London Calling: A New Exhibition Celebrates The Clash’s Era-Defining Album

A new exhibition opening tomorrow celebrates The Clash’s post-punk masterpiece, London Calling. Widely regarded as one of the most influential albums of all time, the 1979 record was a defiant rallying call which gave voice to a disenchanted generation of young people, exploring issues like unemployment, sex, drugs, depression, and social injustice. The Museum of London exhibition will celebrate the record’s 40th anniversary with a display of personal objects, images, music and memories from the band’s history, including Paul Simonon’s fractured Fender Precision bass guitar, which he famously smashed against the stage during a 1979 gig at the Palladium in New York City (the subsequent image by Pennie Smith became the album’s now-iconic cover, and has been lauded as the best rock and roll photograph of the era). To coincide with the opening on November 15, Sony Music is releasing London Calling Scrapbook, which alongside the album itself includes hand-written lyrics, notes and photographs from the period the record was created.

The Clash: London Calling runs from November 15, 2019 – April 19, 2020 at The Museum of London.