List of the Clash band members
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The Clash were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 initially consisting of Joe Strummer (lead vocals, guitar), Mick Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar), Paul Simonon (bass guitar), Keith Levene (guitar) and Terry Chimes (drums and percussion). Levene was dismissed in September 1976 and went on to form Public Image Ltd. Terry Chimes performed intermittently as drummer for the first year of the band's existence, playing on the debut album. Topper Headon was recruited in May 1977 as the band's permanent drummer, forming the classic Clash line-up which would remain together until 1982.
Headon was dismissed in May 1982 due to drug addiction problems and Chimes returned in Headon's place. Headon had often acted as a mediating force between the two strong personalities in the band, Strummer and Jones, and in his absence the band began to disintegrate. In May 1983 Chimes left once more and was replaced by Pete Howard. In September 1983, Mick Jones was dismissed due to continued conflict and infighting. Vince White and Nick Sheppard were recruited by band manager Bernard Rhodes as guitarists to replace the departing Jones. The recording of their final album Cut the Crap was chaotic and there was little chemistry between the new group members and the remaining core of the band. Strummer left before it was completed, leaving the final mixes to Rhodes. After a short tour in support of the album in January 1985, the band went on hiatus, which became permanent when the band officially dissolved in 1986.
Band members
[edit | edit source]Classic line-up (May 1977 – May 1982)
[edit | edit source]| Images | Name | Time active | Main instruments | Occasional instruments | Release contributions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Strummer | May 1976–1986 (died 2002) |
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all Clash releases | Joe Strummer was a member of the original band formed in 1976, and remained with the band until they broke up in 1986, he died in 2002. | |
| Paul Simonon | May 1976–1986 |
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all Clash releases except Cut the Crap (1985) | Paul Simonon was a member of the original band formed in 1976, and remained with the band until they broke up in 1986. While credited on their last album, he was not featured on any of the finished tracks. | |
| Mick Jones | May 1976–September 1983 |
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Mick Jones was a member of the original band formed in 1976. He was dismissed from the band in September 1983 after his working relationship with Strummer stopped functioning. | ||
| Topper Headon | May 1977–May 1982 |
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Topper Headon joined the band after being a self-described "journeyman" drummer. He realised the potential of the band and remained with them for four albums and a B-side compilation. He was dismissed from the band when his heroin addiction affected his reliability. |
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Other members
[edit | edit source]| Image | Name | Time active | Main Instruments | Release contributions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Chimes |
|
drums |
|
Terry Chimes was an on-off member of the initial line-up of the band. He left and then was recruited to record the debut album. He was omitted from the photo of it, because at that time he left. He was recruited again in 1982 when Topper Headon left because of drug addiction. He left the band the following year when he couldn't deal with infighting. | |
| Keith Levene | May–September 1976 (died 2022) | lead and rhythm guitar | None | Keith Levene was a member of the original band. In early September 1976, he was dismissed from the Clash. Strummer would claim that Levene's dwindling interest in the band owed to his supposedly abundant use of speed, a charge Levene has denied.[1] (Levene and John Lydon, of the Sex Pistols, would form Public Image Ltd. in 1978.) He died in 2022. | |
| Rob Harper | December 1976–January 1977 | drums | Rob Harper drummed for a while during the December tour. | ||
| Pete Howard | May 1983–1986 | Cut the Crap (1985) | Pete Howard was drumming for the band during the final twilight years. | ||
| Vince White | 1983–1986 | rhythm and lead guitar | Sheppard and White joined the band after Mick Jones was dismissed. | ||
| Nick Sheppard |
|
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Session members or groups
[edit | edit source]| Image | Name | Time active | Main Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allen Lanier | 1978 | piano | Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978) | |
| Stan Bronstein | saxophone | |||
| Bob Andrews | keyboards | |||
| Mickey Gallagher | 1979–1980 |
