riff made the song instantly memorable. Guy Stevens' production added just the right amount of guitar tricks and vocal harmonies to keep ‘Lost in the Supermarket' subtle but staggering.

"The song's lyrics describe someone struggling to deal with an increasingly commercialised world and rampant consumerism," wrote Robert Dimery for ‘Classic Albums' in 1999.

"The song opens with Strummer's autobiographical memories of his parents' home in suburban Warlingham, with a hedge "over which I never could see." With lines such as "I came in here for that special offer - guaranteed personality", the protagonist bemoans the depersonalisation of the world around him. The song speaks of numbers about suburban alienation and the feelings of disillusionment that come through youth in modern society."

"While Mick Jones is obviously speaking for himself in the gallopingly defiant 'I'm Not Down', a resolute battle with fear and depression, the lonely first-person narrator of 'Lost in the Supermarket' — the seemingly autobiographical lyrics of which were actually written by Strummer — seems more of a composite character," wrote Ira Robbins for Trouser Press in 1994.

"Despite the ironic disco undercurrent, this unabashedly touching song hauntingly describes a life of dismal solitude in which "Kids in the halls and the pipes in the walls/Make me noises for company.""

The video here is one I've edited featuring shots of kids playing around Kings Road, beneath the World's End Estate, home of the supermarket in question (‘The International') where Strummer lived at the time with his girlfriend Gaby Salter, her two younger brothers and her mother.

Covered by The Clash on their 1979 London Calling album, WRONG 'EM BOYO was originally recorded as WRONG EMBRYO by THE RULERS in 1967

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THE CLASH - WRONG EM BOYO

Covered by The Clash on their 1979 London Calling album, WRONG 'EM BOYO was originally recorded as WRONG EMBRYO by THE RULERS in 1967.

The Clash took the original rocksteady song - based on the classic murder tale “Stagger Lee” - sped it up and changed the title to “Wrong ‘Em Boyo”.

Bassist Paul Simonon was a big fan of the song, hence why the idea of a cover was mooted. The Clash jammed on a cover version with Bill Price in the London Calling sessions, and it became a Ska-influenced rave with an infectious skanking beat.

It's accompanied here by scenes from the rarely seen Clash film 'Hell W10' filmed on 16mm silent black and white film.

"Hell W10 also features some cracking period photography of Notting Hill, Paddington and Ladbroke Grove, and weighs in at almost 50 minutes, which suggests it must have taken quite some time to film," wrote 'The Great Wen' blog.

"Strummer believed the film was lost forever. In 1987, when it looked like he might carve out a new career for himself in the film world, he told an interviewer, ‘I have directed a film myself, a black and white 16mm silent movie and it was a disaster. Luckily the laboratory that held all the negative went bankrupt and destroyed all the stock, so the world can breathe again. I shot without a script. God knows what it was about. I’m the only other one that knew, and I’m not telling.’"

"In 2002, the film was rediscovered on video tape and re-edited by long-time Clash collaborator Don Letts, who added a fine Clash soundtrack over the top."

"It is a strange piece indeed, a gangster tale that follows Earl, a musician and small-time hood played by Paul Simonon, who falls foul of the local crime boss called Socrates, ‘The Lord of Ladbroke Grove’, played with some relish by Mick Jones, resplendent in white tux (‘You wanna end up as a pillar in a Canning Town flyover?’ he threatens one lackey). Strummer gives himself a cameo as a corrupt and racist policeman. It’s a cross between The Harder The Come and some of the pulp London crime novels of the 1950s (many of which have been republished by London Books)."

I ain't never comin' back

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Konstantinos Samaras - I ain't never comin' back.

A picture worth way more than a thousand... - Konstantinos Samaras | Facebook
Konstantinos Samaras

A picture worth way more than a thousand words: rockabilly legend & "Brand New Cadillac" songwriter Vince Taylor backstage with Joe Strummer in Paris in September 1981. The photo, taken by an unknown photographer, was in Mick Jones's possession and surfaced in 2019, when it was first published in Mojo UK magazine, Dec. 2019 issue (see full page in comments).

According to Joe: "Vince Taylor was the beginning of British rock 'n' roll. Before him there was nothing".

The Clash Brand New Cadillac 1979 rare version Badmix - YouTube

(*from Keith Topping's book "The Complete Clash" Reynolds & Hearn Ltd London, the 2004 edition paperback, p.39-40):

"...Born Brian Holden in London in 1939, (after the life in California and his obsession with Elvis Presley), A trip back to London in 1958 brought him a name-change… Taylor's second single for Parlophone, 'Pledging My Love', contained on the B-Side his own composition, 'Brand New Cadillac', an instant classic thanks to Taylor's histrionic vocal and guitarist Tony Sheridan's tense riff. Although it was never a hit in England, the song, and others like it, made Taylor a rock 'n' roll superstar in France during the early 1960s… His story inspired David Bowie, who met Taylor in the mid-60s and had a long conversation with him about aliens, to create the character of Ziggy Stardust.

