The Clash: Where Are They Now?

Joe Strummer

Joe Strummer had a bit of an acting career after The Clash disbanded. He had two songs featured in the Alex Cox film, Sid and Nancy. Cox and Strummer continued working together in the director’s next two releases. Strummer acted in and scored the film, Walker, and had a role in Straight To Hell. This led to even more film roles in Candy Mountain in 1987 and in Jim Jarmusch’s lauded Mystery Train in 1989. For the film Permanent Record in 1988, Strummer wrote and contributed five songs for the soundtrack. It was only in 1989 that Strummer released his first solo album, Earthquake Weather. He didn’t do much more until 1997 when he scored the John Cusack film Grosse Point Blank. His second solo album, Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, came out in 1999, followed in 2001 with Global A-Go-Go. Sadly, when Strummer was working on his fourth solo effort, he suffered a heart attack and passed away at home.

Mick Jones

After Mick Jones exited The Clash, he formed Big Audio Dynamite in 1985 with Don Letts, who directed many of The Clash’s music videos). The band mostly mixed rock with dance and released a slew of albums throughout the rest of the 80s, including This Is Big Audio Dynamite, No. 10, Upping St. (which reunited him with Strummer as a producer and co-writer) and Megatop Phoenix. After Megatop Phoenix, he parted ways with most of BAD and formed a new band Big Audio Dynamite II. Then after releasing a few more albums, BAD II later reformed again as Big Audio. Letts also later directed The Clash documentary, Westway to the World, which featured interviews with Jones and the rest of his Clash-mates. He produced The Libertines debut album, Up the Bracket, and their second eponymous album, as well the debut album, Down In Albion, from Babyshambles – the side project of Libertines lead singer and guitarist Pete Doherty. Jones also tried his hand at film scoring, working on Dice Life – The Random Mind of Luke Rhinehart. He recently appeared with Primal Scream at the NME Shockwave Award this year, keeping himself creative and current.

Paul Simonon

After The Clash, Paul Simonon guested on Bob Dylan's album, Down in the Groove, in 1988. He then formed the group Havana 3 A.M. but only released one eponymous full length in 1991. Afterwards, Simonon picked up painting again, which used to be his original passion before his music career. He’s had a few gallery shows and has found some success as a painter. He designed the cover for one of Big Audio Dynamite’s albums and also designed the cover for The Good, The Bad and The Queen’s self-titled album in 2007, the Damon Albarn project that Simonon also plays bass in.

Terry Chimes

After the Clash broke up, Terry Chimes went on for another 15 years to play drums for Billy Idol, Black Sabbath and many others. In 2003 he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame along with Clash-mates Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Joe Strummer. After Chimes left music, the world of alternative medicine came calling. He became a chiropractic doctor and acupuncturist, opening up a chain of chiropractic clinics and serving as a consultant in alternative medicine. He holds lectures and seminars on how to become successful. For more information, check out his website, www.terrychimes.com.

Topper Headon

Topper Headon was once proclaimed “The Human Drum Machine” by producer Sandy Pearlman, who worked on The Clash’s Give ‘Em Enough Rope. His skills soon dissipated however when Headon couldn’t kick his heroin addiction. His inability to rehabilitate led The Clash to kick him out of the band in 1982. Headon released a solo album called Waking Up, which alluded to his struggle with drugs in songs like “Got To Keep On Going” and “Just Another Hit.” The album failed to gain any buzz, and Headon got arrested for drug charges. Beyond that, Headon didn’t do much more in music. He produced albums for a New York band called Bush Tetras, but wasn’t really heard from until his interviews for the Clash documentary, Westway to the World. After one of his shows he found out that Joe Strummer had died. He reportedly said, emotionally, "It's taken Joe's death to make me realize just how big The Clash were. We were a political band and Joe was the one who wrote the lyrics. Joe was one of the truest guys you could ever meet. If he said 'I am behind you', then you knew he meant it 100 percent."

The History of The Clash

In the history of music, The Clash were one of those bands who simply lived and breathed the urge to bring about positive change through their music and role model. They were dubbed “the only band that matters.” Formed in 1976 in London, The Clash weren’t just another British punk band. They were artists who found themselves engulfed in diverse genres of music including rock, reggae, rockabilly and more.

While their music evoked the spirit of revolution, their lyrics reflected their state of mind and their concern for the future. Each of the two lead songwriters, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, had their own perspectives, joined in unison through The Clash to affect a better tomorrow. They were rebels, yes, but they were rebels with a social conscience who knew they could speak and influence an impressionable and caring audience with their songs.

