Wednesday 31 May 2017

Record of the Year 1978: Clash - (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais


I have gone down the punk route for my record of the year for 1978 by picking a record by the Clash.

This was their fourth single and their first to move away from the raw punk sound by mixing it with reggae. It's a great example of what punk did for the music industry, it wasn't just about the fast 2 minute songs, but also about all the music which evolved from punk.

Sometimes mixing two styles of music you like doesn't work at all, some of the tunes which mix dance and rap music these days are pretty dreadful. This combination of punk and reggae though works really well.

The Clash had 11 top 40 hits overall and never reached the top 10 until "Should I Stay Or Should I Go" was re issued in 1991 a number of years after they split after it appeared on a certain jeans commercial.

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