![]() ![]() Some say this song was pre-empting Mick Jones’ dismissal from the band although other members believe Jones wrote this for his girlfriend Ellen Foley.Īside from its resurgence in popularity thanks in part to Netflix hit show Stranger Things, it’s also one of the most covered songs from The Clash. So it’s taking the verse and then repeating it in Spanish.”– Joe ElyĮvidently, the whole recording was marred with arguments, tensions, and bad blood. And a Puerto Rican engineer (Eddie Garcia) kind of added a little flavor to it. I translated them into Tex-Mex and Strummer kind of knew Castilian Spanish, because he grew up in Spain in his early life. ![]() “I’m singing all the Spanish verses on that, and I even helped translate them. Maybe it was because The Clash used a rather unconventional technique during their recording – they hired another singer Joe Ely to sing Spanish words that will echo the English lyrics. It was catchy and like every other earworm, the tune latched on to you and it was hard to shake it off. Originally, it only peaked at #17 on the UK Singles Chart but after its re-release, it topped the chart and it eventually received gold certification in the UK. Though the song would never get the numbers it deserved, it remains a searing part of The Clash’s legend.This single was reissued several times. ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ has become a part of our cultural lexicon not because it was “an attempt at writing a classic” or some signifier for the loss of an iconic band, but because it has groove, it has shimmy, and it has a serious chorus. That doesn’t take anything away from the song, of course. Only a year on from the release, and following a disastrous performance at the US Festival, The Clash were on a collision course for disbandment. The song was not only designed for radio airplay, of which it got a lot, but it was also the least overtly political song on the album, instead preferring to find its niche on the indie rock dancefloors. ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ speaks volumes of this separation. He was still intent on raising awareness of oppression and using his position as a famous face to tell the stories of those who could not reach the mic. On the other hand, Joe Strummer was more intrigued by following his political passions wherever they may take him. The reality is, as Jones said, he was now in the hunt for writing classics. However, denying this song is a signal for the band’s upcoming implosion is equally damaging. To deny this song is to deny a key piece of the band’s iconography. Though the track never broke the top 40 in the US, it is one of their most famous songs and can be heard across the globe as a mainstay of any worthwhile jukebox. But Eddie and his mum are Ecuadorian, so it’s Ecuadorian Spanish that me and Joe Ely are singing on the backing vocals.” Strummer said of the decision in 1991: “On the spur of the moment I said ‘I’m going to do the backing vocals in Spanish’ … We needed a translator so Eddie Garcia, the tape operator, called his mother in Brooklyn Heights and read her the lyrics over the phone and she translated them. The song is also remembered for having Spanish backing vocals from both Strummer and Joe Ely. ![]() “It was just a good rockin’ song, our attempt at writing a classic…When we were just playing, that was the kind of thing we used to like to play.” “It wasn’t about anybody specific, and it wasn’t pre-empting my leaving The Clash,” recalled Mick Jones, who left the band in 1983. However, we digress the real power of the band at this time was their ability to hear and then capture a tune. In truth, it was a song released with a simple aim: become a classic. The most notable of those two songs (the other being ‘Rock the Casbah’) is the ubiquitous anthem ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’ - a song so routinely woven into the fabric of our cultural existence that it feels as imposing as the Lord’s prayer. Two songs would change that and not only bring about some moderate commercial success for the group but, in an ironic twist of fate, perhaps also signal its demise. From ‘White Riot’ up until their 1982 release of ‘Know Your Rights’, the band had released songs without much hope of cracking the code to commercial success. It’s remarkable considering the band’s huge cultural impact but perhaps not that strange when you look at their singles. In fact, by 1982, with the band’s new record Combat Rock the group had rarely even flirted with the top ten. The Clash, so effortlessly remembered as “the only band that matters”, struggled to really make an impact on the charts during their heyday. ![]()
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