While the band broke pretty quickly in Mother England with other huge British acts like The Jam, Sex Pistols and the Buzzcocks in the late 70s, it took a little while for the music to be widely embraced in the United States. In 1982, the band impacted the America with their critically-acclaimed album Combat Rock, which spawned the hits “Should I Stay Or Should I Go,” “Rock the Casbah” and “Straight To Hell.”

They became politically charged international troubadours protesting all that was wrong in the world, true champions of the middle class. Strummer, born John Graham Mellor, really began paying attention to music during his childhood boarding school years. He didn’t exactly live a middle class life, but he grew an admiration for socially conscious songwriter-artists like Woody Guthrie, even giving himself the nickname Woody.

As Strummer grew into a young man, he started playing in a band called the 101’ers, while Mick Jones rocked around town with his band called the London SS with childhood friend bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Terry Chimes.  Influenced by the Sex Pistols’ tougher persona, Strummer left the 101’ers and decided to form a band with a harder sound and found the London SS with his former bandmate guitarist Keith Levene. The band then rechristened themselves The Clash. As fate would have it, their first show together was a gig supporting the Sex Pistols in London, and then later continued on the Anarchy Tour with the Pistols.

Next up for The Clash was a record deal. The band signed a deal with British CBS the following year and recorded their self-titled debut album. Chimes left the band and was replaced by Topper Headon on drums. The band released their first single, “White Riot,” and hit the charts at number 12. The album wasn’t released in the States right away because CBS decided it was unfit for radio, but with the popularity overseas, they should have known that nothing could hold The Clash down. The album ended up becoming the largest-selling import ever.

The roller coaster ride continued as the White Riot tour began with The Jam and The Buzzcocks supporting. Their rebellious nature shined when CBS nixed “Remote Control” as a single – the band teamed up with Lee “Scratch” Perry and recorded “Complete Control.”

While Strummer and Jones developed a history of fighting the law (and the law winning) for minor slaps on the wrist and Simonon and Headon were a little kookier with their racing pigeon incident, The Clash soon became more active in their desire for social change. They headlined a Rock Against Racism concert and then released the song, “(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais.”

In 1978, the group released their sophomore effort, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, which was produced by former Blue Oyster Cult-er Sandy Pearlman. The record was hot at number two in the U.K. but peaked at 128 in the States. This didn’t discourage them. They trekked on the following year on their first U.S. tour called Pearl Harbor ’79. Then they recorded Bobby Fuller Four’s “I Fought the Law” on The Cost of Living EP.

What was so great about The Clash was that they weren’t afraid to be different. They weren’t afraid to experiment. On their second American tour, the band added keyboard player Mickey Gallagher and booked R&B artists like Bo Diddley, Sam & Dave, Lee Dorsey and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins as openers. They have also toured with country singer-songwriter Joe Ely and The Cramps, a psychobilly band.

Their vast and diverse love of music really naturally led them to record their most famous release – the double album, London Calling. The album covered rockabilly, New Orleans R&B, rock and reggae, launched into world-wide popularity at number 9 on the U.K. charts and number 27 on the U.S. charts with the strength of its anthemic title track.

In 1980, the semi-documentary Rude Boy was released in England, which was about a fan/roadie named Ray Gange and his experiences with The Clash and actually featured the band playing themselves.

Afterwards, the band released follow-ups to London Calling, including the Black Market Clash EP and the triple-album Sandinista!. Terry Chimes, the band’s original drummer, came back onboard for the release of The Clash’s most successful album, Combat Rock, in 1982. The album reached number 2 in the UK and entered the Top 10 in the U.S., mainly due to the Top 10 hit, “Rock the Casbah.”

The band toured with The Who on their farewell tour and were often booed off stage during the tour, even though their album continued to be successful. Perhaps it was a harbinger of what was to come as the lineup started to fall apart. Chimes was again kicked out of the band in 1983 and replaced by former Cold Fish drummer Pete Howard. The Clash’s last major appearance ended up being a headlining slot at the U.S. Festival in California because Strummer and Simonon soon parted ways with Mick Jones.

In 1984, Jones went on to form Big Audio Dynamite. That same year, The Clash brought on guitarists Vince White and Nick Sheppard to replace Jones, but the new lineup never really took off. The band released their final album, Cut the Crap, in 1985, but received poor reviews. Later Strummer and Simonon denounced the album and officially broke up the band in 1986.

