The argument about whether punk originated in the seedy underbelly of London or New York is still going strong. But it ultimately doesn’t matter. Everybody got to enjoy the golden era of punk toward the end of the 1970s. And The Clash was a big part of the movement across the pond, even before their debut album was released in 1977.
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The band started out after frontman Mick Jones experienced Sex Pistols live. Everything fell into place in his head from there. He once said that it was clear that things were changing in rock music and that there was a growing new scene coming to be. Joe Strummer had a similar epiphany. His band, The 101ers, saw Sex Pistols take to the stage and couldn’t believe it.
It’s a godsend that the two got together and formed The Clash. Likewise, it’s still an amazing feat that they released their debut self-titled punk rock album in 1977. That album would go on to influence punk music for decades.
The Clash’s Debut Album Changed the World of Punk for the Better
After forming, The Clash started to tour after just one month of making music together. In 1976, they started to gain some traction, and it was clear that an album needed to come out ASAP. So, the band got to work, and they got to work fast.
The result was The Clash, released in 1977 after the band was signed by CBS Records. They made quite a bit of money from the deal, and they put more or less all of it into that debut record. It only took about three weeks to put together, but the result was an album that perfectly captured hope in a dark time, bolstered by a sound that the world was just starting to pay attention to.
The Clash is like a masterclass of the punk movement. It’s creative, fresh, and isn’t held down by preconceived notions of rock. Rather, this record is rebellion personified in an LP. And it would go on to become a standard piece of music that defined British counterculture in a really beautiful way. “White Riot” and “I’m So Bored Of The U.S.A.” are essential listening, but you really need to listen to this entire record at least once.
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