B-side "Radio Clash" Length 4:10 | Recorded 1981 | |
Released 20 November 1981 (U.K.) Format 7" and 12" single, cassette tape Genre hip hop, post-disco, alternative dance, dance-punk | ||
"This Is Radio Clash" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash. The 1981 single was issued in 7-inch format and also in 12-inch format and cassette tape with additional tracks. The first public performance of the song was on Tom Snyder's Tomorrow show on 5 June 1981.
Contents
The song is not featured on any of the Clash's original studio albums, but is included in their compilations: The Singles (1991), The Story of the Clash, Volume 1, Sound System, Singles Box, The Singles (2007) and Clash on Broadway.
American critic Eric Schafer said this of the song - "it is a magnificent, daring, challenging record that was years ahead of its time; one of the great rock records of the 1980s, it has never been given its just credit. Twenty-eight years after its debut, were it released today it would still burn up the radio."
The song is included on the experimental compilation album called Disco Not Disco 2 (2002) as well as the radio soundtrack in Battlefield Hardline.
7-inch release
The 7-inch single also contains a B-side titled simply "Radio Clash," a remix of the title track with exactly the same running time and additional lyrics. The Clash stated at the time that they intended the songs to be heard as a single entity.
"This Is Radio Clash" begins with the lyric:
"This is Radio Clash on pirate satellite
Orbiting your living room, cashing in the bill of rights."
And "Radio Clash" begins with:
"This is Radio Clash resuming all transmissions
Beaming from the mountain tops, using aural ammunition."
The similarities of the A and B-side recordings has led to much confusion not only by fans but also by the record company. On the remastered version of the Super Black Market Clash CD, the B-side "Radio Clash" is included, but incorrectly listed as "This Is Radio Clash". The same error was repeated on the US version of the 2003 collection The Essential Clash.
12-inch release
On side one of the 12-inch single, "This Is Radio Clash" is immediately followed by "Radio Clash" in accordance with the band's intention that they be heard together. Side two contains two additional remixes of the title track(s): "Outside Broadcast" and "Radio Five". In 2006 a CD compilation called Singles Box was released which collected all four versions in the same order with original cover art. This was the first time all four tracks were released together since the original 1981 release.
7-inch
Released in UK with picture sleeve.
- "This Is Radio Clash" — 4:10
- "Radio Clash" — 4:10
12-inch
Released in UK with picture sleeve. Released in Canada with a cover sticker (12EXP 02622).
- "This Is Radio Clash" — 4:10
- "Radio Clash" — 4:10
- "Outside Broadcast" — 7:23
- "Radio Five" — 3:38
Personnel
with: