Line #11 Trivia/TheClash


1	* BreakthroughHit: ''Music/LondonCalling'' and "Train In Vain" were the band's American breakthrough.
2	* ChartDisplacement: The band's only top 40 hits in the U.S. were "Train in Vain" and "Rock the Casbah". Their hit "Should I Stay or Should I Go" only made it to #45 and "London Calling" didn't chart.
3	* CreatorBacklash: Even Joe Strummer himself regretted recording ''Cut the Crap''.
4	* CreatorCouple: Mick Jones once had a relationship with Ellen Foley, who sang backing vocals on "Hitsville U.K." and their turbulent relationship inspired Jones to write the very popular "Should I Stay or Should I Go". Thanks to the relationship, all four members of The Clash (along with members of Music/IanDuryAndTheBlockheads) appeared on Foley's album The Spirit of St. Louis and Jones produced it, credited as "my boyfriend".
5	* CreatorKiller: ''Music/CutTheCrap'' not only killed the band but marked the last death rattle of the first wave of PunkRock, at least as a mainstream force in popular music. The band was in turmoil by this point: drummer Topper Headon left due to drug problems and more importantly, lead guitarist and co-vocalist Mick Jones was fired due to both his attitude and his more eclectic musical influences clashing with the rest of the band, particularly their manager Bernie Rhodes and lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer. They were replaced with a trio of unknown musicians who contributed little, such that fans refer to this lineup as "The Clash Mk. II". The resulting album was more or less entirely the product of Rhodes (who produced it under the name "Jose Unidos" and co-wrote it with Strummer), and it sounded like a half-baked, poorly-produced ripoff of Music/FrankieGoesToHollywood, Music/{{Genesis\|Band}}, or any number of other synth-driven rock bands playing on MTV around that time. Even Strummer regarded it as an OldShame, saying that he should never have left Rhodes fire Jones and that he stopped caring partway through recording the album. The Clash broke up for good shortly after, and while Strummer and Jones eventually reconciled before Strummer's death, the band never reunited.
6	* CutSong: ''Combat Rock'' was first intended as a double LP; however, following the double-LP ''Music/LondonCalling'' and the '''triple'''-LP ''Music/{{Sandinista}}'', both of which were only released after a fair amount of skullduggery on both the band and CBS Records' parts, the group's manager and label insisted the group release a single LP. This resulted in the removal of "First Night Back In London", "Cool Confusion", "The Beautiful People Are Ugly Too", "Idle In Kangaroo Court [aka Kill Time]" and "Walk Evil Talk". Only the first two were released as b-sides at the time, though the rest were officially released on the ''Sound System'' box years later. This also resulted in the shortening of "Straight To Hell" (which the group did not want to happen), amongst other tracks.
7	* DoingItForTheArt: The band wanted to provide more music for the fan's money, so they asked the CBS record label to sell the double LP ''Music/LondonCalling'' and the triple LP ''Music/{{Sandinista}}'' for the price of just one LP. In both cases, CBS balked, but the Clash managed to make the low price happen anyway. In the case of ''London Calling'', they talked CBS into letting them release an LP with a free 12 inch single included--then, they pressed an entire second LP instead of the single before CBS realized what they were doing. There are conflicting accounts of ''Sandinista!'''s pressing: some sources say they repeated the ''London Calling'' trick, but others (including Joe Strummer himself) say the Clash simply compromised with CBS and surrendered the royalties from the first 200,000 copies sold.
8	* ExecutiveMeddling:
9	** Upon hearing their debut self-titled album, the suits at their American record label decided that some of the songs would inspire people to rebel, and decided to remove 5 songs and replace them with some of the band's British singles like "Complete Control" and "(White Man) in Hammersmith Palais". Unlike most {{Main/Frankenslation}} albums, such as the early US Beatles releases, the US version of The Clash's debut continues to have a genuine fanbase instead of just being a historical curiosity or a bastardization. To this day, debates on whether the UK or US release of the album is superior exist among the band's fanbase.
10	** What makes this hugely ironic is that the song "Complete Control" is about just that kind of record company nonsense, something that the proves how stupid the label was.
11	** Much of the end product of ''Cut the Crap'' can be attributed to ExecutiveMeddling, specifically co-producer Bernard Rhodes (under the pseudonym "Jose Unidos") stuffing the album with drum machines and synthesizer hits in post-production in an attempt to modernize the album's sound and make it more commercial. Firsthand accounts state that the songs on the record were much better in their initial, more stripped-down live performances, which in combination with the final product renders ''Cut the Crap'' a prime example of how bad production at the hands of nosey suits can hurt good songwriting as well as a significant example of WhatCouldHaveBeen.
