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Press releases
- Arsenal’s captain donates Black Lives Matter shirt to the Museum of London
- Public statement October 2020
- Dub London: Bassline of a City opening 2 October at the Museum of London
- New major exhibition Havering Hoard: A Bronze Age Mystery opens 11 September at the Museum of London Docklands
- Museum of London releases first ever recorded soundscapes of London alongside new recordings of London in lockdown as part of Collecting COVID project
- Museum of London sites to reopen 6 August with four-week extension of The Clash: London Calling display
- The Museum of London collects shared experiences of Ramadan in lockdown as part of Collecting COVID project
- Unheard oral histories are released by the Museum of London to mark Windrush Day
- Public statement
- Robert Milligan statue statement
- Collecting Covid: the Museum of London seeks to mark unprecedented pandemic for the future
- Millicent Fawcett’s ‘Steadfastness and Courage’ brooch to go on permanent display for the first time
- King Charles I’s execution vest to go on display in new major exhibition
- Museum of London submits plans to create a new world-class cultural destination in West Smithfield
- Museum of London to celebrate Dub Reggae and its influence on the capital
- East End bastion Syd’s coffee stall to be donated to the Museum of London
- Free exhibit celebrating the making of The Clash’s ground-breaking album ‘London Calling’ now open
- The largest ever Bronze Age hoard in London has been discovered
- Museum of London acquires extremely rare plate that belonged to Samuel Pepys
- The story of the Krios of Sierra Leone to be told in the Museum of London Docklands’ latest display
- Museum of London to host The Clash: London Calling exclusive free exhibit of over 100 personal items
- Designs for Museum of London’s new West Smithfield home revealed
- Smithfield Street Party
- Museum of London hopes to acquire both the Trump Baby Blimp and the Sadiq Khan Blimp as part of their permanent collection
- Secret Rivers
- Beasts of London
- Recently acquired panorama goes on display for the first time at the Museum of London
- Earliest skull ever mudlarked from the Thames to go on display at the Museum of London
- Museum of London appoints leading names to Board of Governors
- “Reputational whitewashing” investigated in latest display at the Museum of London Docklands.
- Museum of London acquires beautiful panorama of lost Houses of Parliament
- Bengali arts and culture on show at the Museum of London Docklands family festival.
- Young Londoners to take over Museum of London this March
- Treasured children’s author Jacqueline Wilson’s latest book Wave Me Goodbye inspires family day at the Museum of London Docklands
- Adventures in Peter Pan’s Neverland at Museum of London Docklands
- Museum of London Docklands celebrates Chinese New Year this February half term
- Museum of London Docklands to showcase rare Roman sarcophagus in first public display
- Taste not waste: Be inspired by unique recipes using your leftover food for a more sustainable future London
- Whitechapel’s famous monster fatberg is coming to the Museum of London
- An Idea for a Future London open call winner announced
- London Visions: Hypothetical scenarios of a future London
- Smithfield street party: Museum of London celebrates 150 years of Smithfield markets
- Technology replacing jobs won’t halt our working spirit
- Learn how to code like a pro and celebrate digital technology at the Museum of London’s free family festival
- Votes for Women programme
- All aboard for the Maritime music festival
- New display reveals complex history of British Army’s West India Regiments
- Paddington returns to Museum of London
- Bonus Levels: Artist Lawrence Lek invites viewers to re-imagine future London
- The Museum of London hopes to acquire Whitechapel 'fatberg'
- The City is Ours: A Tale of New Cities
- Tracking London’s most talked about topics and emojis
- London Nights: Museum of London unveils the city at night in major photography exhibition
- Statement on 20 May 2017
- Digital visions of London, faces of the capital photographed and portrait painting in exchange for a favour
- What does the future hold for London and cities around the world?
