Hello once again, nice to have you back. If it’s your first visit to the blog where have you been for the last 2 and a half years? Not a problem, you’ve got a lot of catching up to do over next few weeks. I must admit that I’ve got my blogging hat back on, I struggled to find time last month and got a little bit frustrated as I knew I was ‘falling behind’ with Clash news. I know it sounds a bit daft, we’re talking about keeping current on a band that essentially ceased to be more than 25 years ago but the reality is with the rise of blogging, social media and the simple fact that you can read articles from newspapers throughout the world online there is always something to write about. Thankfully and purely coincidentally it seems that the last two plus years have seen Mick Jones more consistently active with a huge array of commitments than at any time in many moons. In addition so many of you have furnished me with other stories or even first hand accounts, photos and experiences to keep things busy. If you ever feel like contributing to the blog and have something you think may appeal to readers please let me know as I always welcome guest posts. It can be a Clash related opinion, bit of research or simply a personal experience relating to the band. There’s no wrongs or rights, if you think Combat Rock was their best album you can explain why, if you wish Paul Simonon took on lead vocals more often just say so. I’ll never manage to cover everything and we won’t agree on all views (Charlie Don’t Surf is one of their five best songs, Mick Jones had the best hair circa 1980) which is fine. I’d love to host a guest post or seven, so please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Right then, a few things on tap today and then (finally) some more focused posts in the days ahead. I’ve found myself scurrying from one thing to the next this month and wonder about the important stuff I might be missing?

File this under early warning (very early) but I love the 2012 Strummercamp logo so much (featured left) that it merits coverage. The astute amongst you will have seen already that next year’s event is the 7th annual celebration of Joe up in Manchester. As ever you can expect an excellent lineup at the event which seems to grow in popularity with each passing year. Full details will be added to the official site in the months ahead in the meantime the facebook page for Strummercamp 2012 is a good place to keep in touch and contact the key people. We’ll look to have more comprehensive coverage here on the blog in 2012.

Few people namedrop The Clash more than me on this blog but I think Billy Bragg would run a close second which is fine with me. I’m a long standing fan of Barking’s finest and in my humble opinion the very fact that Bragg hit the scene right at the time when the original lineup of The Clash was splintering has always been symbolic to me. It’s meant that I’ve had a protest/political artist playing a huge part in my life for over 30 years and Bragg embodies many of the things that The Clash were trying to accomplish. Just like The Clash there have been some adventurous adaptations which don’t always work our according to some listeners but I’ll forever feel indebted that The Clash expanded beyond the sound they perfected on those first two records, so similarly did Bragg expand far beyond one man and his guitar to become a modern folk singer who was even tasked with adding music to the unfinished songs of Woody Guthrie. In interviews it has become clear that most well researched journalists really want to explore that connection between Bragg and The Clash so it’s not Bragg’s ‘fault’ really and such was the case in this great interview with Sabotage Times. Make sure you read all of it beyond the obvious question about The Clash as you’ll enjoy it I think plus The Clash get mentioned elsewhere.

Finally today can’t end for me without mentioning the anniversary of the death in 2004 who meant a great deal to me and to many of you too I’m sure. All of us who grew up being obsessed with music and certain bands can speak at length about how we feel concerning artists we have never had the chance to meet or get to know in many cases. I never met Joe Strummer or Topper Headon and until last October I hadn’t even experienced my 90 seconds or so chatting to Mick and Paul when they visited town (this time last year). We’ve all got a list of singers and guitarists who changed our lives for a summer or maybe forever.

