the band, separated from manager bernard rhodes, had to leave their rehearsal studio in camden town and find another location. they began work on "london calling" during the summer of 1979 at the vanilla studios in pimlico. the band quickly wrote and recorded demos, and in august 1979 entered wessex studios to begin recording the album. produced by guy stevens, who at the time had alcohol and drug problems and whose production methods were unconventional, it was recorded within a matter of weeks, with many songs, including "the guns of brixton", recorded in one or two takes. it was also revealed that while recording the lead vocals for the song, simonon sang while staring directly at a cbs executive who had visited the studio during the sessions, giving simonon the desired amount of emotion in his voice.