- Museum of London releases third and final Great Fire 1666 Minecraft map
- Museum of London acquires 100 menswear items worn by townscape consultant Francis Golding
- 8,000 years of human history on display at the Museum of London Docklands
- Museum of London displays recently acquired Sutherland drawings in new exhibition of Blitz artwork
- Mayor of London and City of London Corporation pledge support for new Museum of London at West Smithfield
- City Now City Future: a conversation about the past, present and future of our cities
- Rare tools give insight into working lives of Roman Londoners at the Museum of London
- New display at the Museum of London traces the capital’s obsession with ice skating
- Historic vessels Knocker White and Varlet set sail to new home at Trinity Buoy Wharf
- Missing Bake Off? Take your taste buds back in time with 17th century gingerbread
- Rare Victoria Cross with mysterious story to go on display at the Museum of London
- Museum of London x Craft Central pop-up opens for Christmas 2016
- Museum of London boosts Great Fire collections with mysterious manuscript
- After dark at The Night Museum
- New display about the life of ‘The Royal African’ and the slave trade
- Joe Corré, Jordan and Richard Boon to appear in an uncensored, live Punk.London debate
- People of Punk bring the year of celebration to an end
- Tunnel: the archaeology of Crossrail
- New archaeological exhibition opens at the Museum of London
- New research to shed fresh light on the impact of industrialisation
- Our statement on Fabric
- New Great Fire website to mark 350th anniversary
- Museum of London sets the City on fire with second Great Fire 1666 Minecraft map
- Skeletons: Our Buried Bones
- Behind the Scenes of the Museum of London
- Met Police’s Crime Museum revealed at Museum of London
- Stanton Williams and Asif Khan to design new Museum of London at West Smithfield
- Rare George Cross medal goes on display at the Museum of London Docklands
- Museum of London opens most theatrical exhibition ever to mark 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of London
- Museum of London uses Minecraft to recreate the Great Fire of 1666
- Sir Edward Lister joins Museum of London Board of Governors
- 17th century fire engine restored for Great Fire exhibition
- Design concepts for new museum at West Smithfield revealed
- Hello London, Hello Barbados
- Stomping Grounds: Dick Scott-Stewart photographs on display
- Legendary London Stone installed at the Museum of London
- West Smithfield Design Competition shortlist announced
- Museum of London launches new website to increase visits and ticket sales
- Photography of Londoners and their pastimes on show at Museum of London
- Never-before-seen archaeological artefacts from forthcoming exhibition, Fire! Fire! unveiled
- Another record-breaking year for the Museum of London
- Looking for Londoners and Show Space
- West Smithfield International Design Competition launched
- Museum of London bolsters its art collections
- Five Museum of London apprentices appointed
- Malcolm Reading Consultants appointed to run West Smithfield International Design Competition
- Major new gallery at Museum of London Docklands explores history of the world's largest docks
Free exhibit celebrating the making of The Clash’s ground-breaking album ‘London Calling’ now open
15 November 2019
The Clash: London Calling
Museum of London
15 November 2019 – 19 April 2020
FREE
The Museum of London is pleased to announce that the highly anticipated The Clash: London Calling, a free exhibit showcasing a collection of over 150 items from The Clash’s personal archive including notes, clothing, images and music, many previously unseen, is now open and free to view until April 19, 2020.
When The Clash’s third album ‘London Calling’ was released in the winter of 1979 it was clear that the band had made an instant classic, an era-defining masterpiece which still stands as one of rock’s all-time greatest albums.
‘London Calling’ was and is a hugely compelling melting pot of musical styles, driven by a passion for action and a fierce political anger, with music and lyrics which remain as relevant today as they were on release. As well as showcasing influences and context for the writing and recording of the seminal double album, this new exclusive exhibit at the Museum of London will also examine how the capital influenced The Clash as they became the most popular British band of the 20th century.
