Joe Strummer Day 2019: London Calling 40 Years Later (Show # 807)

Prior to the release of London Calling in December of 1979 (and January of 1980 in the US), The Clash were moving into unknown territory. In 1978, after touring the US and putting out two full-length albums, The Clash parted ways with their manager Bernie Rhoades. They also were going through a spell of writers block. Without their manager, The Clash also no longer had a rehearsal space. Their roadies Johnny Green and The Baker helped them find a new space and an unconventional one at that. The place they found was located in a former factory that was turned into an auto repair shop in Pimlico. This place would be known as Vanilla Studios. It was here that the band, removed from their previous world created the songs for what would wind up on London Calling. Here the band worked on material away from their usual surroundings. Different influences crept in the songs such as reggae, ska, rockabilly, pop and jazz. Demos were made on 4 track tape machines that would become known as The Vanilla Tapes. They were mentioned as early as 1979 in an interview with Joe Strummer, but would not turn up for another 25 years until the 25th anniversary release of London Calling in 2004.

In August 1979, The Clash entered Wessex Studios to start recording London Calling. The producer on the album would be Guy Stevens, known for his strange producing methods. He had produced bands such as Spooky Tooth, Free and Traffic, he was also the manager for Mott The Hoople. Guy would often do things in the studio such as swing a ladder around, yell in people’s faces, and throw chairs to generate enthusiasm while The Clash recorded a take. Bill Price was also on board as engineer to capture all the chaos. London Calling opens with the title track. The track goes beyond the limitations of punk (which is something that was experimented with on London Calling), lyrically, the song generates an apocalyptic rant delving into a variety of political issues as well. Musically, “London Calling” opens the album like a siren call recalling the paranoia around us. With dashes of gallows humour and inspiration coming from reports that the Thames River may flood due to an incident at a Nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, workers strikes, police brutality, and the band’s current situation, the song “London Calling”, like the album, drew a variety of issues and themes.

“Brand New Cadillac” is a cover of a song originally by Vince Taylor. The song was used as a warm up in the studio and the tape recorder was rolling. It became the first song recorded for London Calling. This revved up rockabilly cover about American cars delved into the myth of rock and roll in a cinematic fashion, which would populate the musical depths throughout the London Calling album. While the majority of the songs were worked out during the Vanilla Studios rehearsals, this unplanned track that speeds up in the last verse is also one of the many examples of what can make music so great, spontaneity and indisputable energy. “Jimmy Jazz” utilizes phaser guitar effects, acoustic guitars, horn sections and jazz elements. Lyrically with words such as “Satta Massagana for Jimmy Dread/Cut off his ears and chop off his head/Police come looking for Jimmy Jazz” and “What a relief/I feel like a soldier/Look like a thief/It's for the Jazz”, Strummer and The Clash weave a tale of an unground criminal on the run that can also be seen as an allegory for the punk music scene. “Hateful” brings in Bo Diddley influences with lyrics referencing the complexities of drug addicts and drug dealers with lyrics “It’s hateful/And It’s paid for and I’m so grateful to be nowhere”. “Rudie Can’t Fail” is a reggae, soul and horn driven track sung as a duet by Mick Jones and Joe Strummer. The song itself is inspired the rude boys in 1960s Jamaica who challenged their elders and about a young person that is being criticized for not acting like a responsible adult.

The Clash - Wessex Studios 1979 (Photo by Pennie Smith)

“Spanish Bombs” features many pop elements, the guitar work of jazz/blues guitarist Django Reinhardt also comes to mind, while lyrically it is more on the political side of things about rebellion and its consequences. Strummer’s lyrics juxtapose the Spanish Civil War to the IRA conflict at the time. The song was influenced by George Orwell’s 1938 memoir Homage to Catalonia and could be discussed at length for the themes that it produces, it has also been said to be part love ballad to Palmolive, Joe’s girlfriend at the time and member of The Slits. “The Right Profile” was inspired by a biography on 1950s Hollywood actor Montgomery Clift. The song delves into the tragic tale of the actor who was involved in a car accident and how he could only be filmed from the right side of his face following that incident. With lyrics such as “And everybody say, "Is he all right?"/And everybody say, "What's he like?"/And everybody say, "He sure looks funny"/That's Montgomery Clift, honey”, the song also dealt with Clift’s troubles with drugs and alcohol and drew parallels to producer Guy Stevens who was battling similar at demons at the time. Musically, the song features choppy guitars, Irish horn sections and impassioned vocals from Joe Strummer.

“Lost In The Supermarket” is a song that looks at a person lost in consumer culture that is trying to find some kind of connection with other people and only gets false offerings. Musically, the song takes on disco and pop influences and was sung by guitarist Mick Jones, despite being written by Joe Strummer. Another song that takes on consumer culture is the two-minute punk song “Koka Kola”, which appears later on London Calling and also addresses advertising, corporations, drug fuelled executives and the similarities that they have to each other. “Clampdown” is another rock song that starts with descending bass and guitar patterns, up-tempo drums from Topper Headon, organ and Joe Strummer’s opening rant. This song that would become a live favourite, builds on earlier songs like “Career Opportunities”, but delves even further. With lyrics such as “The men in the factory are old and cunning/You don't owe nothing, so boy get running!/It's the best years of your life they want to steal!”, “Clampdown” tackles a state of mind and situation that many people find themselves in when stuck at a dead end job, emphasizing that you can strive to do better for yourself. It also tackles racial stereotypes with an anti-establishment ethos.

