Mike Dread x The Clash x Bankrobber Dub

The Clash have maintained a pretty high level of importance over the years. Countless bands have co-opted not only their political positioning, but also that of incorporating as many different musical elements into punk as humanly possible.

Lead singer and main songwriter, Joe Strummer, may have sought to bring in all these disparate musical elements because of his background. While he was grounded in the British upper-middle classes, he was actually born in Turkey as his father worked in service of the empire. Regardless of that, though, Strummer’s re-immergence during the ‘90s with his new band the Mescaleros served to revitalize his image in the eyes of the Warped Tour crowd as well as his fans that never really stopped paying attention.

But in his not very distant past, Strummer and the Clash released a single called “Bankrobber,” which would eventually be compiled on the Super Black Market Clash collection. That compilation can be seen as the Clash’s cementing its stance as musical assimilators, pulling in folk, dance music, the burgeoning NYC rap scene, reggae and punk. And part of that album was worked out with a dread behind the controls, Mikey Dread.

Dread, who came to prominence with his radio show which is generally thought of as the first show to play only Jamaican produced music, saw an opportunity to work with an internationally famous group, one that worked with Lee Perry previously, and spread his work around the globe. It worked.

And in the form of “Bankrobber,” a pretty rich history has grown up around all those involved.

The 1980 release of Sandinista really made people conclude that the Clash were capable of pretty much anything. And even with that disc being the beginning of their slow slide down, there are so many reggae related moments on there to make even the most ardent traditionalist smile.

“Bankrobber,’ which could have been included on that sprawling offering, has seen a few different versions floating around on different discs. And somehow lazy over at Blogger’s Delight has unearthed a twenty five minute rendition of “Bankrobber.”

This version – which lyrically isn’t at all different than any rendition you might know – does not apologize for the pilfering ways of a boy’s father. Strummer explains that the bank robber doesn’t want to hurt anyone. It’s just that he likes to live his life this way.

In other versions – much truncated by comparison – there aren’t as many disparate sections. Here, listeners are treated to an introductory, dub section, before moving into the Strummer dominated portion of the track. As opposed to previous offerings of this track, some of Strummer’s singing is accompanied by a police siren to good effect. There’s a bit of drum and bass, before a very Mike Dread-esque dub section ends the track.

Hearing all of this isn’t revolutionary – much of this track is represented in some way on different versions, although much shorter. But it does add to the recorded legacy of two musical giants – Dread and Strummer – who left us all too early.