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The Clash鈥檚 London Calling at 40

Amy and Don Letts play out The Clash鈥檚 ground-breaking double album, London Calling in full - marking 40 years since it was released.

To mark National Album Day, 6 Music gives you the chance to spend an afternoon with The Clash, as Amy Lam茅 plays out the band鈥檚 ground-breaking double album, London Calling in full marking 40 years since it was released.

Amy is joined by guests Pennie Smith (who took the famous cover photo), Don Letts (the band鈥檚 friend and Video Director) and their Road Manager Johnny Green to celebrate this archetypal album.

Released in December 1979, London Calling was so influential that, when released in January the following year in America Rolling Stone Magazine called it 鈥渢he most important album of the 80s鈥�.

The sound on tracks such as Train In Vain, Lost In The Supermarket, Guns Of Brixton, was a reflection of all the band鈥檚 different personalities and a culmination of all their experiences at that time. The lyrics and performances were very personal and affecting to them personally.

As reflected in the famous cover by photographer Pennie Smith, the band wanted the album to be the last rock鈥檔鈥檙oll record. Elvis Presley started the ball rolling - lifting his guitar up - in 1956. Twenty-three years later they used the same graphics but showed a guitar being smashed to the floor at a gig in New York. This was The Clash at their most powerful and most prepared 鈥� writing, rehearsing and recording as a team with a fellow outsider - the producer Guy Stevens at Wessex Studios 鈥� pushing them, often in a very literally sense, to their limits with physical and sonic extremes creating triumphant and revolutionary music.

2 hours

Last on

Sun 8 Dec 2019 01:00
麻豆社 Radio 6 Music

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Music Played

  • The Clash

    London Calling

    • Columbia.

  • The Clash

    Brand New Cadillac

    • London Calling.
    • Columbia.
    • 02.

  • The Clash

    Jimmy Jazz

  • The Clash

    Hateful

  • The Clash

    Rudie Can't Fail

    • Epic.

  • The Clash

    Spanish Bombs

    • Epic.

  • The Clash

    The Right Profile

    • CBS.

  • The Clash

    Lost In The Supermarket

    • COLUMIBA.

  • The Clash

    Clampdown

    • Epic.

  • The Clash

    The Guns Of Brixton

    • Epic.

  • The Clash

    Wrong 'Em Boyo

    • London Calling.
    • Columbia.
    • 11.

  • The Clash

    Death Or Glory

    • London Calling.
    • Columbia.
    • 12.

  • The Clash

    Koka Kola

    • London Calling.
    • Columbia.
    • 13.

  • The Clash

    The Card Cheat

    • Epic.

  • The Clash

    Lover's Rock

    • London Calling.
    • Columbia.
    • 15.

  • The Clash

    Four Horsemen

    • London Calling.
    • Columbia.
    • 16.

  • The Clash

    I'm Not Down

  • The Clash

    Revolution Rock

    • London Calling.
    • Columbia.

  • The Clash

    Train In Vain

    • Columbia.

Broadcast

  • Sun 8 Dec 2019 01:00
    麻豆社 Radio 6 Music