"Clash City Rockers" is a song by English rock band
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
. It was first released in February 1978 as a single with the B-side "
Jail Guitar Doors", the latter a re-worked version of a song from
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
's
pub rock days. "Clash City Rockers" was the second of three non-album singles released between the group's
eponymous first album in 1977 and their second album, ''
Give 'Em Enough Rope
''Give 'Em Enough Rope'' is the second studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 10 November 1978 through CBS Records International, CBS Records. It was their first album released in the United States, preceding the ...
'' (1978).
It was later included as the opening track of the belated US version of the band's debut album.
Background
The song was first played live at Mont De Marsan (Landes, France), in August 1977, and recorded the same year in the band's October and November sessions at CBS Studios. Following an argument at the end of the band's Get Out of Control Tour,
Paul Simonon and
Mick Jones were not on speaking terms, leaving
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
as a middle-man, relaying instructions and insults from one to the other.
Composition
The Clash's first overt attempt at self-mythology, "Clash City Rockers" is, by and large, a song about positivity and moving forward, and revisits themes common in Clash songs of the era, specifically dead-end employment and having a purpose in life.
Jones has said that the song "was one of the first numbers we did where we really began to stretch and experiment."
The middle part of the song is based on an old nursery rhyme, "
Oranges and Lemons
"Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earlies ...
" ("You owe me a move say the bells of St. Groove"), and namechecks
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
,
Gary Glitter
Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...
and
Prince Far-I
Prince Far I (23 March 1945 – 15 September 1983) was a Jamaican reggae deejay and producer, and a Rastafarian. He was known for his gruff voice and critical assessment of the Jamaican government. His track "Heavy Manners" used lyrics about ...
. The irony of the line "when I am fitter say the bells of Gary Glitter" following
Glitter's later scandal was not lost on Jones, who joked about it in the December 2003 issue of
''Uncut'' magazine: "The Gary Glitter lyric? Yeah, that was before the internet.
rins
The line in the song about reggae artist Prince Far-I, "No one but you and I say the bells of Prince Far-I", once again shows the group's reggae influences.
According to Strummer, the "rockers" in the song are not
rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
ers: "I was talking about
rockers which is a certain
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
rhythm
Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
".
Despite the reggae references, "Clash City Rockers" is a punk rock song with similarities to early songs by
the Who
The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...
.
It reinforced the profile and image of the Clash and their fans as being a gang.
Recording
In December, producer Mickey Foote—Strummer's old sound-man from the
101'ers and producer of ''
The Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
'' and "
White Riot
"White Riot" is a song by English punk rock band the Clash, released as the band's first single in March 1977 and also included on their self-titled debut album.
Versions
There are two versions of the song: the single version (also appeari ...
"—increased the speed of the tape for the finished master of the song, after manager
Bernie Rhodes
Bernard Rhodes is a designer, band manager, studio owner, record producer and songwriter who was integral to the development of the punk rock scene in the United Kingdom from the middle 1970s. He is most associated with two of the UK's best kn ...
decided the song sounded "a bit flat". This technique, known as "
varispeeding", rendered the song one
semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically.
It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...
higher in pitch. Strummer and Jones were in
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
at the time, and when they heard the finished result, they fired Foote. With the exception of the 2000 re-issue of the US version of ''
The Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...
'', the original version of the song (at the proper speed) has been used on every re-release since.
Paul Simonon told ''
Uncut
Uncut may refer to:
* ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship
* ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997
* '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...
'' magazine in 2015 that the recording sessions on the song were strained due to an argument he had been having with
Mick Jones: "I seem to remember that, when we did 'Clash City Rockers', him and me had had a row. I was in one corner of the studio and Mick was in the other. He had to tell
Joe
Joe or JOE may refer to:
Arts
Film and television
* ''Joe'' (1970 film), starring Peter Boyle
* ''Joe'' (2013 film), starring Nicolas Cage
* ''Joe'' (TV series), a British TV series airing from 1966 to 1971
* ''Joe'', a 2002 Canadian animated ...
what the chords were so he could come over and tell me. The guy who was recording it didn’t know what was going on cos of this weird communication breakdown."
Track listing
All tracks written by
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
/
Mick Jones.
; 7" vinyl
# "Clash City Rockers" – 3:50
# "
Jail Guitar Doors" – 3:03
Personnel
;The Clash
*
Joe Strummer
John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, ...
– lead vocal, pianos
*
Mick Jones – guitars, backing vocals
*
Paul Simonon – bass guitar
*
Topper Headon
Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Known for his instrumental contributions to the drumming world, Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fam ...
– drums
Charts
References
;Sources
*
*
{{authority control
1977 songs
1978 singles
The Clash songs
Songs written by Joe Strummer
Songs written by Mick Jones (The Clash)
CBS Records singles