listening to the clash nothing new their !, but i thought i'd find out if any orgers love toppers drumming ! this guy was onced described by sandy pearlman as the human drum machine ! his first contribution to a clash tune was the machine gun intro to tommy gun !!!

i love the clash individually and collectively i always thought listening to them as i was growing up (almost all my teen years) that topper was awsome i used to think he was without doubt the driving force behind the band (on stage) , it was great to hear joe strummer, years later,... on dvd stating topper was the driving force behind the band, and "the missing link when he joined everything just fell into place" unfortuneatly topper's drug problem led to him being sacked !!! n' strummer also said that was the day the clash died , although the band played on a cople o years without mick and topper !

anyway anyone else love toppers drumming !!! he didnt play much on the 1st album (the clash) and he didnt play on the last (cut the crap) ,.....

and he wrote rock the casbah (not a lot o peeps know that)

yet another reason why London Calling sounded so great

He was one of the greatest drummers ever.....and then he had to fuck around with that smack.

origmnd and nwf ,.... totally agreed db !!!

danielboon said:

Topper and Simenon are easily the best rythym section in punk history.

Stax said:

yea ,... agreed again , its funny also cos when they started out ,there were rumours that mick jones played the base on the 1st album (cos simo was crap) , the band insist this is not the case. and they never even had a settled drummer !!! ,.....fast forward 2,half yrs LONDON CALLING toppers proudest moment and simo had finally mastered his bass !!! the clash are sooooo underrated , they had 3 front men simo strummer and jones backed up by toppers drums awsome !

danielboon said:[quote]listening to the clash nothing new their !, but i thought i'd find out if any orgers love toppers drumming ! this guy was onced described by sandy pearlman as the human drum machine ! his first contribution to a clash tune was the machine gun intro to tommy gun !!!

I love Topper. Did you ever get "Waking Up", his solo album? It's no masterpiece, but there are a whole bunch of great tracks on it. Topper was an integral part of The Clash. They began to implode the moment they got rid of him.

i love the clash individually and collectively i always thought listening to them as i was growing up (almost all my teen years) that topper was awsome i used to think he was without doubt the driving force behind the band (on stage) , it was great to hear joe strummer, years later,... on dvd stating topper was the driving force behind the band, and "the missing link when he joined everything just fell into place" unfortuneatly topper's drug problem led to him being sacked !!! n' strummer also said that was the day the clash died , although the band played on a cople o years without mick and topper !


Strummer felt so guilty about sacking Topper that he carried a picture of him around in his wallet for years and years afterwards. Topper's life pretty much fell apart after he was ousted from The Clash. He got into the drugs/rehab/drugs cycle, sold all his gold discs and memorabilia (including a copy of Mick Jones original mix of "Combat Rock", which was used to make bootlegs), did prison time and, at his lowest ebb, was forced to drive a cab to supplement his earnings. This came out because Mick Jones was one of his passengers.


anyway anyone else love toppers drumming !!! he didnt play much on the 1st album (the clash) and he didnt play on the last (cut the crap) ,.....

Topper didn't play on the first album (at least in its original UK incarnation), Terry Chimes did. And NO ONE played on Cut the Crap.


and he wrote rock the casbah (not a lot o peeps know that)

I did. He also co-wrote a Combat Rock outtake called WalkEvilTalk (available on recent bootlegs), and he wrote and sang "Ivan Meets GI Joe" on "Sandinista" -a completely underrated tongue in cheek disco ditty, with lyrics as satirical as "Mag 7".

YES

I'm so glad someone has made this thread

Topper is my favourite drummer ever

Topper made the Clash great - listen to the Live: From Here To Eternity record - Topper's tracks are hard, flowing and full of his mad jazz fills (listen to City of the Dead), whilst Terry Chimes sounds stilted, jerky and incompetent.

Awesome, awesome, awesome drummer

Its good to know now that after his trials with drugs and alcohol, he's back on his feet and playing drums with some local bands in Dover. He looked great at the Ivor Novellos a few years back, apart from the fact that his leg was in plaster after a fight in a pub

PS - Norman Watt-Roy from the Blockheads played a lot of the bass on Sandinista, including the Magnificent 7. Norman is an unbelievable bassist, as illustrated by the insane bassline to 'Hit Me with your Rhythm Stick'

Shapeshifter said:[quote]

danielboon said:

hey there aint nothing wrong wi drivin a taxi ! but to go from the the clash to jail to taxi service ,... is freefall ! (i missed out the low points on purpose) whilst writing the thread ! but the points are sooooo.... valid .

i havent seen toppers album on cd only vinyl ! so havent heard it yet !!

thanks.
[Edited 1/7/05 5:30am]

danielboon said:[quote]

Shapeshifter said:

You're in luck Daniel:

Topper Headon's Waking Up is on E Bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eB...eName=WDVW

cheers shapeshifter !