How London Calling is REALLY played | Clash Guitar Lesson

[@dbmorton1114]

If there's such a thing as a Grammy Award for guitar teaching, you absolutely deserve it. Brilliant!

[@draganrokvic7971]

Totally! Makes me want play guitar again after watching his tutorials.

[@Robil63]

Agreed.

[@stephennnnnnnnnnnn]

Oh mate that feedback gave me goosebumps

[@glennlilley8608]

Are we running a sweepstake on how many takes it took?

[@jeffreysims3831]

@@glennlilley8608 He probably spent more time on it than the Clash did!

[@glennlilley8608]

@@jeffreysims3831 bless him though

[@Gonzo2707]

„A little bit nerdy“... Good Lord, YES, that IS exactly what we‘re expecting😁. Great job, thanks for all the work that must have gone into this!

[@csk1370]

Amen!

[@alestev24]

I am so happy to see someone of your generation like this music and give it so much thought. I am 55, I loved and saw The Clash live, when I was 15, and I wish my son would not only listen exclusively to Rap. Keep up the great work.

[@finnmoore4192]

I'm 15 now and the clash is my favourite band ever

[@johnb5482]

Ask him to give Magnificent 7 and (This is) Radio Clash a listen. Just a suggestion.

[@alestev24]

@@johnb5482 I did. Junco Partner as well. To no avail....

[@epichalocat2887]

Let your kid listen to what he listens to. Rap has taken on the roll for rebellious youth this generation

[@andyglamrock]

he'll grow out of it hopefully by 19-21 when your tastes grow more personal and sophisticated

[@lordclancharlie1325]

The first correct tutorial of LC, the very first one and I've been looking for decades... Thank you, you're my hero of 2020

[@Dreyno]

This is amazing. I’ve never been able to pull it apart. Other lessons seem to try and play some of the bass notes on guitar to fill out the sound. Never sounded right. You’ve nailed (as usual). Chapeau 🙂

[@GildedEntries]

You just brought back memories of my trying to figure out the album by playing the lp’s over and over on my cheap turntable that was a little fast, so I was about a quarter step off. Made it tricky... I was never happy with my playing on Track 1, LP 1, never did get it right. My thanks for your deep dive and research, I’ve never seen tab or videos as thorough and correct. On top of being a guitar monster, you are a damn fine scholar and instructor. 👍

[@Robil63]

This, on its own is phenomenal work - but it's also the best and most accurate by miles than other covers of this song on KZbin.

[@Seanodemo]

Another great lesson. Maybe think about doing Ghost Town- given the times.

[@MikeBurgerChef]

Mick Jones is a fantastic arranger, I commend you for mastering what so many other guitarists have failed at understanding

[@jordilola]

Congrats for such a nice piece of work! Amazing to see how many lines are going on behind the scenes of what could be easily mistaken for a simple Em, F, G song!

[@boomerdell]

YES!! The nerdier the better, Adrian. I learn SO much from you, thank you. Great song, great lesson. You are the best at this.

[@Fillavoid]

Man, I love your attention to detail...you even nailed the guitar feedback! Thanks for the effort you put into your lessons.

[@RAMONESSSS]

Great video Adrian, one of the bests, and one of my favourites songs and band The Clash........cheers from Chile !!!!

[@modernchair7692]

That performance gave me such pleasure - always loved the song. What fantastic parts and combinations of chord voicings. Thanks Adrian, you've done it again. All the best from NZ.

[@mrsoul4231]

I was looking through vids a few weeks back trying to learn this one and I noticed no one seemed to get it quite right.Thanks so much for spending the time to wade through all these overdubs:your video is by far the best.

[@csk1370]

Great song choice in so many ways. And yes, your obsessive pursuit of getting things right is a blessing for all of us.

[@markrodgers2976]

Yeah, that was pretty groovy, bro! That subtle 'lead' riff was very tasty!

[@peterhaswell8492]

One of the greatest songs of all time. Thanks for this, as usual top notch.

[@757flyer]

Wonderful performance, beautiful instruments.

[@acpg]

Cheers!

[@spivvo]

I’ve been playing this wrong since we did it in my school band in 1989... that second chord where one guitar plays F whilst the other a “C shape” G..... I’ve always played an “a shape” F major 7... sort of works but it never sounded toally right! Great lesson that man... and I loved the bit where you go into Swedish at 18:15. I went to an exhibition in London where somebody had compliled lots of memerobilia and scribblings from Strummer ncluding chord box shaped scribbles...and in there he had the usual cowboy chords but also the major7 shapes .... I think he had the same chord book as yer man from the Jam.

