The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the post-punk and new wave movements that emerged in the wake of punk and employed elements of a variety of genres including reggae, dub, funk, ska, and rockabilly. For most of their recording career, the Clash consisted of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Joe Strummer, lead guitarist and vocalist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, and drummer Nicky "Topper" Headon. Headon left the group in 1982 due to internal friction surrounding his increasing heroin addiction. Further internal friction led to Jones' departure the following year. The group continued with new members, but finally disbanded in early 1986. The Clash achieved critical and commercial success in the United Kingdom with the release of their self-titled debut album, The Clash (1977) and their second album, Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978). Their experimental third album, London Calling, released in the UK in December 1979, earned them popularity in the United States when it was released there the following month. A decade later, Rolling Stone named it the best album of the 1980s. Following continued musical experimentation on their fourth album, Sandinista! (1980), the band reached new heights of success with the release of Combat Rock (1982), which spawned the US top 10 hit "Rock the Casbah", helping the album to achieve a 2× Platinum certification there. A final album, Cut the Crap, was released in 1985, and a few weeks later, the band broke up.
Free were an English rock band formed in London in 1968, best known for their hit songs "All Right Now” and "Wishing Well". They disbanded in 1973; lead singer Paul Rodgers went on to become the frontman of the more successful rock band Bad Company, which also featured his Free bandmate Simon Kirke on drums. Lead guitarist Paul Kossoff formed Back Street Crawler in 1973, but died from a pulmonary embolism at the age of 25 in 1976. Bassist Andy Fraser formed Sharks.
Wilko Johnson is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter and occasional actor. He was a member of the pub rock/rhythm and blues band Dr. Feelgood in the 1970s. Johnson is known for his distinctive guitar playing style which he achieved by not using a pick but instead relying on fingerstyle. This enabled him to play rhythm guitar and riffs or solos at the same time creating a highly percussive guitar sound.
Larry Wallis was an English guitarist, songwriter and producer. He was best known as a member of the Pink Fairies and an early member of Motörhead.
Shagrat was a British supergroup formed by Steve Peregrin Took and Mick Farren in February 1970 after they split with Twink, their partner in the prototype Pink Fairies supergroup of late 1969. They recruited Larry Wallis and Tim Taylor (bass), both formerly of The Entire Sioux Nation. Farren left the band shortly after its establishment and never recorded or performed with them. Shagrat then became Took's band outright with Wallis, Taylor, Phil Lenoir (drums), and later Dave Bidwell (percussion).
Steve Peregrin Took was an English musician and songwriter. He is best known for his membership of the duo Tyrannosaurus Rex with Marc Bolan. After breaking with Bolan, he concentrated on his own singer-songwriting activities, variously as a solo artist or as a frontman for several bands.
Michael Anthony Farren was an English rock musician, singer, journalist, and author associated with counterculture and the UK underground.
The British counter-culture or underground scene developed during the mid 1960s, and was linked to the hippie subculture of the United States. Its primary focus was around Ladbroke Grove and Notting Hill in London. It generated its own magazines and newspapers, bands, clubs and alternative lifestyle, associated with cannabis and LSD use and a strong socio-political revolutionary agenda to create an alternative society.
Pink Fairies are an English rock band initially active in the London underground and psychedelic scene of the early 1970s. They promoted free music, drug use, and anarchy, and often performed impromptu gigs and other stunts, such as playing for nothing outside the gates at the Bath and Isle of Wight pop festivals in 1970, as well as appearing at Phun City, the first Glastonbury and many other free festivals including Windsor and Trentishoe.
John Charles Edward Alder, also known as Twink, is an English drummer, actor, singer, and songwriter who was a central figure in the English psychedelic movement.
The Deviants were an English rock band originally active from late 1966 to 1969, but later used as a vehicle for the musical work of writer Mick Farren until his death in 2013.
Generation X were an English punk rock band, formed in London in 1976. They were the musical starting point of the career of their frontman Billy Idol, and issued six singles that made the UK Singles Chart and two albums that reached the UK Albums Chart.
Anthony Eric James is an English pop musician and producer, who was the bassist for the 1970s–1980s bands Generation X, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and The Sisters of Mercy.
Valley of the Dolls is the second studio long-player by the British post-punk band Generation X, which was produced by Ian Hunter.
Cock Sparrer is an English punk rock band formed in 1972 in the East End of London. Although they have never enjoyed commercial success, they helped pave the way for early '80s punk scene and the Oi! subgenre., Their songs have been covered by many punk, Oi!, and hardcore punk bands.
Wayne Kramer is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and film and television composer.
Crass were an English art collective and punk rock band formed in Epping, Essex in 1977, who promoted anarchism as a political ideology, a way of life, and a resistance movement. Crass popularised the anarcho-punk movement of the punk subculture, advocating direct action, animal rights, feminism, anti-fascism, and environmentalism. The band used and advocated a DIY ethic approach to its albums, sound collages, leaflets, and films.
The Rolling Stones' 1969 Tour of the United States took place in November 1969. With Ike & Tina Turner, Terry Reid, and B.B. King as the supporting acts, rock critic Robert Christgau called it "history's first mythic rock and roll tour", while rock critic Dave Marsh wrote that the tour was "part of rock and roll legend" and one of the "benchmarks of an era." In 2017, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the tour among The 50 Greatest Concerts of the Last 50 Years.
D.O.A.: A Right of Passage is a 1980 rockumentary film directed by Lech Kowalski about the origin of punk rock. The rockumentary takes interview and concert footage of some of punk rock's earliest bands of the late seventies scene. Features live performances by the Sex Pistols, The Dead Boys, Generation X, The Rich Kids, X-Ray Spex, and Sham 69, with additional music from The Clash, Iggy Pop, and Augustus Pablo.
William Michael Albert Broad, known professionally as Billy Idol, is an English singer and songwriter. He first achieved fame in the 1970s emerging from the London punk rock scene as the lead singer of the group Generation X. Subsequently, he embarked on a solo career which led to international recognition and made Idol a lead artist during the MTV-driven "Second British Invasion" in the United States. The name "Billy Idol" was inspired by a schoolteacher's description of him as "idle".
