Editing Topper Headon (section)

== After the Clash ==
After leaving the Clash, he was considered as drummer in Mick Jones's post-Clash band [[Big Audio Dynamite]]<ref name="allmusic.com-Headon-Biography" /> and played in a short-lived group called [[Samurai]], with bassist [[Pete Farndon]], guitarist [[Henry Padovani]] (from [[The Police]]), organist [[Mick Gallagher]] (from [[The Blockheads]]), and vocalist Steve Allen (formerly of [[Deaf School]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Padovani |first=Henry |title=Secret Police Man |date=2009 |publisher=Pen Press |isbn=978-1-907172-83-0 |pages=6–8}}</ref> Headon subsequently focused on recording a solo album, ''[[Waking Up (Topper Headon album)|Waking Up]]'' (1986),<ref>{{cite book |author=Robbins, Ira |title=The Trouser Press record guide |publisher=Collier Books |page=135}}</ref> which featured Mick Gallagher, [[Bobby Tench]] and [[Jimmy Helms]].<ref>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r40261|pure_url=yes}} |author=Heibutzki, Ralph |title=Topper Headon/Waking up |publisher=allmusic.com |access-date=2009-04-18}}</ref> He also released a cover version of the [[Gene Krupa]] instrumental "Drumming Man" as a single, which featured Headon's "DuKane Road" on the [[B-side]]. His own composition "Hope for Donna" was included on the [[Mercury Records]] sampler ''Beat Runs Wild'', in the same year.<ref>{{cite video |people=Cooke, Brandon; Pete Shelley, Tom Verlaine, Topper Headon, Hipsway, Curiosity Killed the Cat, Wet Wet Wet, Love and Money, Swing Out Sister, Zerra One |date=1986 |title=Beat Runs Wild |medium=LP recording |publisher=Mercury |location=London |oclc=51782857}}</ref> During the 1980s Headon produced albums for New York band [[Bush Tetras]]. In 1989 he contributed drums to the [[punk rock]] band Chelsea's ''Underwraps'' (1989).

During the late 1980s Headon drove mini-cabs to finance his heroin addiction, and later busked on the London Underground with bongo drums.<ref name="Lucas" />

After a live show in 2002, he was informed of the death of Clash frontman [[Joe Strummer]]. An emotional Headon stated: {{blockquote |It's taken Joe's death to make me realise just how big the Clash were. We were a political band and Joe was the one who wrote the lyrics. Joe was one of the truest guys you could ever meet. If he said 'I am behind you', then you knew he meant it 100 percent.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.strummernews.com/celebrities.html | title = Celebrity Tributes to Joe Strummer | access-date =12 December 2007 |publisher=strummernews.com| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071218074314/http://www.strummernews.com/celebrities.html |archive-date=18 December 2007 | quote = It's taken Joe's death to make me realise just how big the Clash were. We were a political band and Joe was the one who wrote the lyrics. Joe was one of the truest guys you could ever meet. If he said 'I am behind you', then you knew he meant it 100 percent.}}</ref>}}

Headon was extensively interviewed for the ''[[Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten]]'' documentary film about the late Clash frontman, which was released in 2007. Headon related his experiences during this period, how he became addicted to heroin and how there were problems before his dismissal. Headon also stated that seeing the video of "[[Rock the Casbah]]" with "someone else ([[Terry Chimes]]) in ''my'' place playing ''my'' song" caused him to fall in even greater depression and heavier drug addiction.{{citation needed|date=January 2015}}

On 11 January 2008, he performed with [[Carbon/Silicon]] at the Carbon Casino Club in [[Portobello Road|Portobello]] London, being included with the line-up of [[Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones]], [[Tony James (musician)|Tony James]], [[Leo Williams (musician)|Leo Williams]] and [[Dominic Greensmith]]. Headon joined the band on stage during [[the Clash]]'s "[[Train in Vain|Train in Vain (Stand by Me)]]". An encore followed with Headon playing drums on "[[Should I Stay or Should I Go]]". This performance marked the first time since 1982 that Headon and Jones had performed together on stage.<ref>{{cite web
 | url        = http://www.clashmusic.com/live-review/carbon-casino 
 | title      = The Carbon Casino – The Clash reunited! Pair jam after 25 years 
 | access-date = 15 January 2008 
 | last       = Harper 
 | first      = Simon 
 | date       = 12 January 2008 
 | publisher = Clash Music 
 | quote      = For the first night of their six-week residency in West London's Inn on the Green, Carbon/Silicon had promised surprises, but few had realised that meant the reunion of Mick Jones and the powerhouse drummer of The Clash, Topper Headon. 
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url        = http://www.punknews.org/article/27279 
 | title      = Clash members Topper Headon and Mick Jones reunite on stage 
 | access-date = 15 January 2008 
 | date       = 13 January 2008 
 | publisher = Punknews.org
 | quote      = For the first time in 25 years, former Clash members Mick Jones and Topper Headon have shared the stage together. The reunion took place at Carbon/Silicon's "Carbon Casino" residency, and comes five years after Mick joined Joe Strummer on stage at the Brixton Academy. 
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url        = http://www.nme.com/news/clash/33615 
 | title      = The Clash's Mick Jones and Topper Headon reunite after 25 years 
 | access-date = 15 January 2008 
 | date       = 14 January 2008 
 | work=NME |location=UK
 | quote      = Clash drummer joins Carbon/Silicon at London show 
}}</ref>

In a February 2008 newspaper article Headon revealed that in 2003 he started to experience serious back pain, a frequent complaint of ageing rock drummers. Diagnosed with [[hyperkyphosis]], a forward curvature of the back, he underwent intense posture adjustment treatment and continues to exercise daily. He notes that, on his recent appearance with Jones, he exhibited his new upright stance.

At some point in the 1980s, Headon contracted [[Hepatitis C]], which, along with his alcohol intake, led to severe liver problems. Headon successfully underwent interferon treatment for his hepatitis in 2007 and became a spokesman for the Hepatitis C Trust.<ref name="Lucas">{{cite web |last1=Lucas |first1=Mark |title='I forgive you': The Clash's drummer Topper Headon makes peace with the man who sacked him|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/i-forgive-you-the-clashs-drummer-topper-headon-makes-peace-with-the-man-who-sacked-him-1717627.html |website=The Independent |access-date=5 January 2019 |language=en |date=28 June 2009}}</ref>

The BBC featured Headon in a February 2009 feature on drumming as therapy. He shares some of his story in a brief video interview.<ref>{{cite news
 | url        = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7872043.stm
 | title      = Can our natural rhythm heal us? 
 | access-date = 7 June 2010 
 | date       = 10 February 2000
 |publisher = BBC
}}</ref> In 2012 Headon was interviewed by fellow drummer Spike Webb, sharing stories from his years drumming for The Clash and his experience writing 'Rock The Casbah'.<ref>{{cite web
 | url        = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9WpYJQmZK8
 | title      = Topper Headon (The Clash) talks about 'Mad, Bad and Dangerous' 
 | access-date = 5 May 2012 
 | date       = 5 May 2012 
 |publisher= YouTube
}}</ref>

Actor Alex Gold portrayed Headon in the 2016 film ''[[London Town (2016 film)|London Town]]'', which tells the story of a Clash-obsessed teenager who crosses paths with Joe Strummer by happenstance in 1979 and finds his life changing as a result.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/videos/see-joe-strummer-portrayed-in-london-town-trailer-w439500 |title=See Jonathan Rhys Meyers Play Joe Strummer in 'London Town' Trailer|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=2016-09-14}}</ref>