"(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a 7-inch single, with the B-side "The Prisoner", on 16 June 1978 through CBS Records.

Produced by The Clash and engineered by Simon Humphries, the song was recorded for (but not included on) the group's second studio album Give 'Em Enough Rope; it was later featured on the American version of their debut studio album, The Clash, between the single version of "White Riot" and "London's Burning".

Inspiration and composition

The song showed considerable musical and lyrical maturity for the band at the time. Compared with their other early singles, it is stylistically more in line with their version of Lee "Scratch" Perry-Junior Murvin's "Police and Thieves" as the powerful guitar intro of "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" descends into a slower ska rhythm, and was disorienting to a lot of the fans who had grown used to their earlier work. "We were a big fat riff group", Joe Strummer noted in the Clash's film Westway to the World. "We weren't supposed to do something like that."

"(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" starts by recounting an all-night reggae "showcase" night at the Hammersmith Palais in Shepherd's Bush Road, London, that was attended by Joe Strummer, Don Letts and roadie Roadent, and was headlined by Dillinger, Leroy Smart and Delroy Wilson. It was number 7 in John Peel's Festive Fifty in 1978, voted by listeners to the show.

"The song remains the ultimate embodiment of everything that was so great about the group" (Kris Needs, ZigZag (magazine). "Maybe the greatest record ever written by white men" (Alan McGee, Creation Records).

Robert Christgau recommended the single in his Consumer Guide published by The Village Voice on 4 September 1978, and described the song as "a must".

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Further reading

  • Connor, Alan. (30 March 2007) White man's blues. SMASHED HITS Pop lyrics re-appraised by the Magazine. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 24 February 2008. "BBC article on the song and venue".
  • Poster of the Hammersmith Palais gig referenced in song - link deade 20 June 2023