Topper Headon
Encyclopedia
Headon was extensively interviewed for the Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
documentary film about the late Clash frontman. He related his experiences during this period, how he became addicted to heroin and how there were problems before his dismissal. For example, Joe once slept with his girlfriend, which caused a lot of pain to Headon, and Mick Jones didn't want any bus-travelling without pot
. Topper also said that seeing the video of "Rock the Casbah
" with "someone else (Terry Chimes
) in my place playing my song" caused him to fall in even greater depression and heavier drug addiction. It appears that his addiction was only part of the growing tension in the band that led to Mick Jones' dismissal a year later and the eventual break-up of the band in 1986.
On 11 January 2008, Carbon/Silicon
, a new band with the line-up of Mick Jones
, Tony James
, Leo Williams and Dominic Greensmith, played a show at the Carbon Casino Club in Portabello
London. Headon joined the band on stage during The Clash
's "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)
". An encore followed with Headon playing drums on "Should I Stay or Should I Go
". This performance marked the first time since 1982 that Headon and Jones had performed together on stage.
In a February 2008 newspaper article Headon revealed that in 2003 he started to experience serious back pain, a frequent complaint of ageing rock drummers. Diagnosed with hyperkyphosis
, a forward curvature of the back, he underwent intense posture adjustment treatment and continues to exercise daily. He notes that, on his recent appearance with Jones, he exhibited his new upright stance.
The BBC featured Headon in a February 2009 feature on drumming as therapy. He shares some of his story in a brief video interview.
He currently lives in the Dover
area of Kent
, in the southeast of England.
-snare
up-down beat, accentuated with closed hi-hat
flourishes. Such a method can be found in the songs "Clampdown
", "Train in Vain
", and "Lost in the Supermarket
". His drumming on "Train in Vain
" has been characterised as one of the most important and distinctive beats in rock music.b) Despite his personal failings, his contribution to the music was tremendous, and his drumming remains an undiscovered treasure for too many.
}} Writes Scott Kenemore
, "[hi]s contribution to the music was tremendous, and his drumming remains an undiscovered treasure for too many."
, and three singles as a solo artist and featured on several other artists albums.
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|Waking Up
| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|Mercury
| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|12"
|-
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|1986
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"I'll Give You Everything (7" mix) / I'll Give You Everything (Dub Ruj)
I'll Give You Everything (Douce Ruj) / You're So Cheeky"
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|Waking Up
| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|Mercury
| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|12"
|}
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten is a 2007 documentary film directed by Julien Temple about Joe Strummer, the lead singer of the English punk rock band The Clash, that went on to win the British Independent Film Awards as Best British Documentary 2007. The film premiered 20 January 2007 at...
documentary film about the late Clash frontman. He related his experiences during this period, how he became addicted to heroin and how there were problems before his dismissal. For example, Joe once slept with his girlfriend, which caused a lot of pain to Headon, and Mick Jones didn't want any bus-travelling without pot
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
. Topper also said that seeing the video of "Rock the Casbah
Rock the Casbah
"Rock the Casbah" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash in 1982. It was released as the third single from their fifth album, Combat Rock. The song reached number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. and, along with the track "Mustapha Dance," it also reached number eight on...
" with "someone else (Terry Chimes
Terry Chimes
Terry Chimes was the original drummer of punk rock group The Clash. He originally played with them from July 1976 to November 1976, January 1977 to April 1977, and again from May 1982 to February 1983. He was the drummer for Hanoi Rocks in 1985, before the band broke-up that same year...
) in my place playing my song" caused him to fall in even greater depression and heavier drug addiction. It appears that his addiction was only part of the growing tension in the band that led to Mick Jones' dismissal a year later and the eventual break-up of the band in 1986.
On 11 January 2008, Carbon/Silicon
Carbon/Silicon
Carbon/Silicon is a punk rock duo consisting of two experienced punk rock musicians: Mick Jones formerly of The Clash and former Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik member Tony James. The band formed around 2002.-Career:...
, a new band with the line-up of Mick Jones
Mick Jones (The Clash)
Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones is the former lead guitarist, secondary vocalist and co-founder for the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983. He went on to form the band Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and...
, Tony James
Tony James
Tony James is a British musician, best known as a bassist of Generation X and Sigue Sigue Sputnik.- Career :He was originally a member of the punk band London SS, along with Brian James, , and Mick Jones plus Terry Chimes .Later, James joined the early punk band Chelsea...
, Leo Williams and Dominic Greensmith, played a show at the Carbon Casino Club in Portabello
Portobello Road
Portobello Road is a street in the Notting Hill district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in west London, England. It runs almost the length of Notting Hill from south to north, roughly parallel with Ladbroke Grove. On Saturdays it is home to Portobello Road Market, one of London's...
London. Headon joined the band on stage during The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
's "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)
Train in Vain
"Train in Vain" is a song by the British punk rock band The Clash. It was released as the third and final single from their third album, London Calling...
". An encore followed with Headon playing drums on "Should I Stay or Should I Go
Should I Stay or Should I Go
"Should I Stay or Should I Go" is a song by the English punk rock band The Clash, from their album Combat Rock. It was written in 1981 and featured Mick Jones on lead vocals. It became the band's only number-one single on the UK Singles Chart, a decade after it was originally released. In November...
