The debut EP from Lullaby Riot – Social Grievances – is set for release sometime in December. To get an idea of what we can possibly expect, Lee Warren from the band gives us his ‘why I love’ insight into The Clash.
When you first heard them?
The actual day I can’t be sure of, I would have heard them in passing but the day I sat down and listened to them was 26th December 2002. Which for those in the UK is boxing day, and back when retail was a lot more present in the high street, we had a shop called Woolworths, which sold all kinds of stuff, but they had a very healthy music department. And much like I do now, I love collecting music in all its forms, and with the money given to me by family members at Christmas I headed in to see what I could get. I saw a best of type collection called The Essential Collection.
The Clash we’re in my mind at that time because Joe Strummer, the frontman had passed away shortly before, and a lot of the music magazines I read had covered it, the other thing that made me pick it up was how cool they all looked, it reminded me of the first Ramones album, how they looked more like a gang rather than a band”
When was that moment when it all clicked for you with the artist?
I’d heard all the big ones over the radio, and I liked the songs but I never really got what they were about, the moment it clicked was when I brought The Essential Collection compilation. The first song on it is 1977, which was the B-side the White Riot. It starts with this big, dirty riff, very distortion heavy and it sounded a million miles away from Should I Stay or Should I Go. I almost didn’t think it was the same band, or that it was but with a different line up. It felt like someone just hit me in the face with a brick, I knew right then that this band were different to a lot of the other bands that came out in the late 70’s.
How they inspired / influenced you
After listening to the Essential Collection, I brought every album and slowly worked my way through them, studying the lyrics, trying to decipher the meanings. The more I kept going, the more they changed. They started as all out punk, before falling into more mainstream rock sound, then they just went their own way and put everything from jazz, dub and disco. It was very inspiring to me that they never ruled anything out sound wise, as soon as they had one sound, they changed, always looking for the next thing to explore and create within.
Any Favourite songs, lyrics or album covers that blew you away
Strangely, there’s a song that Mick Jones, the lead guitarist takes vocals on called Lost In The Supermarket which was used over the end credits for a film called Over The Hedge. When that film came out, I worked in a cinema and sometimes I’d be cleaning a screen when that film was ending, and I always liked being able to hear some Clash over a big sound system. Spanish Civil War, Tommy Gun, Cheat, most of the songs are favourites for one reason or another. Sometimes Joe’s lyrics were obvious and sometimes I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about. To this day I refuse to look any of them up because I like trying to work it out and see what conclusions I come to.
Gigs you might have attended by the artist, or have you worked with them yourself
Sadly just after I started listening to them, not only had Joe already passed but they’d long since broken up a few years before I was even born. So I never got the chance, but I’ve spoken with many people who did see them, and they’ve all said how electric it would feel, how the vibe is just that bit different then at most shows.
Our thanks to Lee for his insights into such an influential and iconic band.
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You can read more from our extensive archive of Why I Love pieces from a wide array of artists on an even wider array of subjects, here.
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