This Is England (song)

Infobox Single
Name = This Is England

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Artist = The Clash
from Album = Cut the Crap
B.side = "Do It Now"
Released = Start date|1985|9
Format = 7" vinyl
Recorded = 1985
Genre = Punk rock, post-punk
Length = 3:51
Label = CBS A 6122
Writer = Joe Strummer and Bernie Rhodes
Producer = 'Jose Unidos'
Reviews =
Last single = "Straight to Hell"
(1982)
This single = "This Is England"
(1985)
Next single = "I Fought the Law" (re-release)
(1988)
Misc = "This Is England" is the 19th single by influential British rock band The Clash. It was the final single released while the group were still together, in their final incarnation of Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, Nick Sheppard, Pete Howard and Vince White.

"This Is England" was released to promote the 1985 Clash album "Cut the Crap".

Unlike that album, which continues to receive criticism and in some cases ridicule, "This Is England" is often praised, and Joe Strummer described it as his "last great Clash song"; in Uncut Magazine's poll of the top 30 Clash songs in their December 2003 issue (chosen by an all-star panel) the song was voted no. 30.

However the single's contemporary reviews were much more negative and in-keeping with the general reaction to "Cut the Crap", such as Gavin Martin's review in NME — Martin claimed that "Strummer's rant bears all the signs of aged rocker well into advance senility".

In the same year (1985) the single was re-released (catalog number TA6122) in 12" vinyl format with a different cover and an additional track in the side two "Sex Mad Roar".

Lyrics and Meaning

Written in late 1983, the song is about the state of Britain, a more focused variant of "Straight to Hell", mixed with choruses calling for national identity.

The song makes up an accurate list of the problems in Britain circa 1984, addressing inner-city violence (particularly knives), urban alienation, life on council estates, unemployment, Britain's dying motorcycle industry, a South Atlantic winter that had recently killed hundreds of young Britons, racism and police corruption as well as two very common subject matters in the mid-'80s from left-wing song-writers, the Falklands War and the consumerist, subservient mind-set of many of Britons at the time.

Keith Topping's book "The Complete Clash" calls the squeaky voice at the song's start a child's voice, it is in fact not a child's voice but that of a market trader shouting 'four for a pound your face flannels, three for a pound your tea towels'.

Composer changes

When release as a single "This Is England" was credited to The Clash (technically 'Strummer & Co.') however when "Cut the Crap" was released the credit was changed to Joe Strummer and manager Bernie Rhodes, along with all the other tracks on the album; so far no explanation has been given to why this was changed. All subsequent re-releases and Keith Topping's "The Complete Clash" book credit the song as Strummer/Rhodes.

Releases

Initially attempts were made by the Clash and others to ignore the final incarnation of the band. As such, "This Is England" is not included on "The Singles", "Clash on Broadway" does not list "This Is England / Do It Now" in its UK Singles discography, ending with "Should I Stay or Should I Go / Straight to Hell" and Don Lett's "Westway to the World" documentary totally ignores the whole period essentially giving the impression that the Clash broke up when Mick Jones left the group.

This changed, however, with the release of "The Essential Clash", which included "This Is England" as its final track, making it the first compilation to acknowledge a song from the period. It's possible that Joe Strummer's death during the compiling of the album could have affected this decision, though this has never been officially stated by anyone involved.

The single was fully re-released on CD as Disc 19 in the Clash's "Singles Box", complete with a faithful re-creation of the single's artwork and the extra track "Sex Mad Roar" from the original 12" pressing.

Another version of the song simply called an 'alt. mix' exists and can be found on the popular bootleg "Clash On Broadway Disc 4" is does not feature the sound samples, and has a much more 'stripped down' feel.

Charts

References

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