Last Gang in Town: The Story and Myth of the Clash

If you're completely obsessed with the Clash you'll likely find Gray's tedious details on every aspect of the lives of each member interesting. However, Gray fails miserably to put all his research into context. The book is a barrage of obscure factoids with few attempts to weave them into a chapter-by-chapter theme toward an overall coherent picture of this band. Gray makes some effort to illustrate how the threads of the Clash came together under the social influences of the day and each member's upbringing. But he goes spinning off on long discussions of what other bands were doing at the time, and I forgot I was reading a book that's supposed to be about the Clash. While some readers have come away from this book being disgusted or dissolutioned with the Clash, that is simply the popping sound of their own distorted fantasy bubble of what they thought the Clash was all about. Larger than life. More heroic than your average heros. What's good about Gray's book is that it portrays the Clash as normal folk, put together by luck, circumstance, and the will of Bernard Rhodes. The Clash was not the product of some spiritualized magical formula for saving the world. They were just in the right place at the right time.

Who would have expected a biography of The Clash to be so fascinating and well-written. This book joins England's Dreaming by Jon Savage and Please Kill Me by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain on the compulsory punk rock reading list.

Everything you ever wanted to know about the Clash is in here, from the band members childhood's through their disastrous late-career moves. The first half of the book reads like an encyclopedia of 1975-78 who's who of London punk rock. Everyone who's anyone makes the cut, from the obvious candidates such as the Pistols and the Damned all the way through to the Alarm and Sigue Sigue Sputnik. The second half is not as detailed, I guessing mostly because most modern fans were rudimentally familiar with the band by this point. Gray takes apart the myth of the Clash, exposing the hyperbole and half-truths at every turn that helped create and keep what the Clash meant to fans. The last half of the book is a much easier read, despite the fact that the subject matter (the dissolution of the band) becomes less attractive. A must-read for any Clash fan, or any fan of the London punk movement.

This book was filled with many facts about the Clash and other punk bands. It keeps you reading with amusing stories. Also intersting was the explanations of where punk originated and how it fits into culture.

Although Marcus Gray is obviously somewhat disillusioned by the Clash's ultimate failure to live up to their original aims, he is clearly still a fan of their music. Gray's criticisms are at time harsh, but it is obvious they come from the heart--from a man who cares deeply about the Clash and their music.What this book lacks in balance it makes up for in quality. You may not agree with some of Gray's opinions about the Clash or the music business in general, but it is difficult to argue with his skill in evaluating the Clash's music throughout their existence. The Kirkus review of the book is right in arguing that Gray draws too heavily from the weekly British music papers, but in reading the book it is clear that the Clash themselves put a lot of stock in these papers' opinions.In summary, if you are looking for a non-partisan, blow-by-blow account of the Clash, this book will disappoint you. On the other hand, if you want a decidedly opinionated treatise on one of rock music's greatest bands, you probably won't be disappointed