Editing London Calling (section)

== Writing and recording ==
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 | caption2  = [[Joe Strummer]] (top) and [[Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist)|Mick Jones]] (bottom), the band's lead vocalists, guitarists, and lyricists; pictured in 1980
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The Clash wrote and recorded [[Demo (music)|demo]]s at Vanilla Studios, with [[Mick Jones (The Clash guitarist)|Mick Jones]] composing and arranging much of the music and [[Joe Strummer]] writing most of the lyrics.<ref name="ew" /><ref>Gray 2010, pp. 100–103.</ref> Strummer wrote "[[Lost in the Supermarket]]" after imagining Jones' childhood growing up in a basement with his mother and grandmother.<ref name=dvd>''London Calling: 25th Anniversary Legacy Edition''. "The Last Testament – The Making of London Calling". Information about the recording of ''London Calling''. Retrieved 18 February 2008.</ref> "[[The Guns of Brixton]]" was the first of bassist [[Paul Simonon]]'s compositions the band would record for an album, and the first to have him sing lead. Simonon was originally doubtful about its lyrics, which discuss an individual's paranoid outlook on life, but was encouraged by Strummer to continue working on it.<ref name="uncut67" />

In August 1979, the band entered [[Wessex Sound Studios|Wessex Studios]] to begin recording ''London Calling''. The Clash asked [[Guy Stevens]] to produce the album, much to the dismay of CBS Records.<ref name="Gilbert235">Gilbert 2005, p. 235.</ref> Stevens had alcohol and drug problems and his production methods were unconventional.<ref name="ew" /> During a recording session he swung a ladder and upturned chairs – apparently to create a rock & roll atmosphere.<ref name="ew" /> During another session, Stevens poured a bottle of wine over a piano that Strummer was playing to either to make it sound better or to simply make him stop.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/2019/12/17/music/the-clash-london-calling-40th-anniversary|title= The Siren Sound of the Clash's 'London Calling,' 40 Years Later|work=[[The Ringer (website)|The Ringer]]|first=Elizabeth|last=Nelson|date=17 December 2019|access-date=19 May 2025}}</ref> The Clash, especially Simonon, got along well with Stevens, and found Stevens' work to be very helpful and productive to both Simonon's playing and their recording as a band. The album was recorded during a five- to six-week period involving 18-hour days,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_london_calling_clash/ |title=Classic Tracks: The Clash's 'London Calling' |first=Chris |last=Michie |date=1 November 2000 |work=Mix |access-date=18 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120901182906/http://mixonline.com/mag/audio_london_calling_clash/ |archive-date=1 September 2012}}</ref> with many songs recorded in one or two takes.<ref name="ew" />

The first track recorded for ''London Calling'' was "[[Brand New Cadillac]]", which the Clash had originally used as a warm-up song before recording.<ref name="uncut65">Sweeting, Adam. "Death or Glory". ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''. October 2004. p. 65.</ref><ref name="Gilbert237">Gilbert 2005, p. 237.</ref> "[[Clampdown]]" began as an instrumental track called "Working and Waiting".<ref name="uncut67">Sweeting, Adam. "Death or Glory". ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''. October 2004. p. 67.</ref> While working on "The Card Cheat", the band recorded each part twice to create a "sound as big as possible".<ref name="uncut68">Sweeting, Adam. "Death or Glory". ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]''. October 2004. p. 68.</ref>