London Calling
London Calling, a
double album released by
The Clash in December, 1979, in the UK and the first week of January 1980 in the US, marked the band's critical and
commercial breakthrough. Besides straightforward
punk rock, it featured a much wider array of
styles than the Clash's earlier albums, with sophisticated pop songwriting that incorporates elements of
rockabilly, 60s-style pop, lounge jazz,
R&B,
ska,
rocksteady,
hard rock, and
reggae. The various
Jamaican musical styles on
London Calling are often perceived as a reflection of the
Ska movement in
Britain (see
1979 in music). The album is considered a landmark by many, and tracks such as "
Train in Vain", "
Clampdown", and the title track "
London Calling" show up with regularity on rock stations to this day.
Continuing Clash practice, the record is politically motivated. Lyrical themes include: punk rock faddishness, drug addiction, American folk legend
Stagger Lee, young rebels growing up and getting old, the rise of far-right politics under British Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher, the
Spanish Civil War, race riots in England, troubled American
method actor Montgomery Clift, the growing power of media advertising and corporations, and even the Pill.
The cover features a photograph by
Pennie Smith of
Paul Simonon smashing his
bass guitar against the stage. The picture is surrounded by
typography similar to
Elvis Presley's
debut album. The picture was later voted the best rock and roll photograph of all time by
Q magazine, although ironically at the time Smith did not want the picture used as she did not feel it was a technically good shot because the photograph is slightly out of focus (as she was backing away from Paul to avoid getting hit). However, Joe Strummer convinced her to use the shot.
A number of songs from London Calling have been sold to various corporations for various commercial purposes. Examples include the use of the album's title track in the
James Bond film Die Another Day, in the season finale of the fourth season of the hit TV show "
Friends", and in a
Jaguar car commercial. The use of these songs have annoyed many fans who consider the band's public persona to be representative of a left-wing, anti-establishment, and, by extension, anti-corporate worldview.
"Train in Vain" was a last minute additon to the album, after the deal for The Clash to write a song for an NME flexi disc fell through, and as Mick Jones commented "This is a bit too good to give away on the NME". The result of its late addition was that it was the only song without lyrics printed on the insert, and was not listed as a track.
In January 2000,
London Calling, along with the rest of the
Clash's catalog was remastered and re-released.
On September 21st, 2004,
Epic/Legacy Records released a
Legacy Edition of the
album which included not only the original remastered
album (first released in 2000) but also
The Vanilla Tapes, long rumoured lost, which contained rough rehearsal sessions for the
album named after the studio in
London where the recordings took place and a
DVD containing a documentary and promos about the making of the
album.
It was voted as the best album of the year in
The Village Voice's
Pazz & Jop critics poll. In 1998
Q magazine readers voted
London Calling the 32nd greatest album of all time;
Rolling Stone named it the best album of the 1980s (although it was released in 1979 in the UK, its U.S. release was in 1980) in 2000, and in 2003 named it number 8 on its list of "
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"; also in 2003, the
TV network VH1 placed it at number 25.
Pitchfork Media ranked it number two on their Top 100 Albums of the 1970s. In 2004, Entertainment Weekly named it the Greatest rock album of all-time.
All tracks written by
Mick Jones and
Joe Strummer unless noted.#"
London Calling" â€" 3:20#"Brand New Cadillac" â€" 2:08 (
Vince Taylor) #"Jimmy Jazz" â€" 3:54#"Hateful" â€" 2:44#"Rudie Can't Fail" â€" 3:29#"
Spanish Bombs" â€" 3:18#"The Right Profile" â€" 3:54#"Lost in the Supermarket" â€" 3:47#"
Clampdown" â€" 3:49#"
The Guns of Brixton" â€" 3:09 (
Paul Simonon)#"Wrong 'Em Boyo" â€" 3:10 (Clive Alphanso)#"Death or Glory" â€" 3:55#"Koka Kola" â€" 1:47#"The Card Cheat" â€" 3:49 (
The Clash)#"Lover's Rock" â€" 4:03#"Four Horsemen" â€" 2:55#"I'm Not Down" â€" 3:06#"Revolution Rock" â€" 5:33 (Jackie Edwards/D. Ray)#"
Train in Vain (Stand by Me)" â€" 3:09
25th Anniversary Edition track listing
Disc two on the
25th Anniversary Edition of the album containing
The Vanilla Tapes#"Hateful"#"Rudie Can't Fail"#"Paul's Tune" (
Paul Simonon)#"I'm Not Down"#"4 Horsemen"#"Koka Kola, Advertising & Cocaine"#"Death Or Glory"#"Lover's Rock"#"Lonesome Me" (
The Clash)#"The police Walked In 4 Jazz"#"Lost In The Supermarket"#"Up-Toon (Inst.)"#"Walking The Sidewalk" (
The Clash)#"Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)" (
The Clash)#"The Man In Me" (
Bob Dylan)#"Remote Control"#"Working And Waiting"#"Heart & Mind" (
The Clash)#"Brand New Cadillac" (
Vince Taylor)#"London Calling"#"Revolution Rock" (
Jackie Edwards/D. Ray)
*
Joe Strummer â€"
Vocals,
Rhythm Guitar,
Piano*
Mick Jones â€"
Guitar, Vocals,
Piano*
Paul Simonon â€"
Bass, Vocals
*
Topper Headon â€"
Drums,
percussion*
Mickey Gallagher â€"
Organ*Irish Horns â€"
Brass*
Guy Stevens â€"
Producer*
Bill Price â€" Chief
Engineer*Jerry Green â€" 2nd Engineer
*
Pennie Smith â€"
Photography*Ray Lowry â€"
Design,
Lyric calligraphy*Johnny Green â€"
Road Manager*Baker Glare â€" "Pre-Production and
Whistling"
*Warren Steadman â€"
Tour lighting*Kozmo Vinyl â€"
Management*In the
United Kingdom the album charted at #9 and stayed on the British charts for 20 weeks.
*In the
United States the album peaked at #27 spending 33 weeks on the chart and reaching gold status.
*
London Calling lyrics*
"It's just the beat of time, the beat that must go on essay on "London Calling" at Complicated Fun
