Route 19 Revisited: The Clash and the Making of London Calling

by Marcus Gray

Twenty-eight years after its original release, the Clash’s London Calling was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Route 19 Revisited is about the making of this iconic album, detailing the stories behind its songs and placing them in contexts personal, musical and socio-political.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, History, Punk, Biography, Memoir, British Literature

544 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed, obsessive study of The Clash's celebrated 3rd album from just about every angle: biographical, historical, mythological, semiotic, aesthetic, you name it. You probably have to be at least half-infatuated with both the band and their work to want to read a book like this, but I'm happy to plead guilty as charged. And there can't be many people, even among Clash diehards, with the passion and stamina for such exhaustive, and probably exhausting, research as Marcus Gray demonstrates here. One of the most interesting of many fascinating aspects of his account is the debunking of various myths & legends which have grown up around the band's history, most of them started by the members themselves. The Clash were always very conscious of their own image, and somehow the anecdotes and misdirections they propagated to maintain a certain Right Profile, even deconstructed, for the most part retain a stylish swagger, tongue firmly embedded in cheek.

I'm biased of course. The Clash were one of the loves of my young life, and as such their memory is both cherished and fragile. Until I read Gray's lengthy section analysing each of the songs on "London Calling" musically, lyrically, and in the context of its time, I hadn't dared listen to it for years, for fear of disappointment. But this book enabled me to approach it with new - though paradoxically older - ears, and I really needn't have worried. If anything it's even better than I remembered it, and I'm almost willing to forgive Strummer & Jones for their appalling accents on "Spanish Bombs"...

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, I really like The Clash. I've liked them since their first album, and still listen to it on occasion (on vinyl) and think London Calling is one of the few truly brilliant albums of the last 35 years.But this book is for the person who likes The Clash and London Calling in an OCD sort of way. More than twenty five pages on Rudie Can't Fail, including a jugged history of Rude Boy music and culture. Much the same about Lover's Rock. The gearhead in me did like the bits explaining how the studio was miked and what amps were used.

So, if you want this level of detail about London Calling, this book's for you.

Wierd coincidence of the week; the title is partially a reference to the #19 bus route in London. On this weeks rerun of 'Yes, Minister' there was a joke about.....the #19 bus route.

[Iain Cargill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just an extraordinary read. Suggest a bonus Spotify playlist of all the influences.

[Geoff Winston Leghorn Balme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took my time chewing this fabulous book, one I thought I didn't need. And while at times the details of inspiration and even plagiarism ramble off on tangents all too familiar in music review and guides, the story of this band, its featured personalities, it's fights, it's accomplishments never ceases to inspire. A strong Strummer advocate and fan myself, I find out that he was a weak guitar-player, a better wordsmith, and mostly the character I imagined (do we all imagine our heroes our friends?) always humble, though also sharp and at times frustratingly defensive and poised to pass far too young. The book takes us on the journey through the post-clash releases and well into Mescaleros territory, and further details of city, social strife, and ever more impressive artistic accomplishments. London Calling is central, though not at all the limiting factor of this fine Graduate Level study.
The Clash changed my life with their appearance on Fridays and win lose or draw music and guitars would always be a strong feature of my ne'er-do-well existence. Sandinista didn't work for me, but parts of Combat Rock were brilliant despite the mark of the end. In 82 the Clash performed at the Providence Civic Center after an opener of Burning Spears that meant nothing to me -- we yanks only knew reggae from the Clash! How odd it was that we were so inspired by them and so soon they would be gone. But we'd see Gang of Four as they imploded as well, and be totally transfixed by andy gill's amazing guitar wizardry (rip, sir). I have much more to say . . . but it goes rambling off the key. This book took me on a journey I did not know I wanted, and dropped me off thrilled and moved.

Who is Jules Balme? A distant relative?? cover designer for the Clash!

Thanks for the book Joe Murphy! Love for JOE!

[Breno Coelho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another tough one. It´s a well researched in depth clash bio, that will please all fans. It also de-mythologise The Clash; so far so good, they were human and there's always some posturing involved, but the way he goes about it has the effect of turning pop music as little more than entertainment and music executives as benevolent forces that stop artists from being self centered or taking too long to develop ideas. How the author doesnt notice the cynicism of his writing and addreses it is beyond me.

