Mick Jones and Paul Simonon in 2011 in London, England. (Photo by Jim Dyson/Getty Images)
Photo: Getty Images, Jim Dyson. All rights reserved.
Paul Simonon has stated that despite the best efforts of the other band members, he would never be interested in The Clash reuniting. This also had to do with the long-standing conflict with guitarist Mick Jones.
“There were conversations between me, Joe [Strummer], Mick and Mick’s manager, Gary Kurfirst, who mentored Mick at BAD. But it [die Reunion, Anm. d. Red.] did not materialize for many reasons. Why not, for example? I was pissed off by Mick. I said, ‘I don’t want to do it’. Mick said, ‘Why not? You’ll get a million pounds’. That made me even angrier. So I said, ‘I don’t want a f***ing million pounds,'” the bassist said in one Interview with “Mojo4Music” when asked what exactly was behind the rumors about a reunion in the early 90s.
The relationship between Jones and the bass player was already considered to be strained. After drummer Topper Headon left the band in 1982 due to his heroin addiction, Mick Jones was fired the following year before The Clash disbanded in 1986. When asked about this phase of the group, Simonon explained: “I lost patience with Mick and he was probably angry with me too. I didn’t feel good about it. But I’m not going to apologize for acting like a brat. But then maybe we were all turning into rascals.”
Strummer, Jones, Simonon, Headon
In the classic band line-up between ’77 and ’82, the band was able to celebrate their greatest successes: “London Calling” (1979) and “Combat Rock” (1982) were considered album milestones then as now due to their complexity and contain the most well-known Songs of one of the most popular punk bands. Joe Strummer focused on his solo career and passed away in December 2002. Mick Jones founded Big Audio Dynamite, dabbled in several projects and worked as a producer. Paul Simonon has devoted himself to painting and starring in various projects – including The Good, the Bad & the Queen with Damon Albarn – and is releasing the album Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day? with Galen Ayers on May 19th. Topper Headon released a solo record, also played for various projects and got clean after his 13th rehab.
Jones and Simonon were heard from the Gorillaz for the first and only time since the end of The Clash on “Plastic Beach.” The album of the same name was released in 2010.