| London Calling | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 14 December 1979 | |||
| Recorded | August–November 1979 | |||
| Studio | Wessex, London | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 65:07 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer | Guy Stevens | |||
| The Clash chronology | ||||
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| Singles from London Calling | ||||
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London Calling is the third studio album by the Englishrock bandthe Clash. It was originally released as adouble album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 byCBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 byEpic Records.
The Clash recorded the album with producerGuy Stevens atWessex Sound Studios in London over a five- to six-week period starting in August 1979, following a change in management and a period ofwriter's block for songwritersJoe Strummer andMick Jones. Bridging a traditionalpunk rock sound and anew wave aesthetic,London Calling reflects the band's growing interest in styles beyond their punk roots, includingreggae,rockabilly,ska,New Orleans R&B,pop,lounge jazz, andhard rock. Lyrical themes include social displacement,unemployment,racial conflict,drug use, and the responsibilities of adulthood.
The album was a top ten chart success in the UK, and its lead single "London Calling" was a top 20 single. The album has sold over five million copies worldwide, and was certifiedplatinum in the US for sales of one million. It was also met with widespread critical acclaim and has retrospectively been named one of the greatest albums of all time.[1] OnRolling Stone's list of the500 Greatest Albums of All Time,London Calling was ranked number 8 in the 2003 and 2012 editions, and number 16 in the 2020 edition. In 2010, it was one of ten classic album covers from British artistscommemorated on a UK postage stamp issued by theRoyal Mail.[2][3]
On their second albumGive 'Em Enough Rope (1978), the Clash had started to depart from thepunk rock sound.[4] While touring the United States in 1979, they chose supporting acts such as rhythm and blues artistsBo Diddley,Sam & Dave,Lee Dorsey, andScreamin' Jay Hawkins, as well asneotraditional country artistJoe Ely andpunk rockabilly bandthe Cramps. The Clash's growing fascination withrock and roll inspired their direction forLondon Calling.[5]
After recordingGive 'Em Enough Rope, the Clash separated from their managerBernard Rhodes.[6] This meant they had to leave their rehearsal studio inCamden Town. Tour manager Johnny Green and drum roadie Baker found a new place to rehearse, Vanilla Studios, in the back of a garage inPimlico.[7][8][9]
The Clash arrived at Vanilla in May 1979 with no new songs prepared for their third album.[10] Main songwritersMick Jones andJoe Strummer had experienced a period ofwriter's block and had not written a new song in over a year; their recently releasedCost of Living EP featured a cover song and three other songs that had all been written over a year earlier.[11]
Rehearsal were held in Vanilla Studios over mid-1979. The Clash began playing covers from genres includingrockabilly,rock and roll,rhythm and blues, andreggae.[12][13] In contrast to previous rehearsal sessions, the band kept these rehearsals private, and did not allow hangers-on to attend.[14] This seclusion allowed the band to rebuild their confidence without worrying about the reaction from outsiders, who were familiar with the band's punk rock style.[15]
The band developed an "extremely disciplined" daily routine of afternoon rehearsals, broken by a late-afternoon socialfootball game, which fostered a friendly bond between the band members. The football was followed by drinks at a local pub, followed by a second rehearsal in the evening.[16]
The band gradually rebuilt their confidence, with the styles of the session's early cover songs setting the template for the diverse material that would be written forLondon Calling.[17] The band were also encouraged by a growing recognition of drummerTopper Headon's skills, which they realised could be used to perform music in a wide array of genres and styles beyond punk rock.[18]
During these rehearsals in the early summer of 1979, a series of demos dubbedThe Vanilla Tapes (after the name of the rehearsal studio) were made on aTEAC 4-track recorder. These tapes contain early versions of 15 of the 19 songs that would eventually appear onLondon Calling, sometimes in very rudimentary forms (several lack the lyrics, musical structure, or titles of their final versions -- the instrumental track titledPaul's Tune would eventually be recorded forLondon Calling under the titleThe Guns of Brixton, while the instrumental tracked titledUp-Toon would ultimately be released asThe Right Profile, for example).[19] They also include covers that did not make the final album, includingSonny Okosun'sWhere You Gonna Go (Soweto) and a reggae version ofBob Dylan'sThe Man in Me (possibly influenced by London-based reggae bandMatumbi's 1976 version), as well as never-officially-released Clash tunes likeHeart and Mind (described byrock journalist Pat Gilbert as "a rocker"), and the country-inflectedLonesome Me. Notably, they do not include theLondon Calling tracksSpanish Bombs,Wrong ‘Em Boyo,The Card Cheat, orTrain in Vain, suggesting that these tracks were written (or, inWrong 'Em Boyo's case, selected) later, possibly during the actual album sessions.[20] These tapes, believed lost in 1979 (roadie Johnny Green claimed in his 1999 autobiographyA Riot Of Our Own that he had lost them on theLondon Underground prior to the album's recording), were rediscovered by Mick Jones while he was moving in 2004, and 21 were curated for release on the25th Anniversary Legacy Edition ofLondon Calling.[21]
