History Music / TheClash

* GenreRoulette: ''London Calling'', ''Sandinista!'' and ''Combat Rock'': Reggae, PunkRap, proto-Twee Pop, Alternative Dance, Rockabilly, Funk, Ska, Dub, Calypso, Gospel, Acoustic rock, and even some experimental tracks full of random noises... ''Sandinista!'', especially: not only is it a triple album, giving much more room, but it pushes the envelope even further than ''London Calling'', switching between genres every three minutes. It's also the only album to feature all four members on lead vocals at some point: Topper Headon on "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe" and Paul Simonon on "The Crooked Beat".

The Clash, AKA "the only band that matters," was a member of the original British PunkRock movement of TheSeventies known as the "Class of 77". The band stands with the likes of Music/TheRamones and The Music/SexPistols in the pantheon of definitive punk rock bands. Unlike their peers at the time, however, the Clash was no firm believer of the pure ThreeChordsAndTheTruth ideology: they were not afraid of experimenting with a diverse range of musical styles, and as such were critically acclaimed musically. Though highly adept at no-nonsense, stripped-down punk rock, their eclectic tastes and experimental approach led them to frequently infuse their sound with elements of reggae, dub, ska, funk, pop-rock, New Wave, and soul, among others. They were also simultaneously the second [[RapRock rock band to record a rap track]] ("The Magnificent Seven", released a few months after Music/{{Blondie}}'s "Rapture" in 1981) and the very first British group to do so.

* RapRock: "The Magnificent Seven" made them TropeMakers along with Music/{{Blondie}}'s "Rapture". Also see "This Is Radio Clash".

* AWildRapperAppears: Or poet, as is the case with Creator/AllenGinsberg on "Ghetto Defendant". This probably would be a proto-version of the trope if Music/{{Blondie}} and The Clash themselves weren't already on that.

* 1981 - ''Spirit of St. Louis'' [[note]] Actually released by American singer/actress Ellen Foley, who was dating Mick Jones at the time. Strummer and Jones composed half the songs, and the full band backs Foley on every track, so it is basically a Clash album in all but name.[[/note]]

* '''[[Music/PublicImageLtd Keith Levene]]''' - guitar (1976, died 2022)
* '''John Mellor (Joe Strummer)''' - lead vocals, guitar, piano, harmonica, bass (1976–86, died 2002)

* '''[[Music/PublicImageLtd Keith Levene]]''' - guitar (1976)

* AntiPoliceSong: "Guns of Brixton", which according to Paul Simonon is about the paranoia of a young Brixton man isolated by violence and poverty who's seen ''Film/TheHarderTheyCome'' a few too many times.

* CoverVersion: e.g. "Brand New Cadillac", "Police On My Back", "Police and Thieves", "Every Little Bit Hurts", and "I Fought the Law."

* GenreRoulette: ''London Calling'', ''Sandinista!'' and ''Combat Rock'': Reggae, PunkRap, proto-Twee Pop, Alternative Dance, Rockabilly, Funk, Ska, Dub, Calypso, Gospel, Acoustic rock, and even some experimental tracks full of random noises... ''Sandinista!'', especially: not only is it a triple album, giving much more room, but it pushes the envelope even further than ''London Calling'', switching between genres every three minutes. It's also the only album to feature all four members on lead vocals at some point: Topper Headon on "Ivan Meets G.I Joe" and Paul Simonon on "The Crooked Beat".
* GodwinsLaw: The lines ''"If UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler flew in today/They'd send a limousine anyway"'' in "White Man in Hammersmith Palais" actually work because the song is about Nazi skinheads ruining an all-night reggae concert.

** "Death Or Glory" is an upbeat little number about, uh, how even the toughest rebels eventually sell out.

* TakeThat: "Rock The Casbah" begins with the line "Now the king told the boogie-men, you have to let that raga drop." Reportedly, this is a reference to an incident in which The Clash's manager complained about the length of their songs and likened it to raga, a style of Indian music known for long, complex songs. Given that the king mentioned in the song is a despot who retaliates against even the slightest hint of rock music by ordering bombs dropped on the populace, it can be safely assumed that this line wasn't meant to be flattering to the manager.

* TrrrillingRrrs: In "White Man (In Hammersmith Palais):"

With politicised songs and committed lifestyles ensuring their fame amongst punk rockers, the Clash was unique for their relative musical sophistication, and thus are often thought as "a punk band with a rock-n-roll sound." The band's 1979 album ''Music/LondonCalling'' is often hailed as one of the finest punk rock records (and rock/popular music in general) ever recorded -- it is the highest-rated punk album of all time in ''Magazine/RollingStone''[='s=] list, i.e. the popular yardstick. It was released in December 1979 in the UK and January 1980 in the USA, and was separately declared to be '''best album of the 1970s''' by the British magazine ''Q'' and '''best album of the 1980s''' by ''Rolling Stone'' in the USA.

* 1981 - ''Spirit of St. Louis'' [[note]] Actually released by American singer/actress Ellen Foley, who was dating Mick Jones at the time. But the band backs Foley on every track, so it is basically a Clash album in all but name.[[/note]]

* 1981 - ''Spirit of St. Louis'' [[note]] Actually released by American singer Ellen Foley, who was dating Mick Jones at the time. The band backs Ellen on every track so it is basically a Clash album in all but name[[/note]]

* 1999 - ''From Here To Eternity: Live'' [[note]]Recorded between 1978 and 1982[[/note]]
* 2008 - ''Live At Shea Stadium'' [[note]]Recorded in 1982[[/note]]

Following the release of ''Combat Rock'' in 1982, guitarist Mick Jones and drummer Topper Headon were fired, the former because of CreativeDifferences with Strummer and the latter due to a heroin addiction. Following this, the band's lineup was radically revamped, and manager Bernard Rhodes took control of their musical direction, leading to ''Music/CutTheCrap'' in 1985, an album that flopped upon release and was heavily derided by fans, critics, and Strummer himself. Strummer's dissatisfaction with the state of the Clash led him to disband it in 1986 after a ten-year career; the members later went on to other projects. Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite and Strummer embarked on a solo career (including some time fronting Music/ThePogues) before founding the Mescaleros. Paul Simonon has become pretty well-known in the London fine art scene, and contributed to the Music/{{Gorillaz}} album ''Plastic Beach''. There were sporadic collaborations and ad-hoc performances by various combinations of the original lineup but no full reunion ever came about and the death of Strummer in 2002 laid to rest any hope of a reunion.

Following the release of ''Combat Rock'' in 1982, guitarist Mick Jones and drummer Topper Headon were fired, the former due to CreativeDifferences with Strummer and the latter due to a heroin addiction. Following this, the band's lineup was radically revamped, and manager Bernard Rhodes took control of their musical direction, leading to ''Music/CutTheCrap'' in 1985, an album that flopped upon release and was heavily derided by fans, critics, and Strummer himself. Strummer's dissatisfaction with the state of the Clash led him to disband it in 1986 after a ten-year career; the members later went on to other projects. Jones formed Big Audio Dynamite and Strummer embarked on a solo career (including some time fronting Music/ThePogues) before founding the Mescaleros. Paul Simonon has become pretty well-known in the London fine art scene, and contributed to the Music/{{Gorillaz}} album ''Plastic Beach''. There were sporadic collaborations and ad-hoc performances by various combinations of the original lineup but no full reunion ever came about and the death of Strummer in 2002 laid to rest any hope of a reunion.