Blame for this devolution can
partly be laid with The Clash’s rivals
and counterparts the Sex Pistols, who
burned bright and burned out. The
level of pressure on the band had merely
increased throughout 1977, and was
unsustainable; particularly given the
inexperience of the band’s members.
Stir drugs, violence, money wrangles,
paranoia, a politicised manager (Malcolm
McLaren), and worldwide fame into
the mix and the Pistols were destined
to implode. It happened during their
first US tour, a jaunt that, possibly
ill advisedly, took in the less-tolerant
cowboy towns of the South, where these
four malnourished London kids faced
down audiences comprised of burly
cowboys who saw them as a threat. They
also reached plenty of young American
fans bowled over by punk, even if their
interpretation was markedly different to
that of, say, singer Johnny Rotten, widely
acknowledged as the brains of the band.
Sid Vicious, who had gone from goofy
young Pistols friend/fan to premier
punk player within eighteen months,
compounded problems. It was an
ascension fuelled by heroin, speed and
Vicious’ falling for his own myth-making
hook, line and sinker.
The Sex Pistols had split in January
1978, amid acrimony and exhaustion
after a chaotic show in San Francisco,
and Vicious continued on a downward
spiral aided by heroin and errant
girlfriend Nancy Spungen. It was a
fall that was even more rapid than his
ascension, and one that culminated in
Spungen dying from a stab wound in a
New York hotel room. Accounts of what
actually happened that fateful night are
still the cause of much debate, but the
outcome was Vicious being arrested by
the NYPD for his girlfriend’s murder
and sent to the notoriously tough Rykers
Island prison. No one would ever find
out the truth, for Sid overdosed on
heroin while out on bail in January- Punk had destroyed one of its
premier exponents, and in some ways
the unwitting Vicious had killed off
punk. What once was fun, mischievous,
creative and culturally relevant was now
something altogether darker.
The demise of the Pistols is important
to understanding the longevity of The
Clash. The sad death of the band –
figuratively and, tragically, literally – who
had kicked down the doors provided a
valuable lesson. It’s also worth noting,
that whereas the Sex Pistols had been
motivated by money and maximum
provocation – as much a McLaren social
experiment as anything – The Clash were
always more concerned with music and
politics, and operated with a higher IQ
than their counterparts.This article is an extract from London’s
Calling, the Clash Special Edition of Music
Legends. Available now at issuu.com.The classic Clash line-up (1977-1982) in 1982.
Left to right: Nicky ‘Topper’ Headon, Paul Simonon, Mick Jones, Joe Strummer.DO YOU WANT SOME MORE...?
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