| The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly. For most of their recording career, The Clash consisted of Joe Strummer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass guitar, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals) and Nicky "Topper" Headon (drums, percussion). Headon left the group in 1982, and internal friction led to Jones's departure the following year. The group continued with new members, but finally disbanded in early 1986. Sandinista! is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. Anticipating the "world music" trend of the 1980s, it features reggae, jazz, mock gospel, rockabilly, folk, dub, rhythm and blues, calypso, and rap. For the first time, the band's traditional songwriting credits of Strummer/Jones were replaced by a generic credit to "The Clash", and the band cut the album royalties, in order to release the 3-LP at a low price. The title comes from the Nicaraguan socialist political party, the Sandinistas, and its catalogue number, refers to the acronym for Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional. |
