The clash was a band that changed punk forever, exposing the genre to new ideas, and a
passion for change along with it, how did they grow at the speeds they did, and how did Mick
Jones single handedly bring about the end of a era THIS HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A
GOOD THESIS, BUT IT’S CONVOLUTED. READ IT TO YOURSELF SLOWLY.
ALSO, IT’S NOT A TRUE INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH, WHICH STARTS WITH A
HOOK AND BUILDS TOWARD A THESIS.
The true success of The Clash starts with a Turkish boy named John Graham Mellor, he
was born in the city of Ankara, Turkey(Gale). Moving to London at a young age John went to
several boarding schools in London, and so he didn't usually see his parents. His Father being a
diplomat could've been the catalyst for John to sing his anger, sadness, or even resentment to his
father for sending him away. When he was in his teenage years John began singing and playing
guitar in subway stations, street corners, and after he formed the group The 101ers they began
playing in pubs where they became well known. “In the early 1970s, he began performing on
London street corners and subway stations and formed the rock band 101ers, which became a
popular band in the pubs of England. By then, he had assumed his new name of Joe Strummer,
reportedly to reflect his guitar playing.”(Gale) SOURCE NAME OR AUTHOR, CHECK
NOODLETOOLS TOOLSIt was also around this time John Graham Mellor became Joe
Strummer, punk rock legend.
The Clash was formed in 1976 after Mick Jones Co-founder and Paul Simonon, also
Co-founder approached Joe strummer in a pub, at this time Joe was playing for his band, the
101ers. He made the decision to join Mick and Simonon in their band, and he never looked back.
Alongside these 3 SPELL OUT English men was drummer Topper Headon, whose position in
the clash was very short lived. Their first gig was opening for the Sex Pistols during their
Anarchy in The U.K tour. "The Clash played its first, unannounced gig opening for the Sex
Pistols in summer 1976 as a quintet.” (Warren 7)
By the end of the next year The Clash debuted their SELF-TITLED first album. By this
time the band's original drummer was kicked out the band due to a heroin addiction, and he was
replaced with Terry Chimes. Prior to releasing the album the band had been signed by CBS
Records, for $200,000 advance. After being published their debut album reached #12 on the
British charts for that spring. "In February of 1977 British CBS Records signed The Clash for a
reported $200,000 advance. Their debut album was released that spring and entered British
charts at #12.” (Warren 8) At this time in the history of punk music there were 3 major types of
“Punk” , those who truly cared about the message and the intention of the music. People who just
listened to punk because it sounds good, and finally the posers, people who like the look but
missed the point of Punk Rock entirely. Nowadays the image of a punk is a ratty teen with a
mohawk and studded collars(King 3), but back when Joe Strummer was singing, “it didn't matter
what you looked like, how you dressed, or where you came from. That was the whole point.”
(king 3) THIS QUOTE IS TOO LONG. USE ELLIPSIS MARKS TO SHORTEN, USING
ONLY THE PARTS YOU NEED. IF YOU NEED THE WHOLE THING, THERE’S A
SPECIAL FORMAT FOR THAT I CAN SHOW YOU. And Joe Strummer knew that and
encouraged it. If you were to look at a picture of Joe Strummer later in his life, he just looks like
a normal english guy, not some punk rat, mohawk wearing, movie guy. THIS IS NOT
APPROPRIATE STYLE FOR A RESEARCH PAPER. THE TONE SHOULD BE
OBJECTIVE AND ANALYTICAL, NOT HYPOTHETICAL OR RHETORICAL.
Their first record was very successful in London, the song “White Riot” set the tone for
how the Clash would use their music to spread a message. "On this day in 1977, The Clash
released their debut single. A song that would go down as one of their most iconic tracks of all
time—a new bar with which to measure the immeasurable fury of punk rock. The punk standard,
the powerful yet poetic brilliance of Joe Strummer’s foghorn for the masses, ‘White Riot’, is still
revered to this day but not without clearing away any confusion beforehand." NEEDS
CITATION During the summer of 1976 Paul and Joe had been living in Notting hill, a town that
was split in two, one side the rich and high society lived unbothered and content, on the other
side a primarily Jamaican and low income area, was where Joe and Paul had been living(Farout
Magazine). Their community vastly influenced the bands music, and specifically the song White
Riot. During the carnival held by the town tensions between police and the Black residents broke
loose, leading to riots and eventually police violence took over the scene. When Paul and Joe left
the carnival they had been happy to see the glorious display of rebellion. One thing that did leave
them dissatisfied was the absence of white people during the fight for equality. They began
writing White Riot in order to express this confusion. “The poor Blacks and the poor whites are
in the same boat.” says Joe strummer in an interview with NME. CHECK PUNCTUATION
AND CAPITALIZATION (EVERYWHERE), BUT ESPECIALLY HERE.
