The 30 Best Clash Covers Ever

Head back to the beginning.

10. Brady Harris — Spanish Bombs

“Spanish Bombs,” released on 1979’s London Calling, creates an unsettling contrast between the violence of the Spanish Civil War of the 1930s and the then-current violence of Basque separatists with the happy experience of tourists visiting Spain. Musically, the original is a straightforward, catchy rocker that showed the continued growth of the Clash from their earlier, punkier days.

Brady Harris, a self-described “wine bar troubadour,” released his cover of the song on a 2007 collection, Cover Charge, which also includes versions of songs by musicians from Madonna to Motörhead. Harris slows the song down and countrifies it, with a prominent pedal steel lead, which makes the song feel less urgent and more contemplative. — Jordan Becker

9. Rachid Taha — Rock El Casbah

Rachid Taha was an Algerian singer described as “adventurous” sonically and, probably, socially. Which is to say he was a bit of a punk, a kindred spirit to the Clash. Growing up as an immigrant in France, his escape from poverty and menial drudgery was in music, initially working as a DJ, mashing up the street sounds of his native Algeria with the Western music of the day. When, in 2004, he covered “Rock the Casbah,” largely translating the words into Algerian Arabic, many assumed his was actually a long-lost original. This was not lost on Mick Jones, the Clash guitarist, who actually joined Rachid Taha on stage at the 2005 Stop the War Coalition Benefit Concert, adding even more fire to Taha’s flames. — Seuras Og

8. Sparks — We Are The Clash

Cut the Crap is the infamous final Clash album–infamous because it featured only one member of the original band, Joe Strummer, and because most fans think it’s far and away their worst record. It takes some spunk to cover a song from a major band’s worst and most notorious album. It takes additional spunk when that song is literally titled “We Are The Clash.” But, of course, Sparks have spunk in spades. (Speaking of spunk, Strummer had some kind of nerve to write a song called “We Are the Clash” when he’d fired two of his bandmates and didn’t let the other play on the record.) Sparks take this generic singalong about a different band and completely make it their own. They drop the guitar and replace it with piano and strings. Strummer’s shouted lyrics are almost rapped by lead singer Russell Mael. They drop the drum machine and omit percussion almost entirely. It’s all very Sparks, an impressive thing to do to a song that has another band’s name in the title. — Riley Haas

7. Haale — One More Time

Haale is Haale Gafori, who Wikipedia describes as “a singer, composer, and poet living in New York City.” That all sounds pretty mellow and respectable, so you’ll be in for a surprise with how hard she pushes on “One More Time,” shredding her voice as wildly as her accompanist Ivan Julian—who played on the original Sandinista!—shreds on guitar. The aforementioned Sandinista Project tribute album also features a dub version, taking this performance from the Middle East to Jamaica. — Ray Padgett

6. Chumbawamba — Bankrobber

The Chumbas were always so much more than quiet bit/loud bit/shouty bit agit-punks, however much they loved to perpetuate that notion. Indeed, long after the kerfuffle of the worldwide hit single had subsided, the band contracted and consolidated, becoming consummate purveyors of a pastoral folk. Of course, they still retained the same sharp and acerbic commentary on the ridiculousness of the world, with lyrics often in blunt contrast to the graceful melodies employed. They also had a shrewd choice in covers, here transforming the lyric into something almost hymnal, needing no instrumentation beyond the beauty of the human voice. — Seuras Og

5. Stew — Broadway

Sandinista! is a dense, compelling, misunderstood and indulgent album whose virtues and charms have become significantly more impressive and engaging as the years have passed. There was a time when it was a bit of a polarizer. At 36 tracks, was it an overly ambitious rocking-reggaeing-funking mess with an identity crisis in need of editing? Did it contain more filler than killer? Still, were there undeniably classic songs located within its grooves? Was it simply a heart-on-the-sleeve aural diary of a sloppy love affair between a band and grimy, fascinating late ’70s New York City? Yes to all of the above. And it’s also home to my all-time favorite Clash song (seriously), “Broadway.”

Since 1997, Stew has released a slew of excellent albums both solo and with his band Stew & The Negro Problem. He won a Tony for his fabulous, autobiographical Broadway rock-musical Passing Strange. He’s currently a professor of music at Harvard. Know what else? He composed and performed the greatest tune ever to grace an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants, “Gary’s Song.”

In his cover, Stew beautifully, brazenly, turns the previously sparse and magnificently gritty “Broadway” upside down. Kicking up the BPMs, belting, bellowing, banjoing and bringing in the backing singers, this “Broadway” is brilliant. — Hope Silverman

4. Tica — Rock the Casbah

Tica, the short-lived duo of singer Kaori Takeda and instrumentalist-producer Masayuki Ishii, announced themselves in 2000 with the excellent covers EP No Coast. One of the high points was this slow-grooving trip-hop cover of “Rock the Casbah.” We named this one of the best covers of the year 2000 too. — Ray Padgett

3. Thea Gilmore — I’m Not Down

Mick Jones’ peppy celebration of self-reliance despite whatever life throws at you is a great encapsulation of where The Clash were at on London Calling. It’s a fairly straightforward song with some slightly knotty bits but with weird feedback deep in the mix and a verse where the drum kit is replaced by completely different percussion – pushing at the boundaries of punk but still recognizably punk. Thea Gilmore drops all of that and plays it as a folk song. She announces this change with a harmonica taking the intro instead of the tremolo guitar and the bass fills of the original opening. And she follows it up with a shuffling beat, acoustic and electric guitar, and some group backing vocals on the chorus. This shift to a new genre feels like it completely captures the spirit of Jones’ original song even if the arrangement is totally different. — Riley Haas

2. Lily Allen feat. Mick Jones — Straight to Hell

Fun fact: Joe Strummer was Lily Allen’s godfather. That may account for why, when artists were choosing other artists to cover their songs for the War Child Presents Heroes charity album, the Clash placed their faith in her to cover one of their songs. She delivered with “Straight to Hell,” which Rolling Stone said “twinkles like a barbed-wire Christmas tree.” Some of that wire came from Mick Jones, who contributed backing vocals. Allen’s the one who gives it that spoonful of pop sugar. If she’s the one sending the boys straight to hell, they might be looking forward to the trip. — Patrick Robbins

1. Calexico — Guns of Brixton

The first Clash song written and sung by Paul Simonon, “The Guns of Brixton,” from 1979’s London Calling, is an angry, reggae-based song about the Jamaican immigrant experience of police oppression and economic hardship in the London neighborhood, issues which are still concerns—in London and the US, and pretty much everywhere, for that matter. Calexico released a live version of the song in 2006, in their own atmospheric style, combining southwestern U.S./Mexico border music with jazz and rock, and incorporating Spanish lyrics and mariachi horns to focus the message on a different, but equally oppressed, group of immigrants. — Jordan Becker

Check out more installments in our monthly “Best Covers Ever” series, including Metallica, The Rolling Stones, Kate Bush, Pixies, and more.

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