The bands that influenced The Clash
Formed in 1976, The Clash were pioneers of British punk, frequently labelled as ‘The Only Band That Matters’. With the classic line-up comprised of Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, and Nicky Headon, the foursome went on to influence generations of artists, punk or otherwise.
The Clash have been attributed with helping bring the punk that was sweeping America over to the UK, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine stating that “the Sex Pistols may have been the first British punk rock band, but the Clash were the definitive British punk rockers.”
As the bleak period of Thatcherism came to a head, The Clash were at the forefront of a musical opposition, singing of social alienation, the boredom of life, and protesting aristocracy and monarchy.
Their political statements, even dubbed as the ‘Thinking Man’s Yobs,’ inspired many future artists, from Bad Religion to Moby to Chuck D, with the latter citing the band’s mixture of politics and music as majorly influential. The rapper once said: “We took that from the Clash, because we were very similar in that regard. Public Enemy just did it ten years later.”
But who inspired The Clash? With an expansive array of sounds present in their work, such as reggae, hip hop, classic rock, ska, and funk, there was more to their influences than the obvious choices, such as The Beatles, The Kinks, and The Who.
One major influence over the band was Mott the Hoople, the 1970s rock band that would’ve broken up if it wasn’t for David Bowie, who saved the band’s failing career with the track ‘All the Young Dudes’, a glam rock track that the icon penned for them.
Strummer confessed his love for the band to Gibson, stating: “I followed Mott the Hoople up and down the country. I’d go to Liverpool or Newcastle or somewhere — sleep on the Town Hall steps, and bunk the fares on the trains, hide in the toilet when the ticket inspector came around. I’d jump off just before the train got to the station and climb over the fence. It was great times, and I always knew I wanted to be in a band and play guitar. That was it for me.”
The lead singer’s obsession didn’t end there, and he even invited Mott the Hoople’s manger to produce their third album, London Calling, named a song ‘All the Young Punks’ in honour of the band’s hit, and even co-produced the lead singer’s solo album in 1981.
Another tremendous influence over the band was Bo Diddley, a key player in the transition from blues to rock ‘n’ roll. Strummer described his love for the musician, saying: “My hero is Bo Diddley because… he was playing on street corner and knew that he needed something else. He wasn’t the fretsman in the world, so he went to a junkyard and got some ball cocks out of abandoned lavatory cisterns. Then he filled them with dried peas and gave them to his upstairs neighbour who became his maracas man.”
The band were such fans that they even got Diddley to open for them in America in 1979. The punk audience members weren’t the biggest Didley fans, shouting “The Clash!” when the pioneering guitarist began singing “Who Do You Love?”. Nevertheless, Strummer was happy, saying: “I can’t look at him without my mouth falling open […] he was more awe-inspiring than we could possibly imagine.”
The Clash, particularly bassist Simonon, cite Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry as a significant influence on their sound. Growing up in the Afro-Caribbean populated area of Brixton, Simonon was no stranger to the sounds of dub and reggae. He even stated that bands like “Led Zeppelin, progressive rock, it didn’t speak to me. I couldn’t relate to it,” whereas reggae seemed to be the “only music that seemed to me at that time that had something to say for itself”.
Perry co-wrote and produced the track ‘Police and Thieves’ by Junior Murvin, which soundtracked the explosive Notting Hill carnival riot of 1976, which resulted from tensions between immigrant families and police, who subjected much brutality to residents. Affected by this event, The Clash covered the track for their debut album, as well as writing the song ‘White Riot’ in response.
The legendary record producer readily agreed to record a single for The Clash; Perry was so touched by their cover of ‘Police and Thieves’ that he stuck a picture of them on his wall in Black Ark Studio.
Finally, a list of The Clash’s influences cannot be complete without including Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five. Strummer detailed how, during a trip to New York, the band fell in love with the hip-hop group, labelling them as “radically changing music, […] they changed everything for us.”
Just as the band asked Bo Diddley to open for them, in 1981, they asked Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five to do the same. Similarly, the majority white audience didn’t exactly ‘get’ what they were watching, which upset Strummer. “They were booed! Joe was quite upset. He went out onstage and yelled at the audience. He said, ‘Come on! You’re not being fair. You have to give them a chance!’” recalls Jones.
Strummer also commented: “In respect to addressing the ills of capitalism and providing a smart class analysis, underground hip-hop, not the pop-culture stuff, picked up where punk left off and ran full steam ahead.” The band incorporated the sounds of hip hop into their 1980 album Sandinista!, with their track ‘The Magnificent Seven’ becoming the first major release to showcase a white person rapping.
Never Miss A Beat
The Far Out Punk Newsletter
All the latest Punk content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.