I don't know why people are talking about The Clash being a political band. I didn't know who the Prime Minister was until a couple of weeks ago.
   - Paul Simonon in 1976

It wasn't hard work at all and the good thing was that everyone thought it was. So you can be like, "oooh, I'll manage..
- Topper Headon over hun optredens (17 achter elkaar!) op Broadway in NYC

Everyone has got to realise you can't hold onto the past if you want any future. Each second should lead to the next one
- Joe strummer

You gotta be able to go out there and do it for yourself. No one's gonna give it to you. 
- Joe strummer

If I had five million pounds I'd start a radio station because something needs to be done. It would be nice to turn on the radio and hear something that didn't make you feel like smashing up the kitchen and strangling the cat
- Joe Strummer

If the group were going to re-form, it would be in front of the general, day-to-day public, not the $1,500-a-plate audience at the Waldorf
 - Paul Simonon

And I wouldn't change it, even if I could. And that's after some soul searching.
 - Joe Strummer over het album Sandinista

>Where does the Clash go from here?
Uhm, psychically we go to Japan next week. Musically, we go further on. And financially, we go down..
- Topper Headon

We booked our own pub, nobody was gonna book us! Can you imagine what we looked like? A bunch of crazed squatters.
- Joe Strummer

Punk meant a kind of useless hood or someone who gets fucked up the arse
- Joe Strummer

We [101-ers] were like filthy hippies really and they [Sex Pistols] were like, art weirdos
- Joe Strummer

And Sid was the last one and as he passed me I went "Oi!" and he went: "What?" And I said "Where'd you get that jacket?" and I love Sid
for this because, groups were like that in those days, you faced eachother off. It was like dog eat dog. There was no quarter asked or given. And Sid could have gone, like, "Piss of, you Turd!" or something like that. But he went "Oh it's really good, innit? I tell you were I got it. You know that market there, third store on the left? I got it there!" It was great that Sid didn't need to put an attitude on.
- Joe strummer over Sid Vicious (bassist Sex Pistols)

And teddy boys didn't like punks, because they thought we were disrespecting their kit.... which I suppose we were
- Joe Strummer over Teds.

I mean, really at this stage people bandy names around saying we were called the heartdrops or stuff like that. We were never called any of those names.
- Paul Simonon over de naamloze periode van The Clash.

We Sidled up with eachother adn they were going "They must be gay!" cos we [Joe Strummer + Paul Simonon] were sort of leaning on eachother. There's a row behind us, kids from the show being dragged in. And they saw us there.  Me and Joe got locked in the cell together and all through the night, there's these guys singing Clash songs (..) Because we had these Clash trousers that had so many zips and pockets, the police lost patience searching our pockets. Joe had... (pauze) some speed on a bit of paper so we licked that and stayed up all night.
- Paul Simonon

They said "Oi! Are you a singer?" Adn I said: "(zeer verbaasd hoofd) NO!" And so they said "Come up here and try a bit of singing this" There was one song called- which I thought was ridiculous - "I'm a Young Barracuda and don't you mess with me". I said: "GOD! What crap is this?" I didn't know it was a standerd or whatever, I thought mick had written it, I just thought it was a bit dopey. Then they said: "Try this song;" and it was a Jonathan Richman song, which I was completely unaware of, and they said: "Just sing 'radio on' " or 'radio one' or something, so I did. I just ranted it, nonstop and that was the end of that.
- Paul Simonon over zijn eerste ontmoeting met de vrienden van Mick (Jones)

I remember that the only person I really spke to was probably Brian James cos I could actually see his face, whereas Mick's hair was really like this (doet het na) A little eye and a nose looking through.
- Paul Simonon over zijn eerste ontmoeting met Mick en waarom dat uitdraaide op (toen nog) niets

I was so hungry that I said to Joe, "I'm gonna get this scoop", this stuff from the bottom of the bucket. I pulled a big handful. I got Bernie's saw - he said: "Don't mess that saw up!"  I said: "Sod it!". I made a little cake - patty - and put it on and held it over the fire. And it cooked and I ate it. I was hungry, but that's.. but nobody else wanted it, I suppose. But I don't care.. I ate and they didn't
- Paul Simonon, die geen geld had om eten te kopen en die dus maar van het "bloem + water" goedje at dat ze hadden gebruikt om posters mee op te hangen.

We was with blackhil, which is a management compay (..) and they were so boring. They were smoking spliff all the time. I said: "I'm not going to any meeting unless you get a rabbit outfit." So eventually, we're having a meeting and there it was! This limp sort of rabbit outfit - I said: "Right, you lot. I'll get you back!" I went out and put it on and came in and started hitting everybody and swearing and it completely disrupted the whole meeting. So I think I won in the end. But Mick and Joe were just in hysterics. This rabbit coming in swearing at everyone and kicking 'em. (sarcastisch) Always the one to liven things up (lacht).
- Paul Simonon

48 Hours only took about 24 minutes
- Mick Jones over het schrijven van liedjees

Who couldn't write (good) tunes with such great lyrics?
- Mick Jones over het schrijven van liedjees

He [Paul] was totally already there, probably from when I first met him (pauze) Bastard.. (lacht)
- Mick Jones

Then the New York Dolls came along and they were... from another planet really!
- Mick Jones