The Hidden Excellence of The Clash’s ‘London Calling’

You may have in the course of your musical journey heard of The Clash being referenced as "The ONLY Band That Matters". Quite the bold claim considering the body of musicians already in existence in the rock and roll sphere. Just in England alone you where The Clash hailed had The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Kinks and many more "The" bands.

In order to earn that moniker you would certainly need to do something that "matters". On December 14th, 1979 they certainly did do that with the release of their third studio album. A double-LP laden with great punk hits and putting them at the forefront of that movement. It's also a record with some incredible niche details that Pierre Robert celebrates on vinyl with an original copy of London Calling.

If you find yourself in a record shop and find yourself looking for something from a band you're not quite familiar with you may grab something based on the album artwork alone. Even with bands you are familiar with the packaging the music comes in can be just as evoking as the music itself. In the case of London Calling the image of bassist Paul Simonon smashing his bass guitar is quite the symbol of the essence of punk rock.

One little detail that's the essence of "Everything That Rock" is the actual words of this record. The pink and green lettering that form the border around Paul's on stage smashing is actually a tribute to rock and roll royalty: The King himself Elvis Presley and his debut record.

If you took a look at the original copy of London Calling from The Clash and turn to the final side you would see there is only 4 songs listed (see above for proof from the MMR music library). However eagle-eyed individuals who held the record can clearly see there are enough grooves for 5 songs. That is because The Clash's first Top 40 hit in the U.S "Train In Vain" is actually that fifth song!

It was never meant to be a hidden track however. According to legend, it was a late edition to the album. So late that production of the artwork was already completed! Pierre celebrated this great "hidden hit" and phenomenal record during the Vinyl Cut which you can catch all the crackle and pops every weekday around 2pm!

You never know quite exactly what you will see or hear at Camp Out For Hunger. Sure the ultimate goal is to get non-perishable food donations for Philabundance that is to be expected. But what exactly can take place is an exercise in the imagination. Preston and Steve certainly bring out all the stops to encourage our fine listening audience to donate. Everything from carnival rides, petting zoos and night time activities.

The same can be said of a Pierre Robert broadcast at Camp Out. On a normal day a "left turn" can come out of nowhere and that only multiplies with a fun-filled, joyous event like Camp Out For Hunger. On Thursday, December 5th a very special set of guests arrived with a donation and so much more...

For the past few years the Montgomery County SWAT team, led by Commander Andrew Lambrechtse, have come down to support local communities even more so than do on a daily basis by collecting and donating food at the Camp Out For Hunger. They packed an armored SWAT truck with 1400lbs of food to donate to which we salute them for!

They also come to educate our beloved master of peace and love Pierre Robert in what equipment and tactics they use in their repertoire. Pierre got the chance to chat with dedicated snipers and told them the story of the inflatable pig escaping the Battersea Power Station during the photo shoot for Pink Floyd's Animals record. He also got to chat with two hostage negotiators and shared his own negotiation story of sorts involving a hitchhiker in California (to mixed but ultimately positive reviews for the actual negotiators)

And to top it all off Pierre got a hands on demonstration with a tool of mass adjustment...in the form of a 40mm rubber bullet! He could've been a doctor...could've been a lawyer...and on that day not just a dee-jay but Special Agent Pierre Robert! A special thank you once again to the incredible members of the Montgomery County SWAT for their donation and dedication.

Thank you Bill Raymond from Digital Noise Mag for the photos. Listen to the Preston and Steve Show this week on WMMR for the announcement of your generous donation totals to Camp Out for 2024.

https://wmmr.com/galleries/food-trucks-fireworks-2024/