Havana 3am was a British-American rock band formed in 1986, most notably featuring former Clash bassist Paul Simonon, American guitarist Gary Myrick, drummer Travis Williams, and frontman Nigel Dixon (formerly of Whirlwind). Their sound fused rockabilly, punk, Latin, and reggae influences, distinguishing their self-titled debut album, Havana 3am (1991). The group toured internationally in support of the album, with key shows in the UK, Europe, and Japan; notable dates included the Borderline (London, Nov 1989), Paradiso (Amsterdam, Mar 1991), and a run of Japanese concerts in Tokyo, Nagoya, and Osaka in April 1991, which were among their last as the original lineup (see a partial tour history here).
Their only full studio album, Havana 3am (Epic, 1991), featured the single "Reach the Rock," which had minor chart success in Japan but did not chart in the UK or US. Other singles included "Blue Motorcycle Eyes" and "Joyride." After the sudden death of Nigel Dixon in April 1993, the band attempted a follow-up album, Texas Glitter & Tombstone Tales (1996), recorded mainly by Myrick with new members (Discogs), but the group never regained momentum. The band’s music is now recognized for its energetic fusion of styles and for being a unique post-Clash project for Simonon.
Havana 3am officially disbanded after Dixon's death and the commercial failure of their second album. While their chart impact was limited, the band's legacy rests in their cult following, their role in extending The Clash's experimental ethos, and in highlighting Nigel Dixon’s talent as a frontman (Wikipedia). Their recordings have become sought after by collectors, and their blend of genres is seen as ahead of its time, influencing later acts that combined punk, roots, and world music.
Official Albums Havana 3am – I.R.S. Records, released February 1991 (LP/CD, debut album, recorded Tokyo, produced by Masahiko Yamazaki) Texas Glitter & Tombstone Tales – Burnside Records, released 1996 (CD, follow-up by Gary Myrick after Nigel Dixon's death)
Singles "Reach the Rock" – I.R.S., released March 1991 (UK 7", CD single, b/w "Hey Amigo") "Blue Motorcycle Eyes" – I.R.S., released 1991 (Promo CD, Japan & US)
Paul Simonon and Nigel Dixon captured on stage during a performance in France. Photographer: Martyn Goodacre.
A black-and-white promotional image featuring Paul Simonon, Gary Myrick, Travis Williams, and Nigel Dixon.
Paul Simonon of The Clash Havana 3am Original 1991 Promo Photo Gary Myrick
Tour dates
1989 - UK Tour (Supporting Big Audio Dynamite)
September 12, 1989 - Riverside, Newcastle upon Tyne, England September 16, 1989 - International One, Manchester, England October 19, 1989 - Brunel University, Uxbridge, England November 1, 1989 - O2 Forum Kentish Town, London, England November 2, 1989 - Town and Country Club, Kentish Town, England
1991 - World Tour (Debut Album Promotion)
April 13, 1991 - Cattle Club, Sacramento, CA, USA April 15, 1991 - The Roxy, West Hollywood, CA, USA April 18, 1991 - Bogart's, Long Beach, CA, USA April 19, 1991 - Compadre Stadium (KUKQ Birthday Bash), Chandler, AZ, USA April 20, 1991 - Bacchanal, San Diego, CA, USA April 26, 1991 - Bronco Bowl, Dallas, TX, USA May 7, 1991 - Club Soda, Montreal, QC, Canada May 9, 1991 - Saint Andrew's Hall, Detroit, MI, USA May 11, 1991 - Metro, Chicago, IL, USA May 13, 1991 - First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN, USA May 24, 1991 - Fabrik, Hamburg, Germany June 8, 1991 - Txitxarro, Deba, Spain
1994 - Performance as Gary Myrick & Havana 3am
August 11, 1994 - Coconut Teaszer, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Lancing Herald, Friday, October 27, 1989, page 24. By Kevin Dunne.
Favourites of The Clash are back on stage
24 Herald, Friday, October 27 1989, HERALD Mogazine
Favourites of The Clash are back on stage
ROCK SCENE, Kevin Dunne
IT MUST have seemed like old times in Brighton last week for anyone who saw the punk revolution first time round, as two of its former favourite sons were back in town under new management.
I refer to Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon, formerly of The Clash, who played separate dates on Monday and Tuesday at the Top Rank and The Rich-mond public house.
Simonon has left a tasteful gap of four years since the demise of the ultimate garage band before returning to the stage, se can hardly be said to be cashing in on his past.
His new band Havana 3am are fairly far removed from the old Clash formula and play what can only be described as a journey through old Mexico.
Songs about bull-fighting (Death in the Afternoon) and getting the wind in your hair (Blue Motorcycle Eyes) hint at what Simonon has been doing with his time, namely spending it on the west coast of the States riding around on a Harley.
The music is certainly toe-tapping stuff, up tempo guitars with a dash of latino rhythm. For a man who has enjoyed status and privilege of an almost demi-god, it was refreshing to see him happy to be playing to a fairly small audience at a downbeat Brighton pub.
He and the band seemed to be enjoying themselves more than the audience, who were restrained but respectfully appreciative.
Predictably there was a 'hot the fans up' number in the form of The Guns Of Brixton but that didn't de-tract from a band that has every chance of standing up in their own right and will have the chance of im-pressing a wider audience
Favourites of The Clash are back on stage when they support Mick Jones's Big Audio Dynamite later this year.
South Wales Echo, Saturday, October 28, 1989, page 30. By David Owens.
Our boys in Havana
30 SOUTH WALES ECHO, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1989
POP - ENTERTAINMENT - PEOPLE
Star On The Spot, The BIG interviews
Our boys in Havana
DAVID OWENS puts on his best Cuban heels to make an impression with the Clash's 4th punketeer and his band - HAVANA 3AM
Photo: It's four in the morning with Havana 3am
WHEN asked to name all four members of The Clash I can usually only muster up enough brain cell strength to name Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, while my head takes a breather at that drumming Topper chapple, (Topper Headon to be exact! Know It All Ed).
Rattling my grey matter as hard as I may that pesky fourth punkateer never springs to mind.
But wait, I feel the vibes, yes there's something coming through! He plays bass, paints a lot, likes to ride Harley Davidsons, is never without a greased up bar-net or leather to match, his first name is Paul and the initial of his surname begins with the letter S. His name is (papapaра-parp. v. stirring 'and the winner is type fanfare!)... Paul Simonon.
Yes indeedy, oh yeh you know. who it is now doncha, that's what they all say! Well we all know what Joe The Strum and Mick (stick on Big Audio Dynamite have been up to but what of the bass thang, the man who in the furore of '77 slapped his four string more Viciously) than the Sid himself! Well I grabbed my maracas and found gringo Simonon performing in a sweaty bar on the Mexican border with his hot la-tin rockers, HAVANA 3AM.
When The Clash split you decided to take a total break from music altogether - why?
Yeh, I needed to recharge my mind so I turned to painting which I'd always had as a hobby outside of the band. I spent time in studios in London's Ladbroke Grove and New York but after a while that old zest to get out there to play live and form a band was too great to resist.
Did you ever get anywhere with your oil paintings?
I'm sure if I'd applied myself and tried to get my paintings exhibited I would have. It was always an ongoing hobby, never something I took totally seriously.
What about finances in this intermittent period?
I was mostly surviving on royalties from The Clash's records.
Why the name Havana 3AM?
I thought of the name be cause Havana was where myself and my friend Nigel Dixon met up and three in the morning sounds sort of atmospheric, doesn't it?!
Why did you decide to go to Central America? I
just wanted to forget who I was, if you know what I mean. Just have a complete change of atmosphere. You can have a really good time over there, plus you don't have to wear crash helmets when riding around on mototrbikes!
What influences do Havana draw upon?
It's essentially rock n' roll. The closest thing to motor bikes you can get the better. Stuff like The Ventures and those great 50s surfing bands! There's also a bit of spaghetti western type sounds in there for good measure!
When was the idea for Havana 3AM formed in your mind?
The idea for the band came about around a year and a half ago but it's taken ages to bring the band together. Why? Mainly because I was doss-ing about in LA, after riding uo from El Paso with Nigel, just re-ally enjoying myself riding about on motorbikes and playing in the American version of Havana 3AM.
Riding up? Yeh, we bought these two old Harley Davidsons and rode up to LA on them! It all sounds very glamor ous It sounds it yeh, and it prob ably was, but you've got to remember we were living on vir tually nothing and we had all the hard work of having to get the band together. It was like the early days of The Clash when me and Strum mer would go hungry rather than miss up on the opportunity to buy a sharp pair of shades to look good in! I remember we used to go hungry a lot!
Who was in the American line-up?
