My Take
Paul Simonon is one of those rare musicians where the image and the sound are completely inseparable — that photo of him smashing his Fender Precision bass on the Palladium stage in 1979 is literally the cover of London Calling, which Rolling Stone called the greatest album of the 1980s. And here's the thing: he barely knew how to play bass when Joe Strummer and Mick Jones recruited him for the Clash. He learned on the job, in real time, and ended up defining what punk bass could sound like. Beyond the Clash, he went on to collaborate with Damon Albarn in the Good, the Bad & the Queen and played on Gorillaz' Plastic Beach, which tells you his musical credibility has never faded. Oh, and he's also a serious painter — the kind of second career that makes you realize some people just can't stop creating things.
Overview
Paul Gustave Simonon (; born 15 December 1955) is an English musician and artist best known as the bassist for the Clash. More recent work includes his involvement in the supergroup the Good, the Bad & the Queen and playing on the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach in 2010, which saw Simonon reunite with the Clash guitarist Mick Jones and Blur frontman Damon Albarn – and which also led to Simonon becoming the live band's t…
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Paul Simonon
- Name (Japanese)
- ポール・シムノン
- Reading
- ぽーる・しむのん
- Born
- December 15, 1955 (age 70)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Goat
- Origin
- London, Roman Empire
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- bassist / singer-songwriter / painter / singer / guitarist
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.