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The Clash Trivia

The Clash Trivia Quizzes

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10 The Clash quizzes and 105 The Clash trivia questions.
1.
  This is London Calling...   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In 1980 I purchased "London Calling" on cassette and placed it in my car's player. A long time passed before I removed it. Here are some of the fascinating stories behind this album by The Clash.
Average, 10 Qns, pollucci19, Sep 04 18
Average
pollucci19 gold member
Sep 04 18
317 plays
2.
  The Clash    
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
Songs and info on the "only band that matters".
Average, 15 Qns, bsquared, Dec 27 12
Average
bsquared
3145 plays
3.
  In Other Words: "London Calling" by The Clash   best quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Using alternate wording, I'll describe the title of ten songs from the "London Calling" album by The Clash. From the description, fill in the real titles of the songs.
Easier, 10 Qns, ArlingtonVA, Oct 03 09
Easier
ArlingtonVA gold member
437 plays
4.
  Song by Song: "London Calling"   popular trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Test your knowledge of The Clash's "London Calling."
Average, 10 Qns, skylarb, Nov 05 21
Average
skylarb
Nov 05 21
211 plays
5.
  Death or Glory    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
...becomes just another story. 'Death or Glory' is a track from the classic post-punk album 'London Calling' by The Clash. What do you know about the other tracks on the album?
Average, 10 Qns, pagea, Jul 01 18
Average
pagea
Jul 01 18
236 plays
6.
  About The Clash    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The Clash is a great 70s-80s punk band.
Average, 10 Qns, cityrocker, Jul 13 03
Average
cityrocker
2263 plays
7.
  The Clash Lyrics    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
The Clash is one of my favourite bands! For this quiz, you have to read the lyrics and guess the song.
Average, 10 Qns, michrocks164, Mar 19 05
Average
michrocks164
1601 plays
8.
  First Lines from The Clash Songs    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
I give you the first lines. Do you know the songs they are from?
Average, 10 Qns, Vermic, Jun 09 20
Average
Vermic
Jun 09 20
3165 plays
9.
  How Much Do You Know About "London Calling"?    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
In my opinion the best Clash album, but how much do you really know about it? Test your knowledge with the following quiz!
Average, 10 Qns, jr2k2, Mar 23 11
Average
jr2k2
1689 plays
10.
  The Clash General Trivia    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Do you know the Clash? Do you know they have been one of the most influential bands of the last twenty-five years? Do you know you can learn more (or show what you know) here?
Average, 10 Qns, billiepixies, Aug 15 11
Average
billiepixies
2460 plays
trivia question Quick Question
What was Joe Strummer's real name?

From Quiz "About The Clash"





The Clash Trivia Questions
1. "London Calling" was released as a single from The Clash album of the same name. In which year was it released?

From Quiz Song by Song: "London Calling"

Answer: 1979

Recorded at Wessex studios in the fall of 1979, the song was released with "Armagideon Time" on the B-Side on December 7, 1979. "London Calling" was The Clash's third studio album and was released in 1979 in the U.K. and in 1980 by Epic Records in the U.S.

2. With pink lettering adorning the left-hand side and green letters across the bottom, the artwork on The Clash's "London Calling" album cover is a pastiche of the cover of which hip-swinger's debut album with RCA Records?

From Quiz This is London Calling...

Answer: Elvis Presley

A pastiche is an imitation or a take-off of someone else's work. The 1979 album cover for The Clash was designed by graphic designer Ray Lowry and it paid homage to Elvis' self-titled first album (1956) with his new record label, after switching across from Sun Records. Elvis' album cover was highly praised upon release and he would use the graphic and the cover photo again on an EP and a double EP that he would also release that year. The Clash may have looked like upstarts with this move; after all, Elvis, in 1956 was hailed as the "King of Rock n Roll" while The Clash were still in the infancy of their own musical revolution. Bass player Paul Simonon saw it differently stating that "When that Elvis record came out rock n roll was pretty dangerous. And I suppose when we brought out our record, it was pretty dangerous stuff too".

3. Released as a single in 1979, the opening track of 'London Calling' shares its name with the album itself. The lyrics make reference to which "nuclear error" that took place earlier that year?

From Quiz Death or Glory

Answer: Three Mile Island

Recorded in the second half of 1979, 'London Calling' was released in the UK in December of the same year, with the US release the following January. While it may not have reached number one at the time, it has become one of the most enduring and influential albums of all time. The band's reference to the incident at Three Mile Island shows their concern about some of the big issues of the day. The song also makes reference to the problem of police brutality, and the worry that London could be flooded if the Thames were to burst its banks.

