Urban riots in London through the songs of The Clash

Abstract

The late 1970s and early 1980s marked England through the neoliberal measures instituted by Margaret Thatcher. In this context, social inequalities and poverty have advanced mainly in the peripheral neighborhoods of large cities. In London the reality was no different, in which neighborhoods formed by a majority of immigrants suffered from unemployment and police violence, in addition to the constant increase in the prison population. The urban chaos resulted in the appearance of popular uprisings, which we will try to portray through two songs by the punk rock band called The Clash. We will use the songs Guns of Brixton and London Calling to reflect on the historical moment that London was going through. The songs are from the year 1979, and the popular revolt of Brixton occurred in the year 1981, however, since when the music was written, tensions in the neighborhood existed, and a great revolt arose between the 10th and 12th of April 1981. I will try to understand how the urban climate allowed the songs to portray the events that happened two years later in such a real way, for this, I will use as a theoretical reference authors who problematize postmodernity and criticize neoliberalism, especially due to the actions Thatcher government.