There was me and Nigel along with a Texan geetarist we met called Gary Myrick. Gary had made a few solo re-cords before but had never been in a group, so Paul asked him if he could play guitar from stuff like The Ventures to Ennio Morricone. He reckoned he could and a third member was found. A friend of Gary's was a drum mer and the line-up was com plete. With the band we played a few shows in Texas and North America to enthusiastic audien ces!
What tempted you back to Britain?
The reason I left was be cause I thought England was a bloody miserable place, but the culture of Central America America and the atmosphere of LA soon be-gan to wear off.
You played some shows in the North of England didn't you?
Yeh, we supported Mick's (Jones) band Big Audio Dyna-mite at a series of low key gigs which went really well.
Havana 3AM cruise into Cardiff on Monday, October 30, when they play the Venue
"I 'VE got nothing against acid house but we see our-selves as the alter-native for a genera-tion that's done its youth thing," opines the man in the double-breasted pin stripe sipping an expresso in a Spanish bar on Porto-bello Road.
Who is this old rock dino saur person? Wakeman? Oldfield? No pop-pickers, none other than erstwhile White Rioter Paul Simonon, aka The Good-Looking One From The Clash.
White Riots have been abandoned in favour of staid pin-stripes now Paul Simonon has left the youth culture behind
Apart from the pin-stripe, Paul wears the contented expansive countenance of someone who has just spent four post-Clash years around Mexico and painting shipyards in Istanbul. An artist! "My stuff," says Paul,
smiling haughtily, "is better than a lot of things I see around. A Russian sailor tried to buy one off me."
And so to his new band. Havana 3am. Formed in LA from two Englishmen, a Welshmen and a Texan, they have been delighting crowds in the States and It-aly and most recently sup-porting fellow ex-Clashperson Mick Jones's BAD at the Town and Coun-try with an energetic blend that has been classified rather uneasily as "Latin
rock reggae". How would you describe it, Paul? "Yeah, sort of Latin rock. And reggae. Basically it's motorcycle music, y'know, like Wipeout. We jump around a lot on stage like The Clash used to."
The ill feelings following his decision to "boot" Mick Jones out of The Clash have now subsided and Paul is cautiously respectful con-cerning Joe Strummer's act-ing career. Any plans to fol-low him into that field?
"I dunno... I have been asked." Golly-Renaissance Man, musician, artist, thes-pian "And bike mechanic."-TM
Havana 3am are playing at The Borderline tonight.
Photo: From Garageland to the Latin quarter for Paul Simonon
Nigel Dixon and Havana 3am: More Than a Clash Footnote
Havana 3am (1991)
With all the focus being put on Havana 3am as a post Clash project for Paul Simonon it often leaves Nigel Dixon, the bands front-man, as a footnote in rock history.
Which is ill deserved in my opinion as without his pivotal roll as the bands singer the debut album wouldn't be as good as it is.
And I really really think that it's good.
Why it wasn't as well received as I think it should have been doesn't keep me up at night, but it does bother me.
They were on Chiswick Records and released a couple of singles before their debut Blowing Up a Storm arrived in 1978, and without any reservations I'd recommend checking them out.
In consideration of his pre Havana 3am career it's no real surprise that the rockabilly influences are well covered, but he was as obviously at ease leaning into the Latin and reggae influences that are woven throughout the album too.
In dipping back into this album I've had a grand ol' time.
After The Clash disbanded in 1986, Paul Simonon wasn’t ready to step away from music. By 1989, he formed a new band called Havana 3am, a rock group that fused punk rock, rockabilly, and Latin influences. Havana 3am allowed Simonon to explore his broader musical interests beyond punk, experimenting with a variety of styles while still maintaining a rebellious edge. The band was named after a track from *Havana 3 A.M.*, a 1956 album by saxophonist Perez Prado, reflecting Simonon’s continued love for Latin culture and music.
The band, which featured Simonon on bass and vocals, Nigel Dixon on lead vocals and guitar, and Gary Myrick on guitar, released their self-titled debut album in 1991. The album was a unique blend of styles, mixing punk rock energy with the rhythms and sounds of rockabilly and Latin beats. Tracks like "Blue Gene Vincent" and "Reach the Rock" showcased Simonon’s talent as a songwriter and vocalist, while the band’s unique sound allowed him to step out of the shadow of The Clash and stand on his own as a musician.
Although Havana 3am didn’t achieve the same commercial success as The Clash, the band was an important part of Simonon’s post-Clash career, allowing him to experiment with new styles and influences. The band dissolved after Dixon’s death in 1993, but Simonon’s work with Havana 3am remains a testament to his versatility and continued passion for music, even after the height of his fame with The Clash.