The Clash wrote and recordeddemos at Vanilla Studios, withMick Jones composing and arranging much of the music andJoe Strummer writing most of the lyrics.[12][22] Strummer wrote "Lost in the Supermarket" after imagining Jones' childhood growing up in a basement with his mother and grandmother.[23] "The Guns of Brixton" was the first of bassistPaul Simonon's compositions the band would record for an album, and the first to have him sing lead. Simonon was originally doubtful about its lyrics, which discuss an individual's paranoid outlook on life, but was encouraged by Strummer to continue working on it.[24]
In August 1979, the band enteredWessex Studios to begin recordingLondon Calling. The Clash askedGuy Stevens to produce the album, much to the dismay of CBS Records.[25] Stevens had alcohol and drug problems and his production methods were unconventional.[12] During a recording session he swung a ladder and upturned chairs – apparently to create a rock & roll atmosphere.[12] During another session, Stevens poured a bottle of wine over a piano that Strummer was playing to either to make it sound better or to simply make him stop.[26] The Clash, especially Simonon, got along well with Stevens, and found Stevens' work to be very helpful and productive to both Simonon's playing and their recording as a band. The album was recorded during a five- to six-week period involving 18-hour days,[27] with many songs recorded in one or two takes.[12]
The first track recorded forLondon Calling was "Brand New Cadillac", which the Clash had originally used as a warm-up song before recording.[28][29] "Clampdown" began as an instrumental track called "Working and Waiting".[24] While working on "The Card Cheat", the band recorded each part twice to create a "sound as big as possible".[30]
London Calling is regarded by music criticMark Kidel as the firstpost-punk double album, as it exhibits a broader range of musical styles than the Clash's previous records.[31]Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the album appropriated the "punk aesthetic into rock & roll mythology androots music", while incorporating a wider range of styles such as punk, reggae, rockabilly, ska,New Orleans R&B,pop,lounge jazz, andhard rock.[32] "Brand New Cadillac", the album's second track, was written and originally recorded byVince Taylor and was cited by the Clash as "one of the first British rock'n'roll records".[28][29] The fifth song, "Rudie Can't Fail" features a horn section and mixes elements of pop, soul, and reggae music together.[33]
The Clash's embrace of specific musical traditions forLondon Calling deviated from whatGreg Kot viewed as punk's iconoclastic sensibilities.[34] Speaking on the album,Jack Sargeant remarked that "whether the Clash completely abandoned their punk roots or pushed punk's musical eclecticism and diversity into new terrain remains a controversial issue."[4] According to rock historian Charles T. Brown, the album led to the band's association withnew wave music,[35] while music academic James E. Perone considers the album "new wave rock".[36]
The album's songs are generally about London, with narratives featuring both fictional and life-based characters, such as an underworld criminal named Jimmy Jazz and a gun-totingJimmy Cliff aspirant living inBrixton ("Guns of Brixton").[37] In the opinion ofPopMatters journalist Sal Ciolfi, the songs encompass an arrangement of urban narratives and characters, and touch on themes such as sex, depression and identity crisis.[38] "Rudie Can't Fail" chronicles the life of a fun-loving young man who is criticised for his inability to act like a responsible adult.[33] "Clampdown" comments on people who forsake the open-minded idealism of youth and urges young people to fight thestatus quo.[39] "The Guns of Brixton" explores an individual's paranoid outlook on life,[24] while on "Death or Glory", Strummer examines his life in retrospect and acknowledges the complications and responsibilities of adulthood.[40] "Lover's Rock" advocatessafe sex and planning.[41]
Some songs have more widely contextualised narratives, including references to the "evil presidentes" working for the "clampdown", the lingering effects of theSpanish Civil War ("Spanish Bombs"), and how constantconsumerism had led to unavoidable political apathy ("Lost in the Supermarket").[37] "London Calling", the album'stitle track and opener, was partially influenced by the March 1979 accident at anuclear reactor atThree Mile Island inPennsylvania. It also discusses the problems of rising unemployment, racial conflict and drug use inGreat Britain.[42] According to music critic Tom Carson, "while the album draws on the entirety of rock and roll's past for its sound, the concepts and lyrical themes are drawn from the history, politics and myths associated with the genre".[43]
