Only Looking For Fun

The Clash - White Man in Hammersmith Palais



Another old favourite of mine from a band with an almost impeachable discography, White Man.. begins with Joe Strummer recounting his disappointment at the choreographed moves and performance of Dillinger, Leroy Smart and Delroy Wilson, likening them to The Four Tops (which is a diss.. I think), at a reggae all-nighter in the aforementioned Hammersmith Palais. Strummer then addresses many of the prevalent social themes in The Clash's vocabulary - race, violence, the commercialisation of rebellion and, finally, Britain's descent to a maudlin celebrity culture - "If Adolf Hitler flew in today / They'd send a limousine anyway".

The lyrics are typical Strummer - a sardonic clarion call, mature, passionate and funny, sung in a breathless rasp over a backing that moves from typical big riffs to an understated, bass-driven reggae groove. And over all of this, Strummer manages to inject a sense of humour, poking fun at both himself (the scared white man), at other bands (The Jam in their "Burton suits") and at those who advocate violent rebellion ("Fooling with your guns / The British Army is waiting out there / An' it weighs fifteen hundred tons"). This song was also a particular favourite of Strummers, who finished most of his later gigs with it.

It's been argued that White Man .. may have been the first song to fuse punk and reggae. It wasn't the first attempt at ska by punk bands, but the fusion was both irresistable and critically acclaimed (Robert Christgau called it "a must") and set the tone for much of the later output of The Clash. It's magnificent, of course. Lyrically, thematically and musically, it may be a song from another time, but it still sounds so relevant and true. If you didn't think that Joe Strummer was a musical god, now may be a good time to reconsider. Songs like this are, arguably, the real reason why punk has managed to endure - who else was making music as socially-aware and relevant in those days? The serious, angry young yobs managed to strike chords on so many level that listening to them 30 years later is both a joyous experience and a depressing one, as so many of the issues that they protested are still around. For that reason, if for no other one, The Clash are deserving of a position in the pantheon of musical greats.

But how do they stack up on the Rock Nutter (tm) scale?

Names:
Joe Strummer's real name was John Mellor. Their original drummer was given the likely pseudonym of Tory Crimes. Chalk one up for "The Only Band That Matters".

Bad Behaviour:
In 1977, Strummer was arrested for spray-painting "The Clash" on a wall in a hotel. In 1980, he was arrested in Germany for bashing a violent audience member with his guitar and commented "I nearly murdered somebody, and it made me realise that you can't face violence with violence. It doesn't work". Joe Strummer was Lily Allen's godfather. If that's not inexplicable behaviour, then I don't know what is. Chalk up another point.

Prison:
Headon spent time in jail for dealing. The rest of them were arrested continuously in the early days of the band for things like vandalism. Three out of three for The Clash.

Drugs:
They shot up more speed than should be humanly possible and smoked shedloads of dope. Topper Headon was a junkie. Make that four.

Weird History:
Strummer was born in Turkey and was a gravedigger and a busker before The Clash. Strummer and Jones went to art school. Strummer married a South African woman in 1975 in order to get her British citizenship. We'll give them the final point.

So, The Clash - true rock nutters? Yes, but in a socially responsible, serious way.

(P.S.: In a sad note, the Hammersmith Palais closed in March 2007)

Verdict: The best roots rock rebellion known to man

Tomorrow: Solomon Burke - Everyone Needs Somebody to Love