'I met (Taylor) in The Pig's Foot restaurant in the early 80s', remembered Strummer. 'He talked to me for over five hours about the Duke Duchess of Windsor were planning to kill him with poisoned chocolate cake. .' Taylor's final years were spent as a virtual recluse in Switzerland, where he died in 1991...' .

H/t to ミズカミタカシ for bringing this to my attention. Cheers, Johnny!

Soundtrack to the post: a remix of the Clash's cover of "Brand New Cadillac":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anLJB8zLdsk
https://theunderestimator-2.tumblr.com/.../a-picture...

Konstantinos Samaras

Full page (p.23, Mojo UK, December 2019)
https://ia803203.us.archive.org/.../Mojo_-_December_2019.pdf
Archive PDF

In September 1979, The Clash appeared at the Palladium in New York on two nights

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In September 1979, The Clash appeared at the Palladium in New York on two nights, as part of their Take the 5th tour. Paul Simonon smashed his Fender P Bass towards the end of one of the concerts, which was famously caught on camera by Pennie Smith. The London Calling album sleeve gives the date of the photo as 21 September, but the smashing actually happened the preceding day, Thursday 20th.

Drawing by Ray Lowry: smartify.org/tour/the-clash-london-calling

How did artist Ray Lowry come up with ideas for the artwork of London Calling

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How did artist Ray Lowry come up with ideas for the artwork of London Calling / Armagideon Time single?

See more at The Clash: London Calling Exhibition at Museum of London and in the new London Calling Scrapbook, from the 15th November.

Scrapbook: smarturl.it/TheClashLCOnsale
Museum of London smarturl.it/ClashMoL

ON THIS DATE (40 YEARS AGO)
December 14, 1979 The Clash: London Calling is released

All things Music plus

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ALL THINGS MUSIC PLUS+ 5/5 (MUST-HAVE!)
Allmusic 5/5
Creem (see original review below)
Rolling Stone (see original review below)
London Calling is the third studio album by The Clash, released in the UK on December 14, 1979 (January 1980 in the US). It reached #27 on the Billboard 200 Top LPís chart and #9 on the UK chart. In 2003, it was ranked at #8 on Rolling Stoneís list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

The album represented a significant change in The Clashís musical style, which now featured major elements of ska, funk, pop, soul, jazz, rockabilly and reggae far more prominently than in their previous two albums. The albumís subject matter included social displacement, unemployment, racial conflict, drug use, and the responsibilities of adulthood.

After recording their second studio album Give ëEm Enough Rope (1978), the band separated from their manager Bernard Rhodes. This separation meant that the group had to leave their rehearsal studio in Camden Town and find another location to compose their music. Drawing inspiration from rockabilly, ska, reggae and jazz, the band began work on the album during the summer of 1979. Tour manager Johnny Green had found the group a new place to rehearse called Vanilla Studios, which was located in the back of a garage in Pimlico. The Clash quickly wrote and recorded demos, with Jones composing and arranging much of the music and Strummer writing the lyrics.

In August 1979, the band entered Wessex Studios to begin recording London Calling. The Clash asked Guy Stevens to produce the album, much to the dismay of CBS Records. Stevens had alcohol and drug problems and his production methods were unconventional. While recording he would often swing ladders and throw chairs around the group to create an emotional atmosphere. The Clash got along well with Stevens, especially bassist Paul Simonon, who found his work to be very helpful and productive to his playing and their recording as a band. While recording, the band would play football to pass the time. This was a way for them to bond together as well as take their minds off of the music, and the games got very serious. Doing this helped bring the band together, unifying them, making the recording process easier and more productive. The entire album was recorded within a matter of weeks, with many songs recorded in one or two takes.

If punk rejected pop history, London Calling reclaimed it, albeit with a knowing perspective. The scope of this double set is breathtaking, encompassing reggae, rockabilly and the groupís own furious mettle. Where such a combination might have proved over-ambitious, the Clash accomplishes it with swaggering panache. Guy Stevens, who produced the groupís first demos, returns to the helm to provide a confident, cohesive sound equal to the setís brilliant array of material. Boldly assertive and superbly focused, London Calling contains many of the quartetís finest songs and is, by extension, virtually faultless.

The Clash’s ‘London Calling’ was released in the UK on this day, December 14th, 1979

The Clash’s ‘London Calling’ was released in the UK on this day, December 14th, 1979

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The Clash’s ‘London Calling’ was released in the UK on this day, December 14th, 1979. Do you remember the first time you heard this classic Clash album?

Listen here - https://linktr.ee/joestrummer - now!

Mick’s handwritten sequencing for London Calling from the Scrapbook

Mick’s handwritten sequencing for London Calling from the Scrapbook, packed with items from the band’s personal archive, including draft lyrics, photos & other material from when the album was made, info here: smarturl.it/TheClashLC2019

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The master tapes of London Calling leave Wessex Studios for CBS studio

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The master tapes of London Calling leave Wessex Studios for CBS studio for mastering - Nov '79

The Clash Official | Facebook

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London Calling - Some of the iconic movies the song was featured on

Official Facebook page. Clash playing football between recording sessions

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London Calling - Some of the iconic movies the song was featured on

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The Clash's seminal album, ‘London Calling', was...

