"Bankrobber" is a song by English punk rock band

the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

. The song was not released on any of their studio albums, instead appearing on their compilation '' Black Market Clash''. Upon its

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a United States grain embargo against the Soviet Union, grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning Sys ...

release as a single (initially available in the UK on import only) it peaked at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart, and at number 14 on both the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

and the

New Zealand Singles Chart The Official Aotearoa Music Charts, formerly the Official New Zealand Music Chart (), is the weekly New Zealand top 40 singles and albums charts, issued weekly by Recorded Music NZ (formerly Recording Industry Association of New Zealand). The M ...

Video

Don Letts Donovan Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band Big Au ...

filmed a low-budget

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

for the song, depicting members of the band recording the song in the studio, interspersed with Clash roadies Baker and Johnny Green wearing

bandana A kerchief (from the Old French ''couvre-chef'', "cover head"), also known as a bandana or bandanna, is a triangular or square piece of cloth tied around the Human head, head, face, or neck for protective or decorative purposes. The popularity of ...

s over their faces, performing a bank heist in

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

. During the filming, Baker and Green were stopped and questioned by the police, who thought they were genuine.

Track listing

; 7" vinyl # "Bankrobber" (The Clash) – 4:36 # "Rockers Galore... UK Tour" ( Mikey Dread) – 4:42

Personnel

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, formed in 1976. The Clash' ...

lead vocal The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

* Mick Jones -

sound effects A sound effect (or audio effect) is an artificially created or enhanced sound, or sound process used to emphasize artistic or other content of films, television shows, live performance, animation, video games, music, or other media. In m ...

guitars The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

Paul Simonon Paul Gustave Simonon (; born 15 December 1955) is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the Clash. More recent work includes his involvement in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen and playing on the Gorillaz alb ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

Topper Headon Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955) is an English drummer and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the drummer of punk rock band the Clash. Headon was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the rest of the Clash in 2003. ...

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Mick Gallagher Michael William Gallagher (born 29 October 1945) is an English Hammond organ, piano and synthesizer player best known as a member of Ian Dury and the Blockheads and for his contributions to albums by the Clash. He has also written music for fi ...

ARP synthesizer ARP Instruments, Inc. was a Lexington, Massachusetts manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, founded by Alan R. Pearlman, Alan Robert Pearlman in 1969. It created a popular and commercially successful range of synthesizers throughout the ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

* Mikey Dread -

backing vocal A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are used ...

, production

Robber Dub

"Robber Dub" is the dub version of "Bankrobber". It was to be included in the 12" single for "Bankrobber", but the label decided not to release the 12" single. The song can be found on their 1980 compilation album '' Black Market Clash'', combined with "Bankrobber" as a 6:16 track, and also on the 1994 compilation album '' Super Black Market Clash'', as a 4:42 stand alone track.

Rockers Galore... UK Tour

"Rockers Galore... UK Tour" is a reworking of "Bankrobber" with Mikey Dread singing new lyrics about touring with the Clash. It is not "Robber Dub" which lacks the Dread vocal and lyrics. "Rockers Galore" is also featured on their 2006 compilation album '' Singles Box''.

Appearances

"Bankrobber" is featured in

Guy Ritchie Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter known primarily for British comedy gangster films and large-scale action-adventure films. Ritchie left school at the age of 15, and worked in e ...

's 2008 film, ''

Rocknrolla ''RocknRolla'' is a 2008 crime comedy film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast that includes Gerard Butler, Tom Wilkinson, Thandiwe Newton, Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Toby Kebbell, Jeremy Piven and ...

''. It is sung alternately by the older 'Johnny Quid', portrayed by British actor

Toby Kebbell Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...

, in his dingy flat, and by the younger 'John Cole' in the company of his cruel stepfather, the London mob boss Lenny Cole.

Ian Brown Ian George Brown (born 20 February 1963) is an English musician. He was the lead singer and the only continuous member of the alternative rock band the Stone Roses from their formation in 1983. Following the band's initial split in 1996, he be ...

and Pete Garner, later of

the Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...

, were in attendance at the studio recording session of this single. According to Brown, having heard a rumour that the Clash were recording in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, he and Garner were walking through the city centre when they overheard

playing the drums at the city's Pluto Studios: Headon subsequently emerged from the studio and invited the pair in. The full account of this incident is in John Robb's ''Stone Roses and the Resurrection of British Pop''.

Cover versions

Audioweb Audioweb are an English indie rock band, formed in 1991 in Manchester. They were initially called The Sugar Merchants. Career Audioweb scored two Top 40 hits in the UK Singles Chart - "Policeman Skank...(The Story Of My Life)", and a cover ve ...

recorded a rock/reggae cover in 1996 that reached number 19 in the UK Singles Chart.

Chumbawamba Chumbawamba () was a British anarcho-punk band who formed in 1982 and disbanded in 2012. They are best known for their 1997 single "Tubthumping", which was nominated for Best British Single at the Brit Awards 1998. Other singles include "Amnes ...

's 2005 album '' A Singsong and a Scrap'' features an

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

cover version of the song. Country rocker

Jesse Dayton Jesse Dayton is an American musician, actor and record producer from Austin, Texas best known for his guitar contributions to albums by country musicians including Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, and Willie Nelson. He is also notable for his col ...

covered the song on his 2019 release ''Mixtape Vol. 1''.

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is known for his tenure with the rock bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, Morello was a membe ...

covered the song acoustically for a Joe Strummer tribute in 2020.

Charts

Notes

References

Sources

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Related news articles: ** * * {{authority control Songs about criminals 1980 singles The Clash songs British reggae songs Songs written by Joe Strummer 1980 songs Songs written by Mick Jones (The Clash) CBS Records singles