Frogtoon Music

Combat Rock (Album) 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

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Frogtoon Music Album Info: Combat Rock

Combat Rock Is The Fifth Studio Album By The Clash Released In 1982. It Was The Last Album To Feature The Classic Line-Up Before Mick Jones Was Sacked And Topper Headon Was Kicked Out For His Heroin Addiction. The Cover Photo Was Shot By Pennie Smith On A Deserted Railway Line Outside Bangkok While The Band Was On Their "Far East" Tour In 1982. Although The Album Includes Different Styles Of Music It Is Considerably More Straight-Forward And Less Experimental Than Their Previous Album Sandinista!. In The United Kingdom The Album Charted At #2 Spending 23 Weeks In The UK Charts. The Album Reached #7 In The United States Spending 61 Weeks On The Chart And Was Certified Platinum. Combat Rock Was Originally Planned As A Double Album With The Working Title Rat Patrol From Fort Bragg But The Idea Was Scrapped After Internal Wrangling Within The Group. Mick Jones Had Mixed The First Version But The Other Members Were Dissatisfied And Mixing/producing Duties Were Handed To Glyn Johns At Which Point The Album Became A Single LP. The Original Mixes Have Since Been Obtained And Subsequently Bootlegged. Following Along The Same Note As Sandinista! Combat Rock's Catalogue Number 'FMLN2' Is The Acronym For The El Salvador Political Party 'Frente Farabundo Martí Para La Liberación Nacional' Or FMLN. In January 2000 The Album Along With The Rest Of The Clash's Catalog Was Remastered And Re-Released. According To Author Marcus Gray The Song Red Angel Dragnet Was Inspired By The January 1982 Shooting Death Of Frank Melvin A New York Member Of The Guardian Angels. The Song Contains Extensive Quotes From The 1976 Movie Taxi Driver's Main Character Travis Bickle Delivered By Kosmo Vinyl. Bickle Sports A Mohawk In The Later Part Of The Film And That Hairstyle Was Adopted By Joe Strummer During The Album Promotion. The Song "Ghetto Defendant" Features Beat Poet Allen Ginsberg Who Performed The Song On Stage With The Band During The New York Shows On Their Tour In Support Of The Album. Original U.S. Pressings Of The Album Had The Full Length Track "Inoculated City" Lasting 2 43. This Version Contained An Unauthorized Audio Sample From A U.S. Television Commercial For A Toilet Bowl Cleaner Called "2000 Flushes". After The Maker Of The Product Complained Of Copyright Infringement The Audio Sample Was Removed Reducing The Track Length To 2 11. Approximately 100 000 Copies Of The First Version Were Pressed With Custom Designed Record Labels. The Majority Of Copies Sold Had The Edited Track And Were Re-Issued On The Standard Dark Blue Epic Records Label. The Full Length "Inoculated City" Also Appeared On The B-Side Of The US "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" Single. Early US CD Copies Of The Album Had The Edited Track. When The Album Was Released As A Remastered CD In 2000 The Full Length Track Was Restored Though No Mention Of This Was Included On The CD Packaging. The Album Received Positive Reviews From Critics And Reached The Number Two On The UK Albums Chart The Number Seven On The Billboard Pop Albums And The Top Ten On Many Charts In Other Countries. The United States Recording Industry Association Of America RIAA Certified Combat Rock As A Gold Album On November 1982 Platinum In January 1983 And Multi-Platinum In June 1995. In 1999 Q Magazine Rated Combat Rock Three Stars Out Of Five And Described The Album As "...Their Biggest Seller But The Beginning Of The End." In 2000 Alternative Press Rated The Album Three Stars Out Of Five And Wrote That "The Penultimate Clash Album...Employing Lessons Learned In The Previous Three Years....Their Most Commercially Rewarded Release....Containing Their Most Poignant Song 'Straight To Hell'." The College Music Journal Ranked Combat Rock At Number Five On Its 2004 List Of The Top 20 Most-Played Albums Of 1982.

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