While talking about his third solo studio album ‘Lighthouse’ during a video call with Forbes, Duff McKagan recalled a lesson he learned from The Clash’s Joe Strummer at a 1979 concert:
“Well, some guy – the yellow-coated security guy – punched one of our friends. He broke his nose because he was pogoing. This was so early on in punk that the yellow-coated security guy thought pogoing meant they were starting a riot. So, he broke this guy’s nose – blood everywhere. And The Clash stopped the show.”
The Guns N’ Roses bassist described the band members’ reactions to the incident at Paramount Theater by saying:
“[Clash bassist] Paul Simonon went and grabbed an ax off the side of the stage – like the fire fighting ax. Well, Joe Strummer gets on and goes, ‘We’ll chop down this barrier! Because there’s no difference between you and I. We’re all in this together!’ I was like, ‘Wow. That’s what it is! That’s what this all is!'”
He explained how Strummer’s words had a lasting impact on him:
“The Clash… That changed everything, man – that moment and that gig. And that’s how I started approaching life. We’re all in this together. Relationships. My wife and I. Guns N’ Roses. All of the punk bands I was in. Everything. We’re all in this together.”
The Incident’s Effect In McKagan’s Career
This moment with Joe Strummer influenced McKagan’s approach to his career, especially his connection with the audience. Speaking of his ‘Tenderness’ album in a 2019 chat with Ticketmaster UK, he commented:
“That connectivity with the audience that I get to enjoy, that’s my church. It’s not one of ego or anything like, ‘I’m on the stage and the lights.’ It’s just this connectivity, and it’s always been that way for me.”
The bassist recited the 1979 concert once again and then added:
“And that’s what’s informed how I approach music, approach the live show — approach kind of life in a lot of ways, too. You always see the sparkle dust on your show, like, ‘This is how I really picture it to be’; this thing of unity and happiness and celebration. And that’s that.”
The Clash Also Influenced His Music
In addition to being influenced by Strummer’s words, McKagan admitted the impact of The Clash and other punk bands on his music. He noted that his musical style has evolved from his punk roots, as discussed in a 2012 interview with The Quietus.
In a talk about the band’s self-titled debut album, the bassist explained:
“Looking back, it was a natural progression. Guns was a mix of a lot of different input, punk rock, seventies rock, and it was about doing something different, and maybe that’s what punk rock sounded like at that point, I don’t know. [Laughs]”
He continued:
“I mean, Guns was as DIY as it got; we would hitchhike 1,200 miles to get to a gig, but we just went to the next level in getting a major label deal; that was the big change. But I took that ethic with me that Strummer had said. I don’t know any different. I’m honored to be playing gigs, and I’ve always paid tribute to that way of thinking.”
You can read a part of McKagan’s recent interview here.