The album's front cover features a photograph ofbassistPaul Simonon smashing hisFender Precision Bass (now on display at theMuseum of London,[44] formerly ClevelandRock and Roll Hall of Fame)[45] against the stage at thePalladium in New York City on 20 September 1979.[46][47][48] Simonon explained in a 2011 interview withFender that he smashed the bass out of frustration when he learned that the bouncers at the concert would not allow the audience members to stand up out of their seats; "I wasn't taking it out on the bass guitar, cos there ain't anything wrong with it", Simonon said.[49]Pennie Smith, who photographed the band for the album, originally did not want the photograph to be used. She thought that it was too out of focus, due to her backing away from Simonon as he approached the edge of the stage, but Strummer andgraphic designerRay Lowry thought it would make a good album cover.[47][50] In 2002, Smith's photograph was named the best rock and roll photograph of all time byQ magazine, commenting that "it captures the ultimate rock'n'roll moment – total loss of control".[51]
The cover artwork was designed by Lowry and was an homage to the design ofElvis Presley'sself-titled debut album, with pink letters down the left side and green text across the bottom.[52][53] The cover was named the ninth best album cover of all time byQ magazine in 2001.[54] In 1995,Big Audio Dynamite (a band fronted by former Clash memberMick Jones) used the same scheme for theirF-Punk album. The album cover forLondon Calling was among the ten chosen by theRoyal Mail for a set of "Classic Album Cover"postage stamps issued in January 2010.[55][56] The cover art was later imitated for the soundtrack toTony Hawk's American Wasteland.[57]
The album was released in the United Kingdom onvinyl on 14 December 1979, and in the United States on vinyl and8-track tape two weeks later in January 1980.[58] Agatefold cover design of the LP was only released in Japan. ThoughLondon Calling was released as adouble album it was only sold for about the price of a single album. The Clash's record label, CBS, at first denied the band's request for the album to be released as a double. In return CBS gave permission for the band to include a free12-inch single that played at33⅓rpm. Ultimately, the planned 12-inch record became a second nine-trackLP.[8] The final track, "Train in Vain", was originally excluded from the back cover's track listing.[59] It was intended to be given away through a promotion withNME, but was added to the album at the last minute after the deal fell through.[60]
Upon its release,London Calling sold approximately two million copies.[61] The album peaked at number nine in the United Kingdom[62] and was certifiedgold in December 1979.[63] The album performed strongly outside the United Kingdom. It reached number two in Sweden[64] and number four in Norway.[65] In the United States,London Calling peaked at number 27 on theBillboard Pop Albums chart[66] and was certified platinum in February 1996.[67] The album produced two of the band's most successful singles. "London Calling" preceded the album with a 7 December 1979 release. It peaked at number 11 on theUK Singles Chart.[62] The song's music video, directed by Letts, featured the band performing the song on a boat in the pouring rain with theRiver Thames behind them.[68] In the United States, "Train in Vain", backed with "London Calling", was released as a single in February 1980. It peaked at number 23 on theBillboard Hot 100 singles chart and "London Calling"/"Train in Vain" peaked at number 30 on theBillboardDisco Top 100 chart.[69]
London Calling was met with widespread critical acclaim.[70] Reviewing the album forThe New York Times in 1980,John Rockwell said it finally validates the acclaim received by the Clash up to that point because of how their serious political themes and vital playing were retained in innovative music with a broad appeal. "This is an album that captures all the Clash's primal energy, combines it with a brilliant production job by Guy Stevens and reveals depths of invention and creativity barely suggested by the band's previous work", Rockwell said.[71]Charles Shaar Murray wrote inNME that it was the first record to be on-par with the band's hype, whileMelody Maker critic James Truman said the Clash had "discovered themselves" by embracing American music styles.[72]Rolling Stone magazine's Tom Carson claimed the music celebrates "the romance of rock & roll rebellion", adding that it is vast, engaging, and enduring enough to leave listeners "not just exhilarated but exalted and triumphantly alive".[43] In a five-star review,Down Beat journalist Michael Goldberg said the Clash had produced "a classic rock album which, literally, defines the state of rock and roll and against which the very best of [the 1980s] will have to be judged."[73] Some reviewers expressed reservations, including DJ and criticCharlie Gillett, who believed some of the songs sounded like poor imitations ofBob Dylan backed by a horn section.Garry Bushell was more critical in his review forSounds, giving the record two out of five stars while claiming the Clash had "retrogressed" toRolling Stones-style "outlaw imagery" and "tired old rock clichés".[72]
