The "Hammersmith Palais de Danse" was a famous music venue in Hammersmith, London, that hosted, among numerous others, The Sex Pistols, David Bowie, The Cure or The Rolling Stones. It was shut down on April 1 2007; the final gig was played by post-punk band The Fall.
Joe Strummer is the "white man" in this song. His lyrics were inspired by a visit to a reggae "All Niter" in which he wasn't very impressed by the performances of Dillinger, Leroy Smart and Delroy Wilson, and also received some aggro over being the only white guy in a room. He had called for white people to protest in the same way he had seen black people protest at Notting Hill in the lyrics of "White Riot," but this night was proving to him that the cultural mix he longed for was a long way off on both sides. The night ended with him attempting to stop several guys stealing some white girls' handbags.
This was one of Joe Strummer's favorites - in the post-Clash era he continued to play it with his new band The Mescaleros, and it was also played at his funeral.
See your Spotify stats (with number of plays and minutes listened) and discover new music.
Music data, artist images, album covers, and song previews are provided by Spotify. Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB.