Most proud of this book of anything I’ve done since Who Invented Heavy Metal?. It’s more than two lbs. of pure, dense, punk rock writing. As the back cover says...

THE STORIES BEHIND EVERY STUDIO TRACK FROM THE ONLY BAND THAT MATTERS.

Established in 1976 at the fore London’s punk rock insurgence, The Clash would outlast their peers while creating some of the most influential albums in rock ‘n’ roll history. Author Martin Popoff dissects each of the Clash’s ninety-one studio tracks, examining the circumstances that led to their creation, the recording processes, the historical contexts and more. In addition, introductory essays set the scene for the band’s six studio releases (including the double LP London Calling, and the triple Sandinista!) and feature sidebars detailing studios, release dates, personnel and more. Illustrated with rare performance and offstage photography, along with images of 7-inch singles sleeves and gig posters, the resulting volume is a fitting tribute to the foursome whose staunch political stance and groundbreaking amalgam of punk, rockabilly, reggae and hip-hop earned the title, “The Only Band That Matters.”

Folks, this is as gorgeously appointed as my recent Voyageur titles on AC/DC and Led Zeppelin (by the way, the concept is exactly the same as that used in the Zep). It’s hardcover, full colour throughout on heavy premium gloss. The cover is embossed and makes use of metallic ink. And the dimension is this odd 7 3/4” x 10” which is... there’s just something really nifty about it.

Inside, there are tons of pictures Voyageur Press unearthed that I’d never seen before, plus loads of memorabilia shots. The bottom line is that ever last thought I ever had on The Clash has got to be in here, because I basically had to write 350 to 600 words on each and every Clash song. This was pure hard-graft writing, melding analysis with hundreds of trivia nuggets, opinion (some of it not so complimentary—possibly get in some trouble here) and obsessive dissection, which was in truth, so gratifying to execute ‘cos for years I’ve wanted to get some punk covered (first addressed with my Ramones book, plus Punk Tees). Plus, there’s interview footage in there for a few sidebars, where I’ve offered quotes from my interviews with Ellen Foley, Sandy Pearlman, Mickey Gallagher and Bernard Rhodes.