[@uselessoldman7964]

The multi track is available from the old game Rock Band so you will need to put it into Audacity to split the stems off into individual wav tracks as it comes in an unusual audio ogg format. There are 4 guitar parts, 3 main and one room, the room one is interesting due to it not strictly following the rest of the other parts and its mic overhead room reverb tone.

[@seanlowe6092]

man, well done, again. Your lessons are so thorough, what joy when I too often go shallow on learning a song, to do your songs properly

[@connorgill8743]

Finally, someone who watches live videos, to get the right sound

[@MoStBlEsSeD]

Adrian is awesome ....love that he gets up for the feedback man that was great

[@JoseJRamos-dh2cn]

Your video made me re-visit this song, pick up my guitar and re-learn it! Great job!

[@richardharris5481]

Thanks Adrian. I've been waiting for someone to do a proper version of this for years.

[@thehartkrusher]

by far the best guitar teacher on youtube because you actually teach stuff i listen too lol And please be as nerdy as possible i love hearing analysis on the music theory aspect.

[@MarkJames61]

Great editing Adrian and you lay out this "desert island disc" perfectly. Ty

[@104ist]

Never a better time to slow things down and spend some time digging deep into classic tracks like this, as you said for such a well known song it’s very rare to hear it done in a way that sounds just like the record. Used to listen to this album a lot in the mid 00s and have also recently spent a long time relistening ever since it’s anniversary. Looking forward to future videos, whatever bands they might be for (🤞 for smiths, radiohead, stone roses, blur, new order, clash, cure, etc etc), and as the other comments agree, the more detail the better as far as I’m concerned! 🎶🎸

[@motioninmind6015]

Maybe not intentional but I had just finished watching Markus Söder's announcement of strict travel restrictions in Bavaria when the notification popped up! And my first thought was, well-played, Adrian! The anthem of the apocalypse is exactly what we need now. Btw, well-played, Adrian, and with that I mean your playing but also your video editing skills, wow! Thank you 👍🏻❤️

[@jcw6574]

Adrian, how in the world do you expect me to be productive working from home when you put out gems like these? How?

[@marklewis7484]

Thank you so much for this Adrian, I really love the detail in this lesson and I’m enjoying learning each element. The calm and considered explanation of the parts is excellent as is the breakdown of gear used... thanks again!

[@GrahamsGO]

Best breakdown of a guitar based song in my fifty years on this planet! Haven't picked up a guitar in over a year but stumbling across this lesson of my all time favourite song ever, I now seem to be missing the protection of those callouses I used to have on my fingertips, I even managed the barre chords which is a novelty for me. I will watch this on repeat, play through the pain and thank you for it!

[@SD_UK]

01:31 = the best thing I have seen on YT for many a while :D Great lesson. I _thought_ I had this pretty nailed - turns out ... I didn't . But now I will . Thanks Adrian! - stay safe .

[@capitaldharma]

Great song choice this week! Your nerdiest lessons are often the best, like when you did This Charming Man.

[@andrewparfitt5899]

Adrian this is a really entertaining lesson. The video is superb and so funny at the start. Top Class editing

[@apbach9787]

Backwards guitar instructional has cracked the code: That background English sounds like Swedish...!!! Great work on all your vids, thanks much!!

[@DimDonut23]

Brilliant dissection of the multiple guitar parts! Thank you!

[@DESX05]

As always, a very good, detailed breakdown of the song .

[@ReizokoRyu]

HOLY shit this is a great sounding cover ! Amazing lesson. Thank you.

[@WyattScott]

great work Mate, always have had a hard time with fighting this one out, why i’ve not done a cover of it yet. Now I will thanks to you and this vid . Thanks for doing the hard work for us on this classic!

[@tuskedbeast]

That was exceptionally well produced. Cheers! Good distraction.

[@rrrayrrray]

For some reason the bass groove always reminds me of pirates! A brilliant song and lesson! Thanks!

[@curtisphilumalee1447]

Good Gawd, can't believe that the forty anniversary is coming up for this album. As an American kid growing up in the midwest my friends thought I was crazy for buying this kick ass album. It has definitely stood the test of time. I laugh cause as I watched your download I couldn't help but notice the cat in the background waving his paw back and forth. You should have put an index and pinky digit on his paw pointing up.Thanks, throughly enjoyed watching this vid.

[@j-d4707]

Great lesson for in quarantaine! Finally something to do :)

[@RayzaEFC]

Awesome mate, One of my all time favourite tunes, thanks

[@PevsnerOG]

Brilliant performance, brilliant editing! Great stuff!

