The Clash's founding drummer Terry Chimes has opened up about the band's explosive early years, including a near-fatal fire that almost killed them before they signed their record deal. In December 1976, after a gig, the band found their cars locked behind a bolted gate and were forced to sleep in their rehearsal studio in Camden, north London. "It was unbelievably cold, so we turned on a single-ring electric cooker and slept around it using foam cushions as pillows," Chimes recalls. One of the cushions fell onto the cooker and began spewing noxious vapours, filling the room with thick, black, toxic smoke. "If our sound engineer Micky Foote hadn't noticed, we'd have been goners," he says.
Violence and internal strife
The Clash's career was marked by constant internal arguments and violent gigs. On October 16, 1976, they were booked to support Shakin' Stevens at the University of London Union, where rivalry between Teddy Boys and punks erupted into fighting. "Paul Simonon had to take a swing at some Teds with his Fender bass," Chimes says. At Guildford Civic Hall, a pitched battle between their audience and off-duty soldiers broke out, with police arriving to create a three-way war. But it was not the violence that made Chimes quit; it was a fundamental divide over politics and money.
Why Chimes left and rejoined
Chimes came from a happy, optimistic family, while the other band members came from broken homes. "They were always miserable and angry," he says. He disagreed with the band's leftwing stance that they should not earn money or eat in restaurants. After quitting weeks before recording their debut album, manager Bernie Rhodes persuaded him to stay until they found a replacement. After auditioning about 200 drummers, Rhodes begged him to play on the album, and Chimes was credited as Tory Crimes. He left for good in April 1977, replaced by Nick 'Topper' Headon, but rejoined in 1982 for the US tour after Headon was fired for drug problems. Chimes learned 60 songs in five days and played to 100,000-strong stadium audiences.
New podcast and memories
Chimes now hosts Rock'n'Roll Confessions on YouTube, interviewing musicians. His first guest was Paul Simonon. He recalls pinch-me moments like playing Saturday Night Live and meeting Mick Jagger and Bob Dylan. "Mick gave us advice on how to play to huge crowds; Bob seemed introspective and mostly spoke to Joe about lyrics," he says. Chimes left The Clash again after that tour, and the band split in 1986. Reflecting on Joe Strummer, who died in 2002, Chimes says: "Joe was warm-hearted and sensitive, which made it easy to like him even though he could drive you crazy at times. Punk was messy, it was chaotic, and I loved every minute. But nothing lasts forever."
