PARIS (AFP) ― They’ve never reformed, despite lucrative offers to do so, and the surviving band members swear they never will now that front man Joe Strummer is no longer around.

Which just might be why, 37 years after they played their first riffs, The Clash are still adored by a global army of fans as one of the greatest bands in the history of rock.

In Paris this week to promote a new box set that involved guitarist Mick Jones salvaging the original master tapes for their five seminal albums, the three surviving members of the band were more keen to talk about how their music has been passed on to a new generation.

“I love it when fathers share our music with their kids,” said Jones.

“Saying ‘see, there was something good from my time.’

“It makes them both proud. The Clash is a force of its own, it’s bigger than us by far.”

Jones, 58, bassist Paul Simonon, 57, and drummer Topper Headon, 58, don’t rule out playing music together but it will never be as The Clash, out of respect for the memory of iconic lead singer Strummer, who died of a heart attack 11 years ago.

Instead, they are happy to concentrate on cultivating their legacy and enjoying the memories of their emergence from the British punk scene to conquer the world.

“We had everything,” recalls Headon. “The music is great, we were good looking, we were young and rebellious. We had, we still have, a lot of integrity. Everywhere we go we have people coming to us and say ‘you changed my life. The Clash changed everything to me.’”

When the idea of putting together a comprehensive collection of The Clash’s recordings was first put to them by their record company three years ago, Jones and Simonon made the remastering of every track a condition of their involvement.