[@jovailferreira52]

Adrian, amazing! Thank you very much to share this with us. I always use to share your videos with guitarrista friends cos of your musical taste! Keep going bro! Cheers from Brazil . Joey

[@The_Macaroon]

Wow. So so good! Great stuff Adrian quality guitar geekery! Love it

[@turntablesrockmyworld9315]

I didn't realise the Em to F was a "revelation" as I been playing it that way since about 1986 and it can be clearly heard in the song? Great lesson!

[@martynspooner5822]

I truly love guitar nerds that was brilliant thanks for sharing.

[@davidkerr1971]

Great Lesson man, love the breakdown, love the clash, fantastic song. Made my day, many thanks, stay safe. Thanks again..

[@Micky-yo3ng]

Great analysis. Always more going on with The Clash than you think. More backwards nerdiness please.

[@jagercaster]

Great as usual. Love the call here in my Spanish calling. Thanks mate 😎

[@trschin]

Your vids are the best, love me some Joe Strummer, Thanks for breakin’ it down!

[@xiscogg]

My favourite album. You've done a really impressive work.

[@johan2174]

Can't wait to try out that feedback thing at home. Great song, great teacher!

[@anthonysclafani3963]

check out the digitech freqout

[@goport]

Interesting. I always thought Mick played that intro (and outro) as a rolling bar of Em then a bar of Em (b6). The american tour vids, grainy as they are, show him concentrating on the apparent changes. Strummer definitely played Em, F live but I always suspected it was because he didn't worry too much about the right chords, just the passion. Great video

[@anthonyderosa5181]

One of my favorite Clash songs. Thanks so much for doing this one. Peace.

[@What3v3a]

Nailed it buddy, that sounded awesome!

[@charlie-obrien]

London Calling and The Clash was the rebirth of rock and roll for the 80's The sound was so fresh and guttural it spawned a lot of followers and still sets us on edge.

[@narta11]

Well done on the feedback portion. I wasn’t expecting that.

[@XLBiker13]

THANK YOU for this!! The only band that matters!! The Clash are still my favorite band of all time (well, there was that band The Beatles). Actually saw them live a few times back when I was but a lad. Rather rare in the U.S.

[@davidbarker3375]

absolutely brilliant. One thing ..... there is always one thing .... When i saw them play this Joe played the intro and verse exactly as described. Mick .... played E or Am shape chords with his pinkie above his ring finger on the strings so in an E chord his pinkie would be on the A string and his ring finger on the D string. In the intro he played a bar of e minor followed by a bar where he slid his pinkie on the D string up to play a C note at the 10th fret.

[@acpg]

Thanks David. Yes I noticed this in some live footage. I think there could actually be another layer of guitar on the recording doing exactly this. So Em to Cmaj7/E. X79987 to X7 10 987. Which is far easier if you reverse pinkie and ring finger. So three things going on in total - Strummer doing Emin to F, one guitar just playing Em and another Em to Cmaj7. Who knew it could be so tricky to get to the bottom of this!

[@davidbarker3375]

Mick played those shapes that way all the time. As a fledgling guitarist it was bloody confusing trying to work it out!

[@davidbarker3375]

can i make a plea for you to get nerdy about some Give Em Enough Rope tracks. Stay free, Cheapskates, drug stabbing, last gang and all the young punks are for me, Mick at his finest

[@SSRT_JubyDuby8742]

Quality deep dive Adrian, very informative, helpful and enjoyable, I can't believe it's been 40yrs! Three guitarists or a looper to play, or as I'm going to do, cherry pick the parts that best suit. Many thanks 😎🎸✅

[@zay4756]

Love your vids mate, absolutely amazing every time. The best online bar none!! Thanks so much!!

[@stephanvenner2939]

Thanks for this great lesson. I never thought that this song is that "nerdy". They probably had a lot of time at the studio to try out new things like backwards guitar solos to get away from the usual three chords Punkrock. With Guy Stevens as a producer there were also a lot of ideas. He threw around chairs and put water into a piano,etc. Crazy. Yeah, and you even brought in Joe Strummers pumping leg while playing. Your explanation is very good, thanks again 👍🏻😁

[@stivbators4920]

man, you're so a determined guy. great attitude! keep playing these tunes from u.k punk legends👊🏻

[@daacrusher2001]

Very cool lesson, thanks - perfect timing as we just decided to add this to our setlist for an upcoming gig!

[@alonzomart7873]

You really did a super job of learning this song a big thank you for that, you explain it very good, you made it simple, just straight talk about the song your not trying to be funny, very good very professional, once again thank you. All other music videos should see this and learn on how play a song.

[@brinkybrinkz]

Very Cool! Great video. Joe Strummer Rocks! London is drowning and I live by the river!