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1979 | horns | London Calling (1979) | |
| Tymon Dogg | 1980–1982 |
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| Norman Watt-Roy |
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bass guitar |
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| J.P. Nicholson | 1980 | Sandinista! (1980) | ||
| Davey Payne | saxophone | |||
| Gary Barnacle | 1980–1982 |
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| Arthur Edward Barnacle | 1980 | trumpet | Sandinista! (1980) | |
| Rick Gascoigne | trombone | |||
| Lew Lewis | harmonica | |||
| Ellen Foley | 1980–1982 | vocals |
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| Mikey Dread | 1980 |
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| Band Sgt. Dave Yates | Sandinista! (1980) | |||
| Den Hegarty | ||||
| Luke & Ben Gallagher | ||||
| Maria Gallagher | ||||
| Ivan Julian | guitar | |||
| Noel "Tempo" Bailey | ||||
| Anthony Nelson Steelie | keyboards | |||
| Style Scott | drums | |||
| Jody Linscott | percussion | |||
| Allen Ginsberg | 1981–1982 | vocals | Combat Rock (1982) | |
| Futura 2000 | ||||
| Kosmo Vinyl | ||||
| Joe Ely | backing vocals | |||
| Tommy Mandel | keyboards | |||
| Hermann Weindorf | 1985 | Cut the Crap (1985) | ||
| Michael Fayne |
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Timeline
[edit | edit source]<timeline> ImageSize = width:800 height:auto barincrement:20 PlotArea = left:100 bottom:95 top:10 right:10 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:05/01/1976 till:01/15/1986 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:4 ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1977 ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1977
Colors =
id:vocals value:red legend:Lead_&_backing_vocals id:bvocals value:pink legend:Backing_&_occasional_lead_vocals id:lguitar value:teal legend:Lead_guitar id:rguitar value:brightgreen legend:Rhythm_guitar id:keys value:purple legend:Keyboards id:bass value:blue legend:Bass id:drums value:orange legend:Drums id:perc value:claret legend:Percussion id:studio value:black legend:Studio_album id:bars value:gray(0.95)
BackgroundColors = bars:bars
LineData =
color:studio layer:back at:04/08/1977 at:11/10/1978 at:12/14/1979 at:12/12/1980 at:05/14/1982 at:11/04/1985
BarData =
bar:Joe text:"Joe Strummer" bar:Mick text:"Mick Jones" bar:Nick text:"Nick Sheppard" bar:Keith text:"Keith Levene" bar:Vince text:"Vince White" bar:Paul text:"Paul Simonon" bar:Terry text:"Terry Chimes" bar:Rob text:"Rob Harper" bar:Topper text:"Topper Headon" bar:Pete text:"Pete Howard"
PlotData =
width:11 bar:Joe from:start till:end color:vocals bar:Joe from:09/05/1976 till:end color:rguitar width:3 bar:Joe from:01/31/1977 till:05/01/1977 color:keys width:7 bar:Joe from:08/01/1979 till:11/10/1983 color:keys width:7 bar:Keith from:start till:09/05/1976 color:rguitar bar:Keith from:start till:09/05/1976 color:lguitar width:3 bar:Mick from:start till:11/10/1983 color:lguitar bar:Mick from:start till:09/05/1976 color:rguitar width:7 bar:Mick from:start till:11/10/1983 color:vocals width:3 bar:Mick from:08/01/1979 till:11/10/1983 color:keys width:7 bar:Nick from:11/10/1983 till:end color:lguitar bar:Nick from:11/10/1983 till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Vince from:11/10/1983 till:end color:rguitar bar:Vince from:11/10/1983 till:end color:lguitar width:3 bar:Paul from:start till:end color:bass bar:Paul from:start till:end color:bvocals width:3 bar:Terry from:start till:11/30/1976 color:drums bar:Rob from:11/30/1976 till:01/31/1977 color:drums bar:Terry from:01/31/1977 till:05/01/1977 color:drums bar:Topper from:05/01/1977 till:07/01/1982 color:drums bar:Topper from:08/01/1979 till:02/01/1980 color:perc width:3 bar:Topper from:02/01/1980 till:07/01/1982 color:perc width:7 bar:Topper from:02/01/1980 till:07/01/1982 color:bvocals width:3 bar:Terry from:07/01/1982 till:05/01/1983 color:drums bar:Pete from:05/01/1983 till:end color:drums
</timeline>
Line-ups
[edit | edit source]| Period | Members | Releases |
|---|---|---|
| May–September 1976 |
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None |
| September–November 1976 |
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| December 1976–January 1977 |
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| February–May 1977 |
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May 1977 – May 1982
(Classic lineup) |
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| May 1982 – May 1983 |
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| May 1983–September 1983 |
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none – live shows only |
| 1983–1986 |
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References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Robb (2006), pp. 215–216; Savage (1992), p. 220.
