London SS was Mick Jones and Paul Simonon's band prior to joining up with Joe Strummer and Terry Chimes to form The Clash. Tony James, later of Generation X, Casino Steel, later of The Boys, and Brian James, later of The Damned, were also members of London SS (The Damned's drummer, Rat Scabies, auditioned but was rejected). They were London's answer to the New York Dolls. This band never really got off the ground before its members splintered into more successful projects. Mick Jones (born June 26, 1955) was in the music group The Clash and played guitar and sang, but was not generally the lead singer, who was Joe Strummer. ... Paul Gustave Simonon (born December 15, 1955 in Brixton, England) is best known as the bass guitar player for punk rock band The Clash. ... John Graham Mellor (August 21, 1952–December 22, 2002), better known as Joe Strummer, was the co-founder and lead singer of punk rock band The Clash, and later The Mescaleros. ... Terry Chimes (born June 25, 1955) was a drummer in the band The Clash. ... The Clash in 1978. ... Tony James was originally the bassist for the British punk band Generation X along with Billy Idol on the guitar, John Towe on the drums and Gene October as the singer. ... Generation X is a term used in demographics, the social sciences, and more broadly in popular culture. ... See also Brian James (wrestler). ... The Damned are a rock music band originally from Croydon, England a suburb of London, formed in 1976. ... New York Dolls, 1973 The New York Dolls were a rock music group formed in New York City in 1971. ...

The name of the band, a clear reference to the SS, was geared more to the punk principle of shock and controversy than any fascist political sympathies. However, when The Clash emerged as one of Britain's premier left-wing political bands, the earlier connections with Nazi references would prove somewhat problematic. For other uses of the abbreviation SS, see SS (disambiguation) The Schutzstaffel (Protective Squadron), or SS, was a large paramilitary organization that belonged to the Nazi party. ... Look up Punk in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Punk can have the following meanings: Relating to culture Punk is a set of social and political beliefs, morals and standards that indicate an absolute rejection of conformity. ... Fascism (in Italian, fascismo), capitalized, was the authoritarian political movement which ruled Italy from 1922 to 1943 under the leadership of Benito Mussolini. ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ...