Yes it was thirty years ago today that Strummer/Jones taught the world to play…..

Jan 5, 1980 heralded the  US release of London Calling which considering the debut album never got a proper US release and Give Em Enough Rope was far from a huge success in America was probably much smaller news then than the anniversary of the event all these years later. London Calling was received to universal critical acclaim in the States; most notably within the pages of Rolling Stone and sat on the the cliff edge linking the 1980’s to what had been happening in the UK for the previous 3-4 years. London Calling bridged the decades because it was ultimately one of the most diverse Rock and Roll records of the era, perhaps ever. For a Clash fan it merely hastened the journey that the next two albums (and singles that were released during that time) would provide to send us bouncing around with the musical experimentation that the band were embracing, some fans bailed after the debut and many more after London Calling and Sandinista!. Perhaps more clearly it showed a growing love of the US and especially New York City which influenced the band far more than any of their British contemporaries up to that point.

London Calling was the record that paved the way for so many other British bands to succeed in the US and tightened up the links between punk and rock as opposed to Punk Rock. The English version of Punk was (in my opinion) something that was more in tune with the British market,  boredom over the Westway, dole queues and the riots in Notting Hill were always going to lose something in the translation. The US merited (and had) its own unique punk bands/scenes and I think this is why London Calling crossed over so effectively. It had much broader horizons, with lyrics and songs that resonated whether you were in Des Moines or Dundee. According to the critics it was The Clash at their very best, according to sales it was another rung on the ladder of success that peaked with Combat Rock, according to me it was simply the soundtrack to being 13,14,15,16 and it has never left my side since.

If someone knocked on my door tomorrow who had lived in a cave for their entire life but wanted to understand music from the last 50 years this would be one of the 5 albums I would hand them…and also tell them to play it first. Enough from me – have a look at what the New York Post had to say on this anniversary. It would also be neglectful of me not to link ‘that review’ from Rolling Stone.

For all its first-take scrappiness and guerrilla production, this two-LP set–which, at the group’s insistence, sells for not much more than the price of one–is music that means to endure. It’s so rich and far-reaching that it leaves you not just exhilarated but exalted and triumphantly alive.              (Rolling Stone, January 1980)

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