*** Welcome to piglix ***

This Is England (song)

"This Is England"
Thisisengland single.png
Single by The Clash
from the album Cut the Crap
B-side "Do It Now"/"Sex Mad Roar"
Released September 30 1985
Format 7" vinyl, 12" vinyl
Recorded 1985
Genre New wave, electropunk, post-punk
Length 3:51
Label CBS A 6122
Writer(s) Joe Strummer, Bernard Rhodes
Producer(s) 'Jose Unidos'
The Clash singles chronology
"Straight to Hell"
(1982)
"This Is England"
(1985)
"London Calling" (re-release)
(1988)

"This Is England" is a song by English punk rock band The Clash, released in September 1985 as the only international single from their sixth, final, and critically maligned studio album Cut the Crap. It was the final release while the group were still together, in their final incarnation of Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon, Nick Sheppard, Pete Howard and Vince White.

Written in late 1983, the song is about the state of England at the time.

The song comprises a list of the problems in England during the early years of the Thatcher administration, addressing inner-city violence, urban alienation, life on council estates, high unemployment rate, England's dying motorcycle industry, racism, nationalism, and police corruption—as well as two very common subject matters for mid-1980s left-wing songwriters: the Falklands War; and the consumerist, subservient mind-set of many English people at the time.

The song begins with the squeaky voice of a market hawker shouting, "four for a pound your face flannels; three for a pound your tea towels!" It is unclear whether it is the voice of a child or of an adult that has been sped-up to raise its pitch.

Unlike the album, which continues to receive criticism and in some cases ridicule, "This Is England" is often praised. Strummer described it as his "last great Clash song". The song was number 30 in a poll conducted by Uncut magazine in their December 2003 issue of the top 30 Clash songs (chosen by an all-star panel). However, the single's contemporary reviews were much more negative and in keeping with the general reaction to Cut the Crap, such as Gavin Martin's review in NME, who claimed that "Strummer's rant bears all the signs of aged rocker well into advance senility".

The single was released on 7-inch vinyl, backed with "Do It Now", and in a 12" vinyl format with a different cover and an additional track on side two, titled "Sex Mad Roar".


...
Wikipedia

...