". This performance marked the first time since 1982 that Headon and Jones had performed together on stage.
In a February 2008 newspaper article Headon revealed that in 2003 he started to experience serious back pain, a frequent complaint of ageing rock drummers. Diagnosed with hyperkyphosis
Hyperkyphosis
Hyperkyphosis, colloquially called “dowager’s hump,” refers to excessive kyphotic, or anteriorly concave, curvature of the thoracic region of the spine. A kyphosis angle over 40° - the 95th percentile value for young adults - is currently used to define hyperkyphosis.-Causes:In adults, osteoporosis...
, a forward curvature of the back, he underwent intense posture adjustment treatment and continues to exercise daily. He notes that, on his recent appearance with Jones, he exhibited his new upright stance.
The BBC featured Headon in a February 2009 feature on drumming as therapy. He shares some of his story in a brief video interview.
He currently lives in the Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
area of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, in the southeast of England.
Drumming style
As a drummer, Headon often employed a distinctive style which emphasised a simple bassBass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
-snare
Snare drum
The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
up-down beat, accentuated with closed hi-hat
Hi-hat
A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
flourishes. Such a method can be found in the songs "Clampdown
Clampdown
Strummer, like Simonon, spent time on the dole, but Strummer did not come from a lower-class family. In the same interview with the LA Times Strummer said,...
", "Train in Vain
Train in Vain
"Train in Vain" is a song by the British punk rock band The Clash. It was released as the third and final single from their third album, London Calling...
", and "Lost in the Supermarket
Lost in the Supermarket
"Lost in the Supermarket" is a 1979 song by The Clash. Written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones and produced by Guy Stevens, it is credited to the Strummer/Jones songwriting partnership. It was released on their third studio album London Calling. It is the eighth song on the track listing...
". His drumming on "Train in Vain
Train in Vain
"Train in Vain" is a song by the British punk rock band The Clash. It was released as the third and final single from their third album, London Calling...
" has been characterised as one of the most important and distinctive beats in rock music.b) Despite his personal failings, his contribution to the music was tremendous, and his drumming remains an undiscovered treasure for too many.
}} Writes Scott Kenemore
Scott Kenemore
Scott Kenemore is an American novelist and satirist.He is the author of the horror novel Zombie, Ohio , and several zombie-themed satires, including:*The Zen of Zombie: Better Living Through the Undead *Z.E.O, ,...
, "[hi]s contribution to the music was tremendous, and his drumming remains an undiscovered treasure for too many."
With The Clash
- Give 'Em Enough RopeGive 'Em Enough RopeGive 'Em Enough Rope is the second studio album by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was released on 10 November 1978 through CBS Records. It was their first album released in the United States, preceding the US version of The Clash...
(1978) - The ClashThe Clash (album)The album received positive reviews from critics and peaked at number 12 in the UK charts. In December 1979, critic Robert Christgau named it his favorite album of the 1970s....
(1979 U.S. release of the album; originally released in 1977, Headon plays drums on "Clash City RockersClash City Rockers"Clash City Rockers" is a song and single by The Clash. First released in February 1978 with the b-side "Jail Guitar Doors," a re-worked version of a song from Joe Strummer's pub rock days, it was later included as the opening track of the belated US version of the band's eponymous debut album.The...
", "Complete ControlComplete Control"Complete Control" is a song by The Clash, released as a 7" single and featured on the U.S. release of their debut album.The song is often cited as one of punk's greatest singles, and is a fiery polemic on record companies, managers and the state of punk music itself, the motivation for the song...
", "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" In Hammersmith Palais" is a song by The Clash, self produced and first released as a 7" single, backed with the track "The Prisoner", in June 1978....
", "I Fought the Law", and "Jail Guitar Doors") - London CallingLondon CallingLondon Calling is the third studio album by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 through CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 through Epic Records...
(1979) - Sandinista!Sandinista!Sandinista! is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side...
(1980) - Combat RockCombat RockThe album received positive reviews from critics, and reached the number two on the UK Albums Chart, the number seven on the Billboard Pop albums, and the top ten on many charts in other countries...
(1982) - Super Black Market ClashSuper Black Market ClashSuper Black Market Clash is a compilation album released by The Clash in 1993 that contains B-sides and rare tracks not available on their other albums. It is a repackaging of the original 1980 Black Market Clash, which was a single 10" EP, containing only 9 songs...
(1980/1993) drums on all tracks except on "1977" and "Listen"
Solo discography
Topper Headon has released one studio album, one EPExtended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, and three singles as a solo artist and featured on several other artists albums.
Singles
Got To Get Out of This Heat (Extd Mix)(CAN)"| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|Waking Up
| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|12"
|-
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|1986
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|"I'll Give You Everything (7" mix) / I'll Give You Everything (Dub Ruj)
I'll Give You Everything (Douce Ruj) / You're So Cheeky"
| style="text-align:left; vertical-align:top;"|Waking Up
| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|Mercury
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
| style="text-align:center; vertical-align:top;"|12"
|}