The Clashes' love for Jamaican culture did not end with RUN SPELL CHECK White
Riot “A New York Times review of their album Sandinista! credits them with being one the first
bands to really play on the affinity between punk and reggae.” This connection to reggae in the
band was present through all of the band's music and it earned them a place in Lee Perry's
famous Black Ark recording studio in Jamaica as the first white band to be painted on the wall in
the studio.
How did the band that seemed to have it all, lose it? DON’T ASK RHETORICAL
QUESTIONS I believe that it all comes down to Mick Jones, the bands co-founder, see after all
the success of Sandinista! And Combat Rock, the two major players of the band strummer and
Simonon had wanted to continue playing and to capitalize on their popularity “" Joe Strummer
and Paul Simonon wanted to take full advantage of a higher level of fame…”(Farout Magazine)
However Mick Jones wanted to rest and take a different approach to the fame, ride the wave and
get back to the music afterwards, however this fundamental difference in mindset between the
owners, and lead singer would destroy the band. “whereas Mick Jones wanted to rest up rather
than live on the road. “Mick was intolerable to work with by this time,” the late Strummer
remembered in the Clash documentary, Westway to the World."”(Farout Magazine)
At the point the band was facing their biggest obstacle ever, one of the key players in this
band's success was getting lazy and unmotivated, ““He wouldn’t show up. When he did show
up, it was like Elizabeth Taylor in a filthy mood,” he added.``(Farout magazine) this caused
Paul and Joe to get increasingly more and more frustrated at Micks behavior, even going as far as
to consider a replacement for Mick Jones with Steve Jones from The Sex Pistols, however this
wouldn't have worked due to the uniqueness and as we discussed earlier message the clash sent,
to replace Mick Jones, the main songwriter with a simple mind from the pistols would've only
tarnished the clashs reputation before their inevitable end “The Clash’s manager Bernie Rhodes
tried to replace Mick Jones with Steve Jones from The Sex Pistols. Rhodes’ idea sprung from his
and the rest of the band's frustration at Mick’s timekeeping, and his general rock star attitude."
And so they kicked Mick out of the band, leaving it to Trio, but without Mick's Genius at
songwriting the band would never rise to the levels they had in the past, and so they split. With
Joe continuing to play and even releasing a solo album before being done making music “Joe
Strummer released an underrated solo album, Earthquake Weather, in 1989, which displayed his
American influences, and then his output stopped.” (King 4).
Mick Jones also went on to keep playing, playing a few more notable bands, General
Public, And Big Audio Dynamite which caught some traction during the 90s for their college
radio hit “Rush” ”Jones, meanwhile, went on to more success, first with the band General Public
and later (and more significantly) fronting Big Audio Dynamite, whose song, "Rush," was a
college radio hit in the '90s.”(Grunge.com)
The band that began with a huge explosion ended in not such a brilliant way and at none
other then the co founder himself to blame The next time they were ever expected to play was
during their induction to the rock and roll hall of fame in 2003, however during the december
before the concert Joe strummer died due to an undiagnosed heart condition he had been born
with, and that was it, the clash was gone forever.
The clash could have continued to be the only band that matters and likely have stayed
making music into the future had Mick Jones not been lazy or tired, thus causing the band to lose
one of its key players and moreover their passion with it. TIE THIS TO THE ENDING OF
THE BAND, JUST PUT THE DETAILS SOMEWHERE ELSE
“500 words left to make this good let's get it 10:44 PM 2/22/23 One day before due”
“11:03 and i'm at ~1056 words pray to god i get a C right”
“11:06 and im getting bored”
“~11:15 and im finished, it's not that i can't do it, its that this is stupid that why i don't do
it”
“11:44 yeah im done for the night i am super bored now, just been putting in text
citations, i still don't know how to cite properly so uh cut me some slack on that, i'll pay attention
to that stuff during college i swear”
What my thesis is asking
How did the clash become so popular
Paragraphs 1-6 describe this in great detail and explain why they were idolized as
the only band that matters to the public(i didn't make up that name that is a
nickname they were given so ur highlight is wrong)
Why did they fall apart
6-12 cover this with the exact person that caused the fall of the band and what the
other members thought of it
I answered my thesis using research and facts, therefore this is a research paper
Kevin–There are no in-text citations, so I have no idea where this information comes
from or if it’s accurate. Also, there are lots of inappropriate attempts at humor that have
no place in a research paper. Finally, this reads like a chronological account of The Clash’s
history, which is not what a research paper is supposed to be. You’re supposed to come up
with a thesis statement (NOT a question) and set out to prove it in your paper.
I fixed all the things you told me to and its well above the word requirement, if i get less
than a C i dont think thats right, like beyond this i cannot do better this is the most effort i can
mentally give this in a million years, the only reason it's even a little decent is because i like the
clash.