In November of 2002, Jones and Strummer reunited on stage for the first time in two decades to perform three Clash songs. It was for the encore of a Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros benefit show in London. Unfortunately, rumors and hopes for a Clash reunion ended when Strummer suddenly died of a heart attack the next month.

IFC Airs "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten"

Many of you know Joe Strummer as the iconic lead singer of The Clash, but how many of you know the man behind the myth? IFC Entertainment recently explored the more personal side of Strummer’s life when it premiered Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, a documentary written and directed by Julien Temple. The film earned a Grand Jury nomination at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year.

The film is part of IFC First Take and premiered simultaneously theatrically and on local cable’s On Demand platform. Earlier this year, Joe Strummer earned a Grand Jury nomination at the Sundance Film Festival.

"Julien Temple has created an extremely noteworthy film which provides a rare glimpse into the real life behind Clash front man Joe Strummer," said Jonathan Sehring, President of IFC Entertainment. "The documentary reveals a flawed, idealistic man who many only know as the lead singer of one of the most influential bands in rock and roll. Temple offers a thoughtful behind-the-scenes portrait, representing the true independent spirit of filmmaking."

The introspective rock doc depicts how the Turkish-born John Graham Mellor eventually morphed into the anti-establishment icon known to the world as Joe Strummer. Strummer’s complex life led him to champion good will and positive change to help undo and educate the world about the injustices of society. He led his life with a good conscience, which was reflected in his socially aware lyrics and music.

Temple features previously unearthed interviews with Strummer himself as well as stories from those close to Strummer. The film also colors the personal anecdotes with a diverse series of concert footage clips and tapes of his BBC radio program, enhancing the truly inspiring life story.

View the Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten trailer below.

The documentary is released with a killer soundtrack. Buy it here on Amazon and look below for the album art and tracklisting.

Tracklisting:
1. "White Riot," the Clash    
2. "Rock the Casbah," Racid Taha    
3. "Crawfish," Elvis Presley    
4. "Black Sheep Boy," Tim Hardin    
5. "Kick Out the Jams," MC5    
6. "Keys to Your Heart," the 101'ers    
7. "I'm So Bored With the U.S.A.," the Clash    
8. "Natty Rebel (2006 mix)," U-Roy    
9. "Armagideon Time," the Clash    
10. "Nervous Breakdown," Eddie Cochran    
11. "(In the) Pouring Rain," Clash II    
12. "Filibustero," Joe Strummer            
13. "Martha Cecilia," Andres Landeros    
14. "Minuet," Ernest Ranglin    
15. "Trash City," Latino Rockabilly War    
16. "Rangers Command," Woody Guthrie    
17. "Corrina, Corrina," Bob Dylan    
18. "Johnny Appleseed," Joe Strummer    
19. "To Love Somebody," Nina Simone    
20. "Willesden To Cricklewood," Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros

A Howlin' Halloween Mix

Here is the perfect spooky mix of music to get your howlin' Halloween party started!

[image from jack-o-lantern.com]

1. Cheeseburger - "Tiger"
2. Misfits - "Halloween"
3. New Order - "Spooky"
4. The Grates - "Howl"
5. Davie Bowie - "Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps)"
6. Rocky Horror Picture Show - "Time Warp"
7. Weird Al Yankovic - "Smells Like Nirvana"
8. Queens of the Stone Age - "Monsters In the Parasol"
9. Ozzy Osbourne - "Crazy Train"
10. Black Sabbath - "Iron Man"
11. Beck - "Devil's Haircut"
12. Voxtrot - "Raised By Wolves"
13. Rob Zombie - "Living Dead Girl"
14. Metric - "Dead Disco"
15. Franz Ferdinand - "The Dark of the Matinee"
16. Bruce Springsteen - "Dancing in the Dark"
17. Smashing Pumpkins - "The World Is a Vampire"
18. The Beach Boys - "Monster Mash"
19. Gnarls Barkley - "The Boogie Monster"
20. Joy Division - "Dead Souls"
21. Michael Jackson - "Thriller"
22. Bauhaus - "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
23. Creedence Clearwater Revival - "Bad Moon Rising"
24. Nightmare Before Christmas - "This Is Halloween"
25. MC Hammer - "Addams Groove"

[Songs found on Facebook.com via iLike.com]