[@davidgerrard8661]

Superb as ever, lock down heaven

[@WillieD7]

I went to a tribute show last year with different bands doing different sides of London Calling (with a few standout performances). One takeaway I got was how crucial the bass was to the sound. On the record you don't process it as "the bass" but listen closely and the bass is often carrying the melody at times when the guitars play around it. Great job on this, BTW.

[@dominiclloyd6651]

It's probably the most famous bass line in punk. The song was written by the bassist

[@dylanevans2498]

This videos are extremely well put together. Fantastic work! Thank you.

[@jakeriot69]

Awesome nerdy guitar lesson! Great job mate!

[@alanmcgowan8767]

Cheers Adrian superb as always mate.

[@gabrielmorton8054]

The play through is so fire

[@rolandskilton7410]

Brilliant mate Bang on You know your stuff and put it across really well .

[@garyyuhas1903]

Thank you so much. I’m really impressed with your teaching skillz. Very helpful.

[@DocManFR]

Bravo Adrian. You rule this world. More Clash (Stay Free?...), more Buzzcocks, more Damned, more Stranglers. More old Flamin Groovies (Doctor Boogie, 32-20, any Teenage Head tune!). I stop, promise :-)

[@jonathanritchie5273]

Stay Free is a really good call!

[@chuckt4558]

Thank you!! I had a feeling there was some seriously layered guitars on that track. Learning it up til now was a pain. Great job.

[@garymanning9040]

Taking Awalk on the wild side Ilove it. Thnx Dude😎

[@tigerspuds]

LC was actually released in December 79. ;)

[@acpg]

Yep, I stand corrected...

[@XLBiker13]

I was just about to say that! Beat me to it.

[@JammyGit]

I was 9 at the time, now I'll be 50 in about a weeks time. Where the hell has my life gone? 😳😮 Life is too short fellas.

[@5324man1]

already love your channel man

[@aladdinsane3523]

Another classic. Awesome job as usual! Thanks so much.

[@Bathguitarschool]

Excellent! Great work, Adrian!

[@stainedrosemusic]

Excelent work have wanted to learn this for years sounded too complicated, You just made it so easy 👏👏👏👏👏

[@mirllewist3086]

Thank you!!! Many mysteries solved. I had always played that second "mystery" chord in the opening vamp as an Fmaj7, which, after much trial-and-error, ended up being my best guess at what was going on there. I suppose the Fmaj7 has elements of the Em and F, especially with the low E-string open and ringing (due to my own sloppy technique...). Leaving off the index finger on the Fmaj7 turns the A into an E which further mashes up the two chords. A poor substitute for the real thing, but at least now I have a better idea of why an Fmaj7 sounded somehow both right and wrong. And hats off to The Clash for this gem of a song and album.

[@Krzysztof_L]

Hmmm... Shouldn't Mick's second chord (when Joe play F) be Em with added C on third string (so you move your ring finger one fret higher - Mick played it with pinky)? Check out how they played it live: "The Clash - London Calling/ Train In The Vain (Live On Fridays)" on yt (0:49 and 0:56 for ex.).

[@davidbarker3375]

See my earlier comment on this. Mick played E and Am chord shapes with his ring finger and pinkie the "other way round". He was sliding his pinkie up on the D string not the G string

[@dontassumemyfender9866]

Brilliant! Very good lesson. Very informative. Thank you and happy new year.

[@girlrutherford]

I feel only joy watching this and playing.

[@twentyonetwentyguitars9344]

Great lesson Adrian! Excellent song choice as always! 😎👍

[@ndweaf]

just watched this one Adrian,....feckin great, jumping up out of the chair to get feedback !

[@jasonbrown1987]

Very very good ...top stuff again cheers

[@jeffreysims3831]

I think you have taken the art of the KZbin guitar instructional video to a new level here Adrian. Quite fitting that it was with this particular choon. I could have done without the gratuitous 'booty shots' though, ha ha.

[@littleninpo]

Very cool sir. The play through section was so well done. Bravo 👏

[@collyboy1]

Fantastic work Adrian thanks again

[@metalfuryskulls]

Thanks for a fantastic lesson. I've seen a tabbed version (book) that puts a C chord in occasionally rather than holding the Em, or playing the F at the start. It's the E-shape chord at the 8th fret, so uses a lot of the same notes as the Em/F. Reckon with the amount of layers in the song it could easily be there.

[@metalfuryskulls]

Ha, just seen your update video, so I'm not going mad! Cheers :-) Hadn't considered it as a Maj 7, but that sounds good and gives the added advantage of not having the move much for the G.

[@michaeld.mahoney9106]

Outstanding lesson, thanks so much.