The Clash “Remote Control” b/w “London’s Burning (live in mono)” 1977. Today, December 15th, is Clash bassist Paul Simonon’s birthday (b. Paul Gustave (!!) Simonon 1955).  Iconically cool, he is one of my first punk crushes.

I could go on and on posting Simonon images! But. “Remote Control” was not The Clash’s single release choice from their debut The Clash. They effectively disowned the song after CBS released it in May of ‘77 without the band’s permission; The Clash wanted “Janie Jones” to be the follow-up release to “White Riot” but, with unintentional irony, CBS released the track which is about old-boy networking and the control of big businesses over artists. In 1979 with the US release of The Clash, the band included the track “Complete Control” as a scathing response to the single release incident. (“They said release ‘Remote Control’/But we didn’t want it on the label….They said we’d be artistically free/ When we signed that bit of paper/They meant let’s make a lotsa mon-ee/An’ worry about it later”)

The B-side, “London’s Burning,” is one of my favorite tracks from The Clash. Simonon sings on the chorus and the start of the song, shouting “LONDON’S BURNING!” The version that appears on this 7″ single is not the same as on the LP, rather it is an alternate take from recordings during the filming for “White Riot’s” promotional video.