Topper Headon
Topper Headon |
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Nicholas Bowen "Topper" Headon (born 30 May 1955, Bromley, Kent, England), known as 'Topper' (because of his resemblance to Mickey the Monkey from the Topper comic), is a British rock and roll drummer, best known for his membership in the punk rock band, The Clash.
Headon is commonly recognized with the best punk rock drummers of the late 1970s and early '80s; critic Greg Prato writes, "producer Sandy Pearlman dubbed Headon 'The Human Drum Machine,' due to his impeccable timing and skills."[1]
Early life
A drummer from his childhood, Headon was a jazz fan, citing Billy Cobham as a strong influence. Headon played with a group that opened for American R&B legends The Temptations,[1] but he admits to occasionally lying to claim he actually played with the Temptations.[2]
The Clash
Before meeting Headon, the Clash went through several drummers, including Terry Chimes, who recorded on the UK version of the band's self-titled debut. Headon -- something of a 'journeyman' drummer -- originally planned to have only a brief stay with the band, to establish a reputation and then move on.[1] After a period in the Clash, however, Headon realized the full potential of the band, and abandoned his plan to leave the group. He played on the albums Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978), some tracks on The Clash (US version) (1979), London Calling (1979), Sandinista! (1980) and Combat Rock (1982), as well as several landmark singles the Clash produced during their early period. Also of note are his lead vocal on "Ivan Meets G.I. Joe" (from Sandinista!) and his work on the hit single "Rock the Casbah" (from Combat Rock), on which Headon composed most of the music and played drums, piano and bass guitar.
Clash singer/guitarist Joe Strummer said that Headon's drumming skills were a vital part of the band: Headon had strength and stamina, and could play convincingly in funk, reggae and other styles, in addition to traditional rock drumming.[2]
Kicked out and years of addiction
Tensions rose between Headon and his fellow bandmembers due to his growing heroin addiction.[1] Eventually it began affecting his drumming so much that the band gave him an ultimatum: kick the habit or be kicked out. Topper was unable to give up drugs and left the band on 10 May 1982, at the beginning of the Combat Rock tour. The band covered up the real reason for Headon's departure, claiming it was due to exhaustion.
After Headon's departure the Clash re-hired original drummer Terry Chimes for the tour.
After his work with the Clash, Topper was considered briefly for the drumming stool in Mick Jones' post-Clash band Big Audio Dynamite. However, this failed to work out because of Topper's continuing addiction.[1]
Headon subsequently focused on recording a solo album Waking Up (1986)for which he enlisted guitarist Bobby Tench[3]. and a 12-inch recording "Drumming Man" and "DuKane Road" with his own composition "Hope for Donna", that was also included in the 1986 Mercury Records sampler Beat Runs Wild.[4] After this album Headon went to jail on drug supplying charges.
Headon has spent time in the Addiction Treatment Program at Priory Psychiatric Hospital in North London to deal with his addiction; the hospital has an internationally renowned.
Post-addiction work
Headon was interviewed extensively for the rockumentary Westway to the World. During the movie, he frankly apologized about his addiction and speculated that had he not been kicked out, the band might have lasted longer and might possibly still be together. Given the chance to repeat the experience, however, he states that he has no regrets and would do it all again, "because that's the kind of person he is".[2]
Since the Clash broke up, he has rarely been heard from, though he did produce albums for New York band Bush Tetras. Headon contributed drums to Chelsea's 1989 Underwraps.
Although he has mostly moved out of the public eye, Headon continues to play gigs; it was after one of his shows at a pub that he was informed of the death of Clash frontman Joe Strummer. Obviously emotional, Headon said:
It's taken Joe's death to make me realise just how big The Clash were. We were a political band and Joe was the one who wrote the lyrics. Joe was one of the truest guys you could ever meet. If he said 'I am behind you', then you knew he meant it 100 per cent.
