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Were The Clash The Best Band To Never Make It Really Big?


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Old 16-03-2012, 12:36
Dixon
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During their time i think i'm right in saying they never even had a top 10 single in the UK: It wasn't until the band broke up that they had a big hit and that was due to it being on an advert.

Imho,they were a brilliant and important band that suffered through a lack of exposure [they wouldn't play TOTP] and in those days that hurt a band trying to make it really big.
They combined punk rock with reggae, and perhaps surprisingly as well, they were able to combine all that aggression with clever pop melodies and harmonies [Strummer loved Abba and Mick Jones loved Mott The Hoople] so the mixture and influences in their songs was way better and celever than any other so-called punk band around at the time.

Yes, they had a level of success, but imho they should have been huge!!!
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Old 16-03-2012, 13:09
unique
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the clash were huge. they were huge in both the UK and the US. chart positions isn't the best way to measure success, particularly not at that time when stuff like shaddapayoface rode the charts

i thought big audio dynamite should have been bigger though. the first album was the brilliant, the second was great, then we can ignore the rest
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Old 16-03-2012, 13:15
Fizzee Rascal
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To me, The Clash -along with the Pixies- were simply the best band. Whether they made it big or not was irrelavent, they had a massive influence of modern rock music
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Old 16-03-2012, 13:17
Dixon
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the clash were huge. they were huge in both the UK and the US. chart positions isn't the best way to measure success,
Chart positions were very important in the 1970's. To be seen as 'huge' back then, you had to either have big number one singles or albums and The Clash never had either. The really big groups managed both, which was quite rare back then.
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Old 16-03-2012, 13:22
Dixon
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Whether they made it big or not was irrelavent,

It's not irrelevant at all!
Great talent deserves great success!!!
It's sad when you see manufactured, plastic carp like Westlife having number one after number one, while real talent barely scratch the top ten in their day.
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Old 16-03-2012, 16:42
unique
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Chart positions were very important in the 1970's. To be seen as 'huge' back then, you had to either have big number one singles or albums and The Clash never had either. The really big groups managed both, which was quite rare back then.
important to who? led zeppelin and pink floyd were huge without releasing singles in the UK for most of their career
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Old 16-03-2012, 16:47
DC 17
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the clash were huge. they were huge in both the UK and the US. chart positions isn't the best way to measure success, particularly not at that time when stuff like shaddapayoface rode the charts
Its a daft thread title and shows complete ignorance and lack of basic music nous, especially of their genre.
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Old 16-03-2012, 17:12
Fabala
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Its a daft thread title and shows complete ignorance and lack of basic music nous, especially of their genre.
Agreed.
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Old 16-03-2012, 21:08
bbclassics
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One of my favourite bands!
I got a pair of The Clash edition converse shoes yesterday, they are amazing.
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Old 16-03-2012, 21:22
Microkorg
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Chart positions were very important in the 1970's. To be seen as 'huge' back then, you had to either have big number one singles or albums and The Clash never had either. The really big groups managed both, which was quite rare back then.
As they refused to appear on TOTP, they still charted highly, frequently despite that.. very successful band and one of the 70's best.
Sadly, by the time I got to see them live, they had seen better days
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Old 16-03-2012, 21:32
mr muggles
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One of my favourite bands!
I got a pair of The Clash edition converse shoes yesterday, they are amazing.
And the spirit of punk died another tiny death......:sleep:
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Old 16-03-2012, 21:32
my name is joe
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one of my favourites ever, i'd say they're one of those whose hugeness is more in their scope & influence than sales

the one thing that gets overlooked with the Clash is how funny Strummer's lyrics often were, as well as political. I think he's a great writer without being noted for in the way Costello is for example.
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Old 16-03-2012, 22:11
darnall42
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And the spirit of punk died another tiny death......:sleep:
well they lost thier punk credential when they started playing stadiums in the U.S.Although i have most of thier albums,in my opinion think they were overated
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Old 17-03-2012, 03:23
bbclassics
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And the spirit of punk died another tiny death......:sleep:
Piss in my cornflakes why don't ya?

They're beautiful shoes ,I'm supporting a band I like. No different to people wearing Ramones shirts.
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Old 17-03-2012, 03:27
Jimmy_McNulty
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Piss in my cornflakes why don't ya?

They're beautiful shoes ,I'm supporting a band I like. No different to people wearing Ramones shirts.
I prefer Coco Pops.

