The Clash was formed in 1976 and became one of the earliest London punk groups to catch the wave. Their unique style would develop over the late 1970s into an accessible blend of punk with reggae, dub, funk, and rockabilly, a winning combination that pushed them to the height of punk fame and secured them a place in the history of music.Â
In their early days, the group did the rounds, playing in any dingey pubs and small music venues around England that would admit an up and coming punk group. On July 4th, 1976, they gave their debut performance in Sheffield, supporting the Sex Pistols. In just a few short weeks over that summer, The Clash had become a prominent force in the punk scene riding in the wake of the Sex Pistols alongside Manchesterâs Buzzcocks.
By the spring of 1977, they had recorded most of the material for their eponymous debut album. One of the tracks the group was most excited about in the run-up to the release of the album was âRemote Controlâ. The song served as Mick Jonesâ scathing portrayal of the music industry â record companies and civic hall bureaucrats in particular â following the groupâs troublesome experience at the Anarchy Tour. The Clash song that inspired one of Bob Marleyâs hitsRead More
For the notorious tour in 1976, 19 dates had been booked, but the bands performed only three times, the rest of the shows were canceled by order of the authorities who were, not without reason, fearful of violence breaking out. The lyrics, âthey had a meeting in Mayfair,â refers to the meeting of the EMI label shareholders in December 1976, where all financial support for the rest of the tour was pulled.Â
âRemote Controlâ was a true punk anthem and an ode to the anarchist youth. The song was even one of the first â if not the first â songs to directly mention the punk scene: âThey think youâre useless, and so you are â puunnnk!â.
But something occurred in the run-up to the release of The Clash album that tainted âRemote Controlâ in the bandâs eyes forever. At the start of 1977, The Clash released âWhite Riotâ as the first single from the upcoming LP and had revealed plans to release âJanie Jonesâ as the next. But their label, CBS, had other plans and decided to undermine them by releasing âRemote Controlâ as a single without consulting them.
The band were upset about this move by CBS as the track had been a symbol of everything they had been fighting against in the music industry. They subsequently became disillusioned with the song and would mostly omit it from their setlists and compilation albums over the coming years. Allegedly, the boys also set about circling the record shops of London and pulled the record from the shelves.
The Clash made a reference to the fiasco in their later single, âComplete Controlâ, which appeared on the 1979 US release of the debut album: âThey said, âRelease âRemote Controlâ, but we didnât want it on the labelâ.
Listen to âRemote Controlâ, the early punk anthem by The Clash, below.Â
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