[Corvonero · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read and enlightening at times, but too bloated by irrelevant detail that has pretty much nothing to do with The Clash, and I found myself skipping entire pages at times, when the author decided he wanted to write about the history of Jamaican music instead of about the making of London Calling.

[Patrick McG · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really richly beautifully detailed and comprehensive, and altogether too long. Those are two sides of the same coin and I don't really know where I come down.

Although I will say this: if you don't want to find out that some of your favorite musicians dated teenagers, I suggest not reading rock and roll biographies, unfortunately.

[Rob Miech · Rating 5 out of 5]

The making of London Calling ... and, well, the making of the Clash
This is fantastic. How they formed, then, how they assembled one of the best albums of all time. Just about every line of every song means/meant something. Going down this road is a must!
Cheers

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look at you with your blue suede brothel creepers moonstomping your way straight to five stars. Come on, The Specials AND Herr's Dispatches? Four full pages about Stagger Lee leading me straight to Under Milk Wood? I can't stand it!

[Allan Heron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Who knew there was such a fascinating tale to tell about this album which was the undoubted pinnacle of the Clash's career?

You certainly will if you read this engrossing book.

[Eric Gilliland · Rating 4 out of 5]

Are rock albums worthy of a 500+-page book? In the case of The Clash's landmark 1979 album, London Calling, Yes! Marcus Gray's detailed study of London Calling is much more than a by the numbers "making of" account, but a portrait of an era similar to our own. The year 1979 witnessed the Islamic Revolution in Iran, a near nuclear meltdown at Three Mile Island, fears of climate change, massive unemployment in the West, the end of detente after the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, and the rise of right wing leaders Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. All the songs on London Calling were a partly a response to those events, but also a dialouge with the past that offered some glimmers of hope for the future. Route 19 Revisited will immerse you into the world of The Clash and make you reexamine your own environment - in a good way.
The Clash (1976-1985) Joe Strummer (guitar, vocals), Mick Jones (guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass), and Topper Headon (drums) burst onto the scene in 1976 as part of the punk movement. By the mid 1970s many were disillusioned at the direction of popular music with corporate rock bands that played safe middle of the road music (Boston, Wings), ego driven bands who made thier millions and then ignored their fans (The Rolling Stones), and pretentious "art" rock (Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten was noted for wearing "Pink Floyd Sucks!" t-shirts). The release of Never Mind the Bolloks by the Sex Pistols in 1977, dubbed "Year Zero," in the punk manifesto, sent a sledgehammer into the music industry. All the songs were under three minutes with sneering vocals spitting bile at the bourgeois. The punk manifesto divided the world up between the loves and the hates. The hates were establishment and "soulless consumerists", while the loves charismatic outlaws, amoral, unconventional.
The Clash's self titled debut, The Clash (1977) was well received as a punk masterpiece, but also hinted at an ambition to go beyond the confines of punk. Tracks like "Remote Control," "I'm So Bored with the USA," and "Career Opportunities" all fit into the anti-authoritarian punk ethos. One of the last songs recorded for the album was a reggae cover "Police and Thieves," that ran for six minutes signaled their independedence from the punk scene. After touring America with Bo Diddley, Strummer and Jones traveled to Jamaica to prepare for an album of all reggae music. Their sophomore LP, Give Em' Enough Rope, which featured a cover with an army of Maoists marching over a dead American cowboy, flopped with critics and nearly forced the band out of their recording contract with CBS.
In 1979, the Clash regrouped and wrote one of rock's all-time classic albums. The iconic cover, with Simonson smashing his bass guitar, symbolized their rage at the bleak world of 1970s Great Britain. But as Gray points out, a recurring theme through the album is dealing with anger and channeling it towards positive ends. All nineteen tracks are given their own essays that go into great detail about the influences behind them. The styles of the songs move from 1950s rockabilly, disco, reggae, ska, rock - blurring genres and styles in a way not seen since the Beatles. Many of the songs originated from newspaper articles, books, and movies they were watching - with subjects running the gambit from the Spanish Civil War, Montgomery Clift, consumerism, coca-cola, and revolutionary politics.
In the essays, which comprise half of the book, Gray delves into the cinematic, literary, and musical influences. Like The Beatles, the Clash rarely created anything original, but took all their influences and shaped them into their own distinct style. For instance, on "Death or Glory," Gray connects the ideas in the song to Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade" and the 1942 film Casablanca. Strummer wrote "Spanish Bombs" after reading Orwell's Homage to Catalonia.
This book is a must read for anyone interested rock and roll history. Gray wrote that London Calling continues to endure not because of its dark themes, but its "defiant spirit, its power to uplift, and determination to lead by example . . . it looks fear in the eye, then pulls on its boots and goes out to face the day." Like any great album its meaning will change after repeated listenings to the album and anyone who reads this book will immediately go out and buy a copy.

