The surviving members of legendary punk group The Clash will not perform when they are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later this month, bass player Paul Simonon said Saturday.
One of the most influential bands to emerge from the British punk movement of the 1970s, The Clash split up in the mid-1980s and never reformed. The band’s lead singer, Joe Strummer, died of a heart attack in December at age 50.
Simonon scotched rumors that Bruce Springsteen – who sang the band’s “London Calling” in tribute to Strummer at the Grammy Awards last week – would join the three surviving band members onstage at the March 10 Hall of Fame ceremony in New York.
“We’re not going to play or anything. We really haven’t got anything planned,” Simonon told British Broadcasting Corp. radio.
He said that just before he died Strummer had mentioned the idea of performing at the ceremony, but that Simonon was opposed.
“I didn’t have a chance to reply unfortunately, but I just wanted to let him know, ‘Are you aware that the tickets are $1,500?'” Simonon said.
“I think it’s better for The Clash to play in front of their public, rather than a seated and booted audience.”
