Three Sevens Clash is a song by The Alarm that first appears on the July 2007 release the Three Sevens Clash EP, a part of the Counter Attack collection. The release of the Three Sevens Clash was promoted with a live show at The Academy, Birmingham England on 7th July 2007. The track would also appear on the 2008 album Guerilla Tactics and the 2013 Vinyl album
It came about in 2007 which was the 40th anniversary of punk and new waves went kind of mainstream and I was caught up in the original wave seeing the Sex Pistols in ’76, saw the Clash in May ’77 at the Electric Circus and it was just such a thrill in time. It was a time when you felt so alive and that really was were the sparks that created The Alarm happened in 1977 and created my first band The Toilets and we ended up playing with The Clash and The Buzzcocks, we were right in the thick of it and then it took some time to really ferment, we never really had a Svengali behind the band at that time, like the Pistols had Malcolm McLaren, The Clash had Bernie Rhodes and if you go back to the Beatles they had Brian Epstein. We just had ourselves as we came from a small town, so we couldn’t really channel the energy that was in the band in the right way. But it was a big learning curve and we became Seventeen then eventually led to The Alarm. When 2007 came, the 40th anniversary all the music of that era was everywhere again, there were reissues of great albums, there were podcasts and radio shows about great events of the time, books were coming out covering the history. I was always struck by the fact there was an album by Culture a reggae album at the time that was called the Two Sevens Clash, seven and seven, 1977. In 2007 there was a date an infamous date of 7th of the 7th of the 7th the three 7’s and I thought that was kind of interesting maybe you can build on the prophecy of when the three 7’s clash. that is were the idea of the song came. It’s a little bit like a Spirit of 76, about when I found myself on reverie, where your looking back at those events that changed your life, seeing Johnny Rotten, meeting The Clash and having those sparks to bring you to life in your own way. It was 1977 I got a safety pin stuck in my heart, I’ve always been a punk rocker really. So it informed everything really, at the time it was an opportunity to look back and write a new kind of anthem. It was not long after 45rpm came out which was a bit of a game changer for The Alarm and being described as the British Green Day and all this kind of stuff. I men Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day at a Cult concert in Briton Academy and he came up to me and when Mike Peters of The Alarm, I would never have picked up a guitar if I hand not seen The Stand on MTV so the ramifications of those times are still going on – Mike Peters – Big Night In May 2022
2007 Three Sevens Clash EP recording
Running length 2:37
Written by Mike Peters
Musicians & Credits
Mike Peters – Vocals, Guitar
James Stevenson – Electric Guitar
Steve “Smiley” Barnard – Drums
Craig Adams – Bass Guitar
Recorded at Bethel Chapel Studios, Dyserth, Wales and Foel Studios, Welshpool, Wales
Recorded by Martin Wilding and Chris Fielding
Produced by Mike Peters
Mixed by Martin Wilding
EP & Album appearances and discography of studio recordings
All the following are Worldwide releases except where stated
July 2007 : The Alarm MMVII – Three Sevens Class EP
Released on CD by Twenty First Century Recording Company, catalogue number 21C035
2007 original recording
7th July 2008 : The Alarm MMVIII – Guerilla Tactics
Released on CD by Twenty First Century Recording Company, catalogue number 21C035
2007 original recording
15th March 2013 : The Alarm – Vinyl Free Rock and Roll
Released on CD by Twenty First Century Recording Company, catalogue number 21C062
2013 recording
Officially released live recordings – Audio
Lyrics
From 1977
I’ve got a safety pin stuck in my soul
A badge pinned to my heart
Says “I can’t be bought or sold”
Whatever were we thinking of
When we were shooting our mouths off
The truth is alive
From 1977 until the three sevens clash
I fought for what I believe in
On the punk rock barricade
A suburban revolution
Broadcast on street airwaves
Whatever were we trying to do
We are in the pages of ‘Sniffin’ Glue’
The truth is alive
From 1977 until the three sevens clash
(Page updated 07/08/2023)