12	* HeAlsoDid:
13	** After Mick Jones left the band, he joined the band General Public (but left shortly after they recorded their first album) and then formed Big Audio Dynamite, one of the more notable early AlternativeRock bands.
14	** Paul Simonon joined up with [[Music/{{Gorillaz}} Damon Albarn]] and other musicians to form the supergroup The Good, The Bad, And The Queen, as well as contributing to virtual group/pseudo-supergroup Music/{{Gorillaz}}.
15	* HostilityOnTheSet: ''Cut the Crap'' was the title of the last album because it fit the statement Music/JoeStrummer was trying to make about getting back to the ThreeChordsAndTheTruth roots of punk, but it or some variant thereof was probably said at least a few times a day during the sessions, which ''began'' with Strummer and Paul Simonon kicking Mick Jones out of the band because he was getting to be too much of a rock star, followed by Topper Headon, who couldn't kick heroin long enough to record. Simonon might as well have left or been forced out as well, given his minimal contribution to what, on the face of things, looked like a Strummer solo album—most of the other instruments were played by unknown musicians the band had hired through anonymous ads in ''Melody Maker'' for a hundred pounds a week. However, Strummer and manager Bernie Rhodes fought bitterly, with Rhodes as determined to make a more contemporary Clash that could keep riding the musical tides for another several years as Strummer was to get back to where they once belonged. Rhodes was able to win and record the album ''his'' way by stealing the master tapes and adding plenty of synthesizers and effects to most of them; Strummer was so disgusted that, late in production, he tried to get Jones to come back.
16	* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: For many years ''Cut the Crap'' was out of print due to it being a critical and commercial disaster which lead to it being disowned by the band. The only way to listen to it was tracking down a physical copy or downloading off the internet. This was finally averted in 2020 when the album was made available for streaming.
17	* NoHitWonder: They were famous for a time as the band to have released the most UK singles without ever hitting the singles Top Ten, until the [[BlackSheepHit uncharacteristic]] "Should I Stay or Should I Go" hit number one after being [[RepurposedPopSong used in an advert]].
18	* ThePeteBest: Terry Chimes, [[Music/PublicImageLtd Keith Levene]].
19	* ReferencedBy: The British ProfessionalWrestling promotion Tidal Championship Wrestling titled its June 23, 2019 event ''Babylon's Burning With Anxiety'', playing off of the hook "London's burning with boredom now" from "London's Burning."
20	* RevivalByCommercialization: The band used to hold a record for having the most UK hit singles without reaching the Top Ten, which [[ItsPopularNowItSucks many fans were proud of]]. Then "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" was used in a TV advert for Levis, got rereleased, and reached Number One.
21	* SequelFirst: Their first album wasn't released in the US because the record company over there thought it was too controversial. Their second album ''Give Em Enough Rope'' was their first released in the US, albeit with the cover text in a different font and the title of the last track changed. After the "I Fought The Law" from ''The Cost Of Living'' EP was a hit, the record company wanted to capitalise on its success so they put out a butchered version of their first album in the US including the track and several of their recent singles replacing some of the songs they had deemed controversial. This caused an odd situation where stuff recorded after their second album was included on a rerelease of their first.
22	* ThrowItIn:
23	** The GratuitousSpanish in "Should I Stay or Should I Go".
24	--->'''Strummer''': On the spur of the moment I said 'I'm going to do the backing vocals in Spanish,'...We needed a translator so Eddie Garcia, the tape operator, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and read her the lyrics over the phone and she translated them. But Eddie and his mum are Ecuadorian, so it's Ecuadorian Spanish that me and Joe Ely are singing on the backing vocals.
25	** This is why a watch alarm can be heard in the second verse of "Rock the Casbah". Topper Headon's ''[[Series/TheDukesOfHazzard Dukes of Hazzard]]'' watch had accidentally went off, but the digitized version of the General Lee's horn matched the beat nicely, so they kept it in.
26	* TroubledProduction: They may be one of the most passionate and outspoken bands of all time, but that passion certainly made the production of their albums a living hell for anyone working with them. Almost every album they made qualifies for this trope.
27	** ''The Clash'' presented the group's relative inexperience making a record. The DIY nature of the production rattled their record company, CBS. Aside from not knowing how to handle the control knobs, there was equipment issues out the wazoo. This was before the days where punk albums became known for their rough production standards. The album is recognized as one of the greatest punk albums of all time.
28	** ''Give 'em Enough Rope'' presented the band having to deal again with CBS records. The first record sold well in the UK, but the label thought it was unsuitable for US release. This resulted in their first sessions for the album to be declined by the label. The band was instructed that additional time would need to be spent recording in San Francisco. Drummer Topper Headon and bassist Paul Simonon were left in the UK while Joe Strummer and Mick Jones flew to the US to continue production. The two, unfamiliar with the country, spent a lot of time wasting money and time exploring San Francisco. Around this time Jones started displaying his notorious PrimaDonna attitude, making unusual demands that would stick until his leaving the band. On top of that, the album's producer, Sandy Pearlman, who was gay, found himself the victim of relentless pranks pulled by the band and their chaotic manager Bernie Rhodes. The album was released to mild critical acclaim, though not as beloved as the first.
