Paul Simonon turns 60 today
Cohan Chew

07:00 15th December 2015

14 December 2015: Today marks Paul Simonon’s 60th birthday, so accordingly, we are listing some of the best artists who were inspired by The Clash.

The Clash were galvanic, inspiring, anarchic and prolific. Pioneering punk music by elevating rock and roll to new levels, The Clash introduced a new sound to the UK that was echoed in the US by the Ramones, proclaiming “No Elvis, Beatles or Rolling Stones in 1977”. Whilst the Sex Pistols may have overshadowed The Clash in notoriety, The Clash’s music make the Pistols seem like punk mascots in comparison.

Musically, The Clash were undoubtedly innovative. Drawing influences from blues, rock and reggae, The Clash formed their own sound, which in itself generated the bedrock of ska. As a result, their influences spread across artists from a wide range of genres.

The Clash’s evergreen legacy has also extended into pop culture. ‘London Calling’, “Rock The Casbah’ and ‘Police On My Back’ have seeped their way into soundtracks, whilst movies such as This Is England and Rock n Rolla have paid their own tributes.

To commemorate Paul Simonon, whose ‘Guns of Brixton’ bass line may just be one of the best bass lines ever written, we are taking a look at some of the best bands who were inspired by The Clash. Happy birthday Paul!

  • Iggy Pop - The Stooges were a hard core punk band who inspired a generation themselves, but according to Iggy Pop, The Clash were seminal to their work. Talking about Joe Strummer, Iggy said, "Joe was as huge an inspiration to me now as he was in 1977. He combined cool with an uncompromising stance, infused reggae into punk and taught a whole generation of us more about politics than any number of teachers or politicians."

  • Green Day - "We love The Clash", said Billie Joe Armstrong. Although more sterilised than The Clash, Green Day's stage presence is clearly reminiscent of them.

  • NOFX - Lead singer, Fat Mike, once said that his ska and reggae influences came directly from The Clash and that "all the good ska and reggae come from punk bands."

  • Moby - This EDM vegan may not be punk rock but has claimed that, "The Clash changed my life in a fundamental way. Their mixture of politics and music shaped my beliefs and tastes and made me the person I am today."

  • Manic Street Preachers - This 90's rock band were fashioning themselves after the Clash in an attempt to restore rock music "at a time when Britain was dominated by trancey shoegazers and faceless, trippy acid house."

  • Beastie Boys - The New York trio may be well versed in hip hop and rap, but they certainly knew how to rock the stage with their electric guitars. 'Fight For The Right', 'No Sleep Til Brooklyn' and 'Sabotage' were definitive punk tracks. Ad Rock stated that The Clash were one of his earliest influences, after seeing them perform live.

  • Bruce Springsteen - Proclaiming that "The Clash were a major influence on [his] music" and that they were "the best rock n roll band", The Boss performed the anthemic 'London Calling' at Glastonbury in 2009.

  • Rancid - If their 1998 album Life Won't Wait won't convince you that The Clash were amongst their strongest influences, their cover of 'Cheat' certainly will.

  • U2 - The biggest band to come out of Ireland sat on the border of pop and rock throughout their career. Bono has accordingly given accreditation to The Clash for their sound. According to Bono, "[The Clash] wrote the rule book for U2."

  • Pet Shop Boys - The electronic pop duo's experimental music may not spell anarchy and mischief, but nonetheless, The Clash had a strong influence on Neil Tennant, who stated, "The Clash had a massive influence on me in my teenage years and even now, 25 years later, hardly a week goes by without one of their albums featuring on my CD player."

  • Anti-Flag - These Clash fans loved them so much that in 2009, they performed a full set comprising only Clash covers at Hoodwink in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

  • Rise Against - This melodic hard core Chicago punk band never shy away from their political stances and their cover of 'White Riot' was a true reflection of this.

  • The Pogues - 'Fairytale of New York' seems to distract from the fact that The Pogues are an organic Irish punk band at their core. In their words, The Clash "influenced more than twenty-five years of music and musicians."

  • Bad Religion - Their heavy punk sound was undoubtedly lifted from the likes of the Ramones, The Clash and The Sex Pistols.


Photo: WENN