Accessibility links
The Clash The Clash artist page: interviews, features and/or performances archived at NPR Music

The Clash

'London Calling' At 40: Greil Marcus Revisits His Original Review

From left to right, Mick Jones, Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of The Clash, circa 1980. The band's classic album London Calling was released in the United States 40 years ago this month. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Music News

'London Calling' At 40: Greil Marcus Revisits His Original Review

"Rough. Funny. Expansive." That's how critic Greil Marcus described The Clash's album on our program in 1980. We brought him back to ask if he stands by his original review.

'London Calling' At 40: Greil Marcus Revisits His Original Review

Listen · 5:10
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/799345169/800559474" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Tijuana's Daughter: Guest DJ Ceci Bastida

Mexican singer Ceci Bastida. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

Alt.Latino

Tijuana's Daughter: Guest DJ Ceci Bastida

The prolific musician joins Alt.Latino to discuss her life and times with Tijuana No! and Julieta Venegas, as well as her solo career.

Tijuana's Daughter: Guest DJ Ceci Bastida

Listen · 40:50
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/423355654/429783998" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Nonstop Grooves With Guest DJ Novalima

Novalima blends Afro-Peruvian folk music with electronic beats. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

Alt.Latino

Nonstop Grooves With Guest DJ Novalima

On Alt.Latino, the band spins music and discusses mixing electronic beats with Afro-Peruvian folk.

Nonstop Grooves With Guest DJ Novalima

Listen · 36:10
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/419482663/419490889" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
The Clash On World Cafe

The Clash. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption
Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe

The Clash On World Cafe

XPN

The group's surviving members visit WXPN's studios to discuss the development and evolution of their image. The former bandmates also discuss the recent release of Sound System, a 12-disc box set.

The Clash On World Cafe

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/232046017/231950980" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Joe Strummer's Life After Death

Joe Strummer performs with his solo project, The Latino Rockabilly War, in 1989. The Clash frontman died of heart failure in December 2002. Mark Baker/Sony Music Archive/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Mark Baker/Sony Music Archive/Getty Images

Music News

Joe Strummer's Life After Death

They were called "the only band that matters." In the late 1970s and early '80s, The Clash pioneered punk rock — then went on to expand its possibilities in witty songs that critiqued the world. Strummer, the group's lead singer and songwriter, died 10 years ago this week.

Joe Strummer's Life After Death

Listen · 7:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/167651279/167684005" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Music

A 'Redemption Song' for The Clash's Frontman

The Clash was sometimes called "the only band that mattered." They mashed reggae, R&B, and rockabilly into classic three-chord punk rock. Chris Salewicz's Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer offers an extensive biography into the band's enigmatic frontman.

A 'Redemption Song' for The Clash's Frontman

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11927463/11960688" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Review

Music Reviews

Music Review: 'Streetcore' from Joe Strummer

The posthumous album from Joe Strummer, a leader of The Clash, reflects many elements of his career, with a mix of rock and reggae influences. Strummer died last December at age 50, and members of his final band, the Mescaleros, helped to finish Streetcore. Chris Nickson has a review.

Music Review: 'Streetcore' from Joe Strummer

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1503693/1503694" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Music News

The Clash

Reporter Ashley Kahn pays tribute to the band The Clash, inducted Monday night into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band's first recordings were 25 years ago. The honor is all the more poignant since bandleader Joe Strummer died this past December.

The Clash

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1188589/1188590" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Music Interviews

'Clash' Frontman Joe Strummer Dies

British punk rocker and The Clash frontman Joe Strummer dies at his farmhouse at age 50. Strummer came of age in a hard-living milieu where people died young, but no one expected it in his case. NPR's Neda Ulaby reports.

'Clash' Frontman Joe Strummer Dies

Listen · 3:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/889094/889095" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

World Cafe

Carbon/Silicon: Clash Guitarist Returns

XPN

The punk rock legends in Carbon/Silicon — Mick Jones from The Clash and Tony James from Generation X — have been offering their garage-rock inspired music for free online long before Radiohead's pay-what-you-wish release. Hear an acoustic session with the band.

Carbon/Silicon: Clash Guitarist Returns

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18189749/91872220" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org