4. Fresh and unused General Motors luxury brand vehicle.

From Quiz In Other Words: "London Calling" by The Clash

Answer: Brand New Cadillac

The album "London Calling" was ranked eighth on the "Rolling Stone" list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. That magazine described it as "celebrat[ing] the romance of rock & roll rebellion in grand, epic terms." "Brand New Cadillac" was one of the few cover songs on the album. It's actually a 1958 blues song written by Vince Taylor.

5. Which song is this from? "I left my baby and it feels so bad, I guess my race is won."

From Quiz The Clash Lyrics

Answer: I Fought the Law

This song is from their self-titled album of 1979.

6. "The Guns of Brixton" was written and sung by which Clash member?

From Quiz How Much Do You Know About "London Calling"?

Answer: Paul Simonon

Strummer and the rest of the band managed to persuade Simonon to sing it after it evolved from a short bass reggae riff played by Paul.

7. Who was the bassist for The Clash?

From Quiz About The Clash

Answer: Paul Simonon

Paul didn't know how to play the bass when he first joined the band. As he was taught, he became a great bassist, and even contributed a track on which he sang as well as played, "The Guns of Brixton."

8. According to the first album, who are the Clash 'bored' with?

From Quiz The Clash

Answer: USA

From their first album, 'The Clash'.

9. In which year was the Clash formed?

From Quiz The Clash General Trivia

Answer: 1976

The Clash was formed in London in during April-May 1976, when guitarist Mick Jones and art school student-turned-bassist Paul Simonon joined with guitarist Keith Levene and drummer Terry Chimes to form a band. (Source: http://www.hol.org.uk/ewr/3333-1.htm)

10. What songs begins with: Now the king told the boogie man - You have to let that raga drop - The oil down the desert way - Has been shakin' to the top...?

From Quiz First Lines from The Clash Songs

Answer: Rock The Casbah

The song is from the album: Combat Rock

11. Who wrote "London Calling"?

From Quiz Song by Song: "London Calling"

Answer: Mick Jones and Joe Strummer

The song was written by The Clash co-founders and co-lead singers Mick Jones and Joe Strummer. At the time the song was written, the Clash was drowning in debt and Great Britain itself was suffering from economic and social crises. Rolling Stone magazine quotes Joe Strummer describing the band as feeling like it was "about to slip down a slope or something, grasping with our fingernails. And there was no one there to help us."

12. The cover of The Clash album "London Calling" features one of rock and roll's most iconic photographs. Which band member is seen on the cover smashing his Fender Precision bass onto the Palladium stage?

From Quiz This is London Calling...

Answer: Paul Simonon

The Clash performed at the Palladium (previously called the Academy of Music), in New York City, on September 20th and the 21st in 1979 as part of their "Take the Fifth" tour of the United States. Reports of the date that Simonon smashed his guitar are conflicting; suffice to say, it was one of these two days. The initial story that was released was that Simonon had become angry when he'd heard that bouncers were refusing to allow patrons to stand up and dance, however, this may have simply been the straw that broke the camel's back. The entire band were frustrated at both their treatment and receptions in the US and, by the time they'd reached New York their frustrations were high. This was partly echoed by Simonon in a later interview; "the show had gone quite well, but for me, inside, it just wasn't working well, so I suppose I took it out on the bass. If I was smart, I would have got the spare bass and used that one, because it wasn't as good as the one as I smashed up". (Footnotes) Though it was utterly destroyed Simonon was quick to realise its value, and ensured he collected the pieces of his guitar. After briefly being loaned to Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame museum, it now resides with him. In 1997, the Palladium closed and was later demolished.

13. Unable to find one's way in the grocery store.

From Quiz In Other Words: "London Calling" by The Clash

Answer: Lost in the Supermarket

"Lost in the Supermarket" was written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. The lyrics were done by Stummer and are partly autobiographical in content. Primarily it is a song of protest and confusion over increasing consumerism and commercialization in the world.

14. Which song is this from? "The ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in Meltdown expected and the wheat is growing thin."

From Quiz The Clash Lyrics

Answer: London Calling

This is my favourite song, and was on the "London Calling" album.

15. This album was considered the #1 album of the 80's by "Rolling Stone" Magazine.

From Quiz The Clash

Answer: London Calling

Unbelievable 2 disk album! Including the unlisted song, 'Train in Vain'. Released midway through December of 1979, but considered an 80's album.

16. What was the name of their first album?

From Quiz The Clash General Trivia

Answer: "The Clash"

This was an easy one. The Clash's debut album was self-titled, and released in 1977.

17. What songs begins with: If you can play on the fiddle - How's about a British jig and reel? - Speaking King's English in quotation - As railhead towns feel the steel mills...?

From Quiz First Lines from The Clash Songs

Answer: Straight To Hell

The song is from the album: Combat Rock

18. One of the more heavily reggae-influenced songs on the album, who "can't fail" on the final track of side one?

From Quiz Death or Glory

Answer: Rudie

The term 'Rudie' is in reference to the rude boys of Jamaican culture, an idea that began in the 1960s when younger Jamaicans were rejecting some of the ideas of the older generations. The song is about a man whose family are not happy with the way he is behaving, to which he replies "I know that my life make you nervous, but I tell you I can't live in service".

