‘Dirty Punk’: the song that showed how far The Clash had fallen
“I wanna riot” bellowed The Clash on their debut single ‘White Riot’ in 1977. By the time the mid-1980s rolled around, the punk revolutionaries were resigned to singing, “I’m going to get me a big, big, big, big, big car”. The Clash were inarguably one of the greatest products of the punk rock movement, but when you’re that highly regarded, the only way is down.
Formed in 1976 by guitarist Mick Jones, The Clash quickly rose to the top of London’s blossoming punk scene. With an innovative and frenzied sound, the band became known for their staunch political principles and constantly developing sound. Thanks to the influence of bassist Paul Simonon, The Clash quickly incorporated ska, dub and reggae into their punk sound, setting them apart from the vast sea of other young punk outfits in the 1970s.
Despite their profound success and critical acclaim, The Clash were plagued with problems in the early 1980s. Their dedication to fans, keeping prices of gig tickets and records as low as possible, meant that the group were in debt to their record label, CBS. On top of that, Topper Headon was sacked from the group in 1982 as a result of his struggles with heroin addiction. Headon’s departure was the beginning of the end for ‘the only band that matters’. Soon after a disastrous appearance at the US Festival in California, which resulted in fights between Clash members and the festival’s security, Mick Jones was kicked out of the band he had started by Simonon and Strummer.
Jones quickly bounced back, forming the criminally underrated group Big Audio Dynamite, but the situation in the Clash camp was only getting worse. Recruiting relatively unknown guitarists Nick Sheppard and Vince White as replacements for Jones, the new incarnation of The Clash set about a self-financed tour and the recording of a new album, Cut the Crap.
Cut the Crap is widely renowned for being a terrible record. The rebellious soul and spirit that fans connected with during the earlier days of The Clash had completely vanished. This new album felt more like a corporate parody of punk. Even Joe Strummer himself disowned the album, noting that it was only released as the band had signed a contract with CBS. While none of the tracks on Cut the Crap, with the possible exception of ‘This is England’, are worth listening to, ‘Dirty Punk’ has got to be up there with the worst.
With weirdly American-centric lyrics and a sound closer to 1980s hair metal than anything remotely connected to The Clash, the track acted as a great signifier for how far the group had fallen since the sacking of Headon and Jones. Not only does the song betray the ‘I’m So Bored of the USA’ attitude that the early incarnation of the group held, it barely even registers as a Clash track. At best, ‘Dirty Punk’ is cringeworthy; at worst, it is offensive.
The Clash finally split up in 1986, only two months after the dire release of Cut the Crap. Although the individual members kept writing and performing, The Clash never reunited after their breakup. While nobody could argue against the prolific songwriting genius of Joe Strummer, ‘Dirty Punk’ and his final efforts with The Clash are best forgotten.
