Editing Topper Headon (section)

==Early life==
Headon spent his early childhood in [[Crockenhill]], northwest [[Kent]], before attending [[Dover Grammar School for Boys]].<ref name="Topper Headon">{{cite news |last=Finlay |first=Simon |title=Topper Headon: why the Clash has reunited |url=http://www.folkestoneherald.co.uk/Topper-Headon-Clash-reunited/story-19706798-detail/story.html |access-date=26 February 2014 |newspaper=Folkestone Herald |date=25 August 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308023546/http://www.folkestoneherald.co.uk/Topper-Headon-Clash-reunited/story-19706798-detail/story.html |archive-date=8 March 2014}}</ref> He started playing drums at an early age and was a [[jazz]] fan, citing [[Billy Cobham]] as a strong influence. In 1973, he joined the [[cult following|cult]] [[progressive rock]] outfit [[Mirkwood (band)|Mirkwood]]. He appeared with them for a year and a half, and they supported major acts such as [[Supertramp]]. He later played with a band that opened for American [[R&B]] legends [[the Temptations]]<ref name="allmusic.com-Headon-Biography">{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p85474|pure_url=yes}} |title=Topper Headon > Biography |access-date=12 December 2007 |last=Prato |first=Greg |publisher=allmusic.com |quote=a) [[Sandy Pearlman]] dubbed Headon "The Human [[Drum Machine]]," due to his impeccable timing and skills. <br />b) Headon grew up a [[soul music|soul]] and [[jazz]] fan (an early influence was ace fusion drummer [[Billy Cobham]]), and he was once a member of a local group that opened a show for [[The Temptations]]. <br />c) Headon's original plan was to stay with the Clash for only a year – which he figured would give enough time to get his name known so he could move on to another more "suitable" group. Headon quickly realised that the group was not just a one-dimensional punk band, as they branched out and touched upon a wide variety of styles – all the while never losing sight of their original punk ideals. <br />d) a heroin addiction had drawn a wedge between Headon and the rest of his bandmates. <br />e) After a planned reunion with Jones (who was expelled from the Clash himself a year after Headon's dismissal) in the group Big Audio Dynamite failed to work out, Headon focused on recording a solo album.}}</ref> and admits to falsely claiming that he played with the Temptations.<ref name="Westway_to_the_World">{{cite video |people=[[Don Letts|Letts, Don]]; Rick Elgood, [[Joe Strummer]], [[Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones]], [[Paul Simonon]], Topper Headon, [[Terry Chimes]], [[The Clash]] |date=2001 |title=The Clash: [[Westway to the World]] |medium=Documentary |publisher=[[Sony Music Entertainment]]; Dorismo; Uptown Films |location=New York, NY |time=37:00–39:00 |isbn=0-7389-0082-6 |oclc=49798077}}</ref>