# List of the Clash band members

The Clash were an English punk rock band formed in 1976 initially consisting of Joe Strummer (lead vocals, guitar), Mick Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar), Paul Simonon (bass guitar), Keith Levene (guitar) and Terry Chimes (drums and percussion). Levene was dismissed in September 1976 and went on to form Public Image Ltd. Terry Chimes performed intermittently as drummer for the first year of the band's existence, playing on the debut album. Topper Headon was recruited in May 1977 as the band's permanent drummer, forming the classic Clash line-up which would remain together until 1982.
Headon was dismissed in May 1982 due to drug addiction problems and Chimes returned in Headon's place. Headon had often acted as a mediating force between the two strong personalities in the band, Strummer and Jones, and in his absence the band began to disintegrate. In May 1983 Chimes left once more and was replaced by Pete Howard. In September 1983, Mick Jones was dismissed due to continued conflict and infighting. Vince White and Nick Sheppard were recruited by band manager Bernard Rhodes as guitarists to replace the departing Jones. The recording of their final album Cut the Crap was chaotic and there was little chemistry between the new group members and the remaining core of the band. Strummer left before it was completed, leaving the final mixes to Rhodes. After a short tour in support of the album in January 1985, the band went on hiatus, which became permanent when the band officially dissolved in 1986.

## Band members
### Classic line-up (May 1977 – May 1982)

| Name | Time active | Main instruments | Occasional instruments | Release contributions | Notes |
| Joe Strummer | May 1976–1986 (died 2002) | lead and backing vocalsrhythm guitarpiano | lead guitarbassharmonicakeyboards | all Clash releases | Joe Strummer was a member of the original band formed in 1976, and remained with the band until they broke up in 1986, he died in 2002. |
| Paul Simonon | May 1976–1986 | bassbacking vocals | lead vocalsrhythm guitar | all Clash releases except Cut the Crap (1985) | Paul Simonon was a member of the original band formed in 1976, and remained with the band until they broke up in 1986. |
| Mick Jones | May 1976–September 1983 | lead guitarkeyboardslead and backing vocals | rhythm guitarharmonicapianobass | all Clash releases except Cut the Crap (1985) | Mick Jones was a member of the original band formed in 1976. He was dismissed from the band in September 1983 after his working relationship with Strummer stopped functioning. |
| Topper Headon | May 1977–May 1982 | drumspercussion | basspianolead and backing vocals | all Clash releases except Cut the Crap (1985) | Topper Headon joined the band after being a self-described "journeyman" drummer. He realised the potential of the band and remained with them for four albums and a B-side compilation. He was dismissed from the band when his heroin addiction affected his reliability. |

### Other members

| Name | Time active | Main Instruments | Release contributions | Notes |
| Terry Chimes | May–November 1976February–May 1977May 1982 – May 1983 | drums | The Clash (1977)some on B-side collection Black Market Clash (1980) | Terry Chimes was an on-off member of the initial line-up of the band. He left and then was recruited to record the debut album. He was omitted from the photo of it, because at that time he left. He was recruited again in 1982 when Topper Headon left because of drug addiction. He left the band the following year when he couldn't deal with infighting. |
| Keith Levene | May–September 1976 (died 2022) | lead and rhythm guitar | None | Keith Levene was a member of the original band. In early September 1976, he was dismissed from the Clash. Strummer would claim that Levene's dwindling interest in the band owed to his supposedly abundant use of speed, a charge Levene has denied. (Levene and John Lydon, of the Sex Pistols, would form Public Image Ltd. in 1978.) He died in 2022. |
| Rob Harper | December 1976–January 1977 | drums | None | Rob Harper drummed for a while during the December tour. |
| Pete Howard | May 1983–1986 | drums | Cut the Crap (1985) | Pete Howard was drumming for the band during the final twilight years. |
| Vince White | 1983–1986 | rhythm and lead guitar | Cut the Crap (1985) | Sheppard and White joined the band after Mick Jones was dismissed. |
| Nick Sheppard | 1983–1986 | lead and rhythm guitarbacking and occasional lead vocals | Cut the Crap (1985) | Sheppard and White joined the band after Mick Jones was dismissed. |