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On this day September 20th, 1979, Pennie Smith takes...

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"We'd play loads of football until we couldn't...

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The Clash on Dec. 14, 1979, released their iconic...

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ROADIE Jonny Green and Don Letts on London Calling album.....

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To celebrate London Calling's 40th anniversary we recorded a special commentary of the double album which you can now download BBC Sounds here https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000c31j

To celebrate London Calling's 40th anniversary we recorded a special commentary of the double album which you can now download - search results | Facebook

4:58mins BBC 6 Music 720p
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Memorabillia

Joe Strummer's early version of the lyrics for 'London's Calling', From the collection at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The Clash Official | Facebook

Guns of Brixton early lyrics

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The Guns Of Brixton

This song was written by bass player Paul Simonon, but only because he was envious of the royalties main songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones were getting. He decided to get in on the songwriting himself, and this became one of the Clash's best known songs and a staple of their live set until their demise in the mid-'80s. Simonon takes lead vocal duties on the song, which is about gangsters in his home town Brixton, which is in South London.Interestingly, he was reticent about singing lead vocals initially, but Strummer noted that "they're your lyrics, you sing them" and the rest of the band agreed. Simonon notes: "The vocal mike was right up against the glass panel of the control room and sitting two feet behind the glass was some American CBS bloke. That's probably why the vocals came out the way they did." >>

Brixton was the site of race riots in 1981 and again in 1985. This song captures the alienation many citizens of Brixton felt leading up to the riots.The central plot has Ivan, the anti-hero character from the popular film The Harder They Come (the soundtrack of which contained many of The Clash's favorite Reggae songs, including the title track) in urban South London ("You see, he feels like Ivan, born under the Brixton sun, his game is called survivin', at the end of the harder they come") and on the wrong side of the law ("When the law break in, how you gonna go? Shot down on the pavement, or waiting on death row").

In 1990 the bassline to "The Guns of Brixton" was sampled in the Beats International (AKA Norman Cook, AKA Fatboy Slim) hit single "Dub Be Good To Me," and became a UK hit single, meaning Simonon received a credit of the royalties for his bassline. Interviewed by Scott Rowley on October 1999 for Bassist magazine, Simonon said that he "was surprised that it became number one, that was quite shocking. And the fact that it was my performance that they had lifted. The smart thing would've been to copy it and change it slightly, but they just lifted it straight off. So, really, I have done Top of the Pops! I met up with Norman [Cook] and we came to an arrangement which was much needed at the time. But I thought it was a really good idea and it was quite reassuring for that to happen to my first song."

This song was not released as a single when the London Calling album first came out, however in 1990 with the re-release of London Calling on CD, a remixed version entitled "Return to Brixton," which included the original "Guns of Brixton" mix on the B-side, was released and reached #57 on the UK charts in July 1990. Interestingly, a typo on the sleeve notes of the CD release meant Paul Simonon's name was misspelled as Paul Simon; although a very successful recording artist in his own right, the actual Paul Simon (half of Simon and Garfunkel) had nothing to do with the writing of "The Guns of Brixton"!

The song was always a popular live fixture, and Simonon's moment of glory onstage as he took lead vocals. He would swap instruments with Joe Strummer, who would play bass whilst Simonon played some rhythm guitar and sang (or usually bellowed) his vocals with great gusto. An example of this is the live version of the song which appears on the From Here To Eternity live compilation CD, taken from one of their many New York shows in June 1981. The song was first played live by the band at a September 1979 show in Chicago and at almost every show after that.

Hateful

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Paul Gordon

This song was written in the Vanilla rehearsals in April 1979, in the sessions which the band wished to record directly from their rehearsal space in Vanilla Studios, a small intimate space behind a garage in Vauxhall, London. Their record company CBS would have none of it, and demanded they use an actual studio, hence why they chose Wessex studios: it best replicated the intimacy of the Vanilla space in a full studio setup.

The song is heavily anti-drugs, following on from similar songs on Give 'Em Enough Rope such as "Drug-Stabbing Time." The lyrics had slightly more credence this time as the band generally shied away from hard drug use during the London Calling sessions, so the portrayal of helpless heroin addiction in the present song ("Anything I want he gives it, but not for free. It's hateful and it's paid for and I'm so grateful to be nowhere") has more weight to it.The words also contain an emotional reference to Joe Strummer's good friend Sid Vicious, who had recently died from a heroin overdose ("this year I've lost some friends"), and indeed if the entire song is discussing heroin addiction, it could be said that the whole song was inspired by Vicious' sorry demise.

“Hateful" struggled to find a place in the Clash's live repertoire, and was only ever performed live three times: at their July 1979 shows in London at the Notre Dame Hall and the Rainbow.

Image on the rear of the album, signed