19. The capital of England, on the phone for you.

From Quiz In Other Words: "London Calling" by The Clash

Answer: London Calling

"London Calling," the album's opening song, was written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones. The song deals with typical protest themes - unemployment, racial strife, violence, and drug use. It was influenced by the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor scare in the U.S. "London Calling" was number 15 on "Rolling Stone" magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

20. Which song is this from? "We hear them sayin' Now first you must cure your temper Then you find a job in the paper You need someone for a saviour."

From Quiz The Clash Lyrics

Answer: Rudie Can't Fail

This song was written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones.

21. Where was the iconic photo of Paul Simonon smashing up his Fender Bass Guitar on the "London Calling" album cover taken?

From Quiz How Much Do You Know About "London Calling"?

Answer: New York Palladium

It was taken by Clash photographer Penny Smith.

22. Which music film was about The Clash?

From Quiz About The Clash

Answer: "Rude Boy"

"Rude Boy" is two hours of concert footage and offstage band footage, based upon a plot about a young man who becomes their roadie.

23. After the Clash broke up, what band did Paul Simonon play in?

From Quiz The Clash

Answer: Havana 3 A.M.

Paul was the bass player for the Clash. After Havana 3AM, it is said that he is concentrating on painting.

24. With which bands did they make their first U.K. tour?

From Quiz The Clash General Trivia

Answer: The Sex Pistols and The Damned

Their first U.K. tour was in 1976, with the Sex Pistols and the Damned (thanks Darry-1 for the correction).

25. What songs begins with: Say you stand by your man - Tell me something I don't understand - You said you love me - And that's a fact - Then you left me...?

From Quiz First Lines from The Clash Songs

Answer: Train in Vain

The song is from the album: London Calling

26. Who, according to Rolling Stone magazine, supplied "London Calling" with his "rifle-crack drumming"?

From Quiz Song by Song: "London Calling"

Answer: Topper Headon

Joe Strummer and Mick Jones played guitar on the song "in metallic unison," as Rolling Stone describes it, with Paul Simonon "thumping bass" and Joe Strummer "howl[ing] through a catalog of disasters, real and imagined." The song was produced by Guy Stevens and is typically classified as belonging to the punk rock genre.

27. Which track on the 1979 album "London Calling" by The Clash was written by the band's bass player, Paul Simonon, who drew inspiration from the town he grew up in?

From Quiz This is London Calling...

Answer: The Guns of Brixton

This track represented the first time the band had recorded a song written by Paul, and, with Joe Strummer's words "they're your lyrics, you sing them" ringing in his ear, it was also the first time he'd taken on the lead vocal. Simonon's move toward song-writing stemmed from a little bit of jealousy. He looked on the royalties that Strummer and Mick Jones were receiving from their work and he wanted some of it. In a 1996 interview with Bassist Magazine he advised "you don't get paid for designing posters or doing the clothes, you get paid for doing the songs". Simonon grew up in Brixton, which is south of London, and wrote the track about the gangsters in the town and infused it with a reggae influence to reflect the culture of the area. Whilst the song became one of the band's live favourites it was almost imbued with a prophetic feel when race riots exploded in the area in 1981.

28. Making reference to the civil war that took place in this country earlier in the 20th Century, which demonym precedes "bombs" in the title of a track from 'London Calling'?

From Quiz Death or Glory

Answer: Spanish

'Spanish Bombs' makes extensive reference to the Spanish Civil War, and has been thought by some to be bringing the history of Spain to the attention of British tourists who flocked to the country during the time that the song was written. It was supposedly inspired by Joe Strummer hearing a radio report of bombings by the Basque separatist group Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) when on his way home from the recording studio.

29. The mounted quartet from Notre Dame. Or, Conquest, War, Famine, and Death from the Apocalypse.

From Quiz In Other Words: "London Calling" by The Clash

Answer: Four Horsemen

As with much of the album, this song's lyrics are by Joe Strummer and the music is by Mick Jones. It's hard to imagine that the use of the term "Four Horseman" does not refer to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, but the song itself is not about the end of the world, and the "horsemen" are not referred to as individuals representing specific evils. Instead it uses the Four Horsemen concept as a symbol of hard-living on the edge, independent of consequences, and likely Strummer is using the song as reference to the band itself.

30. What Is Topper Headon's real first name?

From Quiz About The Clash

Answer: Nicky

He is referred to as "Nicky" throughout the film "Rude Boy" by his bandmates, and by his various girlfriends in biographies written about the band. However, in most articles, he is called "Topper," his stage name.

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