London SS was an early British punk rock group founded in March 1975 by guitarist Mick Jones and bassist Tony James. The band spent most of its short history auditioning potential members. Besides Jones and James, however, guitarist Brian James (not related to Tony) was the only other semi-permanent member. Other musicians who played with them included Matt Dangerfield and Casino Steel, then of The Hollywood Brats, who would later go on to play in The Boys. Many other notable musicians tried out for the band but didn't make the cut including future members of The Clash Paul Simonon and Terry Chimes. Another future Clash member, Nicky "Topper" Headon was asked to join but declined. Rat Scabies, future drummer for The Damned played with the band even though he was in his own proto-punk band, Rot, at the time. Roland Hot also served as drummer. Punk poet Patrik Fitzgerald also claims to have auditioned for the band. The London SS's only recording was a demo featuring James, Jones, James, and Hot. Musically they played straightforward rock 'n' roll and covered classic 1960s R&B although some former members felt the band's music was pretty poor. After Hot was kicked out in January 1976, Brian James left with Scabies to form The Subterraneans and later The Damned. The other James joined the band Chelsea with Billy Idol and the two later started Generation X. Jones, Simonon, and Chimes teamed up with Joe Strummer and founded The Clash. Chimes was later replaced by Headon and then Headon was replaced by Chimes again. Ultimately, the London SS was more famous for what its members did later on in life than it was for anything that happened during its existence. The group's name caused disquiet in some quarters, because "SS" was generally understood to refer to a Nazi military force. This later came to haunt Mick Jones, when the Clash became Britain's premier left-wing political band. However, the members of London SS later claimed that it referred to their poverty at the time, and stood for "social security". Other accounts say that it was used for its ambiguity and shock value, rather than as a statement of fascist political sympathies.
