This is an inspiring take on the rock-band bio format, as much a political history of the 1980s as it is a look at an influential band in its final years.
–Publishers Weekly
When did the Clash quit being ‘the only band that matters’? This fascinating book faces a challenge: documenting the final years of the British band that its record label had promoted with that slogan…The band may no longer have mattered, but its legacy mattered to the authors, who make it matter to the readers. More than a footnote to the rise and fall of one of the last great rock bands.
–Kirkus Reviews
Coverage is specialized, extending considerably beyond mere behind-the-scenes reportage and deeply explores the sociopolitical context in which the band operated; as such, the tone can be intense (read: punk) and professorial. In all, Andersen and Heibutzki’s examination of the band’s proletarian stance in light its commerical striving is immensely satisfying.
–Library Journal
The inside story of the last great British punk record.
–Jon SavageEngland’s Dreaming
We Are The Clash tells an important part of the story of both The Clash and punk rock. The repercussions of what went down politically both in the USA and UK back then are still very much felt today.
–Kosmo Vinyl, former manager of The Clash
At long last, The Clash’s final incarnation has been definitively chronicled. Mark Andersen and Ralph Heibutzki have brilliantly filled in the blanks of the ‘Clash Mark II’ era, including its eventual implosion. Beautifully constructed and brilliantly written…I was riveted, unable to put it down.
–The Baker, from the foreword
Smash your television and buy this book! We Are The Clash proves, once again, the importance of The Clash, even during their rarely discussed and most maligned period. Situated in the Reagan/Thatcher era, We Are The Clash illustrates why, when Reagan called women like my mom ‘welfare queens,’ I bought a ticket to see ‘the only band that matters,’ and then went on to start one of my own.
–Michelle Cruz Gonzales, author of The Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band
The Clash are remembered as much for their blistering music as their gritty yet hopeful message to listeners worldwide. In this first serious look at The Clash’s music and meaning, post-commercial success, the authors mix thoughtful reflection with grassroots political analysis in an effort to inspire a new generation of music fans and activists to Cut the Crap.
–Craig O'Hara,The Philosophy of Punk: More than Noise!
The Clash was a paradox of revolutionary conviction, musical ambition, and commercial drive. We Are The Clash is a gripping tale of the band’s struggle to reinvent itself as George Orwell’s 1984 loomed. This bold campaign crashed headlong into a wall of internal contradictions, and rising right-wing power.
While the world teetered on the edge of the nuclear abyss, British miners waged a life-or-death strike, and tens of thousands died from US guns in Central America, Clash cofounders Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, and Bernard Rhodes waged a desperate last stand after ejecting guitarist Mick Jones and drummer Topper Headon. The band shattered just as its controversial final album, Cut the Crap, was emerging.
Andersen and Heibutzki weave together extensive archival research and in-depth original interviews with virtually all of the key players involved to tell a moving story of idealism undone by human frailty amid a climatic turning point for our world.
