Editing London Calling (section)

== Rehearsals and ''The Vanilla Tapes'' ==
Rehearsal were held in Vanilla Studios over mid-1979. The Clash began playing covers from genres including [[rockabilly]], [[rock and roll]], [[rhythm and blues]], and [[reggae]].<ref name="ew">{{cite magazine| last=Sinclair |first=Tom |url=http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,698325,00.html |title=The Best Album of All Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725043431/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0%2C%2C698325%2C00.html |archive-date=25 July 2014 |magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]] |date=24 September 2004 |access-date=20 February 2008}}</ref><ref>Gray 2010, pp. 93–97.</ref> In contrast to previous rehearsal sessions, the band kept these rehearsals private, and did not allow hangers-on to attend.<ref>Gray 2010, p. 90.</ref> This seclusion allowed the band to rebuild their confidence without worrying about the reaction from outsiders, who were familiar with the band's punk rock style.<ref>Gray 2010, p. 97.</ref>

The band developed an "extremely disciplined" daily routine of afternoon rehearsals, broken by a late-afternoon social [[Association football|football]] game, which fostered a friendly bond between the band members. The football was followed by drinks at a local pub, followed by a second rehearsal in the evening.<ref>Gray 2010, pp. 98–100.</ref>

The band gradually rebuilt their confidence, with the styles of the session's early cover songs setting the template for the diverse material that would be written for ''London Calling''.<ref>Gray 2010, p. 98.</ref> The band were also encouraged by a growing recognition of drummer [[Topper Headon]]'s skills, which they realised could be used to perform music in a wide array of genres and styles beyond punk rock.<ref>Gray 2010, p. 95.</ref>

During these rehearsals in the early summer of 1979, a series of demos dubbed ''The Vanilla Tapes'' (after the name of the rehearsal studio) were made on a [[TEAC Corporation|TEAC]] 4-track recorder. These tapes contain early versions of 15 of the 19 songs that would eventually appear on ''London Calling,'' sometimes in very rudimentary forms (several lack the lyrics, musical structure, or titles of their final versions -- the instrumental track titled ''Paul's Tune'' would eventually be recorded for ''London Calling'' under the title ''[[The Guns of Brixton]]'', while the instrumental tracked titled ''Up-Toon'' would ultimately be released as ''The Right Profile,'' for example).<ref>{{cite web| url = https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/the-clash-london-calling-and-the-vanilla-tapes| title = The Clash – London Calling and The Vanilla Tapes| last = Myers| first = Ben| date = October 22, 2007| website = recordcollectormag.com| publisher = Metropolis International Group Limited| access-date = May 8, 2025}}</ref> They also include covers that did not make the final album, including [[Sonny Okosun]]'s ''Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)'' and a reggae version of [[Bob Dylan]]'s ''[[The Man in Me]]'' (possibly influenced by London-based reggae band [[Matumbi (band)|Matumbi]]'s 1976 version), as well as never-officially-released Clash tunes like ''Heart and Mind'' (described by [[Music journalism|rock journalist]] Pat Gilbert as "a rocker"), and the country-inflected ''Lonesome Me.''  Notably, they do not include the ''London Calling'' tracks ''Spanish Bombs,'' ''Wrong ‘Em Boyo,'' ''The Card Cheat,'' or ''Train in Vain,'' suggesting that these tracks were written (or, in ''Wrong 'Em Boyo'''s case, selected) later, possibly during the actual album sessions.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.openculture.com/2014/11/the-clashs-vanilla-tapes.html | title = Hear The Clash's Vanilla Tapes, Demos of Nearly Every Song From London Calling| last = Jones| first = Josh| date = November 6, 2014| website = openculture.com| access-date = May 8, 2025}}</ref> These tapes, believed lost in 1979 (roadie Johnny Green claimed in his 1999 autobiography ''A Riot Of Our Own'' that he had lost them on the [[London Underground]] prior to the album's recording), were rediscovered by Mick Jones while he was moving in 2004, and 21 were curated for release on the ''25th Anniversary Legacy Edition'' of ''London Calling.''<ref>{{Cite AV media notes |title=London Calling 25th Anniversary Edition |first=Pat |last=Gilbert |others=[[The Clash]] |date=2004 |page=27-33 |type=booklet |publisher=[[Legacy Recordings]]}}</ref>