The 30 Best Clash Covers Ever

Posted by Staff at 9:00 am Add comments

Feb 022026

‘The Best Covers Ever’ series counts down our favorite covers of great artists.

“We are The Clash!” they sang on their final album. The artists below are not The Clash (even if one of them, in covering that very song, says they are). For the most part, they sound nothing like The Clash. It turns out, though, that Clash songs sound great in a wide array of styles, from trip-hop electronic to orchestral pop, olde-time a cappella to walking-bass lounge jazz.

Go straight to our clampdown—sorry, countdown—of the 30 best Clash covers on the next page.

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2 Responses to “The 30 Best Clash Covers Ever”

Comments (2)

Brian Helgesen says:

February 3, 2026 at 1:41 pm

Missing The New Piccadillys cover of “Complete Control”…brilliant song and video!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYmTg9FrrkU

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Hoschimoto says:

February 5, 2026 at 2:16 pm

I have been collecting covers since 1999, been following your website for what feels like an eternity, and now, finally, I am speaking my mind. Because I finally have something to add (I knew all the covers on the Clash list).
I am really glad you included Chumbawamba’s Bankrobber and Rachid Taha’s Casbah.
Without criticizing your choices (Calexico on #1? Are you out of your mind?), I want to add a thing or two:

Richard Cheese’s take on Rock the Casbah:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7qUYpbm2t0
It’s not cheesy, if it’s done with this kind of passion.

Moby & Heather Nova: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqXOjau-nmw
Even though Heather Nova isn’t related to anyone in The Clash (unlike Lily Allen), I still like this version better than the one you chose and I don’t understand why it gets so much hate.

Ben Folds – Lost in the Supermarket: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hL6o_e_cEys
Okay, admitted, it’s super-cheesy. But I can’t help but go along with it, the energy is contagious.

And if you’re including Ska versions of not soooo good Clash songs, why not go all the way?
Here’s Easy Skankers with “This is England.” https://soundcloud.com/easyskankers/easy-skankers-this-is-england

Anyway, thanks for being my #1 when it comes to covers and for being one of my favorite websites for more than a decade. Keep it up.

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