[Nestor Rychtyckyj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do we really need 500 pages to discuss one album (actually a double album)? It does seem very pretentious, but Marcus Gray’s ode to the Clash’s brilliant London Calling turns out to be more than justified. As you can probably guess – I am one of those that believe that Clash was the “only band that mattered” and “London Calling” was their masterpiece. I was lucky enough to see the Clash (with Topper) twice and can attest that they were brilliant (even if they weren’t the first time).

Marcus Gray wrote the Clash biography “Last Gang in Town” and this book draws and follows up on the earlier book. The bulk of the book concerns the actual writing and recording of “London Calling” as well as a detailed (in some cases – over-detailed) analysis of the 19 songs that show up there. As with previous Clash books, the author needs to rely people that worked with the Clash as the two key members are not around (Joe Strummer) or don’t really feel like talking (Mick Jones). Nevertheless, other people who were involved with the recording work, such as Bill Price, fill in admirably.

This is a story of how the Clash burdened by high expectations managed to write, record and release this album. In the process they evolved from a straight punk band and managed to drag the world (and me reluctantly at the time) into a place where punk, reggae, dub and all sorts of other music came together in one place and opened the door to the future. It’s almost laughable to read the names of the albums that outsold London Calling in 1980, but the reputation of the record as well as the band have grown immensely over the years.

There are several minor flaws in the book. As noted by other reviewers, some of the song descriptions seem to wander aimlessly trying to track down the details associated with the Clash. Much more annoying to me was the lack of the song lyrics in the book. I found myself constantly looking at my London Calling LP to read the song lyrics which are discussed in detail but not printed anywhere.

As a side note, Viv Albertine’s brilliant book does feel in the holes about “Train in Vain”.

[Chris Coates · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you believe, as I do, that London Calling is the finest album ever recorded (yes, including Pet Sounds and Blood On The Tracks), and that no detail of its genesis is too small to puzzle over in order to understand why it is, then here is your book. As great as the first two Clash albums were, there is little in them that prepared anyone for London Calling (including the band itself). It was as if everything the band had sprung fully formed and all at once. For my people, it was the Big Bang.

Marcus Gray is even more obsessed than we are and fortunately has the requisite writing chops to marry this obsession with a critical distance that makes this a book one I did not want to finish. How about a separate chapter dedicated to every song the album, setting the musical and historical context so completely that he makes it seem as if the record was pre-ordained? A typical detail from the "Spanish Bombs" chapter: "Orwell's Homage To Catalonia was by no means the only autobiographical account of the Spanish Civil War. Spanish broadcaster Arturo Barea fled into exile following the conflict, and ended up in England working for the Spanish-language division of the BBC's Overseas Service (called London Calling). In 1946, Faber and Faber published his memoir of his own role in the conflict under the title The Clash." This book is positively stuffed with such rich detail.

Nor does the book treat London Calling as an isolated monolith. At least half the book is dedicated to setting the context for the band's decampment to Vanilla Studios to woodshed the new material for London Calling. But as methodically as Gray analyzes the time at Vanilla, how this (timeless, miraculous, enduring) material came into being is still a cipher. Maybe that is how it should remain. I do know that my life changed the moment I first heard "Death Or Glory," and this book does the best job I've ever seen in telling me why.

