This is England 7" single [Discogs]
This is England 12" single [Discogs]
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S.H. “Clash with a Hero.” Atherstone News and Herald, 11 Oct. 1985, Friday edition. TIE Single of the Week.
Single of the week, Clash with a hero
Two-line SummaryIn a passionate review, the Atherstone News and Herald praises The Clash’s long-awaited return with This Is England, naming it “Single of the Week.” Three years on, Joe Strummer is hailed as a lyrical hero who still stirs “the politics of dancing.”
Single of the week
Clash with a hero - The Clash – This is England (CBS)
AND about time too! It has been three long years since we have been able to hear a Clash product, but at last the masters of the politics of dancing experts have unleashed a new single.
And although it isn't quite "Complete Control" or "Clampdown" just yet, it shows that the new-look band have lost none of their pre-decessors' lyrical relevance or musical bite.
The song is rather more reggaefied than I remembered it, but it still has that endearing hook and a lovely droning vocal from Mr. Strummer.
The great singer may now be an angry OLD man, but as far as I am concerned he is a real till-death-us-do-part hero who still writes brilliant songs.
Buy it and restore your ailing faith in the greatest mood and musical movement ever to hit Britain.
S.H.
Martin, Gavin. “Singles.” New Musical Express, 5 Oct. 1985, p. 19. Artwork by Chris Long. full page
This Is England – The Clash’s Return Reviewed in NME
In his biting NME singles column, Gavin Martin eviscerates The Clash’s comeback single This Is England. He brands Joe Strummer’s latest as a misguided rant over synthetic rhythms and fading relevance.
THE CLASH:
This is England (CBS)
Their first record in 700 years and they manage to miss the real riots once again. Still determined to slay the totems, bare the social ills, attend the wake of our crumbling banana republic, Strummer's rant bears all the signs of agit rocker well into advanced senility—voice rambling and cracking over a mess of syn-drums flutter, football chants, and ugly guitar grunge. Busking would appear a much more fitting vocation.
“The Clash: ‘This Is England.’” [Unattributed], 5 Oct. 1985. Review excerpt, likely from a UK music press source, page unknown.
Marked Men: Strummer’s England in Decline
In this unsourced yet evocative review, This Is England is placed between Weller’s That's Entertainment and The Clash’s own Straight to Hell.
Joe Strummer is cast as a man adrift in a decaying Britain, his menace replaced with melancholy.
THE CLASH – This Is England (CBS)
Somewhere betwixt the pragmatic irony of Weller's definitive London ode "That's Entertainment" and the ironic reproach of his own "Straight To Hell," Joe Strummer wanders estate-eyed, seeking to give his statement.
The repetitive, lullaby lilt of the refrain, too dilute for the football terraces it aspires to, really does capture the feeling one has watching the rinse cycle in a filthy launderette in a salubrious sidestreet.
No more menace; Strummer seems to perceive his place of birth as a fallen house of cards – the ones he thought he had up his sleeve.
If they were marked, then Strummer is a marked man.
“The Clash ‘This Is England’ (CBS).” Fife Free Press, 18 Oct. 1985, p. [unknown].
The Clash – This Is England (CBS)
Back on the vinyl scene after an absence of three years, Joe Strummer and the lads return with more of a whisper than a scream with this laid-back, sing-a-long football terrace type of chant.
A resounding hit, methinks.
7" and 3-track 12".
The Clash Official | Facebook ---- facebook
Today I decided to have a listen to this."This is England" aside it's fair to say that the rest of the album is a bit, well you know.... Maybe if Topper and Mick was around it could have been a really cool album. Did anyone else give love to Cut the Crap recently? 200 comments
Summa, Ann. “The Clash: ‘This Is England.’” [Unknown U.S. Music Publication], late 1985, p. [unknown].
The Clash – “This Is England” (Epic/CBS)
By Ann Summa
They’re back — the most messianic punk band to survive the ’70s.
’Course, Mick Jones is gone, but fuck it, there’s still no one to match them.
This single, not exactly calculated to crash the American charts, offers a helping of anthemic Brit power the likes of which we haven’t heard in years (Billy Bragg notwithstanding).
It’s slow and brooding, thundering along on Simonon’s dub bass. But it isn’t reggae — the band lost some of its edge when it started to take its JA straight.
It’s definitely a rocker, with a ballsy rhythm-guitar line and a football-chant chorus.
Strummer is in peak psychotic/idealist form: Even when he sits back in the melody, he sounds like he’s going to explode into wild screams.
And of course, he does.
Welcome back.
Strummer, Joe, et al. "This Is England." Number One, no. 124, 2 Nov. 1985, p. [unlisted]. CBS Records, reproduced by permission of Riperole Ltd.
Title England in Chains: Strummer's Bleak Anthem in Number One
Two-line Summary Published in Number One magazine in November 1985, The Clash's This Is England appears as a full-page lyric sheet. The stark poem reflects a nation in decay, haunted by violence, disillusionment, and lost ideals.
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I hear a gang cry on a human factory farm.
Are they howling out or doing somebody harm?
On a catwalk jungle somebody grabs my arm.
A voice spoke so cold it matched the weapon in the palm.
This is England, this knife of Sheffield steel.
This is England, and this is how we feel.
Time on his hands, the freezing mohawk stroll.
He won't go for the carrots, been beaten by the pole.
Some sunny day confronted by his soul.
His eyes see how fast you can grow old.
This England, who I'm supposed to die for.
This is England, I'm never gonna cry no more.
Black shadow of a Vincent falls on a Triumph line.
I've got my motorcycle jacket but I'm walking all the time.
South Atlantic wind blows ice from a dying creed.
I see no glory; when will we be free?
This is England, we can chain you to the rail.
This is England, we can kill you in a jail.
Words and music Strummer & Co.
Reproduced by kind permission Riperole Ltd.
On CBS Records.
The Clash.
This is England.
<<<<herehere>>>>
