A force in the world of punk

You could tell a lot about the legacy of the Clash from the reactions Monday to the news the British punk band’s Joe Strummer had died, apparently of a heart attack, in England.

This wasn’t a rock band, like the Beatles or U2, whose music was so accessible and inspiring that it drew everyone under its spell. So, reports Monday of Strummer’s death drew many blank expressions from casual pop fans who only thought of the Clash as the punk band that followed the Sex Pistols to America.

For the generation of music fans touched by the energy and independence of the super-charged, rebellious punk movement, however, the Clash was an absolutely indispensable force. There weren’t tears Monday -- there was never any sentimentality in the Clash’s music. But the sense of loss was deep.

U2’s Bono was quick to express his respects.

“The Clash was the greatest rock band,” the Irishman said in a statement Monday. “They wrote the book for U2.”

Bono tends to be generous in his praise, but there was a profound truth in his words.

For millions of punk-aligned rock fans, the Clash was their Beatles. Not only did the band enrich the musical range of punk in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s by incorporating elements of rockabilly and reggae into its buzz-saw sound, but the Clash also expanded the subject matter of punk to include serious reflections on politics and social protest.

In a series of classic albums, including 1979’s “London Calling” and 1981’s “Sandinista!,” the Clash expressed the frustrations and aspirations of young people, taking the pioneering punk efforts of the Sex Pistols and Ramones to a new level of ambition and accomplishment.

Much like the Who, the Clash wrote about their times. Their songs were virtual snapshots of the blue-collar British youth whose spirit had been beaten down by social conditions. Its themes ranged from racism and police brutality to alienation and disenfranchisement.

Strummer was the son of a British diplomat, but he identified with working-class youth. Sent away to boarding school, he detested “the thick rich people’s thick rich kids.” He was later thrown out of art school and ended up fending for himself.

Inspired by the explosive defiance of the Pistols, he formed the Clash, whose primary lineup also consisted of guitarist-vocalist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Topper Headon.

From the start, the Clash was a rock band that lived up to its name. Strummer wrote most of the songs with Jones and he sang with such a fury that he sometimes left out whole words to keep pace with the beat. Because the Sex Pistols were seen as little more than a joke by the record industry in the U.S., the Clash also found lots of resistance at rock radio here.

They eventually broke through the mainstream pop curtain in the U.S. with a series of melodic hit singles, “Train in Vain (Stand By Me)” and “Should I Stay or Should I Go.” Rather than try to follow up on this more accessible sound, Strummer and the Clash stuck mostly to its more challenging and experimental style. Internal tensions eventually led to Jones being kicked out of the band in 1983 and the Clash was never the same. It broke up three years later.

Punk has splintered in several directions in recent years, with bands as diverse as the lightweight Blink 182 to the more serious minded Fugazi all clinging proudly to the name. But the Clash remains punk’s Holy Grail.

Listening again to the Clash, it’s remarkable how much the music seems in line with rock’s idealistic tradition. The reason is Strummer, who was 50, believed so fully in that tradition.

In interviews, Strummer loved to talk about early rock, especially American rock. One of his personal heroes was John Fogerty, whose hits with Creedence Clearwater Revival also reflected a blue-collar perspective. Strummer spoke with equal enthusiasm about Bob Dylan and the power of music to change lives.

“At least I know music did something to my mind that was really valuable and, I suspect, it did the same to a lot of other people,” he told me in 1982. “Maybe it was just the fact that Dylan showed someone could speak up and talk in his music about an alternative to what seems to be a straight, boring road to destruction.”

For more people than he could have imagined, Strummer and the Clash helped lead them to alternatives.

The Clash are scheduled to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, and one thing’s for sure: There won’t be any blank expressions that night when Strummer’s name is read. There may even be a few tears.

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Robert Hilburn, the Times pop music critic, can be reached by e-mail at robert.hilburn@latimes.com.