Sold Date: July 17, 2020
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Rarest - 1980's Original Vinyl Pressings Classic Indie Punk Rock 12 Vinyl EPs
The Clash


1. 1981 CBS Records - 12" EP with: a: Magnificent Dance b. The Magnificent Seven c. The Call Up d.  The Cool Out
2. 1981 CBS Records - 12" EP with: a: This Is Radio Clash b. Outside Broadcast/Radio 5
3.  This Is England b/w  Do It Now + Sex Mad Roar CBS Records - 1984 UK Import




These will be a great addition to your vintage vinyl collection.
Good luck and good bidding!
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The Clash:

The  may have been the first British punk rock band, but  were the definitive British punk rockers. Where  were nihilistic,  were fiery and idealistic, charged with righteousness and a leftist political ideology. From the outset, the band was more musically adventurous, expanding its hard rock & roll with reggae, dub, and rockabilly among other roots musics. Furthermore, they were blessed with two exceptional songwriters in  and , each with a distinctive voice and style. The  copped heavily from classic outlaw imagery, positioning themselves as rebels with a cause. As a result, they won a passionately devoted following on both sides of the Atlantic. While they became rock & roll heroes in the U.K., second only to  in terms of popularity, it took  several years to break into the American market, and when they finally did in 1982, they imploded several months later. Though  never became the superstars they always threatened to become, they restored passion and protest to rock & roll. For a while, they really did seem like "the only band that mattered."

For a band that constantly sang about revolution and the working class,  had surprisingly traditional roots.  (born John Graham Mellor, August 21, 1952) had spent most of his childhood in boarding school. By the time he was in his early twenties, he had busked on the streets of London and had formed a pub rock band called . Around the same time,  (born June 26, 1955) was leading a hard rock group called the London SS. Unlike ,  came from a working-class background in Brixton. Throughout his teens, he was fascinated with rock & roll, and he had formed the London SS with the intent of replicating the hard-driving sound of  and . ' childhood friend  (born December 15, 1956) joined the group as a bassist in 1976 after hearing ; he replaced , who would later join  and . At the time, the band also featured drummer  (born ), who had recently replaced  (born Nicky Headon, May 30, 1955). After witnessing  in concert,  decided to break up  in early 1976 in order to pursue a new, harder-edged musical direction. He left the band just before their first single, "Keys to Your Heart," was released. Along with fellow  guitarist ,  joined the revamped London SS, now renamed .

The Clash performed its first concert in the summer of 1976, supporting  in London.  left the band shortly afterward. Hiring  -- a former business associate of  manager  -- as their manager,  set out on ' notorious Anarchy Tour late in 1976. Though only three concerts were performed on the tour, it nevertheless raised 's profile and the band secured a record contract in February of 1977 with British CBS. Over the course of three weekends, the group recorded their debut album. Once the sessions were completed,  left the group, and  came aboard as the band's drummer. In the spring, 's first single, "White Riot," and eponymous debut album were released to great critical acclaim and sales in the U.K., peaking at number 12 on the charts. The American division of CBS decided  wasn't fit for radio play, so it decided not to release the album. The import of the record became the largest-selling import of all time. Shortly after the U.K. release of , the band set out on the whirlwind White Riot tour supported by  and ; the tour was highlighted by a date at London's Rainbow Theatre, where the audience tore the seats out of the venue. During the White Riot tour, CBS pulled "Remote Control" off the album as a single, and as a response,  recorded "Complete Control" with reggae icon .

Throughout 1977,  and  were in and out of jail for a myriad of minor indiscretions, ranging from vandalism to stealing a pillowcase, while  and  were arrested for shooting racing pigeons with an air gun. The Clash's outlaw image was bolstered considerably by such events, but the band also began to branch out into social activism, such as headlining a Rock Against Racism concert. Released in the summer of 1978, the single "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" demonstrated the band's growing social consciousness. Shortly after the single peaked at number 32,  began working on their second album with producer , a former member of .  gave  a clean but powerful sound designed to break the American market. While that didn't happen -- the album peaked at 128 on the U.S. charts in the spring of 1979 -- the record became an enormous hit in Britain, debuting at number two on the charts.

