‘White Man In Hammersmith Palais’ - The Clash, 1978
A good friend of mine loves this song. We’ve got a running joke whenever he’s near my iPod, in that he’s only got seven or eight songs that he’ll play, and ‘White Man…’ always gets a dusting off. He’s got a point - it’s a great song, probably the Clash’s finest moment. If you haven’t heard this before, and thought of the Clash as just another punk band, set your ears to, well, slightly surprised.
The ‘One, two, ah-one-two-three-four’ intro, followed by fairly loud guitars, might have you reaching for the volume control, but it then settles into a reggae-ish beat with one of the best basslines ever. And it’s well-known that I enjoy a good bassline. Well, this is easily in the top 5 all-time great basslines.
Joe Strummer starts giving out about going to see a ‘roots rock’ band, and finding that they have nothing of relevance to say to an audience that has “many black ears here to listen”. The next target is the British Army, and a bit of a whinge about how the government doesn’t care about young people, be they white or black.
Finally, Strummer belittles the ‘new wave’ groups that have followed in the Clash’s wake, with a sneer at Joy Division and their ‘overcoats’, and the Jam and their ‘Burton suits’. The story ends up with a white guy (presumably Strummer) in the middle of a riot and pleading with the angry mob that he’s just there as a cultural tourist.
At least that’s what I always got from the lyrics. Better explanations here, maybe. I always thought that Joe Strummer was a bit of a whinger, but at least he was always passionate. I saw The Future Is Unwritten a while back, and he comes across as very socially-conscious but also personally distant. Anyway, good documentary.
What really gets me with this song is the music. Mick Jones and Paul Simonon harmonise backing vocals, the bass needs no more eulogising, the chopped chords give it a cool reggae feel, and Topper’s drumming is magnificent as always.
Here’s the studio version, but for some reason the bass is a bit muted. If you can get this, do so, and listen to on headphones. The bass really is something else.
Last 5 posts by Dave
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