At the end of 1980,London Calling was voted the best album of the year in thePazz & Jop, an annual poll of American critics published byThe Village Voice.[74]Robert Christgau, the poll's creator and supervisor, also named it 1980's best record in an accompanying essay and said, "it generated an urgency and vitality and ambition (that Elvis P. cover!) which overwhelmed the pessimism of itsleftist world-view."[75]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [32] |
| Blender | [76] |
| Chicago Sun-Times | [77] |
| Christgau's Record Guide | A+[78] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [79] |
| Los Angeles Times | [80] |
| Q | [81] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [82] |
| Select | 5/5[83] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 7/10[84] |
London Calling has since been considered by many critics to be one of the greatest rock albums of all time,[85] includingAllMusic'sStephen Thomas Erlewine, who said that it sounded more purposeful than "most albums, let alone double albums".[32] "This epic double album, from its iconic sleeve to its wildly eclectic mash-up of styles, is surely the quintessential rock album", wroteBBC Music journalist Mark Sutherland.[86] InChristgau's Record Guide: The '80s (1990), Christgau called it the best double album sincethe Rolling Stones'Exile on Main St. (1972) and said it expanded upon, rather than compromised, the Clash's driving guitar sound in a "warm, angry, and thoughtful, confident, melodic, and hard-rocking" showcase of their musical abilities.[78] According to the English music writerDave Thompson,London Calling established the Clash as more than "a simple punk band" with a "potent" album of neurotic post-punk, despite its amalgam of disparate and occasionally disjointed musical influences.[87] Don McLeese from theChicago Sun-Times regarded it as their best album and "punk's finest hour", as it found the band broadening their artistry without compromising their original vigor and immediacy.[77]PopMatters critic Sal Ciolfi called it a "big, loud, beautiful collection of hurt, anger, restless thought, and above all hope" that still sounds "relevant and vibrant".[38] In a review of its 25th anniversary reissue,Uncut wrote that the songs and characters in the lyrics cross-referenced each other because of the album's exceptional sequencing, adding that "The Vanilla Tapes" bonus disc enhanced what was already a "masterpiece".[88]
London Calling is honored for many excellent reasons, not least its audacity: a double album by the band that personified punk anti-'commercial' brevity and defiance going long and ranging far in both songwriting and instrumentation—the horn-fed 'The Card Cheat' features M. Jones on piano! It was where they announced that they wanted to play with the big boys and buried most of them forthwith.
In 1987,Robert Hilburn of theLos Angeles Times named it the fourth-best album of the previous 10 years and said, while the Clash's debut was a punk masterpiece,London Calling marked the genre's "coming of age" as the band led the way into "fertile post-punk territory".[90] In 1989,Rolling Stone ranked the 1980 American release as the best album of the 1980s.[91] In the 1994All Time Top 1000 Albums,Colin Larkin named it the second-greatest punk album;[92] it was also voted number 37 in Larkin'sAll Time Top 1000 Albums (2000).[93] In 1999,Q magazine namedLondon Calling the fourth-greatest British album of all time,[94] and wrote that it is "the best Clash album and therefore among the very best albums ever recorded".[81] The magazine later ranked it 20th on its list of the 100 Greatest Albums Ever.[95] It has also been ranked as the sixth-greatest album of the 1970s byNME,[96] and the second-best in a similar list byPitchfork,[97] whose reviewerAmanda Petrusich said that it was the Clash's "creative apex" as a "rock band" rather than as a punk band.[98] In 2003,Rolling Stone ranked it eighth on their list ofThe 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[61] maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list.[99] The rating dropped to 16 inRolling Stone's revised list in 2020.[100]Entertainment Weekly's Tom Sinclair declared it the "Best Album of All Time" in his headline for a 2004 article on the album.[101] In 2007, it was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame, a collection of recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance.[102] In 2009, the album was profiled in theBBC Radio 1Masterpieces series, denoting it as one of the most influential albums of all time.[103] In 2024,Loudwire staff elected it as the best hard rock album of 1979.[104]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 100/100[105] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| The Guardian | [106] |
| Pitchfork | 10/10[107] |
| Rolling Stone | [108] |
In 2004, a 25th-anniversary "Legacy Edition" was released with a bonus CD and DVD in digipack packaging. The bonus CD featuresThe Vanilla Tapes, missing recordings made by the band in mid-1979.[109] The DVD includesThe Last Testament – The Making of London Calling, a film byDon Letts, as well as previously unseen video footage and music videos. A limited-editionpicture disc LP was released in 2010.