29	** ''Sandinista!'' came off the heels off of the critical smash ''London Calling''. The band bounced off their previous record by diving even more into the world music trend that was taking over in the 80s. This confused the label, who wanted a more clear musical direction. Simonon ended up taking time away from production to star in the film ''Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains''. He was temporarily replaced by Norman Watt-Roy of Music/IanDuryAndTheBlockheads fame. Watt-Roy composed the memorable bassline for "The Magnificent Seven", for which he claims he was never credited. Also, fellow Producer Mikey Dread claims he was never paid for work he did on the album either. The revolving door of producers made for a mess for crediting on the album. On top of that, the band produced so much music that they wanted to make a 3-LP album, of which everyone involved in the production thought was overambitious. The label only agreed to do it after the band begrudgingly forfeited the royalties for the first 100,000 copies sold. To this day, the album is a difficult listen at 145 minutes. [[BrokenBase Some consider it the band's masterpiece, others think it has some of their best moments, but it's overlong]].
30	** ''Combat Rock'' came after the band were slammed by CBS for the poor commercial performance of ''Sandinista!'' After spending 2 albums managing themselves, Joe Strummer decided to re-hire Bernie Rhodes. A polarizing figure, Rhodes' return was met with both praise and disdain from band members (Mick Jones in particular was not fond of him). Jones' antics polluted this album, with him getting into raging arguments with Strummer (one person who worked on the album noted that they left the band to work on the mixing for "Rock the Casbah" at 2 AM and returned in the morning to them still having the same argument). Around this time, Topper Headon's drug addiction became even worse than it ever had been. Upon returning to London after a successful show, he was stopped by customs who found heroin in his possession. This created even more tension between members and was considered and embarrassment for the band that refused to promote the use of hard drugs. Topper would soon be dismissed from the band due to his drug habits. Simonon also came down with a nasty stomach bug that almost claimed his life. When deciding on mixing, the band chose the legendary Glyn Johns. On Johns' first day, he had finished mixing 3 songs when Jones arrived late despite Johns' clear directions. Jones whined about disliking the mixes for all 3 of them, to which the usual mild tempered Johns flipped, attempting to put Jones in his place. After the album was released, Rhodes came up with the moronic idea of having Strummer stage a disappearance to give the album more publicity. Strummer went against Rhodes' original plan and disappeared in Paris, leading to many to think Strummer had legitimately disappeared. While he thankfully returned in one piece, the album was the band's most financially successful album, being their first and only top 10 album in the United States.
31	** ''Cut the Crap'' was made after a troubled tour which resulted in the sacking of both Topper Headon for drug problems and Mick Jones for his prima donna attitude. With 2 major slots replaced, the band's sound drastically changed and the album was made with very little direction. It was actually Bernie Rhoades who bizarrely took over the musical direction, with the sound being more electronic than previous albums. The new members [[HostilityOnTheSet bumped heads with Rhoades' antics and band politics were so frail]] that by the end of production, the Clash were no more. It's often regarded as the worst in the band's discography, even if it's looked at as ahead of it's time in some circles.
32	* TwoHitWonder: From a single standpoint, they've only managed to get two songs into the American Top 40, which is two more than most punk bands can hope for. Specifically, their two Top 40 hits are "Train in Vain" which peaked at #23 in 1980, and "Rock the Casbah" which hit #8 two years later.
33	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
34	** What if the Clash were allowed to stick with their intention for a more stripped-down, RevisitingTheRoots style on ''Cut the Crap''? Or at least they had a more sympathetic producer, as Australian band Music/MidnightOil successfully combined political songs with cutting-edge production around the same time.
35	** Also relating to ''Cut the Crap'', then-drummer Pete Howard was entirely excluded from the final recordings despite all accounts describing him as an excellent drummer, with Chris Knowles describing the use of a drum machine as "like replacing a Maserati with a Matchbox". One can only wonder what his drums would have brought to the table if included.
36	** In late 2002, The Clash were announced as an inductee for the 2003 class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The members of the band were planning to perform at the ceremony, and there were rumblings that the reunion wouldn't be a one-off, and that they were planning to get back together for a tour or an album. Unfortunately, Strummer suddenly died a little over a month after the induction announcement and ended any possibility of a reunion.
37	* WorkingTitle: ''Cut the Crap'' was originally called ''Out of Control''.

Context Trivia / TheClash