My favorite Clash song of all time is also arguably their first ever hit. It's called "White Riot" and was written after Joe Strummer and Paul Simonen had taken part in the 1976 version of the Notting Hill race riots in which black youths had come to the defense of a detained pickpocket. Though some idiots probably think the song is about white power, it's actually Strummer's call for young white people to act out against oppressive government through protest just as the blacks had been doing. The song appears on both the UK and US versions of the Clash's self-titled debut LP, though one is a little rougher than the other. My personal favorite version of the song is actually the demo that appeared exclusively on the 2007 dvd about Strummer's life called The Future is Unwritten which I highly recommend.
Hear that version below:
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