If you don't have this album, your vinyl collection is not only not complete, it has not yet even started. The cover artwork was designed by Ray Lowry and is identical to the Columbia sleeve but with the blank 78 covers from the original changed to classic rock and punk LP sleeves. Some copies distributed with an introductory letter from Mel Phillips, CBS Associate Director, Promotion and a copy of John Rockwell's January 4, 1980 New York Times review of the album.

The Clash – London Calling (Vinyl) - Discogs The Clash – London Calling (Vinyl) - Discogs

Joe Strummer has said: "We felt that we were struggling about to slip down a slope or something, grasping with our fingernails. I've had a copy of this record in constant regular rotation (in one form or another, starting with a dubbed cassette) over the last 30 years and I'm hearing it the way it was meant to sound for the very first time tonight. Another thing must be said for the flawless, clear vinyl and thick tip on gatefold which just make this issue an overall brilliant package.By the way, even though it doesn’t look like it from the mocked-up image above, this scrapbook also has the special removable clear slipcase. The song was also used for a 2012 British Airways advertisement, picturing a jet aeroplane taxiing through the streets of London passing numerous landmarks and parking outside the Olympic Stadium. Strummer's concern for police brutality is evident through the lines "We ain't got no swing / Except for the ring of that truncheon thing" as the Metropolitan Police at the time had a truncheon as standard issued equipment. Anyone else have "offensive" sticker, gold promo on back, normal retail labels, but no custom inner sleeves?

The Clash – London Calling (1979, Vinyl) - Discogs The Clash – London Calling (1979, Vinyl) - Discogs

There is a 2LP vinyl edition which comes in a special clear slip case printed with Ray Lowry’s artwork, which slides off to reveal the Pennie Smith photo below.I have a copy with the following runouts but cant match up to any of the variants after many hours trawling through.

The Clash - London Calling | Releases | Discogs The Clash - London Calling | Releases | Discogs

In runouts 96468 1A MOVLP 863, 96468 1C MOVLP 863, Ⓜ 96468 2B MOVLP 863 and Ⓜ 96468 2D MOVLP 863 are stamped, the rest is etched. I have this from new and the matrices and details match exactly as far as I can see BUT the record came in plain white inner sleeves with two printed inserts with two sided printing of lyrics / credits. The lines referring to "Now don't look to us / Phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust" reflects the concerns of the band over its situation after the punk rock boom in England had ended in 1977. Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited © 2013, 2015 Sony Music Entertainment UK Limited / Distributed by Sony Music Entertainment / Made in the EU / Sony Music Enterainment International Services GmbH, PO Box 510, 33311 Gütersloh, Germany.The line "London is drowning / And I live by the river" comes from concerns that if the River Thames flooded, most of central London would drown, something that led to the construction of the Thames Barrier. I got real lucky and came across a copy that was up for grabs for free, and while the packaging shows its age, the records themselves are pristine. In 2020, The Guardian ranked the song number five on their list of the 40 greatest songs by the Clash. Guarisco, the song "cleverly crossbreeds anthemic hard rock with reggae by juxtaposing slashing, staccato guitar riffs with an undulating rhythm section beat as Strummer lays down a snarling vocal. The Clash turned down a request from British Telecom to use the song for an advertising campaign in the early 1990s.

The Clash – London Calling (2015, 180 Gram, Vinyl) - Discogs The Clash – London Calling (2015, 180 Gram, Vinyl) - Discogs

The most ‘super deluxe’ version is a ‘scrapbook’ edition which actually puts all the audio back onto one disc, but sets it within a 120-page hardcover book with “rarely seen” content from the band’s personal archives, including handwritten lyrics, Ray Lowry drawings, fanzines, original press cuttings and band images. The song fades out with a Morse code signal spelling S-O-S, [9] reiterating the earlier urgent sense of emergency, and further alluding to drowning in the river. This studio had already proved to be a popular location with the Sex Pistols, the Pretenders and the Tom Robinson band. From left to right they are, the Beatles' debut Please Please Me, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols, The Rolling Stones ' debut, The Clash 's debut, Bob Dylan's Highway 61 Revisited and the Elvis Presley debut LP.The single fell off the charts after 10 weeks, but later re-entered the chart twice, spending a total of 15 non-consecutive weeks on the UK Singles Chart. There’s also a two-CD edition with the same ‘slipcase’ sleeve, that actually came out a couple of weeks ago. Until I bought this, I'd only ever owned this on CD and had always found it to be a little "limp" and thin.