The lyrics reflect the concern felt by Strummer about world events with the reference to "a nuclear error" – the incident at Three Mile Island, which occurred earlier in 1979. Joe Strummer has said: "We felt that we were struggling about to slip down a slope or something, grasping with our fingernails. And there was no one there to help us."[1][7]
The line "London is drowning / And I live by the river" comes from concerns that if the River Thames flooded, most of central London would drown, something that led to the construction of the Thames Barrier.[1][7] Strummer references police brutality in the lines "We ain't got no swing / Except for the ring of that truncheon thing" as the Metropolitan Police at the time had a truncheon as standard issued equipment.[original research?]
The lyrics also reflect desperation of the band's situation in 1979 struggling with high debt, without management and arguing with their record label over whether the London Calling album should be a single or double album. The lines referring to "Now don't look to us / Phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust" reflects the concerns of the band over its situation after the punk rock boom in England had ended in 1977.[citation needed]
According to a retrospective assessment by Allmusic critic Donald A. Guarisco, the song "cleverly crossbreeds anthemic hard rock with reggae by juxtaposing slashing, staccato guitar riffs with an undulating rhythm section beat as Strummer lays down a snarling vocal".[9] Guarisco finds that this gives the song "a hypnotic sense of drive."[9]
The song fades out with a Morse code signal spelling S-O-S,[10] reiterating the earlier urgent sense of emergency, and further alluding to drowning in the river.
The single has several issues, all with different covers. Four are from 1979 (catalogue number: 8087; S CBS 8087; 128087; S CBS 8087). In 1988, a special limited edition boxed set was released, containing three tracks, "London Calling" on side one, "Brand New Cadillac" and "Rudie Can't Fail" on side two, a poster and two badges (catalogue number: CLASH B2). Two were released by CBS Records in 1991 (catalogue number: 656946; 31-656946-22) both with "Brand New Cadillac" on the B-side, the second one has an additional track on side two "Return to Brixton (Jeremy Healy 7" Remix)" (see the table below).
In 2012, on the occasion of the International Record Store Day, a limited edition 7" was released, with a new mix of the song by Mick Jones, and an instrumental version on the B-side.
[11]
Year
B-side
Format
Label
Country
Note
1979
"Armagideon Time"
45 rpm 7" vinyl
CBS S CBS 8087
UK
Released on 7 December 1979; No. 2 for 1979, No. 37 overall.
New 2012 mix by Mick Jones and Bill Price. Released 21 April 2012
Chart success and critical reception
"London Calling" was released as the only single from the album in the UK and reached No. 11 in the charts in January 1980,[6] becoming at once the band's highest-charting single until "Should I Stay or Should I Go" hit No. 1 ten years later. The song did not make the U.S. charts, as "Train in Vain" was released as a single and broke the band in the United States, reaching No. 23 on the pop charts.
BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale made a bet with Strummer that London Calling would make the UK Top 10 without them appearing on Top of the Pops, the stake being a Cadillac ("Brand New Cadillac" being the second track on the London Calling album). When the record peaked at number 11, Nightingale was saved by a listener who donated a Cadillac. The Cadillac was subsequently auctioned to raise funds for the recession-hit steel town of Corby.[12]
"London Calling" was the first Clash song to chart elsewhere in the world, reaching the top 40 in Australia. The success of the single and album was greatly helped by the music video shot by Don Letts showing the band playing the song on a boat (Festival Pier), next to Albert Bridge on the south side of the Thames, Battersea Park in a cold and rainy night at the beginning of December 1979.[13][14]
The single fell off the charts after 10 weeks, but later re-entered the chart twice, spending a total of 15 non-consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart.
The Clash turned down a request from British Telecom to use the song for an advertising campaign in the early 1990s.[21] In 2002, the Clash incurred criticism from some fans of the band when they sold the rights to Jaguar for a car advertisement.[22]
The song was also used for a 2012 British Airways advertisement, picturing a jet aeroplane taxiing through the streets of London passing numerous landmarks and parking outside the Olympic Stadium.[23]
Joe Strummer later became a DJ for the BBC World Service, on a programme called "Joe Strummer's London Calling".[24]
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Clash gave permission to a Ukrainian punk band named Beton to rewrite the song as an anti-invasion anthem and charity fundraiser titled "Kyiv Calling".[25]
Green, Johnny & Barker, Garry (2003) [1997]. A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash (3rd ed.). London: Orion. ISBN0-7528-5843-2. OCLC52990890.
^ abcGilbert 2005, pp. 233, 235, 238, 257, 260, 267.
^ ab"BBC - Radio 2 - Sold On Song - Brits25 - London Calling"(SHTML). Radio 2, Sold On Song. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 December 2007. a) "Taken from the Clash's stunning 1979 double album London Calling, the single showcased the band's trademark fusion of reggae bass lines with punk guitar and vocals." b) "Reaching number eleven in December 1979, the song was the only track to be released as a single from their acclaimed London Calling album."
^"The Uncut Crap - Over 56 Things You Never Knew About The Clash". NME. 3. London: IPC Magazines. 16 March 1991. ISSN0028-6362. OCLC4213418. British Telecom wanted to use "London Calling" for their last advertising campaign. They were told to bog off
^Walker, Rob (15 September 2002). "Brand new Jag". Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 4 October 2002. Retrieved 31 December 2007.
