The Clash ‘Sound System,' Classic Rock Band's Massive 12-Disc Box Set Release Date Sept 13: Bassist Paul Simonon Talks Box Set, Bob Dylan Collaboration, Clash Reunion

The original lineup of The Clash was together for just seven years and produced just five studio albums, but the band also recorded a treasure trove of unreleased material during that brief time.

They released a box set in 1991 called Clash on Broadway, but that collection only contained three discs. Much of the unreleased material was still unavailable.

But now, The Clash is blowing the lid off the treasure chest with a massive, 12-disc box set called Sound System that will release on Sept. 13.

The box set, which will be shaped like a boombox from the 1980s, will contained remastered editions of The Clash's five studio albums, as well as "video of the band's first recording session in 1976, unreleased demos from 1976, B-sides, remixes, outtakes, live cuts and all of their music videos," according to Rolling Stone.

The site spoke to Clash bassist Paul Simonon, and here are some highlights from the interview:

How did this box set come together?
"Well, a few years ago it was suggested that we put together a box set of everything ever created by the Clash and put it in a box. We really wanted it to be a work of art in itself, where one could say 'Box Set of the Year.' We hit upon the idea of making it a boombox, because the cassette-recorder boombox is a thing that every member of the Clash had and carried around. There's quite a lot of photos of us traveling in all parts of the world playing music via our boomboxes. We did this to entertain ourselves, but also we were in different parts of the world, and we'd carry these machines through airports and anywhere else. We were bringing music to new, fresh years. I used to play a lot of reggae or rockabilly."

How did you wind up playing bass on Bob Dylan's 1988 record Down in the Groove?
"Bob used to come to a lot of Clash shows, so I met him prior to that situation. I actually arrived in Los Angeles with a friend of mine named Nigel Dixon, who was in a rockabilly band. We both left to live in El Paso and form a new band together. We bought two old motorcycles and we journeyed to Los Angeles and met up with Steve Jones from the Sex Pistols. After a couple of days Steve said to me, 'Paul, they need a bass player and it's for Bob Dylan. Do you fancy coming along?'

"I went along and met Bob and we started to record. It was quite difficult in some ways. We'd do three songs, and by the third song I'd just about remember how the songs went before we started recording them. But instead of recording them we went on with another three songs, and then another three songs and then another three songs. So after about 12 songs he said, "Let's start from the beginning." And my memory of the first song was so vague. It was a difficult one, but it was enjoyable, and it was nice to see Bob and it was really nice to part of something unique and special."

I've read stories over the years that Joe Strummer wanted to reunite the Clash for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2003, but you were the lone holdout. He obviously died before the ceremony, but is any of that true?

"Mick (Jones), Joe (Strummer) and Topper (Headon) were very keen on getting the Hall of Fame and doing that. The proviso was that, I think, if we got together and played, then we got the award. But to be honest, I didn't really want to reform the band, full-stop, especially not in that environment, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Joe was keen on doing it, as was Mick. My point was that if we were going to reform, it can't be in that corporate environment. Joe was unaware that the tickets were something like $1,000 a seat, maybe more. I think if the Clash is going to reform, it should be somewhere where the seats don't cost $1,000.

"Joe was unaware of that and, of course, he died a couple of days later, so I wasn't able to send him a message and give him that information. So then we did get inducted, and rather than be childish about it I thought, 'Well, I'll go to support everybody and the memory of Joe.' But I had no interest in being part of any reformation."

Check out the full interview here.