As far as we know, The Clash, one of the greatest punk bands of all time, ceased to exist sometime in the mid-1980s. The end began on September 10, 1983, when Mick Jones was kicked out by Joe Strummer and Paul Simonen.
“It is felt,” they said, “that Jones drifted away from the original idea of the group.” Jones was replaced by two people: guitarist Nick Sheppard and another guitarist named Vince White. There were rehearsals and some tours, but the new line-up struggled.
Then both Joe’s father and mother died, which sent him into a tailspin. Eventually, an album entitled Cut the Crap was released in 1985, with most of the backing tracks played by anonymous studio musicians. Gigs that followed did not go well, and in October of that year, Joe called time on The Clash.
There was no announcement, no statement, no goodbye. They just…stopped. And despite many rumours of a reunion over the years, it never happened.
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