[Blog on Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Much like the famed 70’s London grafitti that once declared “Clapton is God,” in the 80’s, England’s Clash picked up the appellation “The only band that matters.” If that was the case, the work that mattered most was their seminal third album “London Calling.”

“London Calling” was the band’s first (and only) double album and a piece of work that cemented the band’s reputation with both fans and critics alike (planting itself at or near the top of every critics list from the revered Village Voice to the Rolling Stone critic’s poll.)

Gray, who already tackled his subjects in the volume “The Last Gang in Town,” drills deep into the ultimate moment for this historic punk unit. From the days leading up to the historic recording (the so-called Vanilla Sessions) to the actual machinations surrounding the recording (producer selection, in-fighting between leaders Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, battles with CBS UK over the length and delivery date of the album, etc.) In “Route 19 Revisited: The Clash and London Calling,” (pictured here with it’s much groovier UK cover) Gray captures every minute detail of the evolution of this record and, for this period, this band.

So many circumstances make the album one of the most important musical documents ever made and Gray gets it all correct. Characters like manager Cosmo Topper, producers Guy Stevens (Mott the Hoople) and Bill Price, photographer Pennie Smith and everyone from the Slits to John Lydon play a role in the period of creation of this masterpiece. The fact that the album (and subsequent touring) played such a role in the history of rock were suspiciously evident at the time, but even clearer in the retrospective filter of Sandinista, the 25th Anniversary edition, Strummer’s premature death, etc.

[JC · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book rocked! Great in depth analysis of The Clash during the London Calling period. Although I do think The Clash were overrated (I think based on the fact they read more books than The Damned or The Pistols which was refelcted in their lyrics so the press jacked them off for years and people bought into them being "the only band that matters") they are still a great early punk band. They're behind The Damned and The Pistols in my book but ahead of the Buzzcocks. Just a good tale of a band firing on all cyclinders creatively before the wheels fell off a short three years after London Calling came out. At one point post-album Mick Jones refused to play the usual White Riot for an encore so Joe Strummer attacked him - he ended up coming out to play White Riot but with a bandana over his face to cover the bleeding. I think you could say the communication between band members had become strained. The "producer' of the album just ran around drunk, high on speed and threw shit around and broke stuff to add to the "ambience" and Mick Jones and the engineer are really responsible for the production - not bad for a kid that was 24 at the time. Getting all the references for each song helped me enjoy the album better as well, I had no idea The Card Cheat was channeling Phil Spector, but I can enjoy a song now that used to be on instant skip. In the murder, war, spy, rock, baseball rotation - this was an excellent rock episode.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

“And after all this won’t you give us a smile”

Lengthy and very well written rock album biography of London Calling.

This book is the definitive story of London Calling. It is for fans only. It contains five hundred pages of minutiae, extensive research, and interviews in the “making of . . .” ilk. (There’s a three-page description of how the drums were mic’d ferchristssakes). Additionally, endless other background information is revealed in the telling of the story. Marcus Gray expertly fills in the blanks: the entire cultural, musical, historical, biographical, mechanical, personal, political, financial, and technical details, inspiration and influence are well explained and (as needed) expounded upon in an amusing and anecdotal style. Wrapping up with the album’s continued presence as a Rock n’ Roll icon and perennial (ubiquitous?) “Best Album of All Time” contender.

You may want to firstly (or instead) read Marcus Gray’s excellent biography of The Clash The Last Gang in Town or John Savage’s England’s Dreaming or something by Legs McNeil (perhaps Please Kill Me . . .). Or you may want to skip all this reading and just put the album on and crank it up.

[DJ Yossarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gray's "Last Gang in Town" is one of the most informative and enjoyable music books I've ever read, so I had high expectations about "Route 19 Revisited". I wasn't disappointed. I've listened to this album hundreds of times since I bought it when it first came out, and "Route 19" did the nearly impossible — it revealed behind-the-scenes info about the recording techniques, musical/cultural influences, and biographical details about the band that made me hear these songs anew. It's right up there with Ashley Kahn's book on "A Love Supreme", and that is Seriously High Praise.

