the pistols were 1st punks on the music scene, probably still the best known, the clash's joe strummer admitted after seeing em live with his pre clash band the 101'rs " thats when i realised we were doomed (the 101rs)" the clash werent the only band 2 come after the pistols but they certainly were the best of em imo.its expected the sex pistols will b inducted in2 the rock n roll hall of fame next year at the 2nd time of asking !.

the pistols , never mind the bollocks album is regarded a classic its even been included in the "classic albums series" there other album the great rock n roll swindle was the soundtrack to the movie bout the pistols swindling there way through the rock n roll industry, they had brilliant singles too...

anarchy in the uk
pretty vacant
holidays in the sun
god save the queen

theres been lots of compilation albums ,live albums and the swindle soundtrack, but the sex pistols johnny rotten, glen matlock/sid vicious, paul cook and steve jones only had 1 proper album NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS.

the clash on the other hand , have been inducted into the rock n roll hall of fame , they had terrific albums and plenty o them , the clash,give em enough rope, the amazing london calling regularly described by rolling stone mag as 1 of the greatest albums ever !!!, sandinista, combat rock. mick jones, joe strummer, topper headon/terry chimes and paul simonon took punk rock on an amazing journey from london to sold out shows in the shea stadium ! the clash had some brilliant singles too.....

shoul i stay or should i go
london calling
bankrobber
the magnificent 7

so my fellow orgers the pistols had 1 proper album then a few cash in type albums, the clash had 5 proper albums 1 was a double ! and 1 was a triple ! and also some cash in types u'd think it was straight forward "the clash" , but its not, 4 me, 4 effect on the music industry etc i'd go 4 the pistols they truly were a band that made an impact they shook the music industry to its core , musically i'd go 4 the clash bigger output better musicians, london calling had it all punk, funk,rock,reggae a stupendous double album !

go 4 it guys the clash or the pistols ?

also can u give me ur fave;s from both !

lets just say i cant choose i love em all the albums the singles !!!

I'm going with the Punks for Dummies approach here. I don't know a whole heck of a lot about either band, but I love me some "Magnificant Seven" and "Rock the Casbah." So it's the Clash. Final answer.

UptownDeb said:

thanx 4 reply...took me ages 2 write that shit

No brainer THE CLASH!!!!!

I'd say The Sex Pistols as a catalyst/inspiration for the whole UK punk scene, even though "Never Mind The Bollocks" was only half a great album and the band were - initially, at least - really Malcolm MacLaren's science project.

Musically speaking The Clash win hands down. Their debut is miles ahead of "NMTB", and their influence - musicially and ideologically - is felt today. The Clash stood for something. The Sex Pistols stood for nothing.

Johnny Rotten/Lydon had integrity, honesty and musical vision, but the rest of the band were lucky chancers (Cook and Jones) or junkie half-wits (Sid).

I think the Sex Pistols had more of an impact on music, but they were basically a punk version of the Backstreet Boys. Put together by a manager for the purpose of making money. I like the Clash better overall but i htink the Pistols had more of an impact just for the plain fact that people still play punk 2day.

Shapeshifter said:

u make a lot of good points

guitarslinger44 said:

there isnt a band or manager out there who arent in it to make money , the pistols and mclaren explained that clearly in the swindle movie ! hell when the reformed in 96 they held a press conference and told the world we've reformed for the money !!! and called the tour the filthy lucre tour !!! now thats honesty of the highest order

i dont think you can compare them with the backstreet boys (although i see the point your making) punk was new it was a gamble, it payed off , the pistols started a revolution in the record industry they created a threat that could only be compared to the current downloaing threat ! theres been nothing inbetween to threaten the big organisations ... i'll explain further around 1976 the pistols showed the way for others to follow when they stated playing gigs anther 100 bands were formed overnight it was an explosion of new music never seen before bands like the clash, siouxsie and the banshees, the jam,generation x (billy idol) even bands like the police and blondie jumped on the "punk" bandwagon, there were independent record labels appearing all over the uk snapping up these bands like stiff records, island, fiction, korova etc... the only way round it for the big boys was to swallow up these labels and it cost them millions, there ignorance of feeling safe was shattered by punk rock the pistols took emi and a&m to the cleaners before signing with virgin ! malcolm mclaren was a genius !!!


it truly was the great rock n roll swindle !!!

I have more respect for The Clash, but I thought the Pistols were far more fun.

Love 'em both, though. Punk, schmunk - they were both great rock bands.

The Clash...eeeeevvvvverrrrry fucking time

I mean...everyone loooooves the pistols, and they got a few ok songs, but they were just pub rock with sweary teenage lyrics. They were no different to bands like the Stooges really.

The Clash developed. because they were really quite good...Topper especially was an all time great musician IMO.

*lies down*

Rowdy said:

... and don't forget Mick "human-fusion" Jones, the man whose cross-pollination of musical genres had given The Clash their very own sound by 1982 (listen to "Straight To Hell" - a rock song set to a samba beat with a heavy reggae accent), and who went on to develop things still further with the first Big Audio Dynamite album. The Pistols had NONE of that musical talent (let alone vision), although again, the great John Lydon had ambitions beyond punk's shock tactics, but you had to wait until the first two PIL albums to see his cards.

danielboon said:

Funny film that, but "The Filth And The Fury" was better.

