“Turning rebellion into money”: The Clash song that called out Paul Weller and The Jam
Punk was often noted for its confrontational stance, and The Clash were certainly no strangers to that. From the offset of the 1977 self-titled debut, Joe Strummer’s group took every opportunity to challenge authority, bring attention to injustice, and call out their contemporaries. The band were famed for their staunch principles and left-wing political stance, which made many of their fellow punk outfits seem somewhat contrived and inauthentic.
Formed by guitarist Mick Jones in 1976, The Clash were among the most legendary bands that emerged from the early days of UK punk rock. However, in contrast to the likes of The Damned or even the Sex Pistols, the Strummer-fronted band had important messages to deliver. The Clash did not believe in meaningless lyrics, so their songs are all packed to the rafters with social commentary and political messaging. However, as the scene became more and more performative, The Clash grew frustrated with the increasingly meaningless songs released by so-called punk bands.
One such group was The Jam, who have something of a shared history with The Clash. During their infancy, the Paul Weller-fronted trio had toured with The Clash during the infamous ‘White Riot’ tour. That initially harmonious relationship didn’t last too long, with The Jam soon booted off the billing after their manager, Paul Weller’s father, is alleged to have demanded more money for the group. Clearly, this stuck in the mind of Joe Strummer, who soon took aim at the mod revivalists in one of his most profound tracks.
‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’ is firmly among the greatest Clash tracks of all time. Certainly, the track is one of Strummer’s most lyrically impressive works, holding up a mirror to the complacent, prejudiced and vapid nature of society at the time. Within the song, the singer also takes a jab at his former touring buddies, The Jam, singing, “They got Burton suits,” referring to the stage gear worn by Weller and company, adding, “Huh, you think it’s funny, turning rebellion into money”.
The lyric sees Strummer bemoan the development of the punk scene. What had begun as a complete rejection of consumerism, embracing DIY values and grassroots music, had become a profit-driven enterprise akin to the pop music mainstream. In his eyes, The Jam were a prime example of the scene’s deterioration – although, in fairness, Weller was never particularly interested in punk. Although the group rose to prominence in the wake of the punk revolt, their music always leaned more towards retro 1960s beat groups like The Kinks or The Small Faces.
During a 1995 interview, Weller spoke of his distrust for the punk scene, recalling, “I liked the attitude of punk, but I also thought a lot of it was fake. We all saved up about 20 quid to go to McLaren’s shop – it was called Sex at that time? – and we went in to buy some mohair jumpers and found we couldn’t afford anything,” concluding, “We thought, This is bullshit.”
Ironically, The Clash were later called out by anarcho-punks Crass for selling out by signing to major label CBS in their anti-punk anthem ‘Punk is Dead’. The criticisms presented by Crass were very similar to those that The Clash had aimed towards The Jam not so long beforehand.
