Biographic - Sunday May 14, 2017 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

Released in the U.S. in 1980, "London Calling" -The third album from U.K punk rockers The Clash was later declared the best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone Magazine. Three decades since the group split up, bands from Green Day and Sum41 are testaments to the lasting impact of The Clash. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of the eponymously titled debut album from Britain's Punk Rock pioneers The Clash, when the band's U.S. label initially declined to release the record, deeming it unsuitable for radio play, North American fans were forced to buy imported copies, and it quickly became the biggest - selling import album multiplatinum album sales and the hit single "Rock the Casbah," The Clash had conquered America! But the constant touring and recording took a toll. Drummer Topper Headon was jettisoned in 1982. The following year, guitarist Mick Jones was sacked. (He would re-emerge in 1985 at the helm of Dance-rock outfit Big Audio Dynamite) Joe Strummer and Bassist Paul Simonon recruited new band members, but the writing was on the wall, and by 1986 The Clash had disbanded. Following hid departure from The Clash, Jones was briefly a member of the General Public before forming Big Audio Dynamite, in 2002 He co-founded the band Carbon/Silicon. He has continued to collaborate with a number of artists, either as a musician or producer and in 2010 was reunited with Simonon when both joined the line-up Gorillaz. Following the split, Strummer dabbled in acting and briefly replaced Shane McGowan as lead singer with the Pogues before forming Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros. He died in 2002, an undetected heart defect ending his life at the age of 50. The Clash- including original drummer Terry Chimes- was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

Tags