— Topper Headon – 2002, [5]
Headon also lamented the fact that the classic Clash line-up had been considering a reunion at the time of Strummer's death after the positive reunion during the Westway to the World rockumentary.[2]
Headon was extensively interviewed for the Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, 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 Nick, 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) at 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, the new band of Mick Jones, Tony James, Leo Williams and Dominic Greensmith, played a show at the Carbon Casino Club, The Inn on the Green, 3-5 Thorpe Close, Portobello Green, 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.[6][7][8]
In a February 2008 newspaper article Headon revealed that in 2003 he started to experience serious back pain, a frequent complaint of aging rock drummers. Diagnosed with hyperkyphosis - 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.
In July 2008, Headon played drums on the song 'Queen Of The Summer', which is featured on the independently released album 'The Fifth Continent' by UK artist / band, Jimmie Bone. This is one of his first studio recordings for many years, on which he uses a drumming style more akin to his Jazz roots.
He currently lives in the Dover area of Kent, in the southeast of England [9]
Drumming style
As a drummer, Headon often employed a distinctive style which emphasized a simple bass-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 characterized as one of the most important and distinctive beats in rock music.[10] Writes Scott Kenemore, "[h]is contribution to the music was tremendous, and his drumming remains an undiscovered treasure for too many."[10]
Discography
- For recordings made with the Clash, please see The Clash discography.
Topper Headon has released one studio album, one EP, and three singles as a solo artist and featured on several other artists albums.[11]
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Record Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Waking Up | Mercury 826 779-1 | with guitarist Bobby Tench[12]. |
| 1986 | Beat Runs Wild | Mercury | Mercury Records sampler. Topper Headon features on track B5. "Hope for Donna" |
EPs
| Year | Title | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Leave It To Luck / East Versus West / Got To Get Out of This Heat S.O.S / Casablanca | Mercury |
Singles
| Year | Title | Album | Record Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | "Drumming Man / Hope For Donna" | Waking Up | 7" vinyl | |
| 1985 | "Drumming Man / Ducaine Road (Special 12" Mix) / Hope For Donna / Drumming Man (7")" | Waking Up | ||
| 1985 | "Leave It To Luck Waking Up | Mercury MERD 201 | ||
| 1986 | "I'll Give You Everything / You're So Cheeky" | Waking Up | ||
| 1986 | "I'll Give You Everything (Full-Length Version) / When You're Down / Got To Get Out of This Heat (Extended Mix Version) (CAN)" | Waking Up | ||
| 1986 | "I'll Give You Everything (7" version) / I'll Give You Everything (Dub Ruj) / I'll Give You Everything (Douce Ruj) / You're So Cheeky"[13] | Waking Up | 12" vinyl |
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Prato, Greg. "Topper Headon > Biography". allmusic. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
a) Sandy Pearlman dubbed Headon "The Human Drum Machine," due to his impeccable timing and skills.
b) Headon grew up a soul and jazz fan (an early influence was ace fusion drummer Billy Cobham), and he was once a member of a local group that opened a show for the Temptations.
c) Headon's original plan was to stay with the Clash for only a year — which he figured would give enough time to get his name known so he could move on to another more "suitable" group. But Headon quickly realized that the group was not just a one-dimensional punk band, as they branched out and touched upon a wide variety of styles — all the while never losing sight of their original punk ideals.
d) a heroin addiction had drawn a wedge between Headon and the rest of his bandmates.
e) After a planned reunion with Jones (who was expelled from the Clash himself a year after Headon's dismissal) in the group Big Audio Dynamite failed to work out, Headon focused on recording a solo album. - ^ a b c d Letts Don; Rick Elgood, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Topper Headon, Terry Chimes, The Clash. The Clash: Westway to the World (Documentary). New York, NY: Sony Music Entertainment; Dorismo; Uptown Films. Event occurs at 37:00–39:00. ISBN 0738900826. OCLC 49798077.