To reflect the band’s diverse range of political, emotional and musical interests a broad range of items are now on show, including:
• Paul Simonon’s broken Fender Precision Bass. The bass was damaged on stage at The Palladium in New York City on 20th September 1979, as Simonon smashed it on the floor in an act of spontaneous and complete frustration
• A handwritten album sequence note by Mick Jones showing the final and correct order for the four sides of the double album ‘London Calling’
• One of Joe Strummer’s notebooks from 1979, the period when the album ‘London Calling’ was rehearsed and recorded. Open at page showing Ice Age, which was to become lyrics for the song ‘London Calling’
• Topper Headon’s drum sticks, which are one of the only remaining items of Headon’s from this time
• The 1950s Fender Esquire used by Joe Strummer during the recording of ‘London Calling’
• Photographs by Pennie Smith featured on the two inner record sleeves of London Calling and taken during The Clash’s ‘Take the 5th’ tour of North America in September and October 1979, printed and shown for the first time
• Original drafts, many never before seen, from cartoonist and artist Ray Lowry’s sketchbooks including the preliminary and final drafts of the artwork for the London Calling album
• Quotes and personal accounts from the members of the band, Don Letts and many other voices from the time
To coincide with the opening of the exhibit today, Sony Music are also releasing the ‘London Calling Scrapbook’ - a limited edition 120-page hardback companion which comes with the album on CD and contains hand-written lyrics, notes, photos and previously unseen material from the period when the record was made. One the same day an anniversary edition double LP will also be released, in a special sleeve - highlighting the layers of the iconic artwork by Pennie Smith and Ray Lowry. A 2CD replicating this is also available, as well as a limited green and pink reissue of the 1979 cassette release.
The anniversary celebration continues on Saturday 14 December when the BFI will present a special screening of ‘The Clash: Westway to the World’ (Don Letts, 2000). The screening will be followed by a discussion with The Clash’s Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, with the film’s director Don Letts.
The Clash: London Calling is curated by Robert Gordon McHarg III with The Clash and Beatrice Behlen of the Museum of London.
Beatrice Behlen, Senior Curator of Fashion and Decorative Arts at the Museum of London, said: “We are very excited to be able to finally share the new free exhibit, The Clash: London Calling with our visitors. ’London Calling’ was The Clash’s defining album, a rallying call for Londoners and people around the world. From deep-diving into the story of the seminal 1979 double album a few things continue to stand out: the breadth of musical styles that influenced the sound, how the lyrics reflected a moment in the city’s history whilst still resonating today and the close-knit working relationship of the band with creative collaborators. These themes, alongside 150 rarely seen objects, will highlight the captivating story of an era defining moment in the capital’s history and we hope fascinate everyone with the story behind ‘London Calling.’”
Robert Gordon McHarg III, The Clash Archivist and Co-Curator of ‘The Clash: London Calling’, said: “1979 was a pivotal year for The Clash and the release of ‘London Calling’ was a defining moment for both The Clash, London and music history. The exhibit will allow visitors to really understand and explore how this came to be through many rarely before seen personal objects and accounts coming together like puzzle pieces to tell the fascinating story of a ground-breaking album.”
The Clash: London Calling is open until 19 April 2020 and is free to view. Its closing in Spring 2020 will be shortly followed by the opening of a brand new display exploring London’s relationship with dub reggae music and culture as part of its Soundclash season at the Museum of London.
-Ends-
Notes for editors
For more press information please contact Emily Brazee, Media Officer at the Museum of London on 020 7814 5502/ 077 1356 5805 or [email protected]
About The Clash
Formed in West London in 1976, The Clash is the most influential band to spring out of the UK punk movement. The classic line up of the band is Joe Strummer on vocals and guitar, Mick Jones also on vocals and guitar, Nick Topper Headon on drums and Paul Simonon on bass. Highly prolific, they released five albums between ’79 and ’82, being The Clash (’77), Give ‘Em Enough Rope (’79), London Calling (double album ’79), Sandinista (triple album ’80) and Combat Rock (’82): see more info at www.theclash.com
About the Museum of London
The Museum of London tells the ever-changing story of this great world city and its people, from 450,000 BC to the present day. Our galleries, exhibitions, displays and activities seek to inspire a passion for London and provide a sense of the vibrancy that makes the city such a unique place.
The museum is open daily 10am – 6pm and is FREE to all, and you can explore the Museum of London with collections online – home to 90,000 objects with more being added. www.museumoflondon.org.uk.
About Smartify
Visitors to The Clash: London Calling exhibit at The Museum of London can use their smartphones to discover more info about the band’s artefacts on display - by scanning the objects through a free app called Smartify.
Extra information includes photos, videos, audio and text written by The Clash: London Calling exhibit curators and other contributors.
Smartify is available to download for free from the App Store and Google Play and can be used at many art galleries and museums in London and internationally.
iPhone: https://apple.co/2HLTOGW
Android: http://bit.ly/2HLUv30