Frogtoon Music

Clampdown by The Clash

Artist Biography For The Clash

The Clash Were A Punk Rock Band From London England Active From 1976 To 1985. One Of The Most Successful And Iconic Bands From The First Wave Of Punk In The 70s They Incorporated Rock And Roll Reggae Rockabilly And Many Other Music Styles Into Their Repertoire. They Were Legendary For Their Uncommonly Intense Stage Performances. From Their Earliest Days As A Band The Clash Stood Apart From Their Peers With Their Musicianship As Well As Their Lyrics The Passionate Left-Wing Political Idealism In The Lyrics By Frontman Joe Strummer And Guitarist Mick Jones Contrasting With The Lyrical Nihilism Of The Sex Pistols And The Musical Minimalism Of The Ramones. Their 1979 Album 'London Calling' Is Considered By Critics As One Of The Greatest Albums In The History Of Rock Music. Rolling Stone Declared It The Best Album Of The 80s. The Clash's Attitude And Style As Much As Their Music Has Influenced Countless Bands Both Within And Outside The Sphere Of Punk Rock. Often Lauded As "the Only Band That Matters " The Clash Were Canonized As Rock Saints Even Before They Broke Up. They Were Inducted Into The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame In The Class Of 2003. Their First Five Albums 'The Clash' 'Give 'Em Enough Rope' 'London Calling' 'Sandinista!' And 'Combat Rock' To This Day Continue To Earn A Great Deal Of Interest From Rock Fans And Artists Alike. Mick Jones Went On To Form Big Audio Dynamite After Being Fired From The Clash And He More Recently Has Produced Albums By Artists Such As The Libertines And Babyshambles. In 2004 He Formed Carbon/silicon With Musician Tony James Of Generation X And Sigue Sigue Sputnik Fame . Exploring Various Genres Such As Alternative Rock And Electronic Music He Continues To Collaborate With Other Modern Groups Such As Gorillaz. Joe Strummer Went On To Form And Front Joe Strummer And The Latino Rockabilly War And Then Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros. He Also Had A Notable Solo Career That Involved Work In Films And Other Endeavors Often Earning Critical Acclaim. He Died On December 22 2002 The Victim Of An Un-Diagnosed Congenital Heart Defect. Mourned By Countless Punk Fans His Life Has Been Subject To Several Tributes And Was Memorialized In The 2007 Documentary 'Joe Strummer The Future Is Unwritten'. Bass Player Paul Simonon Went On To Form Havana 3 A.M. A Group That Released A Self-Titled Album In 1991 Yet He Decided To Quit Music In The Early 90s In Favour Of Becoming An Artist. In 2006 He Returned To Music As Bass Player In A Musical Project Together With Singer-Songwriter Damon Albarn. The Project Is Often Referred To As The Good The Bad & The Queen The Name Of The Groups First Recorded Album That Came Out In 2007. In Terms Of His Paintings His Well-Received Work Notably Was In An Exhibition At Thomas Williams Fine Art In London. Drummer Topper Headon Released A Solo Album 1986's 'Waking Up' Before Leaving The Music Business To Become A Taxi Driver And Escape The Heroin Addiction That Cost Him His Legacy In The Clash. Over The Years He's Had Sporadic Involvement In Various Music-Related Endeavors Such As Being A Key Part Of The Aforementioned 'The Future Is Unwritten' Film. He's Currently Residing In The Seaside Town Of Dover England. Members 1976 Original Line-Up
Joe Strummer – Lead Vocals Rhythm Guitar
Mick Jones – Lead Guitar Backing Vocals
Keith Levene – Lead Guitar
Paul Simonon – Bass Guitar Backing Vocals
Terry Chimes – Drums Percussion 1977
Joe Strummer – Lead Vocals Rhythm Guitar
Mick Jones – Lead Guitar Backing Vocals
Paul Simonon – Bass Guitar Backing Vocals
Terry Chimes – Drums Percussion 1977-1982 Classic Line-Up
Joe Strummer – Lead Vocals Rhythm Guitar
Mick Jones – Lead Guitar Backing Vocals
Paul Simonon – Bass Guitar Backing Vocals
Topper Headon – Drums Percussion 1982-1983
Joe Strummer – Lead Vocals Rhythm Guitar
Mick Jones – Lead Guitar Backing Vocals
Paul Simonon – Bass Guitar Backing Vocals
Terry Chimes – Drums Percussion 1983
Joe Strummer – Lead Vocals Rhythm Guitar
Mick Jones – Lead Guitar Backing Vocals
Paul Simonon – Bass Guitar Backing Vocals
Pete Howard – Drums Percussion 1983-1986 Final Line-Up
Joe Strummer – Lead Vocals Rhythm Guitar
Nick Sheppard – Lead Guitar Backing Vocals
Vince White – Lead Guitar
Paul Simonon – Bass Guitar Backing Vocals
Pete Howard – Drums Percussion

Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Clampdown

"Clampdown" Is A Single And A Song By The Clash From Their Album London Calling. The Song Began As An Instrumental Track Called "Working And Waiting". It Is Sometimes Called "Working For The Clampdown" Which Is The Main Lyric Of The Song And Also The Title Provided On The Album's Lyric Sheet. Its Lyrics Comment On People Who Forsake The Idealism Of Youth And Urges Young People To Fight The Status Quo. Writing And Recording "Clampdown" Was Written By Joe Strummer And Mick Jones. The Song's Lyrics Written By Joe Strummer Refers To The Failures Of Capitalist Society. The Wearing Of The "blue And Brown" Refers To The Color Of The Uniforms That Are Mostly Worn By Workers. This Idea Goes Along With Lyrics That Refer To "young Believers" Who Are Brought And Bought Into The Capital System By Those "working For The Clampdown" Who Will "teach With Twisted Speech." Strummer Wrote The Men In The Factory Are Old And Cunning You Don't Owe Nothing So Boy Get Running! It's The Best Years Of Your Life They Want To Steal! You Grow Up And You Calm Down And You're Working For The Clampdown. You Start Wearing The Blue And Brown And You're Working For The Clampdown. So You Got Someone To Boss Around. It Makes You Feel Big Now... These Lyrics Are Seen To Refer To How One Gets Caught By The Capital Economic System And Its Ethos Of Work Debt Power Position And Conformist Lifestyle. Strummer Who Was A Proud And Loud Socialist Also Uses The Song's Closing Refrain To Highlight This Mindset And Potential Trap And Offers A Warning Not To Give Oneself Over To "the Clampdown". He Does This By Repeating As The Song Fades Out The Word "work" Five Times And "more Work" Twice. This Reaffirms The Idea That Strummer Saw "the Clampdown" As A Threat To All Who Get Caught Up In The Modern Economic Wage-Hour System. Bass Player And Clash Co-Founder Paul Simonon In An Interview With The LA Times Spoke About The Opportunities Available To Him After He Finished His Education “ What Was Worse Was That When It Got Time For Us To Start Leaving School They Took Us Out On Trips To Give Us An Idea Of What Jobs Were Available. But They Didn't Try To Introduce Us To Anything Exciting Or Meaningful. They Took Us To The Power Station And The Navy Yards. It Was Like Saying 'This Is All You Guys Could Ever Do.' Some Of The Kids Fell For It. When We Got Taken Down To The Navy Yards We Went On A Ship And Got Cooked Up Dinner And It Was All Chips And Beans. It Was Really Great. So Some Of The Kids Joined Up - Because The Food Was Better Than They Ate At Home.” —Paul Simonon Strummer Like Simonon Spent Time On The Dole But Strummer Did Not Come From A Lower-Class Family. In The Same Interview With The LA Times Strummer Said “ You See I'm Not Like Paul Or The Others I Had A Chance To Be A 'good Normal Person' With A Nice Car And A House In The Suburbs - The Golden Apple Or Whatever You Call It. But I Saw Through It. I Saw It Was An Empty Life.” —Joe Strummer Strummer's Father Was A Diplomat In The British Field Service And Joe Was Sent Away To Boarding School Where He Detested "the Thick Rich People’s Thick Rich Kids". Strummer Said “ I Only Saw My Father Once A Year After Being Sent To Boarding School He Was A Real Disciplinarian Who Was Always Giving Me Speeches About How He Had Pulled Himself Up By The Sweat Of His Brow A Real Guts And Determination Man. What He Was Really Saying To Me Was 'If You Play By The Rules You Can End Up Like Me'. And I Saw Right Away I Didn't Want To End Up Like Him. Once I Got Out On My Own I Realized I Was Right. I Saw How The Rules Worked And I Didn't Like Them. ” —Joe Strummer Later Verses Suggest An Alternative In Revolution A Theme Common Throughout Joe Strummer's Songwriting. This Point Of View Also Points To The Lyric "You Start Wearing The Blue And Brown" As Supporting Their Cause. The Barely Audible Lyrics At The Beginning Of The Song Were Deciphered By Clash Fan Ade Marks And First Published In Q Magazine's Clash Special The Kingdom Is Ransacked The Jewels All Taken Back And The Chopper Descends They're Hidden In The Back With A Message On A Half-Baked Tape With The Spool Going Round Saying I'm Back Here In This Place And I Could Cry And There's Smoke You Could Click On What Are We Going To Do Now? Cover Versions "Clampdown" Was Later Covered By Rage Against The Machine At Their First Live Show In 1991 As Well As Their More Recent Show In Antwerp Belgium On 2 June 2008. It Was Also Was Covered By Indigo Girls And Can Be Heard On Rarities 2005 As Well As The Clash Tribute Album Burning London The Clash Tribute 1999 . The Song Was Also Covered By The Strokes At Their Oxegen And T In The Park Appearances In July 2004 Poster Children On Their 2004 Release On The Offensive And James Dean Bradfield Of The Manic Street Preachers On His Solo Tour In October 2006. Another Band That Covered This Song Was Hot Water Music On Their B Sides And Rarities Compilation Album Called "Till The Wheels Fall Off". The Song Was Also Covered By The National On The Album "A Tribute To The Clash " And By Inward Eye Which They Released Through A Video On Their YouTube Channel. Released 14 December 1979
Format 7" Single
Recorded August-September 1979 November 1979 At Wessex Studios
Genre Punk Rock
Length 3 50
Label CBS ES 486
Writer S Joe Strummer And Mick Jones
Producer Guy Stevens

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