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“White Man In Hammersmith Palais” by The Clash

Released 1978

“White Man In Hammersmith Palais” by The Clash appears on 24 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1978 and 2022. It was first released in 1978. Its best result is #3 on the John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1979). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #947 alternative song of all time.

24countdowns
7stations
#3best position
0#1 finishes
6top 10 finishes
1978–2022years charted

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The Clash - (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais (Official Video)

Video from YouTube (theclashVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" came out as a 7-inch single in June 1978, with "The Prisoner" on the flip, and it's the Clash stretching well past the three-chord blitz of their early singles. Joe Strummer and Mick Jones wrote it, and it opens on a big, stabbing guitar intro before sinking into a slower ska rhythm, the same punk-meets-reggae route they had taken on their cover of "Police and Thieves". Jones called it the next step after that record, and it's more grown-up in the lyrics too.

Not every fan was ready: plenty who had grown used to the band's earlier racket found it disorienting. It was recorded for Give 'Em Enough Rope but left off, and later slotted onto the American version of their debut album, The Clash, between "White Riot" and "London's Burning".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

All Rock Formats

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1978 7 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1978) 50
1979 3 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1979) 50
1980 5 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1980) 50
1981 10 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1981) 50
1982 10 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (1982) 50
1999 750 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 801 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2000 5 John Peel (BBC Radio 1) John Peel's All-Time Festive Fifty (2000) 50
2001 803 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2002 803 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2003 803 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2004 803 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2005 804 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2007 1883 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2007 243 WTMD WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time 897
2008 1845 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 1875 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 1931 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 2004 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2018 645 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2019 197 KEXP KEXP Listeners' Favorite Songs of All Time 627
2020 575 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2022 583 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s 908
2022 191 KEXP KEXP Top Songs of the Last 50 Years (1972-2022) 491

Also listed as: (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" (7; (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais; (White Man) In Hammersmith Palace; White Man in Hammersmith Palais.

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