10 Songs That Broke Up Bands

By the mid '80s, it was not really a good time to be in the Clash. After pushing their sonic palette even further with the album Combat Rock, Joe Strummer ended up taking the side of his management team and kicked Mick Jones out of the band, considering his contributions not punk enough. Though Strummer had been the militant voice behind the band for years, their last effort Cut the Crap was fated to be terrible from the moment it was released in stores.

There's a lot of trash that comes with an album like this, but "This is England" is the one little shining moment on the record. From a melodic perspective, the song is certainly nothing to write home about, but the lyrics are some of the most heartfelt the band could have offered up at this point.

With Strummer himself considering it the last great Clash song, the tune's pointed assessment of the sad state of England ends up sounding less like a portrait of a country and more like a final breath from what used to be the most important band in England. The Clash may have put all of their money into making "This is England" a great song, but with the band flaming out shortly afterward, it ends up looking more like a funeral shroud in retrospect.