There are only a handful of bands who have ever really aspired to be all I believe a band can be - one of them is The Clash.
They were the perfect blend of punk music, politics and a razor sharp perspective on the social inequities of a country gripped by Thatcherism.
London Calling is understandably lauded by many, whilst White Man (In Hammersmith Palais) is arguably Joe Strummer's masterpiece, but it's early single Complete Control that has the most lasting effect on me.
Imagine a band writing a song purely in protest at their record company's decision to release a single against their wishes. Then imagine them releasing that new song as a single too! It could never happen today but it did in 1977.
I just love the audacity of it. The total and utter 'fuck you' to authority. It's the ultimate example of angry, passionate, young men kicking out at the world through their art. Of course, it's also just a faultlessly good rock 'n' roll song.
At university, I had the pleasure of kicking around in a band and, although we were never destined for fame, it was one of the most exciting and empowering times of my life...and we played a cover of Complete Control.
That all too brief period culminated in a gig at a small but suitably ambient Leicester venue, appropriately called The Shed.
Top of the bill on a Saturday night in front of a hugely enthusiastic crowd, it certainly felt like my moment in the sun. Complete Control, a stomping, guitar hero of a song, will always encapsulate that moment.
They were the perfect blend of punk music, politics and a razor sharp perspective on the social inequities of a country gripped by Thatcherism.
London Calling is understandably lauded by many, whilst White Man (In Hammersmith Palais) is arguably Joe Strummer's masterpiece, but it's early single Complete Control that has the most lasting effect on me.
Imagine a band writing a song purely in protest at their record company's decision to release a single against their wishes. Then imagine them releasing that new song as a single too! It could never happen today but it did in 1977.
I just love the audacity of it. The total and utter 'fuck you' to authority. It's the ultimate example of angry, passionate, young men kicking out at the world through their art. Of course, it's also just a faultlessly good rock 'n' roll song.
At university, I had the pleasure of kicking around in a band and, although we were never destined for fame, it was one of the most exciting and empowering times of my life...and we played a cover of Complete Control.
That all too brief period culminated in a gig at a small but suitably ambient Leicester venue, appropriately called The Shed.
Top of the bill on a Saturday night in front of a hugely enthusiastic crowd, it certainly felt like my moment in the sun. Complete Control, a stomping, guitar hero of a song, will always encapsulate that moment.
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