The Magnificent Seven - Music
The Magnificent Seven by The Clash
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: The Magnificent Seven
The-Clash - The Singles
"The Magnificent Seven" Is A Song And Single By The English Punk Rock Band The Clash. It Was The Third Single From Their Fourth Album Sandinista!. It Reached Number 34 On The UK Singles Chart. The Song Was Inspired By Raps By Old School Hip Hop Acts From New York City Like The Sugarhill Gang And Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. Rap Was Still A New And Emerging Music Genre At The Time And The Band Especially Mick Jones Was Very Impressed With It So Much So That Jones Took To Carrying A Boombox Around And Got The Nickname 'Whack Attack'. The Song Was Recorded In April 1980 At Electric Lady Studios In New York City Built Around A Bass Loop Played By Norman Watt-Roy Of The Blockheads. Joe Strummer Wrote The Words On The Spot A Technique That Was Also Used To Create Sandinista!'s Other Rap Track "Lightning Strikes Not Once But Twice ". "The Magnificent Seven" Represents The First Attempt By A Rock Band To Write And Perform Original Rap Music And One Of The Earliest Examples Of Hip Hop Records With Political And Social Content. It Is The First Major White Rap Record Predating The Recording Of Blondie's "Rapture" By Six Months.
“ When We Came To The U.S. Mick Stumbled Upon A Music Shop In Brooklyn That Carried The Music Of Grand Master Flash And The Furious Five The Sugar Hill Gang...These Groups Were Radically Changing Music And They Changed Everything For Us. ”—Joe Strummer Though It Failed To Chart In America The Song Was An Underground Hit And Received Heavy Play On Underground And College Radio. Also Popular Were Various Dance Re-Mixes Both Official B-Side "The Magnificent Dance" And Original DJ Remixes WBLS's In Particular Known As "Dirty Harry" After The Film Of Same Name And Can Be Found On Various Clash Bootlegs Including Clash On Broadway Disc 4. The Single Was Reissued In 1981 With "Stop The World" As Its B-Side And With Different Sleeve Art. Thematically "The Magnificent Seven" Is Somewhat Similar To The Punkier "Career Opportunities" In That It Takes The Drudgery Of The Working Life As Its Starting Point. Unlike "Career Opportunities" However In Stream Of Consciousness Fashion It Also Deals With Consumerism Popular Media Historical Figures And Addresses These Subjects With Great Exuberance And Humor. The First Verses Of "The Magnificent Seven" Follow A Nameless Worker Narrated In The Second Person As He Wakes Up And Goes To Work Not For Personal Advancement But To Buy His Girlfriend Consumer Goods "Working For A Rise To Better My Station / Take My Baby To Sophistication / She's Seen The Ads She Thinks It's Nice / Better Work Hard I Seen The Price"
The Nameless Worker Then Goes Off For A Cheeseburger Lunch-Break And The Lyrics Devolve Into A Blur Of Fleeting Images From Television Movies And Advertising "Italian Mobster Shoots A Lobster / Seafood Restaurant Gets Out Of Hand / A Car In The Fridge Or A Fridge In The Car? / Like Cowboys Do In TV Land!"
Finally The Song Takes Historical Figures Including Karl Marx Friedrich Engels Martin Luther King Mahatma Gandhi Richard Nixon And Socrates And Places Them In Modern America Before Asking Sarcastically Whether "Plato The Greek" Or Rin Tin Tin Is More Famous To The Masses. An Exclaimed "newsflash" Near The End Of The Song "Vacuum Cleaner Sucks Up Budgie!" Was In Fact A Headline In The News Of The World Newspaper At The Time Of The Song's Mixing In England According To Joe Strummer.
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Biography - 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 read less
read more
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 read less
16 Similar Artists To The Clash - Frogtoon Music
Sex Pistols Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros Ramones Buzzcocks Stiff Little Fingers Big Audio Dynamite The Jam The Damned Dead Kennedys Joe Strummer The Undertones Generation X The Adverts Rancid The Ruts The Vibrators.
"The Magnificent Seven" is a song and single by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was the third single from their fourth album Sandinista!. It reached number 34 on the UK singles chart.
The song was inspired by raps by old school hip hop acts from New York City, like the Sugarhill Gang and Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five. Rap was still a new and emerging music genre at the time and the band, especially Mick Jones, was very impressed with it, so much so that Jones took to carrying a boombox around and got the nickname 'Whack Attack'. The song was recorded in April 1980 at Electric Lady Studios in New York City, built around a bass loop played by Norman Watt-Roy of the Blockheads. Joe Strummer wrote the words on the spot, a technique that was also used to create Sandinista!'s other rap track, "Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice)". "The Magnificent Seven" represents the first attempt by a rock band to write and perform original rap music, and one of the earliest examples of hip hop records with political and social content. It is the first major white rap record, predating the recording of Blondie's "Rapture" by six months.
“ When we came to the U.S., Mick stumbled upon a music shop in Brooklyn that carried the music of Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five, the Sugar Hill Gang...these groups were radically changing music and they changed everything for us. ”—Joe Strummer
Though it failed to chart in America, the song was an underground hit and received heavy play on underground and college radio. Also popular were various dance re-mixes, both official B-side, ("The Magnificent Dance"), and original DJ remixes (WBLS's in particular, known as "Dirty Harry", after the film of same name), and can be found on various Clash bootlegs, including Clash on Broadway Disc 4.
The single was reissued in 1981 with "Stop the World" as its B-side and with different sleeve art.
Thematically, "The Magnificent Seven" is somewhat similar to the punkier "Career Opportunities", in that it takes the drudgery of the working life as its starting point. Unlike "Career Opportunities", however, in stream of consciousness fashion it also deals with consumerism, popular media, historical figures, and addresses these subjects with great exuberance and humor. The first verses of "The Magnificent Seven" follow a nameless worker (narrated in the second person) as he wakes up and goes to work, not for personal advancement but to buy his girlfriend consumer goods:
"Working for a rise to better my station / Take my baby to sophistication / She's seen the ads, she thinks it's nice / Better work hard, I seen the price"
The nameless worker then goes off for a cheeseburger lunch-break, and the lyrics devolve into a blur of fleeting images from television, movies and advertising:"Italian mobster shoots a lobster / Seafood restaurant gets out of hand / A car in the fridge or a fridge in the car? / Like cowboys do in TV land!"
Finally, the song takes historical figures, including Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Martin Luther King, Mahatma Gandhi, Richard Nixon and Socrates, and places them in modern America, before asking sarcastically whether "Plato the Greek" or Rin Tin Tin is more famous to the masses.
An exclaimed "newsflash" near the end of the song, "Vacuum Cleaner Sucks Up Budgie!", was in fact a headline in the News of the World newspaper at the time of the song's mixing in England, according to Joe Strummer.
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