"The Call Up" is a song by English
punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
group
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 ...
. It was released as the first single from the band's fourth album, ''
Sandinista!
''Sandinista!'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, gospe ...
''. The single was released in November 1980, in advance of the release of ''Sandinista!'', with "Stop the World" as its
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...
.
Re-releases
The single was reissued in 1981 in the U.S. by
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
(catalog number 02036) in 7" vinyl format and with a different cover. On the B-side of the US release was "The Cool Out", a dub of "The Call Up".
In addition to its inclusion on ''
Sandinista!
''Sandinista!'' is the fourth studio album by the English rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, gospe ...
'', "The Call Up" has been included on both ''
The Clash on Broadway'' and ''
The Singles''. It is absent from ''
The Essential Clash
''The Essential Clash'' is a career-spanning greatest hits compilation album, album by The Clash first released in 2003. It is part of the ongoing 'The Essential' Sony BMG compilation series. The album is dedicated to Joe Strummer, who died durin ...
'', although "Stop The World", its B-side that was not included on ''Sandinista'', is included. "Stop The World" is also included on ''The Clash on Broadway'' and the B-side compilation ''
Super Black Market Clash
''Super Black Market Clash'' is a 1993 compilation album released by the English punk rock band The Clash. It contains B-sides and rare tracks not available on the group's regular studio albums. The album is an expanded repackaging of the 1980 r ...
''.
The single was reissued on
CD as Disc 12 of
Singles Box, complete with a re-creation of the original sleeve artwork, but omits "The Cool Out", making it the only disc in the set that does not include all non-UK released tracks. "The Cool Out" is however included on Disc 14 as part of the "
Magnificent Seven" release.
Track listing
All tracks written by The Clash; except where indicated.
;7" vinyl
# "The Call Up" – 5:26
# "Stop the World" – 2:32
;12" vinyl (US)
# "The Call Up" – 4:50
# "The Cool Out" – 2:57
# "The Magnificent Dance" (
Mick Jones/
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' ...
/
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.
...
/
Norman Watt-Roy
Norman Joseph Watt-Roy (born 15 February 1951) is an English musician, arranger and composer.
Watt-Roy's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music as the bass ...
/
Mickey 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 Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Blockheads and for his contributions to albums by the Clash. He h ...
) – 5:36
# "The Magnificent Seven" (
Mick Jones/
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' ...
/
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.
...
/
Norman Watt-Roy
Norman Joseph Watt-Roy (born 15 February 1951) is an English musician, arranger and composer.
Watt-Roy's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music as the bass ...
/
Mickey 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 Ian Dury and the Blockheads, Blockheads and for his contributions to albums by the Clash. He h ...
) – 2:16
Personnel
"The Call Up"
*
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 guitar
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...
,
lead vocals
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 –
lead guitars
Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featured ...
,
backing vocals
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 us ...
,
sound effect
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 ...
s
*
Norman Watt-Roy
Norman Joseph Watt-Roy (born 15 February 1951) is an English musician, arranger and composer.
Watt-Roy's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music as the bass ...
–
bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
,
backing vocals
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 us ...
*
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.
...
–
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
s,
backing vocals
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 us ...
"Stop the World"
*
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' ...
–
vocal
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...
*
Mick Jones –
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 ...
,
sound effect
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 ...
s
*
Norman Watt-Roy
Norman Joseph Watt-Roy (born 15 February 1951) is an English musician, arranger and composer.
Watt-Roy's music career spans more than 40 years. He came to prominence in the late 1970s, during the punk and new wave era of rock music as the bass ...
–
bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
*
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.
...
–
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
s
Covers
The song was covered by Chris Whitley, using only voice and acoustic guitar, as track four on his 2004 release "War Crime Blues". It was also covered by The Lothars as track four, disc two of a compilation tribute album ''The Sandinista! Project''.
Charts
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Call Up, The
1980 singles
1981 singles
Anti-war songs
The Clash songs
Protest songs
1980 songs
CBS Records singles