[6][7][8] The song was written after Joe Strummer and bassist Paul Simonon were involved in the riots at the Notting Hill Carnival of 1976.

[10] When The Clash played the Rock Against Racism Carnival in Victoria Park, London on 30 April 1978 they finished their set with "White Riot", accompanied by Jimmy Pursey (Sham 69) on vocals.

[11] The single's cover photograph was taken by Caroline Coon on 5 November 1976 at the band's rehearsal studio in Camden Town.

The original shot featured the phrase "Hate and War" on the back of Strummer's boiler suit, which was airbrushed for the released version and replaced with "1977".

The Clash performed "White Riot" in public for the first time when they played the 100 Club Punk Festival on 20 September 1976.

[3] This song was along similar lines to "White Riot", suggesting that the music of Elvis Presley, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones was no longer relevant.

[31] The American Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys have covered the song live, one recording of which is on their The Singles Collection: Volume One album.

[34] Punk rock band Rise Against covered the song during their shows at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in 2011 after vocalist Tim McIlrath made a speech about the London riots of 2011.