The Clash Return Last Gang

by Marcus Gray, The Clash

The Clash were simply the greatest rock'n'roll band of the post-'60s era. They combined the iconoclasm of the Sex Pistols with the swaggering gang mentality of Exile on Main Street-period Rolling Stones: glaring menacingly in combat fatigues while tearing through tunes that mainstream pop bands would kill for. "White Riot" was the calling card, London Calling the instant classic, "Rock the Casbah" the American breakthrough hit, and "Should I Stay or Should I Go" the posthumous UK #1 single. Tracing Strummer and company's progress from street busking to the pub circuit to US stadiums (and back!), The Clash is a fascinatingly detailed study of the first band to take punk to the masses and survive for a decade against all odds, as well as an intriguing investigation into the gap between rock reality and rock myth. "The only band that matters" is finally getting its due! The Clash will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

1 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

Reviews

[Dan Stewart]

Very dense and thoroughly researched, occasionally veering into "why do I need to know the name of this miscellaneous roadie who was around for three months" territory, but highly enjoyable and paints a very visceral image of much of the key context for this band and their music.

HOWEVER this author takes great care to criticize, undermine, and sort of generally lambast The Clash members at any opportunity. Should we hold people accountable for their actions in light of their publicized values and ethics? Sure. Should we care all that much if it is applying to some guys in their late 20s trying to figure out who they are and what their art is? Not as much as Marcus Gray and all the NME articles he references.

It seems to me that The Clash tried their best to live up to an idyllic system of ethics that would be very difficult to keep in the face of everything they aspired to and how they were treated by the music industry, their manager Bernie Rhodes, and the public at large. For my money, punk rock is by definition not meant to be sustainable. If you're in opposition to pretty much all forms of authority and tradition (of which the Clash really weren't, in fact they pushed the form the other direction towards a progressive call to action instead of a vindication of apathy, i.e: Sex Pistols)

So to criticize them for playing stadiums supporting The Who, or for including a song on a Levi's commercial 15 years after disbanding, or putting out a slick and accessible album like Combat Rock... is just petty bullshit. Especially since this book takes plenty of page space to point out the band's rockstardom ambitions and dedication to a tradition following bands like Mott the Hoople and the Stones.

Anyway. Joe Strummer was cool as hell. RIP.

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

The definitive history of The Clash. The 3rd Edition goes up to and includes Joe's new band the Mescaleros and Strummer's untimely death. An encyclopedic look at the English punk scene, this book also reveals a great deal about the music business in general.

A must-own for any Clash fan!

[Michael LaPointe · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exhaustive and thoroughly documented history of one of the best and most influential bands of all time. At times, it seems as though the author went perhaps a little overboard with his research, but he'll get no complaints from me. An exquisite read.

[Andrew Mccann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Good read, A wee bit too long though..I was desperate for them to split up by the end of it...

Could maybe stop trying to pick at flaws in The Clash's early 'kids from the wrong side of the tracks' image.

if you are a fan you will enjoy this.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dense reading for a music biography. True fans will love it. Casual fans might not care to know that much detail

[Sally · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit bitter, obviously no direct interviews.

[Keith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of good early info of the band and its members. Written from an official publicist point of view that comes off cheesy at times.

[Roy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice length, nearly 500 pages , lots of detail , especially early days . Newest edition includes Strummer passing .