The Clash - Rock The Casbah

"Rock the Casbah", one of the most popular songs by The Clash, was released on their 1982 album Combat Rock. It is one of their few songs to become a Top 10 hit in the United States, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The song was inspired by the banning of rock music in Iran under Ayatollah Khomeini. The song gives a fictitious account of the ban being defied by the population who proceed to "rock the casbah", causing the King to order jet fighters to bomb any people in violation of the ban. The pilots ignore the orders, and instead play rock music on their cockpit radios.