What Was the First US Top 40 Hit by The Clash?

On one hand, they could make music that seemed way too uncompromising for the pop charts. But then again, the songwriters of The Clash possessed a knack for catchy melodies, the kind that make for great radio fodder. The Clash eventually broke into the US Top 40. Oddly enough, they did so with a song that, when it was created, was little more than an afterthought.

Videos by American Songwriter

‘Calling’ America

For a while there, it looked like The Clash might join a long list of artists who enjoyed great success in the United Kingdom but relatively little in the United States. Part of that could be written off to access. You couldn’t even buy their incendiary debut album in the US until 1979, more than two years after its UK release.

The Clash first started recording and releasing music at the height of the punk explosion. But it quickly became clear that the quartet had more up their sleeve than just straight-ahead bashing. They quickly showed a facility for many different genres of music. That helped them stay relevant, even as punk’s influence started to wane.

In the United Kingdom, The Clash knocked off six singles that reached the Top 40. But those songs were nowhere to be found in the US. In 1979, a cover of The Bobby Fuller Four classic “I Fought The Law” gained The Clash a touch of stateside airplay, but nothing too significant. 1979 was also the year that they put together their third LP, London Calling. It ended up containing a “hidden” track that would help break the band into America.

Catching the “Train”

The double-album London Calling found The Clash operating at their absolute peak. Their songs brimmed with fire and fervor. And they switched from style to style on the fly in a manner that few other bands would even attempt.

London Calling was pretty much in the books when The Clash were asked to contribute a song to a single release. The single was sponsored by the popular British music publication NME. Mick Jones quickly picked up his guitar and, in the course of an evening, finished writing a track with a rickety rhythm that reminded him of a locomotive churning. Hence, the title “Train In Vain”, which appears nowhere in the lyrics.

The heartbroken lyrics likely came about because of a recent breakup Jones had endured with Viv Albertine, a member of the punk group The Slits. “Train In Vain”, sung by Jones and featuring a slick, R&B-tinged arrangement, fulfilled The Clash’s end of the bargain. But the single was ultimately deemed too expensive, so it didn’t happen. What to do with this brand-new song?

“Vain” Glorious

The Clash decided to include “Train In Vain” as the last song on London Calling. Since artwork for the record had already reached the printing stages, the early pressings of the LP couldn’t account for its presence. Thus, it became an early example of a hidden track.

With the title expanded to “Train In Vain (Stand By Me)”, the parenthetical part reflecting the refrain, the song was released in America as a promotional single. Lo and behold, the afterthought of a song caught some momentum at US radio. It made it all the way to a peak of no. 23 on the pop charts in 1980.

The Clash’s biggest Top 40 commercial success in the US was still a few years down the road. That would come via a pair of hits from their 1982 album Combat Rock. “Train In Vain” cleared that path for them, a leftover of a song that turned out more like a main course.

Photo by English/Mirrorpix/Getty Images