THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

638-The Clash-Bankrobber.

1980-Number 12 single.

Best Bit-At 4.29. The Clash filmed a low budget promotional video for the song, depicting members of the band recording the track in the studio, interspersed with The Clash roadies, Johnny Green and Barry Glare, wearing bandanas over their faces, performing a heist in Lewisham, London. During filming Green and Glare were stopped by the police, who thought that they were genuine bank robbers.

The Clash (see also best songs 294) were formed in London, England, in 1976, and remained active until 1986. In total there were 10 official members come and go, with the considered classic line up comprising of Joe Strummer, (1952-2002) (lead vocals & rhythm guitar) Mick Jones, (lead guitar & lead vocals) (see also best songs 867) Paul Simonon, (bass guitar) and Nicky ‘Topper’ Headon (drums.) It was Paul Simonon who came up with the groups name, and he has explained, ‘It really came to my head when I started reading the newspapers, and a word that kept recurring was the word ‘clash’, so I thought ‘the Clash, what about that.’ The Clash started out life as a ‘Punk Rock’ group, heavily influenced by fellow London based band the ‘Sex Pistols,’ (see also best songs 576-92 and 27) but they soon began to experiment with a variety of musical genres, including ‘Reggae,’ ‘Rockabilly,’ ‘Dub,’ and ‘R&B.’ The Clash are one of the most critically acclaimed acts of all time, and were once billed as ‘The Only Band That Matters.’

‘Bankrobber’ was released as a stand alone single, issued to fill the gap between the groups third studio Album ‘London Calling,’ (1979) and their fourth Album ‘Sandinista! (1980) ‘Bankrobber’ first appeared on an Album later in 1980, with the release of their compilation ‘Black Market Clash,’ where it is stretched to 6.16, with the ‘Dub’ version added. ‘Bankrobber’ was co-written by Joe Strummer, (lyrics) and Mick Jones, (music) with the production being by Mikey Dread, who was born Michael George Campbell, on June 4th, 1954, in Port Antonio, Jamaica, he died on March 15th, 2008, from a brain tumor, at the age of 53. It is said that Mikey Dread showed a natural aptitude for engineering and electronics from an early age, and after finishing college he started out as an engineer with the ‘Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation’ (JBC.) In the mid to late 1970’s he also worked as a recording artist for the legendary Jamaican music producers Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, (1936-2021) (see also best songs 817 and 789) Sonia Pottinger, (1931-2010) and Joe Gibbs (1942-2008) (see also best songs 952.) Mikey Dread came to the attention of The Clash, who invited him over to England to tour with them in 1980, which led to him producing ‘Bankrobber,’ and then going on to perform on several songs on the ‘Sandinista!’ Album later that year. Mikey Dread also released 17 Albums between 1979-2007, and there were a further five compilation Albums issued between 1989-2006. He also released 26 singles between 1978-2001, and appeared as a guest artist on many records for others.

The lyrics to ‘Bankrobber’ are not meant to be taken literally, they are in fact a continuation of the groups themes of dead end jobs, and escaping oppression by ‘the man,’ that ran through so many of The Clash songs. The songs video was banned by the British television music show ‘Top of the Pops,’ due to it’s robbery theme, so instead the resident dance group ‘Legs and Co’ had to dance to it, when the song appeared on the show in August 1980. In 1997 the English ‘Indie Rock’ group ‘Audioweb’ did a cover version of ‘Bankrobber,’ which reached Number 19 in the UK.

‘My daddy was a bank robber, but he never hurt nobody, he just loved to live that way, and he loved to steal your money. Some is rich, and some is poor, and that’s the way the world is, but I don’t believe in laying back, sayin’ how bad your luck is.’