The Clash: A selection of Mick Jones’ favourite bands
The Clash was “the only band that mattered”, or so they said. But everyone needs its influences, and The Clash was no exception. The Clash had very different tastes: Paul Simonon was a reggae guy, Joe Strummer had rockabilly leanings, and Topper Headon enjoyed jazz. Out of the four musicians, only guitarist Mick Jones seemed to enjoy pop music, which is fitting, considering some of the influences that made his list of formative voices.
Jones grew up listening to Mott the Hoople, a 1970s live favourite that inspired everyone from David Bowie to Noel Gallagher. Forming the backbone of rock, the band proved the imprints of punk, by melding Beatlesque melodies with harder-edged guitars. Jones loved their work, and they sunk into his music, particularly on the buoyant and bouncy ‘Stay Free’.
His influences seem to be predominantly British, but the American band that seems to have inspired Jones the most are The New York Dolls, and even advertised for “New York Dolls style” playing for his pre-Clash band London SS. They were essential to the sound of the group, largely because they were taut and thrilling in their resolve. He later found another American outlet that captured his attention, leading Strummer to explain why Jones enjoyed them so much. “When we came to the US, Mick stumbled upon a music shop in Brooklyn that carried the music of Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five, the Sugar Hill Gang… these groups were radically changing music and they changed everything for us”.
Detailing his formative years, Jones once said: “But even before The Dolls, I used to follow bands around. 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”.
Jones also grew up listening to what he pencilled as ‘The Big Five’: The Beatles, The Kinks, Small Faces, The Who and The Rolling Stones. These were the bands that formed the lexicon of 1960s British rock, making it easier for the bands in the following decade to carry the narrative further.
“The Big Five groups over here — the Beatles, the Stones, the Kinks, the Who and the Small Faces,” Jones recalled. “I was lucky enough to grow up at the time when they were doing their most fantastic music”. He was philosophical in his evaluation of their craft, feeling that they inspired him at a time when he was doing interesting stuff with his music.
Mott the Hoople helped to bridge the two generations, as they had a singer (Ian Hunter) who was contemporary to The Beatles but had a sound that was deeply reminiscent of the punk movement, invoking many of the flavourings that aided the rock stars on their journey into personal discovery. Jones was also greatly taken with The Faces, which was fitting because he “used to stand outside like urchins”, waiting for the band to come out.
Out of ‘The Big Five’, The Who seemed to be the most obvious parallel to The Clash, and Jones got to know guitarist Pete Townshend on a personal level. “I remember once, I was talking to Pete Townshend,” Jones recalled. “I said I know what ‘Quadrophenia’ means now, because if you look in one direction, you’re ignoring 50,000 people! He just looked at me like I was mad”.
In many ways, The Clash was the quintessential band, precisely their influences were American and British, which likely explains why they enjoyed greater success in the United States to The Jam. They didn’t sound so quintessentially English that they couldn’t translate overseas, yet they weren’t so American that they alienated certain quarters of their home fan base.
It was all about truth and roots for the band, but they couldn’t have done it without the conviction they had in their work, or in the way their influences captured The Clash at their most experimental. What’s obvious from the influences is that Jones wasn’t interested in bands that repeated the same rhythms over and over again, feeling that his influences had to be expressive if they were going to leave an imprint. And like an urchin waiting for The Faces or Mott the Hoople, neither Jones nor The Clash ever lost that initial curiosity of desire to search for new avenues.
Mick Jones’ favourite bands:
- The Beatles
- The Rolling Stones
- The Who
- Small Faces
- The Kinks
- Mott the Hoople
- The Faces
- Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
- The New York Dolls
- The Sugar Gang
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