The Clash

The story behind The Clash's London Calling album cover.

The Clash's bass player Paul Simonon was captured slamming his Fender guitar into the stage at the band’s New York gig at the Palladium in September 1979. Simonon said he destroyed his guitar in frustration when the concert bouncers prevented audience members from standing up, limiting the interaction with the audience that The Clash gigs were famed for.

In a 2011 interview, Simonon said, “Looking back now, I wish I had lifted my face up a bit more.” British photographer, Pennie Smith, who took the photo while travelling with The Clash on their US tour, initially didn’t want the image to be used as the album cover because it was out of focus and blurred. However, Joe Strummer, the band and graphic designer Ray Lowry disagreed and believed it would serve as an excellent album cover.

The London Calling cover is a deliberate homage to Elvis Presley’s self-titled debut album, released in 1956 and the first rock'n'roll album to top the US Billboard Album charts. This was The Clash’s way to signal a new, chaotic punk revolution, mirroring the impact Elvis had on rock'n'roll in the 50’s. Simonon said “When that Elvis record came out, rock’n’roll was pretty dangerous. And I suppose when we brought out our record, it was pretty dangerous stuff too.”

In 2002, Q magazine recognised the photo as the greatest rock and roll image of all time.

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