## Session members or groups

| Name | Time active | Main Instruments | Release contributions |
| Allen Lanier | 1978 | piano | Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978) |
| Stan Bronstein | 1978 | saxophone | Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978) |
| Bob Andrews | 1978 | keyboards | Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978) |
| Mickey Gallagher | 1979–1980 | organkeyboardssynthesizers | London Calling (1979)Sandinista! (1980)From Here to Eternity: Live (1999) |
| The Irish Horns Ray Bevis – tenor saxophone John Earle – tenor and baritone saxophone Chris Gower – trombone Dick Hanson – trumpetflugelhorn | 1979 | horns | London Calling (1979) |
| Tymon Dogg | 1980–1982 | vocalsviolinkeyboardspiano | Sandinista! (1980)Combat Rock (1982) |
| Norman Watt-Roy | 19801985 | bass guitar | Sandinista! (1980)Cut the Crap (1985) |
| J.P. Nicholson | 1980 | bass guitar | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Davey Payne | 1980 | saxophone | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Gary Barnacle | 1980–1982 | saxophone | Sandinista! (1980)Black Market Clash (1980)Combat Rock (1982) |
| Arthur Edward Barnacle | 1980 | trumpet | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Rick Gascoigne | 1980 | trombone | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Lew Lewis | 1980 | harmonica | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Ellen Foley | 1980–1982 | vocals | Sandinista! (1980)Combat Rock (1982) |
| Mikey Dread | 1980 | vocals | Sandinista! (1980)From Here to Eternity: Live (1999) |
| Band Sgt. Dave Yates | 1980 | vocals | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Den Hegarty | 1980 | vocals | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Luke & Ben Gallagher | 1980 | vocals | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Maria Gallagher | 1980 | vocals | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Ivan Julian | 1980 | guitar | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Noel "Tempo" Bailey | 1980 | guitar | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Anthony Nelson Steelie | 1980 | keyboards | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Style Scott | 1980 | drums | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Jody Linscott | 1980 | percussion | Sandinista! (1980) |
| Allen Ginsberg | 1981–1982 | vocals | Combat Rock (1982) |
| Futura 2000 | 1981–1982 | vocals | Combat Rock (1982) |
| Kosmo Vinyl | 1981–1982 | vocals | Combat Rock (1982) |
| Joe Ely | 1981–1982 | backing vocals | Combat Rock (1982) |
| Tommy Mandel | 1981–1982 | keyboards | Combat Rock (1982) |
| Hermann Weindorf | 1985 | keyboardssynthesizers | Cut the Crap (1985) |
| Michael Fayne | 1985 | drum machinevocals | Cut the Crap (1985) |

## Line-ups

| Period | Members | Releases |
| May–September 1976 | Joe Strummer – lead vocals Mick Jones – lead and rhythm guitar, vocals Keith Levene – rhythm and lead guitar Paul Simonon – bass, vocals Terry Chimes – drums | None |
| September–November 1976 | Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Mick Jones – lead guitar, vocals Paul Simonon – bass, vocals Terry Chimes – drums | None |
| December 1976–January 1977 | Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Mick Jones – lead guitar, vocals Paul Simonon – bass, vocals Rob Harper – drums | None |
| February–May 1977 | Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards Mick Jones – lead guitar, vocals Paul Simonon – bass, vocals Terry Chimes – drums | The Clash (1977) Black Market Clash (1980) The Story of the Clash, Volume 1 (1988) 1977 Revisited (1990) Clash on Broadway (1991) – half a side only The Singles (1991) – some tracks Super Black Market Clash (1993) – two tracks only |
| May 1977 – May 1982 (Classic lineup) | Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards Mick Jones – lead guitar, vocals, keyboards Paul Simonon – bass, vocals Topper Headon – drums, percussion, vocals | Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978) London Calling (1979) Black Market Clash (1980) Sandinista! (1980) Combat Rock (1982) The Story of the Clash, Volume 1 (1988) 1977 Revisited (1990) – two tracks only Clash on Broadway (1991) The Singles (1991) – some tracks Super Black Market Clash (1993) From Here to Eternity: Live (1999) – some tracks |
| May 1982 – May 1983 | Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards Mick Jones – lead guitar, vocals, keyboards Paul Simonon – bass, vocals Terry Chimes – drums | From Here to Eternity: Live (1999) – some tracks Live at Shea Stadium (2008) |
| May 1983–September 1983 | Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano Mick Jones – lead guitar, vocals, keyboards Paul Simonon – bass, vocals Pete Howard – drums | none – live shows only |
| 1983–1986 | Joe Strummer – lead vocals, rhythm guitar Nick Sheppard – lead guitar, vocals Vince White – rhythm and lead guitar Paul Simonon – bass, vocals Pete Howard – drums | Cut the Crap (1985) (without Simonon and Howard) Joe Strummer 001 (2018) – one track only |