Shapeshifter said:

ure right bout jonesy and topper , strummer admitted that jones was the inspiration musically and bad were awsome too !!!, i remember listening to the 1st bad album and thinkin ive never heard anything like this b4, he was using samples really well at that time,he was visionarty alright , jonesy also said "who couldnt write great music 2 strummers great lyrics" boy i loved these guys strummer also said the clash were nothing until toppers drum s kicked in , he was right listen 2 tommy gun the drumming is "f**kin amazin" imo. i love that combat rock album ,and yes jr's early pil material was certainly a new avenue.... as well !

Shapeshifter said:

havent seen that 1 yet ! saw bout half of it on tv,wasnt impressed maybe need 2 get it on dvd ive seen it in stores "maybe i saw the crap bits on tv "

I can't give a deep or intelligble response like those who have posted, but I've always been impartial to The Clash. I'm more impressed that they stood for something and had views to express. I've always saw The Sex Pistols as trying to be more shocking. I never paid attention to them musically. So I'm biased towards The Clash.

Why is this even a debate? You can easily tell which one is better, Danny.












THE ONLY BAND THAT MATTERS!!!!!

NWF said:

All hail The Mighty Clash.

sex pistols - hands fucking down... the passion and anger... i love it...

hi NWF,

if u read wot i was saying i did say u'd think it was "the clash" no contest, but if it wasnt 4 the pistols paving the way and then imploding BIG style , there might never have been a clash.

i was saying 4 effect = "the pistols" they shook the record indusrty 2 the core. no band has had the effect the pistols had, and theres been nothing like there phenomenon since either !

i was also sayin musically = "the clash" they had attitude they believed in they'r politics etc. mucically the clash were better , but they had nothing like the effect of the pistols.

4 the record guy's goin from your responses...

it looks like,..... drum roll.....

the clash, 4 outright votes

the pistols, 1 outright vote

a draw, 4 "praising both" votes

kinda wot i was expecting !

The Clash all the way. I'm glad the Pistols happened etc., but who really sits around listening to Never Mind the Bollocks?

Whereas we got The Clash, London Calling, Sandanista, Give 'em enough rope.....

sermwanderer said:

hey my henke loving friend !!! ive been listening 2 NMTB sinve i was 14 years old i'll b 40 in march and i'm still listening !!! one of my all time fave's !!! so sorry i do sit around listening 2 it ...naw,, jump around listening 2 it !!! u couldnt sit through the bollocks now could ya ???

ps every time i hear the intro 2 pretty vacant , it takes me right back to my bedroom in 1978 , i can c myself staring at the 7in picture sleeve, theres a bus on it going 2 "no fun" i always usta wonder wre that f**kin bus was goin

gothenburg here we come !!! henke's last minute goal made all the difference ! how did they beat the dutch/germans ....mystery ???
[This message was edited Fri Feb 27 6:17:52 2004 by danielboon]

I was listening to a custom-made mix tape this morning when I remembered that the first two songs on it are "Rock the Casbah," and "The Magnificent Seven!" "TMS" kicks ass. It's funky for punk?

btw, what did purists think about these two tracks?

UptownDeb said:

Back in 1982 "the purists" (i.e: people who liked Crass or The Exploited, or pompous music journos no one remembers anymore) accused The Clash of "selling out" because their music had grown somewhat more ambitious than speeded up "Louie Louie" rewrites. I mean, what was a punk band doing writing rock-rap fusion ("Mag7") or rock-disco fusion ("Casbah")? In fact, what was a punk band doing displaying ANY sort of musical ambition? In fact, come to think of it what was a PUNK band doing making music that would LAST? Punk was supposed to be about NOW - not tomorrow, and certainly not yesterday. That was the purist mentality then. Fuck the purists. Purists are stupid, narrow-minded fascists.

Funnily enough, poor, muddled up old Joe Strummer was paying attention to these very purists when he sacked Mick Jones and took The Clash back to basics - or, at least, the basics as he understood them: speeded-up "Louie Louie" rewrites called things like "We Are The Clash" and "Are You Red .. y". The result? "Cut The Crap" - not even a Clash album at all, but Joe's voice, a drum machine and a bunch of session musicians from Munich.

The great thing about John Lydon is that he would never have made a "Cut the Crap" - not deliberately.
[This message was edited Fri Feb 27 7:08:15 2004 by Shapeshifter]

Shapeshifter said:

Well, dayum!

Thanks for that Punk for Dummies info!

Even though the Clash were better musicians and had more staying power, I still have to go with the Sex Pistols. I just like their sound better personally.

minneapolisgenius said:

i knew there was a reason why i loved you... ... the clash were more musically varied, but they were also more inconsistent.. the sex pistols came in, released one studio album full of shit and anger without a bad song on it, and that's that... if the clash had stopped while they were on top ("london calling"), then i might think better of them.. but as it is, i only think of them as good, whereas i think of the pistols as great...

plus, johnny rotten is one of my all-time favorite people on the planet...

UptownDeb said:

shapeshifter pretty much nailed it 4 ya, i'd just like 2 add the clash grew outa punk real quick only the 1st 2 albums could b classed punk, then they moved on, by the time they were doin mag 7 / casbah they still tried 2 stay with their belief's etc but musically they had moved on !

danielboon said:

How are you on The Fall?

EllisDee said: