London SS 568913 217307510 2008-06-05T13:49:50Z Tim010987 6398442 {{unsourced|date=February 2008}} {{Infobox musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians --> | Name = London SS | Img = | Img_capt = | Img_size = | Landscape = | Background = group_or_band | Origin = | Genre = [[Punk rock]], [[rock and roll]] | Years_active = 1975 | Label = | Associated_acts = [[The Clash]], [[The Subterraneans]], [[The Damned]], [[Chelsea (band)|Chelsea]], [[Generation X (band)|Generation X]], [[Big Audio Dynamite]], [[Sigue Sigue Sputnik]], [[Carbon/Silicon]] | URL = | Past_members = [[Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones]]<br />[[Tony James]]<br />[[Brian James]] <br />[[Roland Hot]] }} '''London SS''' were an early [[Great Britain|British]] [[punk rock]] group founded in March [[1975]] by guitarist [[Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones]] and bassist [[Tony James]]. The band spent most of their short history auditioning potential members. Besides Jones and James, however, guitarist [[Brian James]] (not related to Tony) was the only other semi-permanent member. Other musicians who played with them included [[Matt Dangerfield]] and [[Casino Steel]], then of [[The Hollywood Brats]], who would later go on to play in [[The Boys (UK Band)|The Boys]]. Many other notable musicians tried out for the band but didn't make the cut including future members of [[The Clash]] [[Paul Simonon]] and [[Terry Chimes]]. Another future Clash member, [[Topper Headon|Nicky "Topper" Headon]], was asked to join but declined. [[Rat Scabies]], future drummer for [[The Damned]] played with the band even though he was in his own [[proto-punk]] band, [[Rot]], at the time. [[Roland Hot]] also served as drummer. Punk poet [[Patrik Fitzgerald]] also claims to have auditioned for the band. The London SS's only recording was a demo featuring James, Jones, James and Hot. Musically they played straightforward [[rock 'n' roll]] and covered 1960s [[R&B]] although some former members felt the band's music was pretty poor. After Hot was kicked out in January [[1976]], Brian James left with Scabies to form [[The Subterraneans]] and later [[The Damned]]. The other James joined the band [[Chelsea (band)|Chelsea]] with [[Billy Idol]] and the two later started [[Generation X (band)|Generation X]]. Jones, Simonon, and Chimes teamed up with [[Joe Strummer]] and founded [[The Clash]]. Chimes was later replaced by Headon and then Headon was replaced by Chimes again. Ultimately, the London SS were more famous for what their members did later on in life than they were for anything that happened during their existence. The group's name caused disquiet in some quarters, because "SS" is generally understood to refer to [[Schutzstaffel|the elite military force]] disproportionately involved in [[Nazism|Nazi]] [[war crime]]s. This later came to haunt [[Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones]], when The Clash became Britain's premier [[left-wing]] political band. However, the members of London SS later claimed that it referred to their poverty at the time, and stood for "[[social security]]". Other accounts say that it was used for its ambiguity and [[shock value]], rather than as a statement of [[Fascism|fascist]] political sympathies. {{The Clash}} [[Category:The Clash]] [[Category:Early punk groups]] [[Category:English musical groups]] [[Category:Music from London]] [[es:London SS]] [[fr:London SS]] [[hr:London SS]] [[it:London SS]] [[ja:ロンドンSS]] [[no:London SS]] [[pl:London SS]] [[ru:London SS]]