Paul Gustave Simonon (; born 15 December 1955) is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for

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 ...

. More recent work includes his involvement in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen and playing on the

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

album ''

Plastic Beach ''Plastic Beach'' is the third studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released on 3 March 2010 by Parlophone internationally and by Virgin Records in the United States. ''Plastic Beach'' evolved from an unfinished project entitled ' ...

'' in 2010, which saw Simonon reunite with The Clash guitarist Mick Jones and Blur frontman

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

– and which also led to Simonon becoming the live band's touring bassist for Gorillaz's Escape to Plastic Beach Tour. Simonon is also an established visual artist.

Early life

Simonon was born in

Thornton Heath Thornton Heath is a district of South London, England, within the London Borough of Croydon. It is around north of the town of Croydon, and south of Charing Cross. Prior to the creation of Greater London in 1965, Thornton Heath was in the Coun ...

, Croydon, Surrey. His father, Gustave, was an amateur artist and his mother, Elaine, was a librarian. Simonon's paternal grandfather was a Belgian refugee who came to England during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Paul grew up in both the London areas of

Brixton Brixton is an area of South London, part of the London Borough of Lambeth, England. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. Brixton experienced a rapid rise in population during the 19th century ...

and

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove ( ) is a road in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, which passes through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also the name of the sur ...

. Before joining the Clash, he had planned to become an artist. He studied at

Byam Shaw School of Art The Byam Shaw School of Art, often known simply as Byam Shaw, was an independent art school in London, England, which specialised in fine art and offered foundation and degree level courses. It was founded in 1910 by Byam Shaw, John Liston Bya ...

(then based in Campden St, Kensington), which he attended on scholarship.

Career

The Clash

In 1976, Mick Jones of protopunk band London SS was putting together a new band, inspired by the arrival of the

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols are an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they became culturally influential in popular music. The band initiated the punk movement in the United Ki ...

. London SS manager Bernard Rhodes recommended hiring Simonon due to his attitude and looks, despite Simonon not knowing how to play an instrument. Jones attempted to teach Simonon the guitar but gave up in a matter of hours and asked him to play bass instead. Six months later, the Clash was formed when vocalist and guitarist

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' ...

completed the lineup. Strummer has since remarked that Simonon learned to play bass by playing along to the

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of th ...

first album."History of Rock 9 Punk", 1995
/ref> Simonon is credited with coming up with the name of the band and was mainly responsible for the visual aspects such as clothing and stage backdrops. Simonon was shown on the front cover of the band's double album '' London Calling'': Pennie Smith's image of him smashing his Fender Precision Bass guitar during a 1979 concert in New York City; the image has become one of the iconic pictures of the punk era.Sweeting, Adam. "Death or Glory". '' Uncut''. October 2004. p.70. Simonon played bass on almost all of the Clash's songs. Recordings that he did not play on include: "The Magnificent Seven" and "Lightning Strikes (Not Once but Twice)" on '' Sandinista!'' (played by Norman Watt-Roy), " Rock the Casbah" on '' Combat Rock'' (played by

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. ...

), and '' Cut the Crap'' (played by Norman Watt-Roy). '' Sandinista!'' featured bass played by Jones or Strummer, some but possibly not all of which Simonon later re-recorded once he rejoined the sessions after filming '' Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains''. Also, when performing " The Guns of Brixton" live he switched instruments with Joe Strummer, because it was easier for him to sing while playing guitar, instead of bass as he sings lead vocals on this track.

After the Clash

After the Clash dissolved in 1986, Simonon started a band called Havana 3am. He recorded one album with them. He also participated in a

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

session along with the

' Steve Jones that became part of the Dylan album '' Down in the Groove''. Also, Simonon works as an artist – his first passion before joining the Clash. He has had several gallery shows, and designed the cover for

Big Audio Dynamite Big Audio Dynamite (later known as Big Audio Dynamite II and Big Audio, and often abbreviated BAD) were an English band, formed in London in 1984 by Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist), Mick Jones, former lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist of th ...

's album, '' Tighten Up, Vol. 88'', as well as the cover for " Herculean" from the album '' The Good, the Bad & the Queen'', a project with

on which Simonon plays bass. Paul reunited with Damon Albarn and Mick Jones on the

album ''

'', and was also the bassist of the Gorillaz live band supporting ''Plastic Beach'', along with Mick Jones on guitar. The band headlined the 2010 Coachella Festival, and took up residence at the Camden roundhouse for two nights in late April 2010. In 2011, Simonon spent time aboard the

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

vessel ''Esperanza'' incognito under the guise of "Paul the assistant cook" in response to Arctic oil drilling in