“Guns of Brixton” a reggae song sung and written by bassist Paul Simonon reflecting the reggae gang culture in the film The Harder They Come while contrasting it to gangsters in Brixton, South London. This song, which would also become a live staple for The Clash, captures the alienation that was felt by many in Brixton that would eventually become a site of race riots in 1981 and 1985. “Wrong ‘Em Boyo” is a cover of a song by The Rulers that also digs into the American myth of Stagger Lee and contains part of the song “Stagger Lee” by Lloyd Price in the intro. This ska-influenced track has a skanking beat with horn sections, stop and start drum fills and many lyrical layers. On songs such as “Jimmy Jazz”, “Rudie Can’t Fail”, “The Card Cheat” and “Revolution Rock”, elements of the Stagger Lee story pop up in different ways.

“Death Or Glory” builds with acoustic guitar, electric guitar and a penetrating, soulful bassline. Throughout this composition, Joe Strummer sings of the complications of the responsibilities of adulthood. With words such as “In every dingy basement on every dingy street/Every dragging hand clap over every dragging beat/That's just the beat of time, beat that must go on/If you've been trying for years we already heard your song”, The Clash also draw on themes of the rock and roll lifestyle, selling out and not being complacent. “The Card Cheat” is a piano driven ballad sung by Mick Jones that tells the tale of a lonely, down and out gambler that brings up images and themes of American Western cinema, “Lover’s Rock” tackles safe sex advocacy, “Four Horsemen” brings more humour into the album as The Clash poke fun at themselves, comparing the band to the Four Horsemen of the apocalypse, while “I’m Not Down” with its Kinks-like chord progressions deals with a character down on their luck. With lyrics such as “If it's true a rich man leads a sad life/That's what they from day to day/Then what do all the poor do with their lives/On Judgment Day with nothing to say?” and “But I know there'll be some way/When I can swing everything back my way/Like skyscrapers rising up/Floor by floor, I'm not giving up”, this song sung by Jones drifts into themes of depression with a message of bettering yourself by pushing through the hard times and dealing with things more directly, despite your troubles.

“Revolution Rock” is the 18th track on London Calling. The song itself is a cover of an obscure reggae song originally by Danny Ray and the Revolutioneers that sampled “Get Up” by Jackie Edwards. Several lyrics were changed by Strummer, most notably the line referencing "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin (“Careful how you move, Mac, you dig me in me back/An' I'm so pilled up that I rattle/I have got the sharpest knife, so I cut the biggest slice/I got no time to do battle”) and changing the lyrics to “Everybody smash up your seats and rock to this/Brand new beat” to reflect something that occurred at punk shows. While the gangster theme does come up again in this song, along with many other themes, the result is a song that is a celebration of sorts, as opposed to several of the other songs found on London Calling with darker subject matter. Originally London Calling was going to end at this track, the artwork was even completed and ready to go, but one more song was added to the album at the last minute. The song would be “Train In Vain (Stand By Me)” written and sung by Mick Jones. Rumoured to be about Jones’ Split with Slits guitarist Viv Albertine, the song was written in one night and recorded the next day at the end of the recording sessions for London Calling. This song was originally supposed to be given away as a Flexi single with NME Magazine, however, it didn’t work out that way and this lovesick R&B pop song drives like a locomotive taking the listener to the end of their journey with London Calling.

On London Calling, The Clash created an album made up of many different musical styles. With drummer Topper Headon supplying the dynamic backbeat, a new versatility in The Clash became apparent as they branched out into the genres of reggae, ska, blues, jazz, rockabilly, punk and R&B to name a few. Throughout the album, the lyrical layers compliment the varying musical styles, pulling in literary influences from George Orwell, American culture, gangster films, that sometimes read like a story, sometimes like a classic film, but never beats you over the head with the obvious. It sounds organic, even today. With London Calling, The Clash smashed all preconceived notions of what punk was, releasing a double album of music that pressed on into a new terrain. London Calling was initially going to be called The Last Testament because it was said to stand as the “last rock n’ roll record”. While that changed, London Calling balanced a sense of unease in culture at the time with a sense of optimism. The music of London Calling is a testament however, to the power of rock and roll and the music of The Clash which continues to echo through to audiences, even decades after its initial release.

JSD 2019 Playlist (Originally Aired On September 22nd, 2019)(The 40th Anniversary of London Calling):

1. London Calling (London Calling: 25th Anniversary Edition - 2004)
2. Brand New Cadillac (London Calling - 1979)
3. Jimmy Jazz (London Calling - 1979)
4. Hateful (London Calling - 1979)
5. Rudie Can’t Fail (London Calling - 1979)
6. Spanish Bombs (London Calling - 1979)
7. The Right Profile (London Calling - 1979)
8. Lost in the Supermarket (London Calling - 1979)
9. Clampdown (Live)(Live At Shea Stadium - 20018)
10. Paul’s Tune (London Calling: 25th Anniversary Edition - 2004)
11. The Guns of Brixton (London Calling - 1979)
12. Lonesome Me (London Calling: 25th Anniversary Edition - 2004)
13. Up-Toon (London Calling: 25th Anniversary Edition - 2004)
14. Walking The Slidewalk (London Calling: 25th Anniversary Edition - 2004)
15. The Man In Me (London Calling: 25th Anniversary Edition - 2004)
16. Roadrunner (Live Palladium Soundcheck - 1979)
18. Wrong ‘Em Boyo (Live Palladium NYC 9.21.1979)
19. Death Or Glory (London Calling - 1979)
20. Koka Kola (London Calling - 1979)
21. The Card Cheat (London Calling - 1979)
22. Lover’s Rock (London Calling: 25th Anniversary Edition - 2004)
23. Four Horsemen (London Calling - 1979)
24. I’m Not Down (London Calling - 1979)
25. Revolution Rock (London Calling - 1979)
26. Train In Vain (Live at The Capitol Theater - Passaic, NJ 3.8.80)
27. Armagideon Time (London Calling/Armagideon Time single - 1979)

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