London Calling is the third studio album by the English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States and Canada in January 1980 by Epic Records.
The Clash recorded the album with producer Guy Stevens at Wessex Sound Studios in London over a five- to six-week period starting in August 1979, following a change in management and a period of writer's block for songwriters Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. Bridging a traditional punk rock sound and a new wave aesthetic, London Calling reflects the band's growing interest in styles beyond their punk roots, including reggae, rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard 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 certified platinum 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. On Rolling Stone list of the 500 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 artists commemorated on a UK postage stamp issued by the Royal Mail.
Background On their second album Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978), the Clash had started to depart from the punk rock sound. While touring the United States in 1979, they chose supporting acts such as rhythm and blues artists Bo Diddley, Sam & Dave, Lee Dorsey, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins, as well as neotraditional country artist Joe Ely and punk rockabilly band the Cramps. The Clash's growing fascination with rock and roll inspired their direction for London Calling.
After recording Give 'Em Enough Rope, the Clash separated from their manager Bernard Rhodes.Gilbert 2005, pp. 212–213. This meant they had to leave their rehearsal studio in Camden Town. Tour manager Johnny Green and drum roadie Baker found a new place to rehearse, Vanilla Studios, in the back of a garage in Pimlico.Green 2003, p. 156.Sweeting, Adam. "Death or Glory". Uncut. October 2004. p. 58.Gray 2010, p. 88.
The Clash arrived at Vanilla in May 1979 with no new songs prepared for their third album.Gray 2010, pp. 89, 91. Main songwriters Mick Jones and Joe Strummer had experienced a period of writer's block and had not written a new song in over a year; their recently released Cost of Living EP featured a cover song and three other songs that had all been written over a year earlier.Gray 2010, p. 91.
Rehearsals and The Vanilla Tapes Rehearsals were held in Vanilla Studios over mid-1979. The Clash began playing covers from genres including rockabilly, rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and reggae.Gray 2010, pp. 93–97. In contrast to previous rehearsal sessions, the band kept these rehearsals private, and did not allow hangers-on to attend.Gray 2010, p. 90. 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.Gray 2010, p. 97.
The band developed an "extremely disciplined" daily routine of afternoon rehearsals, broken by a late-afternoon social football 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.Gray 2010, pp. 98–100.
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 for London Calling.Gray 2010, p. 98. The band were also encouraged by a growing recognition of drummer Topper Headon's skills, which they realised could be used to perform music in a wide array of genres and styles beyond punk rock.Gray 2010, p. 95.
During these rehearsals in the early summer of 1979, a series of demos dubbed The Vanilla Tapes (after the name of the rehearsal studio) were made on a TEAC 4-track recorder. These tapes contain early versions of 15 of the 19 songs that would eventually appear on London Calling, sometimes in very rudimentary forms (several lack the lyrics, musical structure, or titles of their final versions – the instrumental track titled "Paul's Tune" would eventually be recorded for London Calling under the title "The Guns of Brixton", while the instrumental tracked titled "Up-Toon" would ultimately be released as "The Right Profile", for example). They also include covers that did not make the final album, including Sonny Okosun's "Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)" and a reggae version of Bob Dylan's "The Man in Me" (possibly influenced by London-based reggae band Matumbi's 1976 version), as well as never-officially-released Clash tunes like "Heart and Mind" (described by rock journalist Pat Gilbert as "a rocker"), and the country-inflected "Lonesome Me." Notably, they do not include the London Calling tracks "Spanish Bombs", "Wrong 'Em Boyo", "The Card Cheat", or "Train in Vain", suggesting that these tracks were written (or, in "Wrong 'Em Boyos case, selected) later, possibly during the actual album sessions. These tapes, believed lost in 1979 (roadie Johnny Green claimed in his 1999 autobiography A Riot Of Our Own that he had lost them on the London 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 the 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition of London Calling.
Writing and recording
The Clash wrote and recorded demos at Vanilla Studios, with Mick Jones composing and arranging much of the music and Joe Strummer writing most of the lyrics.Gray 2010, pp. 100–103. Strummer wrote "Lost in the Supermarket" after imagining Jones' childhood growing up in a basement with his mother and grandmother.London Calling: 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition. "The Last Testament – The Making of London Calling". Information about the recording of London Calling. Retrieved 18 February 2008. "The Guns of Brixton" was the first of bassist Paul 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.
In August 1979, the band entered Wessex Studios to begin recording London Calling. The Clash asked Guy Stevens to produce the album, much to the dismay of CBS Records.Gilbert 2005, p. 235. Stevens had alcohol and drug problems and his production methods were unconventional. During a recording session he swung a ladder and upturned chairs – apparently to create a rock & roll atmosphere. 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. 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, with many songs recorded in one or two takes.
The first track recorded for London Calling was "Brand New Cadillac", which the Clash had originally used as a warm-up song before recording.Sweeting, Adam. "Death or Glory". Uncut. October 2004. p. 65.Gilbert 2005, p. 237. "Clampdown" began as an instrumental track called "Working and Waiting".Sweeting, Adam. "Death or Glory". Uncut. October 2004. p. 67. While working on "The Card Cheat", the band recorded each part twice to create a "sound as big as possible".Sweeting, Adam. "Death or Glory". Uncut. October 2004. p. 68.
Musical style London Calling is regarded by music critic Mark Kidel as the first post-punk double album, as it exhibits a broader range of musical styles than the Clash's previous records. Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the album appropriated the "punk aesthetic into rock & roll mythology and roots music", while incorporating a wider range of styles such as punk, reggae, rockabilly, ska, New Orleans R&B, pop, lounge jazz, and hard rock. "Brand New Cadillac", the album's second track, was written and originally recorded by Vince Taylor and was cited by the Clash as "one of the first British rock'n'roll records". The fifth song, "Rudie Can't Fail" features a horn section and mixes elements of pop, soul, and reggae music together.
The Clash's embrace of specific musical traditions for London Calling deviated from what Greg Kot viewed as punk's iconoclastic sensibilities. 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." According to rock historian Charles T. Brown, the album led to the band's association with new wave music, while music academic James E. Perone considers the album "new wave rock".
Themes 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-toting Jimmy Cliff aspirant living in Brixton ("The Guns of Brixton"). In the opinion of PopMatters journalist Sal Ciolfi, the songs encompass an arrangement of urban narratives and characters, and touch on themes such as sex, depression and identity crisis. "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.Guarisco, Donald A. [ "Rudie Can't Fail Review"]. AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2008. "Clampdown" comments on people who forsake the open-minded idealism of youth and urges young people to fight the status quo.Guarisco, Donald A. [ "Clampdown Review"]. AllMusic. Retrieved 18 February 2008. "The Guns of Brixton" explores an individual's paranoid outlook on life, while on "Death or Glory", Strummer examines his life in retrospect and acknowledges the complications and responsibilities of adulthood.Gilbert 2005, p. 259. "Lover's Rock" advocates safe sex and planning.
Some songs have more widely contextualised narratives, including references to the "evil presidentes" working for the "clampdown", the lingering effects of the Spanish Civil War ("Spanish Bombs"), and how constant consumerism had led to unavoidable political apathy ("Lost in the Supermarket"). "London Calling", the album's title track and opener, was partially influenced by the March 1979 accident at a nuclear reactor at Three Mile Island in Pennsylvania. It also discusses the problems of rising unemployment, racial conflict and drug use in Great Britain."The RS 500 Greatest Songs of All Time: The Clash London Calling" . Rolling Stone. 9 December 2004. Retrieved 18 February 2008. 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".
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