LONDON CALLING
TO THE FARAWAY TOWNS
NOW WAR IS DECLARED
AND BATTLE CAME DOWN
LONDON CALLING
TO THE UNDERWORLD
COME OUT OF THE CUPBOARD
YA BOYS AND GIRLS
London Calling
is the third
studio album
by the English
rock band
It was originally
released
as a double album
in the
United Kingdom
on
December,14th 1979
by CBS Records,
and in the
United States
in
January
1980
by Epic Records.
The Clash
recorded the album
with producer
Guy Stevens
at Wessex Sound Studios
in London
over a
five- to six-week period
starting in August 1979,
following a change
in management
and a period of
writer's block
for songwriters
Joe Strummer
and
Mick Jones.
Bridging a
traditional punk rock sound
and a new wave aesthetic,
London Calling
reflects the band's
growing interest
in styles
beyond their punk roots,
including reggae,
rockabilly,
ska,
New Orleans R&B,
pop,
lounge jazz,
and
hard rock.
Lyrical themes
include social displacement,
unemployment,
racial conflict,
drug use,
and the
responsibilities
of adulthood.
The album
was a top ten
chart success
in the UK,
and its lead single
"London Calling"
was a top 20 single.
The album has sold
over five million
copies worldwide,
and was certified
platinum in the US
for sales of one million.
It was also met
with widespread
critical acclaim
and has retrospectively
been named one
of the greatest albums
of all time.
On Rolling Stone's list
of the 500
Greatest Albums
of All Time,
London Calling
was ranked number 8
in the 2003
and 2012 editions,
and number 16
in the 2020 edition.
In 2010,
it was one of
ten classic album covers
from British artists
commemorated on
a UK
postage stamp
issued by
the Royal Mail.
Background
On their second album
Give 'Em Enough Rope
(1978),
the Clash
had started to depart
from the punk rock sound
While touring the United States
in 1979,
they chose supporting acts
such as
rhythm and blues artists
Bo Diddley,
Sam & Dave,
Lee Dorsey,
and
Screamin' Jay Hawkins,
as well as
neotraditional country artist
Joe Ely
and punk
rockabilly band
the Cramps.
The Clash's
growing fascination
with rock and roll
inspired their
direction for
London Calling.
After recording
Give 'Em Enough Rope,
the Clash
separated from their manager
Bernard Rhodes.
This meant they had to leave
their rehearsal studio
in Camden Town.
Tour manager
Johnny Green
and
drum roadie Baker
found a new place to rehearse,
Vanilla Studios,
in the back of a garage
in Pamlico.
The Clash
arrived at
Vanilla in May 1979
with no
new songs prepared
for their third album.
Main songwriters
Mick Jones
and
Joe Strummer
had experienced
a period of writer's block
and had not written
a new song in over a year;
their recently released
Cost of Living EP
featured a cover song
and three other songs
that had all been written
over a year earlier.
Rehearsal were held in
Vanilla Studios
over mid-1979.
The Clash
began playing covers
from genres including
rockabilly,
rock and roll,
rhythm and blues,
and reggae.
In contrast to
previous rehearsal sessions,
the band kept these
rehearsals private,
and did not allow
hangers-on to attend.
This seclusion allowed
the band to rebuild
their confidence
without worrying about
the reaction from outsiders,
who were familiar
with the band's
punk rock style.
The band developed an
"extremely disciplined"
daily routine of
afternoon rehearsals,
broken by a
late-afternoon
social football game,
which fostered a
friendly bond between
the band members.
The football was
followed by drinks
at a local pub,
followed by a
second rehearsal
in the evening.
The band
gradually rebuilt their confidence,
with the styles of
the session's
early cover songs
setting the template
for the diverse material
that would be written for
London Calling
The band were also
encouraged by a growing
recognition of drummer
Topper Headon's skills,
which they realized could be
used to perform music in a
wide array of genres
and styles beyond
punk rock.
During these rehearsals
in the early summer of 1979,
a series of demos dubbed
The Vanilla Tapes
(after the name of the rehearsal studio)
were made on a
TEAC 4-track recorder.
These tapes contain
early versions of
15 of the 19 songs
that would eventually
appear on
London Calling,
sometimes in
very rudimentary forms
several lack the lyrics,
musical structure,
or titles of
their final versions
the instrumental track titled
Paul's Tune
would eventually be
recorded for
London Calling
under the title
The Guns of Brixton,
while the instrumental
tracked titled
Up-Toon
would ultimately be
released as
The Right Profile,
for example
They also include covers
that did not make
the final album,
including
Sonny Okosun's
Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)
and a reggae version of
Bob Dylan's
The Man in Me
possibly influenced by
London-based reggae band
Matumbi's 1976 version
as well as
never-officially-released
Clash tunes like
Heart and Mind
described by rock journalist
Pat Gilbert as
"a rocker"
and the
country-inflected
Lonesome Me.
Notably,
they do not include the
London Calling tracks
Spanish Bombs,
Wrong ‘Em Boyo,
The Card Cheat,
or
Train in Vain,
suggesting that these tracks
were written
(or, in Wrong 'Em Boyo's case, selected)
later,
possibly during the
actual album sessions.
These tapes,
believed lost in 1979
roadie
Johnny Green
claimed in his
1999 autobiography
A Riot Of Our Own
that he had lost them on
the London Underground
prior to the album's recording
were rediscovered by
Mick Jones
while he was
moving in 2004
TRACKLIST
London Calling
Brand New Cadillac
Jimmy Jazz
Hateful
Rudie Can't Fail
Spanish Bombs
The Right Profile
Lost In The Supermarket
Clampdown
The Guns Of Brixton
Wrong 'Em Boyo
Death Or Glory
Koka Kola
The Card Cheat
Lover's Rock
Four Horsemen
I'm Not Down
Revolution Rock
Train In Vain
BONUS
Know Your Rights
I Fought The Law
Rock The Casbah
THE VANILLA TAPES
(DEMOS)
Hateful
Rudie Can't Fail
Paul's Tune
I'm Not Down
4 Horseman
Koka Kola
Death Or Glory
Lovers Rock
Lonesome Me
The Police Walked In 4 Jazz
Lost In The Supermarket
Up -Toon (Inst.)
Walking The Sidewalk
Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)
The Man In Me
Remote Control
Working And Waiting
Heart & Mind
Brand New Cadillac
London Calling
Revolution Rock
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