{{cite AV media}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|year2=ignored (help) - ^ "Bob Tench at Allmusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- ^ Cooke, Brandon; Pete Shelley, Tom Verlaine, Topper Headon, Hipsway, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Wet Wet Wet, Love and Money, Swing Out Sister, Zerra One. Beat Runs Wild (LP recording). London: Mercury. OCLC 51782857.
{{cite AV media}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|year2=ignored (help) - ^ "Celebrity Tributes to Joe Strummer". strummernews.com. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
It's taken Joe's death to make me realise just how big The Clash were. We were a political band and Joe was the one who wrote the lyrics. Joe was one of the truest guys you could ever meet. If he said 'I am behind you', then you knew he meant it 100 percent.
- ^ Harper, Simon (12 January 2008). "The Carbon Casino – The Clash reunited! Pair jam after 25 years". Clash Music. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
For the first night of their six-week residency in West London's Inn On The Green, Carbon/Silicon had promised surprises, but few had realised that meant the reunion of Mick Jones and the powerhouse drummer of The Clash, Topper Headon.
- ^ "Clash members Topper Headon and Mick Jones reunite on stage". Punknews.org. 13 January 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
For the first time in 25 years, former Clash members Mick Jones and Topper Headon have shared the stage together. The reunion took place at Carbon/Silicon's "Carbon Casino" residency, and comes five years after Mick joined Joe Strummer on stage at the Brixton Academy.
- ^ "The Clash's Mick Jones and Topper Headon reunite after 25 years". News. NME.com. 14 January 2008. Retrieved 15 January 2008.
Clash drummer joins Carbon/Silicon at London show
- ^ Headon, Nicky (9 February 2008). "Backache calling ... Nick Headon reveals the treatment that helped his back pain". Health. Daily Mail. Retrieved 10 February 2008.
- ^ a b Kenemore, Scott (21 March 2007). "All Talk and No Stick". PopMatters. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
a) Rock fans everywhere recognize his opening beat to the Mick Jones song "Train in Vain." A typical example of Topper's excellent work, the beat is both catchy and deceptively complicated.
b) Despite his personal failings, his contribution to the music was tremendous, and his drumming remains an undiscovered treasure for too many. - ^ "Albums by Topper Headon - Rate Your Music". rateyourmusic.com. Retrieved 12 December 2007.
- ^ "Bob Tench at Allmusic". allmusic.com. Retrieved 2008-12-14.
- ^ Headon, Topper. I'll Give You Everything (LP recording). England: Mercury. OCLC 29290615.
{{cite AV media}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|year2=ignored (help)
References
- Clash, The (1 October 2008). The Clash: Strummer, Jones, Simonon, Headon. London: Atlantic Books. ISBN 1843547880. OCLC 236120343.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - Gilbert, Pat (2005) [2004]. Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash (4th edition ed.). London: Aurum Press. ISBN 1845131134. OCLC 61177239.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|edition=has extra text (help) - Gray, Marcus (2005) [1995]. The Clash: Return of the Last Gang in Town (5th revised edition ed.). London: Helter Skelter. ISBN 1905139101. OCLC 60668626.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|edition=has extra text (help) - Green, Johnny (2003) [1997]. A Riot of Our Own: Night and Day with The Clash (3rd edition ed.). London: Orion. ISBN 0752858432. OCLC 52990890.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|edition=has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Gruen, Bob (2004) [2001]. The Clash (3rd edition ed.). London: Omnibus. ISBN 1903399343. OCLC 69241279.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|edition=has extra text (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - Needs, Kris (25 January 2005). Joe Strummer and the Legend of the Clash. London: Plexus. ISBN 085965348X. OCLC 53155325.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - Topping, Keith (2004) [2003]. The Complete Clash (2nd edition ed.). Richmond: Reynolds & Hearn. ISBN 1903111706. OCLC 63129186.
{{cite book}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help);|edition=has extra text (help)
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