10. The ClashLondon Calling
It was a toss-up between this and Sandinista!. I bought this and I remember thinking that it sounded a bit traditional in terms of the genres on it. It has ska and R&B and some lounge jazz and I didn’t connect with it at first. They weren’t like U2 or the Bunnymen. It was a bit more mainstream compared to what I was used to listening to but I’ve grown to appreciate it more and more and I really do love The Clash. Even though they were in the limelight as rock stars, they still stuck to their original manifesto by writing songs about everyday things. Look at ‘Lover’s Rock’ – that’s about family planning! They were an inspiration because they stuck to their guns with what they believed in.
As with The Police and a lot of the bands that I’ve mentioned, the musicianship was result of extended touring. I’m a huge fan of Topper Headon’s drumming and if you had to put together your fantasy band then he’d definitely be drumming.
