Black Market Clash
Black Market Clash gathered B-sides and rarities that never appeared on the Clash's regular studio albums. It came out in 1980 on Epic, issued as a US release that year, and it was a compact collection of nine songs. It works as a companion piece to the band's main run of records, which had by then taken in The Clash, Give 'Em Enough Rope and London Calling, with Sandinista! arriving the same year.
The material sits across punk, reggae and dub, the mix that defined the band's wider sound. The cover photograph shows Don Letts in the foreground. He worked with the Clash on several projects and went on to be a founding member of Big Audio Dynamite. In 1993 the collection was expanded and reissued as Super Black Market Clash, which makes this original a good first step into the band's lesser-heard corners.
Black Market Clash: tracklist, credits and charts
9 tracks · 34:35Tracklist
- 1Capital Radio OneMick Jones and Joe Strummer2:12
- 2The PrisonerMick Jones and Joe Strummer3:02
- 3Pressure DropToots Hibbert3:30
- 4CheatMick Jones and Joe Strummer2:07
- 5City of the DeadMick Jones and Joe Strummer2:26
- 6Time Is TightCropper, Dunn, Jr., Jones4:07
- 7Bankrobber / Robber DubJones, Strummer, Pint, Headon, Simonon6:19
- 8Armagideon TimeClement “Coxsone” Dodd and Willi Williams3:53
- 9Justice Tonight / Kick It OverClement “Coxsone” Dodd and Willi Williams7:00
- Produced by
- Mickey Foote, The Clash, Mikey Dread, Bill Price, Pepe Unidos, Sandy Pearlman
- Photography
- Rocco Redondo
- Recorded
- 1977–1980
- Label
- Epic
- Length
- 34:35
Line-up
- Topper Headon · drums (drum set) · guest
- Mick Jones · guitar, vocals · guest
- Paul Simonon · bass guitar · guest
- Joe Strummer · guitar, vocals · guest
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1980–1981 | 74 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1980–1981 | 15 |
From MusicBrainz and Wikipedia. Only what the sources record is shown.
More from The Clash
Full discography →
The best of 1980
All of 1980 →
More on Epic
The label →
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date sources disagree on the year (1980, 1993)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1980 | |
| Wikidata | 1993 | |
| US release | 1980 | earliest US date |
4 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | US | Epic | original | |
| 1991 | GB | Columbia | 5099746876326 | other |
| 25 March 1992 | JP | Epic/Sony | 4988010552923 | other |
| 1996 | CA | Epic | 074643854023 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · cropped: cropped from 2127x2158 to 2127x2127
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2127×2158 | cropped: cropped from 2127x2158 to 2127x2127 |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |