Nicky "Topper" Headon was born on 30 May 1955 in Bromley, Kent, England. He became drummer in The Clash, a band that, according to Rolling Stone magazine:

"(...) took the raw anger of British punk and worked it into a political and aesthetic agenda. Outstripping all of their peers in terms of length and depth of career, they were rebels with a cause - with many causes, from anti-Thatcherism, to racial unity, to the Sandinistas. Their music was roots-based but future-visionary; their experiments with funk, reggae, and rap never took them far from a three-minute pop song."

Original drummer Terry Chimes left the band in 1976. He was replaced by Nicky Headon, who had been drumming with Pat Travers in Europe since his stint in the London SS. "Topper" Headon accompanied the group on its first national headlining tour.



The Clash fell apart in 1986 just as they broke through to a wide American audience. By then, they had shown that punk was not just a flash in the pan and had delivered an arsenal of unforgettable rock songs.