
Paul and Joe went through a few rehearsals before deciding on Vince White on guitar, Pete Howard on drums, and Nick Sheppard on guitar. At this point, they were divided into 2 factions: Mick and Nick, and Joe and Paul. Mick was kicked out because of creative differences and the re-welcoming of Bernie, their old manager. Fast forward to the time after Combat Rock. Nick Headon became their drummer just before they recorded Give 'Em Enough Rope. Rob Harper played drums on the Anarchy in the UK tour. After a few gigs and the release of their first album, Terry quit the band because he felt like an outsider. He later teamed up with Johnny Rotten (of Sex Pistols fame) to start Public Image Ltd. Keith was kicked out after a couple of shows due to his drug addiction.

Originally consisted of Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Terry Chimes, and (not known to most) Keith Lavene on 3rd guitar. And as long as the word “braless” keeps making ad revenue, the Big Brother of the female body will continue its invisible reign.The greatest band ever.

Our loose breasts are being bridled by a culture of surveillance that, unlike bras, can’t be removed with the flick of a clasp.
CLASH IN TIMING SYNONYM CRACKED
But our liberation from them, a win that should have reaffirmed our bodily autonomy, has cracked open yet another window for us to be controlled. Yes, it is becoming more normal to not wear a bra in society. And just like these stories, the coverage of the “braless” celebrity is delivered with urgency, as if feral breasts could pose an immediate threat to the health of the nation. The implication is that the “braless” woman is lacking something – something so integral to the “presentable” female body, that its omission warrants a headline right next to those on Brexit, Covid and the climate crisis. Do we say “beltless” when a woman displays the band of her high-waisted jeans? Do we view the baring of feet in minimal, strappy heels as “shoeless”? Do we gasp at her “coatless” arms when she steps out in a T-shirt? On the surface, these articles on “braless” celebrities read like a celebration of women’s bodies – a harkening back to the “burn the bra” days of the Sixties.īut by highlighting the absence of the bra, we perpetuate the idea that a woman should be wearing one. Today, I fully respect a woman’s choice to wear a bra, but I continue to be struck by the obsession in certain sections of the media with those who don’t.
CLASH IN TIMING SYNONYM FREE
To keep up to speed with all the latest opinions and comment, sign up to our free weekly Voices Dispatches newsletter by clicking here I was once again, “braless” – only this time, I would remain so for life. I would have several more bras fitted over the next four years, all of which would be ripped off my body within a few hours. I even slept in it that evening, hoping its clutch on my torso would exhale into a hug overnight.īut the discomfort never lifted. She smiled knowingly and replied: “It always does at the start.” So I soldiered on, pacing around my house like I was breaking in a new pair of Doc Martens. But for me, and I’m sure for many of these celebrities, the decision to go “braless” has nothing to do with aesthetics, and everything to do with comfort.Īt my first fitting, I complained to the sales assistant that the bra was hurting me. The underlying message is that the woman wants attention for her breasts, which, by default of being free, must be provocative. A sexualized account of the woman’s body typically follows, with adjectives like “racy” and “steamy” appearing so often next to “braless” that they might as well be synonyms. It is almost exclusively reserved for female celebrities, with names like Bella Hadid and Molly-Mae Hague regularly anchoring whole articles with their bra-free outfits. Now 27, it’s been over a decade since I’ve worn a bra and I often find myself forgetting that being “braless” is even a thing. One awkward measurement and a few try-ons later, and I emerged from the shop with the relief of having finally treated an embarrassing condition. I was convinced that if my uncaged breasts went just one more day in the wild, I’d be arrested for public indecency, or worse, ousted by my social circle. Panicked, I asked my mother to book an emergency appointment at a local lingerie boutique. And just like that, I was no longer a girl wearing a vest – I was officially “braless”. It didn’t take long for me to realise that this symmetry was not the product of genes or knives, but of a simple underwear upgrade. While mine clashed in size and shape like a pair of fraternal twins, my friends’ chests were perfectly round, identical, and miraculously nipple-free. I had my first ever bra fitting when I was 12, after making one of the worst discoveries you can make when you’re an insecure preteen – my breasts looked different from those around me.
