The 40th anniversary of The Clash's fifth studio album Combat Rock is to be celebrated with the release of an expanded anniversary edition.
The news is accompanied by a previously unreleased version of The Clash's US Top 10 hit Rock The Casbah, which stars The Beat's late vocalist Ranking Roger (that's Ranking Roger from the English Beat if you're joining us from the US) toasting over the song in place of Joe Strummer's original vocal.
The digital single comes backed with another Combat Rock song, Red Angel Dragnet, which also features Ranking Roger. A limited edition 7" of the two tracks will be released on May 20, the same day the album hits the stores.
The recording of Combat Rock commenced in late 1981, a few months after The Beat had supported The Clash in Europe, when Roger would often join The Clash onstage for their covers of Willie Williams’ Armagideon Time and Junior Murvin’s Police & Thieves. Roger's vocals for Rock The Casbah and Red Angel Dragnet were recorded during would would become known as the Rat Patrol sessions, and received a bootleg release in 2013.
The anniversary edition of the album is titled Combat Rock / The People’s Hall, and features 12 unreleased tracks, including a version of Know Your Rights recorded at The People’s Hall squat in West London, the previously unreleased instrumental He Who Dares Or Is Tired, an unreleased mix of The Escapades of Futura 2000, Mikey Dread’s Radio One, plus the unreleased outtake The Fulham Connection. Full tracklist below.
The Clash: Combat Rock / The People’s Hall tracklist:
Combat Rock - Side A
Know Your Rights
Car Jamming
Should I Stay Or Should I Go
Rock The Casbah
Red Angel Dragnet
Straight To Hell
Combat Rock -Side B
Overpowered By Funk
Atom Tan
Sean Flynn
Ghetto Defendant
Inoculated City
Death Is A Star
The Peoples Hall - Side A
Outside Bonds
Radio Clash
Futura 2000
The Peoples Hall - Side B
First Night Back In London
Radio One - Mikey Dread
He Who Dares Or Is Tired
Long Time Jerk
The Fulham Connection
The Peoples Hall - Side C
Midnight To Stevens
Sean Flynn
Idle In Kangaroo Court
Know Your Rights
