London SS - Definition and Overview

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. 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.

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 problematical.