What The Clash Taught Me About Being Pro-Creative

The Clash in New Musical Express

It’s July 4th, 1976. It’s America’s bicentennial, and on a small stage in Sheffield, England, a new revolution is getting underway. As Americans prepare their fireworks, The Clash are plugging in for their first ever live show.

Mick Jones’ band, London SS, had broken up early in 1976. Joe Strummer had been fronting pub rock band, The 101’ers for two years when he was approached by Jones’ manager Bernie Rhodes. In less than 24hrs Strummer had accepted the gig, and The Clash were born.

Paul Simonon

The original lineup consisted of Strummer (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Jones (lead guitar/vocals), Paul Simonon (bass and architect of The Clash’s signature aesthetic), Keith Levene (guitar, quit after two months) and Terry Chimes (drums, replaced by Topper Headon in 1979). They rehearsed for 36 days before opening for the Sex Pistols on America’s birthday.

73 days earlier the Ramones had released their self-titled debut. On the night of their first gig, The Clash traveled the 254 kilometers(1) back to London to see the Ramones live for the first time. Strummer himself considers this the watershed moment in his transition from pub to punk rock.

The Sex Pistols had been playing regularly since their November, 1975 debut. New bands were crawling out of the London underground weekly. The Clash were in a race for relevance.

Mick Jones in Pop magazine

It would have been easy for The Clash to look at their domestic rivals and international influences, and consider that there was no path to the top. Jones and Strummer acted as duel songwriters from the beginning, and Rhodes encouraged them to write music about issues that were impacting their lives. A signature sound was forming, and a collective vision developing across the band.

The Ramones were a party punk band from America(2), and the Sex Pistols had aligned themselves with their own brand of anarchy. By November of 1976 Jones’ vision for The Clash was crystalizing,

“The important thing is to encourage people to do things for themselves, think for themselves and stand up for what their rights are.”(3)

In December, Strummer had a more direct vision in the magazine New Musical Express,

Joe Strummer

"We're anti-fascist, we're anti-violence, we're anti-racist and we're pro-creative."

Each record doubled down on Strummer’s “pro-creative” ethos. The Clash’s self-titled debut, and their follow-up, Give ‘Em Enough Rope, introduced and perfected the band’s politically-driven brand of punk rock. 1979’s London Calling sees an increase in production value, songwriting talent, and most divisively among fans, the band’s pop sensibility.(4)

The band continues to delight and puzzle fans with their dub-heavy, disco/hip-hop inspired, triple LP, Sandinista!, before returning to a more polished version of their roots in Combat Rock.(5) They eclipsed their early scene-mates, selling out shows across the globe, including a three week, 17-gig residency at Bonds International Casino in Times Sq.

“Pro-creativity” wasn’t just a pull quote from a magazine, it was a vision that Joe, Mick, Paul, and Topper had for their band.

It may seem acrimonious to pull lessons about sales and business from a band like The Clash. Let’s not forget, many of The Clash’s most memorable offerings are a direct result of, or at least influenced by, their manager, Bernie Rhodes. Additionally, The Clash were signed to major label CBS Records in January 1977, four months before the release of their debut album.

I don’t mention this to discredit their legacy, especially in terms of their ever evolving take on punk, and continuing the tradition of aligning music with political messaging. I mention this to highlight the onion-like layers that exist within the gray area between art and business.

London Calling with the visionary sticker

There is no better example of The Clash’s vision than their most famous tagline, “The Only Band That Matters.” It was printed on the front of the American release of London Calling, and unanimously adopted by fans and journalists.

It’s brash, it’s arrogant, it represents so clearly the vision the band had for themselves. The best part, the band didn’t come up with it. “The Only Band That Matters” was coined by Gary Lucas over at CBS Records.

There is this misnomer that vision has to come solely from intrinsic reflection. Some of the most important visions I have for myself have come from the people around me. These visions are crowd sourced from trusted voices. These voices bring to light things I have a hard time seeing for myself.

In shorter sales cycles, larger wins are accumulated monthly from daily closes. In longer sales cycles, you have more days not closing than closing business. I have a vision for myself to enjoy the activity that leads to larger wins, as much as I enjoy the wins themselves.

This vision informs the way I see the high-volume tasks that occupy the top of my sales funnel, such as dials, and social media outreach.(6) This is the Sisyphean repetition that gives me near countless opportunities to hone my craft. My vision informs the value I find in losing business, the failure that provides the needed experience to win.

Topper Headon recording his solo album, Waking Up, in 1986

Strummer recalls auditioning 205 drummers before finding Topper Headon. Each one of those repetitions showed them what they didn’t want, before finally finding the man they needed. Success in business is not measured by what you do when you win, it is measured by what you do after the 204th loss.

I have a vision to grow, to contribute, to prosper, and to serve. This vision informs the way that I sell, and everything I do in business. It’s “pro-creative” at heart, and something I learned from a trusted voice that has been coming through my speakers for 22yrs. A voice that showed me the value of collaboration and exploration. A voice that showed me something I had a hard time seeing for myself.

Notes:

(1) - 158 miles

(2) - Albeit the greatest party punk band in the history of party punk bands.

(3) - Steve Walsh & Mark Perry (October 1976). "The Very Angry Clash". Sniffin' Glue.

(4) - I would make the claim that London Calling makes an appearance on every Rolling Stone and SPiN best-of list, but I haven’t done the research. But c’mon, who’s arguing with that?

(5) - The Clash would release Cut The Crap in 1985. It was a forgettable album that didn’t include Mick Jones or Topper Headon. A far more fitting end would come with Big Audio Dynamite’s second album, No. 10, Upping St. which would see one last collaboration between Jones and Strummer.

(6) - Work that is often accompanied by Sound System, an anthology that collects all of The Clash’s studio recordings, making it easy to listen to their discography in chronological order while powering through sales activity.