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

by Cairn Oil. He joined other Greenpeace activists in illegally boarding one of Cairn's oil rigs; an action which earned him two weeks in a Greenland jail. His identity was revealed to other crew members after the voyage, and he joined Damon Albarn and the other members of the Good, the Bad & the Queen for a performance in London celebrating Greenpeace's 40th anniversary. Actor Pete Morrow portrays Simonon in the 2016 film '' London Town''. The film was met with mixed reviews. In 2023, Simonon announced a new album, ''Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day?'', in collaboration with singer Galen Ayers. The project arose out of Simonon's time writing music in

Mallorca Mallorca, or Majorca, is the largest of the Balearic Islands, which are part of Spain, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, seventh largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The capital of the island, Palma, Majorca, Palma, i ...

during the COVID-19 lockdown and subsequently busking in front of cafes in Palma. In 2024 he made a guest appearance with

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

Musicianship

Upon being recruited for the Clash, Simonon could not play an instrument. Jones attempted in vain to teach him guitar, and subsequently asked him to switch to bass, which Jones felt would be simpler to learn. Simonon, who idolized

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

, was initially disappointed by the switch and struggled in his attempt to learn the bass through playing along to Who records, as he felt underwhelmed by John Entwistle's parts. To keep up with his bandmates, Simonon painted notes on the neck of his bass and Jones would shout out the correct notes while the band performed. Simonon had greater success working out the basslines in

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

music—having grown up around London's Jamaican communities, he preferred how prominent and groove-oriented the basslines were in the genre: "Each bassline in Jamaican music, to me anyway, was a bit like how you move your feet. It's like how you dance to it." Simonon soon developed a

contrapuntal In music theory, counterpoint is the relationship of two or more simultaneous Part (music), musical lines (also called voices) that are harmonically dependent on each other, yet independent in rhythm and Pitch contour, melodic contour. The term ...

reggae/ska-influenced style that set him apart from the bulk of other punk rock bassists of the era in the complexity and role of the bass guitar within the band. Paul Simonon london calling Fender Precision Bass

Paul Simonon london calling Fender Precision Bass

Simonon primarily played a Fender Precision Bass into an Ampeg SVT. He was initially reluctant to play a white "P-Bass" he acquired as his main bass, since Sid Vicious and Dee Dee Ramone were already using white Precision Basses, but felt his had a uniquely "punchy" tone and hefty weight. He would use this bass—with a painted pickguard and the word "Pressure" inscribed on the body—as his main bass for live and studio use until famously smashing it at New York City's

Palladium Palladium is a chemical element; it has symbol Pd and atomic number 46. It is a rare and lustrous silvery-white metal discovered in 1802 by the English chemist William Hyde Wollaston. He named it after the asteroid Pallas (formally 2 Pallas), ...

in 1979 out of frustration that the venue would not allow concertgoers to stand and dance to the music. A photograph of the moment captured by Pennie Smith was used for the cover of ''London Calling''. Simonon quickly regretted destroying his favorite bass onstage, as he considered his backup Precision Bass inferior. He eventually found another pre- CBS era model, which he used from then on. The destroyed bass is on permanent display at the

Museum of London London Museum (known from 1976 to 2024 as the Museum of London) is a museum in London, covering the history of the city from prehistoric to modern times, with a particular focus on social history. The Museum of London was formed in 1976 by ama ...

as part of an exhibition on the city's history from the 1950s to the modern era.

Discography

;With the Clash * ''

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 ...

'' (1977) * '' Give 'Em Enough Rope'' (1978) * '' London Calling'' (1979) * '' Sandinista!'' (1980) * '' Combat Rock'' (1982) * '' Cut the Crap'' (1985) ;With Havana 3 am * '' Havana 3 am'' (1991) ;With The Good, the Bad & the Queen * '' The Good, the Bad & the Queen'' (2007) * '' Merrie Land'' (2018) ;With Gorillaz * ''

'' (2010)
Simonon reunites with Clash guitarist Mick Jones on the album's title track. ;With Galen & Paul (Galen Ayers & Paul Simonon) * ''Can We Do Tomorrow Another Day?'' (2023)

Art

Selected solo exhibitions

* ''From Hammersmith to Greenwich'' (2002) * ''Paul Simonon Recent Paintings'' (2008) * ''Wot no Bike'', ICA Nash and Brandon Rooms (2015). To accompany the exhibition, Simonon published a limited edition hardback publication also titled ''Wot no Bike''. Featuring 24 of the paintings, it includes an introduction by David Lancaster, a writer on classic bikes and culture and an interview between Simonon and Tim Marlow, Director of Artistic Programmes at the Royal Academy of Arts, London.

Selected group exhibitions

* John Martin Gallery (1996) * ''Eyes of a Child'' (1998) * ''Crusaid'' Edinburgh Art Centre (1998) * ''Art Tube Exhibition'' London Underground (2001) * ''Notting Hill Arts Exhibition'' (2001) * ''Colony Room Show'' (2001)