Garageland

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"Garageland"
Song by The Clash
from the album The Clash
LanguageEnglish
Released8 April 1977
Recorded27 February 1977, London
GenrePunk Rock
Length3:12
LabelCBS
Songwriter(s)Joe Strummer
Composer(s)Mick Jones
Producer(s)Mickey Foote

"Garageland" is a song by English punk rock band The Clash, featured on their first album, The Clash.


Writing[change | change source]

Upon The Clash's appearance at the Sex Pistols 'Screen on the Green' concert, NME critic Charles Shaar Murray said:

"The Clash are the kind of garage band who should be returned to the garage immediately, preferably with the engine running,[1][2] which would undoubtedly be more of a loss to their friends and families than to either rock or roll."[3]

The Clash responded immediately by writing the song 'Garageland'.[4] The opening verses are: "Back in the garage with my bullshit detector / Carbon monoxide makes sure it's effective", followed by the chorus: "We're a garage band / We come from garageland", and concluding with "Back in the garage".[5]

Yet, only two years later, Murray was describing the band as "the greatest rock band in the world" in the same paper.

References[change | change source]

  1. Murray, Charles Shaar (2003-04-05). "Joe is dead, but the Clash are immortal". The Daily Telegraph. London, UK. Retrieved 2011-09-20. I described them as the kind of garage band who should be speedily returned to their garage, preferably with the engine running
  2. Don Letts; Rick Elgood, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon, Terry Chimes, The Clash (2001). The Clash: Westway to the World (DVD). New York, NY: Sony Music Entertainment; Dorismo; Uptown Films. ISBN 0-7389-0082-6. OCLC 49798077.
  3. "Screen on the Green - Islington". BlackMarketClash.com. Archived from the original on 2011-11-11. Retrieved 2011-09-20.
  4. Salewicz, Chris (2006). Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer. New York: Macmillan. p. 162. ISBN 9780571211784. OCLC 76794852.
  5. Coon, Caroline (1977). 1988: The New Wave Punk Rock Explosion. London: Hawthorn. ISBN 0801561299. OCLC 79262599. Archived from the original on 2007-10-26. Retrieved 2011-09-19.