The edition was met with widespread critical acclaim. AtMetacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from professional critics, it has an average score of 100 out of 100, based on 12 reviews.PopMatters hailed it as "easily one of the best classic re-releases yet", whilePaste said "Epic/Legacy has outdone itself." However,Blender recommended consumers opt for the original edition instead, claiming "the demo versions ... sound like an incompetent Clash cover band rehearsing in a sock".[105]
All lead vocals byJoe Strummer, except where noted.
All tracks are written by Strummer andMick Jones, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "London Calling" | 3:19 | ||
| 2. | "Brand New Cadillac" | Vince Taylor; originally performed by Vince Taylor and his Playboys | 2:09 | |
| 3. | "Jimmy Jazz" | 3:52 | ||
| 4. | "Hateful" | 2:45 | ||
| 5. | "Rudie Can't Fail" | Strummer, Jones | 3:26 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Spanish Bombs" | Strummer, Jones | 3:19 | |
| 2. | "The Right Profile" | 3:56 | ||
| 3. | "Lost in the Supermarket" | Jones | 3:47 | |
| 4. | "Clampdown" | Strummer, Jones | 3:49 | |
| 5. | "The Guns of Brixton" | Paul Simonon | Simonon | 3:07 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Wrong 'Em Boyo" | Clive Alphonso; originally performed by the Rulers; including "Stagger Lee" | 3:10 | |
| 2. | "Death or Glory" | 3:55 | ||
| 3. | "Koka Kola" | 1:46 | ||
| 4. | "The Card Cheat" | Jones | 3:51 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lover's Rock" | 4:01 | ||
| 2. | "Four Horsemen" | 2:56 | ||
| 3. | "I'm Not Down" | Jones | 3:00 | |
| 4. | "Revolution Rock" | Jackie Edwards,Danny Ray; originally performed by Danny Ray and the Revolutionaries | 5:37 | |
| 5. | "Train in Vain" | Jones | 3:09 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hateful" | 3:23 | |
| 2. | "Rudie Can't Fail" | 3:08 | |
| 3. | "Paul's Tune" (Instrumental, early version of "The Guns of Brixton") | Simonon | 2:32 |
| 4. | "I'm Not Down" | 3:24 | |
| 5. | "Four Horsemen" | 2:45 | |
| 6. | "Koka Kola, Advertising & Cocaine" (Early version of "Koka Kola") | 1:57 | |
| 7. | "Death or Glory" | 3:47 | |
| 8. | "Lover's Rock" | 3:45 | |
| 9. | "Lonesome Me" (Does not appear on "London Calling") | The Clash | 2:09 |
| 10. | "The Police Walked in 4 Jazz" (Instrumental, early version of "Jimmy Jazz") | 2:19 | |
| 11. | "Lost in the Supermarket" | 3:52 | |
| 12. | "Up-Toon" (Instrumental, early version of "The Right Profile") | 1:57 | |
| 13. | "Walking the Slidewalk" (Instrumental, does not appear on "London Calling") | The Clash | 2:34 |
| 14. | "Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)" (Does not appear on "London Calling") | Sonny Okosun | 4:05 |
| 15. | "The Man in Me" (Does not appear on "London Calling") | Bob Dylan | 3:57 |
| 16. | "Remote Control" (Does not appear on "London Calling") | 2:39 | |
| 17. | "Working and Waiting" (Instrumental, early version of "Clampdown") | 4:11 | |
| 18. | "Heart and Mind" (Does not appear on "London Calling") | The Clash | 4:27 |
| 19. | "Brand New Cadillac" | Taylor | 2:08 |
| 20. | "London Calling" | 4:26 | |
| 21. | "Revolution Rock" | Edwards, Ray | 3:51 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Last Testament: The Making of London Calling" | |
| 2. | "London Calling" (Music video) | |
| 3. | "Train in Vain" (Music video) | |
| 4. | "Clampdown" (Music video) | |
| 5. | "Home video footage of The Clash recording in Wessex Studios" |
The Irish Horns
Original edition[edit]
| 25th anniversary edition[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[133] | Gold | 50,000^ |
| France (SNEP)[134] | Gold | 100,000* |
| Italy (FIMI)[135] | Platinum | 50,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[136] original release | 2× Platinum | 600,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[137] 25th anniversary release | Silver | 60,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[138] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
Lowry: "Actually, I had no idea it was out of focus. Half-blind at the best of times and half-pissed at the time, that simply had to be the one."
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