Early in 1979,  began their first American tour, entitled "Pearl Harbor '79." That summer, the band released the U.K.-only EP , which featured a cover of 's "I Fought the Law." Following the later summer release of  in America, the group set out on its second U.S. tour, hiring  of  as a keyboardist. On both of their U.S. tours,  had R&B acts like , , , and  support them, as well as neo-traditionalist country-rocker  and the punk rockabilly band . The choice of supporting acts indicated that  were becoming fascinated with older rock & roll and all of its legends. That fascination became the driving force behind their breakthrough double album, . Produced by , who formerly worked with ,  boasted an array of styles, ranging from rockabilly and New Orleans R&B to anthemic hard rock and reggae. Retailing at the price of a single album, the record debuted at number nine on the U.K. charts in late 1979 and climbed to number 27 on the U.S. charts in the spring of 1980.

The Clash successfully toured the U.S., the U.K., and Europe in early 1980, during which time the pseudo-documentary Rude Boy was released in England. During the summer, the band released the Dutch-only, dub-inflected single "Bankrobber," which they recorded with DJ ; by the fall, the British branch of CBS was forced to release the single due to popular demand. Shortly afterward, the band went to New York to begin the tension-filled, self-produced sessions for their follow-up to . In November, a U.S.-only EP of odds and ends entitled  was released. The following month, the triple-record set  appeared in the U.K. and the U.S. The critical reaction to the album was decidedly mixed, with American critics reacting more favorably than their British counterparts. Furthermore, the band's audience in the U.K. was shrinking slightly --  was the first record the group released that sold more copies in the U.S. than the U.K.

After spending much of 1981 touring and resting,  reconvened late in the year to record their fifth album with producer , a former engineer/producer for , the , and .  left the band shortly after the sessions finished; the press statement said he parted with the group due to political differences, but it was later revealed that the split was due to his heavy drug use. The band replaced  with their old drummer, , around the spring release of . The album was 's most commercially successful effort, entering the U.K. charts at number two and climbing into the American Top Ten in early 1983, thanks to the Top Ten hit single "Rock the Casbah." During the fall of 1982,  opened for  on their farewell tour. Though the tour helped  scale the U.S. charts,  were routinely booed off the stage on every date of the tour.

Although  were at the height of their commercial powers in 1983, the band was beginning fall apart.  was fired in the spring and was replaced by , formerly of Cold Fish. During the summer, the band headlined the U.S. Festival in California; it would be their last major appearance. In September,  and  fired  because he "drifted apart from the original idea of ."  formed  the following year, while  hired guitarists  and  to fill his vacancy. Throughout 1984, the band toured America and Europe, testing the new lineup. The revamped  finally released their first album, , in November. The album was greeted with overwhelmingly poor reviews and sales; it would later be disowned by  and .

Early in 1986,  and  decided to permanently disband . Several years later,  formed the roots rock band , which released only one album, in 1991; following the record's release, he concentrated on painting. After reuniting with  to write songs for 's second album, 1986's ,  drifted between a musical and film career, appearing in 's Straight to Hell (1986) and 's Mystery Train (1989). He also scored Permanent Record (1988) and 's Walker (1987).  released a solo album, , in 1989. Shortly afterward, he joined  as a touring rhythm guitarist and vocalist. By 1991, he had quietly drifted away from the spotlight. For the remainder of the decade,  was quiet, appearing on only one other recording -- 's 1996 Top Ten hit "England's Irie."

Though  and  were both quiet, and  was busy with various incarnations of , rumors of a  reunion continued to circulate throughout the '90s. When "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" appeared in a Levi's television commercial in 1992, the song was re-released in the U.K. by CBS, and it shot to number one, fueling reunion speculation. The rumors appeared again in 1995 and 1996, when  decided to reunite, but  remained quiet. , assembling material recorded between 1978 and 1982, was released in 1999, shortly followed by the documentary film Westway to the World.

The  were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in November 2002 and the group were making plans to reunite to commemorate the event that following spring when  suddenly died from a congenital heart defect on December 22, 2002. In the wake of his passing,  were inducted into the Hall in March of 2003 and then quietly tabled any plans for a reunion. Over the next decade, both  and  were musically active.  produced both albums by the acclaimed rock group  -- who themselves bore a distinct debt to the  -- and  teamed with 's  for the 2007 band . This project lead to a  and  reunion under the auspices of 's group ; the pair both performed on the 2010 album  and then they both appeared on the supporting tour, marking the first time they shared the stage since . In 2013, the group announced a major archival project called Sound System containing new remasters of the band's first five albums, three additional CDs of rarities, singles, and demos, plus a DVD. Along with the box set came a new compilation called The Clash Hits Back, which mimicked the sequence of their July 19, 1982 set list at the Brixton Fair Deal.