The Clash

By January 1977, punk had become a major media phenomenon in the UK. On 25 January 1977, The Clash signed to CBS Records for £100,000, a remarkable amount for a band that had played a total of about thirty gigs and almost none as a headliner. As Clash historian Marcus Gray describes, the “band members found themselves having to justify to both the music press and to fans who picked up on the critics’ muttered asides about The Clash having ‘sold out’ to the establishment. “Mark Perry, founder of the leading London punk periodical, Sniffin’ Glue, let loose with what he would later call his “big quote”: “Punk died the day The Clash signed to CBS.”

Mickey Foote, who worked as a technician at their concerts, was hired to produce The Clash’s debut album, and Terry Chimes was drafted on drums for the recording. The band’s first single, “White Riot”, was released in March; the album, The Clash, came out the following month. Filled with fiery punk tracks, it also presaged the many eclectic turns the band would take with its cover of the reggae song “Police and Thieves”. Though both the single and album charted well in the UK—”White Riot” reached number 34, The Clash number 12—CBS refused to release either in the United States, saying that the sound was not “radio friendly”.A US version of the album (this version) with a modified track listing was released in 1979, after the UK original became the best-selling import album of all time in the United States.