Think i'll listen to some Clash now.
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Old 17-03-2012, 07:08
mushymanrob
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to answer the op... no.

there were plenty of other great innovative bands that didnt make it big either... imho squeeze, xtc, talk talk, should also have much more recognition and been bigger then they were.
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Old 17-03-2012, 07:35
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That's a great shout above, Talk Talk produced some brilliant music Spirit of Eden still sounds superb.

There are countless acts who should have done better and visa versa.
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Old 17-03-2012, 08:01
shackfan
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Agree with above 2 I think Talk Talk were ahead of their time. If tracks like Lifes what you make it came out now they would sound current and would probably do better than they did in the 80s.
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Old 17-03-2012, 18:18
Dixon
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important to who? led zeppelin and pink floyd were huge without releasing singles in the UK for most of their career
They sold tens of millions of albums worldwide so they were huge bands.
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Old 18-03-2012, 00:24
ohglobbits
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Definitely not.

Better examples include US sixties group Love, Psychedelic Furs, The The, Inertia, Super Furry Animals..
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Old 18-03-2012, 06:02
bbclassics
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I prefer Coco Pops.

Think i'll listen to some Clash now.
Eugh Coco Pops? They have a horrid cheap chocolatey taste.
Cornflakes with a bit of sugar, now they taste good



I think I may listen to the Clash too
*plays Lost In The Supermarket
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Old 18-03-2012, 07:36
Domestiques
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Piss in my cornflakes why don't ya?

They're beautiful shoes ,I'm supporting a band I like. No different to people wearing Ramones shirts.
You know they sell Ramones t-shirts in Primark dont you, you try to defend yourself and undermine it. Everytime someone buys a ramones shirt from Primark, a puppy dies. I think also Arturo Vega owns The Ramones image rights anyway so the surviving Ramones (Richie, CJ, Markie, Tommy) dont make money from that or any surving spouse of Joey.
Converse also do a Ramones edition hi top, this is ****ing ridiculous, the ramones famously wore chuck taylors, why bother with some shitty other hi top.
As for The Clash, their converse is ****ing awful, its a joke it really is.
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Old 18-03-2012, 08:38
bbclassics
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Everytime someone buys a ramones shirt from Primark, a puppy dies.
Stop being so over the top. You sound ridiculous. Yes I do know Primark sells Ramones t - shirts and no I don't own one as I don't particularly like the Ramones. There's nothing wrong with wearing a band t-shirt, hell even Joe Strummer wore a Clash t shirt. No one is forcing anyone to buy Chuck Taylor Hi tops, Ramones fans if they like can just buy the standard low top editions.

As for my shoes I love them and don't really care what you (a random stranger) think about them. It's my hard earned money and I'll spend it how I like.
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Old 18-03-2012, 10:44
unique
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You know they sell Ramones t-shirts in Primark dont you, you try to defend yourself and undermine it. Everytime someone buys a ramones shirt from Primark, a puppy dies. I think also Arturo Vega owns The Ramones image rights anyway so the surviving Ramones (Richie, CJ, Markie, Tommy) dont make money from that or any surving spouse of Joey.
Converse also do a Ramones edition hi top, this is ****ing ridiculous, the ramones famously wore chuck taylors, why bother with some shitty other hi top.
As for The Clash, their converse is ****ing awful, its a joke it really is.
i think anyone who wears a ramones t shirt without owning a ramones album should be shot. if they don't even know a ramones song the entire family should be shot

this whole wearing band t shirts when you don't even know the band never mind like them is ridiculous, and when primark start doing it, it's a sad sign of our society

fashion labels using bands images and logos etc is one thing, as fans may want to buy that kind of stuff. i've worn clash t shirts since the 80s and i can still get them. there are a load of great clash t shirts. i wouldn't wear the trainers though. but that primark are doing is shitting on the name of the bands to make a quick quid. i popped in primark for the very first time last weekend to see what people were talking about and i couldn't believe they had notorious BIG and ramones t shirts in a store full of 14 year old kids who weren't alive when biggy was shot

i remember the levis thing too as i worked in retail then and got a pile of clash stuff free from levis, which was cool as i was a fan. i was a pretty big BAD fan too. what levis did was a completely different thing, and levis was definately cool at the time. what next, poundland selling smiths t shirts?
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Old 18-03-2012, 12:50
Dixon
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Its a daft thread title and shows complete ignorance and lack of basic music nous, especially of their genre.

In what way am i ignorant and lacking basic music nous?

i'd be more than willing to take you on in a debate about 70's music any day of the week!.
I'll warn you that my tastes vary from Abba to Led Zep and almost everything in between.
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