This book also made me realize there needs to be a statue of Bill Price somewhere. Love me the genius recording engineers.

Halfway through I started hoping Gray would apply his extensive knowledge of the band to a similar study of "Sandinista", but towards the end of the book it became clear that he didn't rate that expansive, sprawling masterpiece (I think it's a masterpiece anyway) as highly as its more celebrated predecessor.

So let's hope *someone* with Gray's depth of knowledge tackles that one. In the meantime I'll be reading the revised edition of "Last Gang...".

[Jacob Jones-Goldstein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad. Some of his conclusion are a bit off the wall (There's no need to discuss the origins of the skull and crossbones as to why the clash wore it on their clothes, Bob Dylan probably did not do his radio show because Joe Strummer did one, etc) and it would be nice to get the sense that Marcus Gray actually liked the Clash.

As the story of the album it's solid. He does a quality job talking about the history and how it came about. As a critical analysis of the album though, it fails.

If you're a die-hard then its worth the read. If you're a casual fan who simply likes the album, it's not worth it.

If you like the Clash and you want to know more, look up Passion is a Fashion by Pat Gilbert, a Riot of our Own by Johnny Green, or Joe Strummer and the Legend of the Clash by Kris Needs.

[Godzilla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazing find. It's centred round the recording of the London Calling album, and has detail on everything about it.
I'm no musician, but the book evokes a real sense of the process involved in writing and recording.
Each album track is analysed in terms of instruments used, which channel they were recorded on, the influences on the lyrics and musical style and it's context.
The book also charts the evolution of The Clash, their habits, relationships and backgrounds.
It's a truly intricate book, which if you've ever heard the album, will fascinate and inspire a revisit with a fresh perspective.

[Martinxo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this lengthy, detailed book on London Calling by The Clash.

Face it, this is one of the best albums ever made and any Clash fan will revel in all the little bits and pieces of info that Gray throws out with wild abandon (like 10 pages on the LP cover!).

Yes, the Clash had all kinds of faults and contradictions but that doesn't detract in the slightest from the wonderful music and electrifying live gigs.

Not sure what to say other than you really should read this book if you love the album or band (or both).

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 500-page record review-- and of one of my all-time favorite records, no less! Clearly, this is right up my alley, and indeed, it's perhaps the finest example of this kind of long-form music criticism that I've yet read, but even I find parts of it to be a little tedious; the section about the creation of the album artwork is tedious, for instance, but the song-by-song breakdown is pretty consistently compelling (if you love London Calling, anyway) and I also appreciated the "Where Are They Now"-ish section at the end, particularly the nice appreciation of Joe's latter-day solo albums.

[Sean Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for any fan of the Clash or the punk movement in general, Marcus Gray does an incredible job writing about the making of the record and the impact that it had on the world after its release. I really loved the in-depth analysis of every track on the record, makes you appreciate the genius of Joe Strummer and the boys. This book also made me reconnect with one of my first musical loves, Reggae Rocksteady! Pick this up and I am sure that you will love reading it!

[Rod · Rating 2 out of 5]

Much as I love London Calling, this bloated track-by-track extravaganza was very disappointing. and the title is completely misleading. This has next to nothing to do with the number 19 bus. Poorly written, virtually unedited, and barely proofed, this seems like an early draft of a book about which a half-decent editor might reasonably say, "But what's your main idea?" Try again, Marcus.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's amazing how much can be written about the making of one album and still be interesting, even for a hard core fan. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. Great job of researching by Gray.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

i thought it was excellent but def for only Clash fans

[JCVerrall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book. Not only is it an in depth review of a brilliant album it also provides an amazing history of the times, the songs influences and all the characters involved. Fascinating.

[Jessie McMains · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's really great, for what it is, but even for a die-hard Clash fan like me I found it hard to get through. I want more of the stories and feelings and less of the cut-and-dried facts, y'know?

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

very detailed , very thorough - the story of the Clash in the year they recorded their landmark album, and how they took it to the world

[Jim Hofmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

A highly detailed and comprehensive story about the making of one of the greatest rock albums - London Calling.