Mick Jones, co-founding singer/guitarist of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite, celebrates his 70th birthday today (June 26).
From 1975 to 1976, Jones played in a called London S.S. After that group broke up, he began forming a new band with bassist Paul Simonon, guitarist Keith Levene, and drummer Terry Chimes. After recruiting singer Joe Strummer from another local group, The 101ers, The Clash was born.
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[RELATED: 4 Great Clash Songs Co-Written by Drummer Topper Headon, in Honor of His 70th Birthday]
The band quickly became one of the most dynamic and popular groups in the London punk scene. Levene left The Clash in September 1976 (and later went on to form Public Image Ltd. with John “Johnny Rotten” Lydon), and Strummer then took on rhythm guitar duties along with being lead vocalist. The group’s classic lineup solidified when Topper Headon replaced Chimes on drums in early 1977.
Jones teamed up with Strummer to became The Clash’s main songwriting team. He also contributed lead vocals to some of the band’s most popular tunes.
Conflicts with Strummer led to Jones’ firing from The Clash in 1983. In 1984, he formed a new group, Big Audio Dynamite, which enjoyed a run of successful album and singles that lasted into the 1990s.
Mick also produced albums by a variety of artists. In 2002, he formed the band Carbon/Silicon with his friend Tony James, who had played in London S.S. and was a founding member of Generation X. Over the years, Jones collaborated with such artists as the Gorillaz, The Wallflowers, The Flaming Lips, and The Avalanches.
Jones was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Clash in 2003.
In honor of his milestone birthday, here are five unforgettable Clash songs sung by Jones:
“Stay Free” (1978)
“Stay Free” is a melodic rock tune featured on The Clash’s second Studio album, Give ’Em Enough Rope, which was released in November 1978. The song, which was co-written by Jones and Strummer, was the only track from the album that Mick is featured on lead vocals.
“Stay Free” was written about a school friend of Jones’ named Robin Crocker, with whom Mick would get into trouble. Crocker eventually ended in jail after robbing some banks. By the time he got out of prison, Jones was playing in The Clash.
Mick wrote the song about the camaraderie he felt toward Crocker and looks back nostalgically at the mischief they got into when they were young.
“Lost in a Supermarket” (1979)
“Lost in a Supermarket” was featured on The Clash’s 1979 double-album London Calling. Credited to Jones and Strummer, the song apparently was written solely by Joe, but sung by Mick.
The song is one of the more melodic tunes recorded by The Clash up until that time. It’s sung from the perspective of someone who feels alienated from modern, consumer-driven society.
In a making-of documentary featured on a DVD included in the deluxe 25th anniversary reissue of London Calling, Strummer says he wrote the song’s lyrics while imagining Jones’ life as a youngster growing up in a basement with his mother and grandmother.
“Train in Vain” (1979)
“Train in Vain” was another Strummer-Jones co-write that appeared at the end of the London Calling album. On original pressings of the album, the song did not appear in the track list, because it was added to the record at the last minute, after the sleeve was printed.
“Train in Vain” became The Clash’s first charting hit in the U.S., peaking at No. 23 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song was an R&B-inspired pop-rock tune with a catchy melody. Lyrically, “Train in Vain” is a breakup song thought to be inspired by Jones’ volatile relationship with Viv Albertine, the guitarist in the U.K. punk group The Slits.
“Somebody Got Murdered” (1980)
“Somebody Got Murdered” was featured on The Clash’s 1980 triple-album Sandinista! The song is credited as a band composition. Strummer began writing the song after he was asked to contribute a heavy rock tune to the soundtrack of the 1980 Al Pacino film Cruising.
The lyrics were inspired by an incident that occurred near Joe’s London apartment, where a parking attendant had been stabbed during an argument over a small amount of money. In the end, wasn’t used in the score for Cruising.
To reflect the ominousness and poignancy of the song’s subject matter, Jones sang the tune in a slightly hushed tone. He also added synthesizer to the track, along with his guitar.
“Should I Stay or Should I Go?” (1982)
“Should I Stay or Should I Go” appeared on The Clash’s fifth album, Combat Rock, which was the band’s final studio effort to feature Jones.
The infectious pop-rock tune was co-written by The Clash’s four members. Sung by Mick, “Should I Stay or Should I Go” became one of the band’s most popular and enduring songs.
The song appears to be about a guy who’s is trying to determine the status of his relationship with his lover. Some people also thought Jones may have been singing about his conflicts with his bandmates. Mick, though, refused to explain what the lyrics are about. The 2010 book 1000 UK #1 Hits quotes him as saying, “‘Should I Stay or Should I Go?’ wasn’t about anything specific and it wasn’t pre-empting my leaving The Clash. It was just a good rocking song, our attempt at writing a classic.”
The single peaked at No. 45 on the Hot 100 and initially reached No. 17 in the U.K.
In 1988, “Should I Stay or Should I Go” was re-released as a single in the U.K. after it was used in a Levi’s commercial. It then became The Clash’s only single to reach No. 1 in the band’s homeland.
(Photo by Michael Tullberg/Getty Images)