The Clash is one of those bands you’re almost guaranteed to have heard whether you know it or not. The seminal English punk act made a dent in the rock music scene in 1977 with their first, self-titled album, featuring a simple, aggressive style with political lyrics, exemplified by songs like “White Riot.” Over the course of their next few albums they expanded their sound with influences from funk and reggae, gaining international fame with infectious tracks such as “Rudie Can’t Fail,” “London Calling,” “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” and their most infectious hit of all, “Rock the Casbah.” They disbanded in 1986.
The original drummer for the Clash was Terry Chimes, who left the band shortly after the first album was recorded because of an overall conflict in outlook with the other members (singer Joe Strummer, guitarist Mick Jones and bassist Paul Simonon). Chimes, who was replaced by Nicky “Topper” Headon, played with several other bands including Billy Idol’s Generation X before briefly rejoining the Clash when Headon was asked to leave due to drug issues. After leaving the band again, Chimes played with Hanoi Rocks and Black Sabbath before making a startling career turn. In 1994, following a lifelong passion for biology, medicine and healing, he began a chiropractic clinic in Essex. Having retired completely from music, he founded a highly successful chain of clinics and also began to give seminars in chiropractic management and alternative medicine. But Chimes was yet to undergo a transformation greater than a mere change of careers. In 2000, while reading the chapter on pride in C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, he had a radical conversion experience: “Everything in my world seemed to be instantly shattered, leaving me feeling tiny, naked and exposed. At the same time I felt the most extraordinarily powerful love. This presence knew everything about me and yet still loved me.”
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