The Clash's 'London Calling' album cover photo turns 40

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - It was a split-second in time, captured for eternity.  The image that graces the cover of The Clash's seminal album ‘London Calling' – was shot 40 years ago this month, in New York City.

The band – at the height of its powers – performed two sold out shows Sept 20 and 21st 1979 at the old Palladium on 14th St in Manhattan.  During one of the shows, the band's bassist Paul Simonon smashed his favorite Fender bass in a fit of rage.

Simonon described what led to that infamous guitar smash in an interview posted on Fender guitar's YouTube Page:   "I was sort of annoyed the bouncers wouldn't let the audience get up out of their chairs so that frustrated me."

Exactly which night it took place has become a source of heated back and forth between fans online.  Regardless, the band's two shows cemented 'The Clash' as one of the most important musical acts in the world.

FOX 5 News spoke with longtime Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis to talk about the album's significance in front of the former venue which is now an NYU dorm.

DeCurtis says, They had always been important but that moment of commercial visibility had eluded them until that moment.  To come to this punk hotbed of New York City and deliver a performance of the strength they did is extraordinary."

Legendary British photographer Pennie Smith captured the iconic image and she is still active in the music world today.

Smith says, "He just looked wrong. So I was interestedly watching him. Not with my camera up to my face. And then realized his bass was coming up higher than usual. And then my hand took over. "

Grainy and slightly out-of-focus – it was almost-immediately hand-picked by the late-great Joe Strummer to grace the cover of the band's upcoming album - which came out just a few months after its legendary New York run.

Smith recalls Strummer's words.

"Joe said 'that's the one.'  I said 'don't be daft. It's out of focus'," Smith said.

The picture universally recognized as one of – if not *the – most iconic music shots ever captured.
And why was it out of focus? 

Smith says, "The lens I was using made him appear a lot closer to me than he actually was, so and that's the reason it was out of focus."

The resulting cover – featuring this equally unmistakable typographic layout– an homage to Elvis Presley's 1956 debut album. 

Before leaving the stage – that September night 40 years ago, Simonon gathered the shattered remnants of his bass –even snatching a big chunk of it back from his lead singer.

He still has the pieces. 

They've been displayed at the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame – a testament to the power of music – and taking your shot when you get it.

The Museum of London plans to have that guitar and more than a hundred other items on display to mark the 40th Anniversary of "London Calling". The exhibit will run from November through spring of 2020.