Why The Clash’s Paul Simonon claims there’s no bass in The Who
When The Clash first burst onto the scene, people were shocked at how full the band sounded. There had never been a noise like it, as tracks like ‘London Calling’ shattered speakers, and people either turned their heads toward their sound or away from it. They were an unrelenting tour de force in punk and rock, and a number of different aspects contributed to this sound.
One of the major factors was that each member of the band contributed in their own way. A lot of the time, when you have a band, a lot of what some instruments are doing is the result of another instrument. They are there to back up a guitar solo or complement vocals. However, this wasn’t the case with The Clash. Each member had their own unique sound and brought it to the band, which meant it was a considerable noise.
Every band member had their own influences when it came to coming up with their unique sound. The band has always been very open about the fact that they have a lot of inspiration from others, such as Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, Bo Diddley, and underground hip-hop rappers. However, many rock bands at the time didn’t speak to the band all that much.
Paul Simonon and his mastery of the bass contributed to the big sound that The Clash made famous. Staying in line with the band’s overall influences, he drew from various genres outside the rock world. In fact, one of the biggest bands in the world at the time, The Who, borderline hindered his progression as a bassist, as he said he could never even hear the bass sections in their songs.
When talking about growing up and learning the bass, Simonon said reggae helped him more than bands like The Who, “I grew up in Brixton and Ladbroke Grove, so it was quite a strong vibe. It really helped a lot,” he said, “Insofar as [trying] to practice bass by playing along with The Who, I could hardly hear the bass. It was so guitar and drums-orientated, really, sound-wise. Whereas reggae, I just put the record on and play along to it and work out the lines.”
Simonon isn’t wrong. The Who was an excellent band, but the musical stars stood out clearly: Pete Townshend on guitar, Keith Moon on drums, and Roger Daltrey on vocals. John Entwistle was still an important part of the band, but he had to hold the chaotic sound together, which meant playing high up the bass and having solid, smooth basslines that kept things locked together.
When it came to delivering heavier and more prominent basslines like he did in The Clash, Simonon relied on reggae a lot more than rock artists. “Each bassline in Jamaican music, to me anyway, was a bit like how you move your feet,” he concluded, “It’s like how you dance to it”.