However seven years ago today someone who was just as important to my youth and musical education passed away although he never played on my favourite records, although he did play so many of them on the BBC. John Peel was a marvel, everyone related to him and respected his (amazingly broad) taste. If you spent more than a handful of hours listening to Peel when you were younger and didn’t benefit then you can’t have been paying attention. The list of bands that he helped to break is as long as it is excellent, Billy Bragg for example got a demo tape played by dropping it with Peel at the BBC along with some Indian food after Peel had remarked on the air about his hunger for said grub. John Peel was the gatekeeper for so many great bands and his enthusiasm never waned right up until the end. Beyond The Clash one of my very favourite bands for over 25 years has been The Wedding Present and knowing that they remained one of John Peel’s top choices always made me feel that much more ‘in the know’. However that was the magic of John Peel, we all have such stories about him. I miss him still, I think he was one of the most important people I never knew, but then again I knew him so well. Every time I flick through my collection of records and CDs it’s obvious he will stay with me.

Good afternoon, another warm one in the desert. I’m just watching Arsenal playing in Portugal with Russian commentary. Talk about global-a-go-go. I found myself listening to Streetcore last night, three times in a row. First time I’ve done that in years with that album.

When the album came out in 2003 I must confess I was still far too downhearted about the loss of Joe Strummer to properly enjoy the album, it was more a case of a record to mourn with and to feel sad or even despondent about. The entire year was darkened by the events late in 2002. I’m sure others instead rejoiced with it but for many years the album while I knew it was good only served to make me feel hollow. Until more recent times the best I could say for Streetcore was that the Mescaleros along with Lucinda Strummer did an amazing job at pulling together partially completed songs and make them release worthy. The sessions were at their very earliest stages and yet the album sounded hauntingly complete. Since Joe passed away I’ve always been more likely to listen to the first two albums with the Mescaleros. I think mostly for sentimental reasons, you know how you associate albums with a certain time? Those three years before Joe died were the most exciting time to be a Strummer follower since the days of Combat Rock in my opinion. He’d found a band (especially by the time of Global) who complimented him and expanded on his goals for the music, the layers of sound and the flow of ideas. Skilled, adaptable and flexible Joe even told Bob Gruen that he felt the Meskys were the most talented group of musicians he’d ever worked with. That is quite an accolade but I think there are a number of reasons to properly consider that statement. As he approached fifty he had (ironically) more fully taken on a characteristic of Mick Jones – pull on your influences and experiment to your hearts content. He found musicians who would take that path as freely as he dare. It resulted in some remarkable music. What hurts is that I have every suspicion that the best was yet to come from Joe’s “second busy phase” of activity, the band had found their feet on Global-A-Go-Go and you felt that they would go on to produce even more remarkable albums very soon.

It was a great time – Joe was touring almost constantly and having a brilliant time with it. Giving loads of interviews and seemingly finding himself comfortable (perhaps to his own surprise) in the shoes of punk’s senior statesman. What made that even better was he was humble enough to acknowledge just how much other music continued to not just influence but truly impress him. He also understood that as the writer of some of the greatest songs ever whilst with The Clash that there was nothing wrong with working or reworking some of those songs into his then live set. Can you even imagine what sitting in on a session in the studio must have been like those last few years when Joe knew he had found a pack of guys to play with that could build upon the sounds he wanted?

You’ll also probably remember there were rumours floating around in 2004/5 that there was quite a lot of music left on the tapes in the studio. Uncompleted songs and experiments that never became a finished article. At that time rumours were that Lucinda was going to work with Sony and Damien Hirst to get some of these songs released. Then the rumours died down until last year. At that time Lucinda revealed that ultimately a book with sketches, notes and song ideas from Joe would eventually be released. Something for the collectors then and again with the involvement of Hirst.

Streetcore remains an album forever associated with the final chapter of Joe’s life, seen as that it’s strong, full of fire and invention. Seen as an album without a date stamp it might have been the best Mescaleros album of all if fate didn’t intervene that December afternoon. An unfinished masterpiece or another bold step forward. Either way we weren’t ready for the floodgates to be closed so unexpectedly and suddenly. When I feel brighter thoughts about Joe I feel thankful that he met Richard Norris and started working with him again in the first place, a reawakening of Joe’s need to write and a rebuilding of his confidence that led to those last wonderful years. It’s plausible to consider that without the part Richard Norris played that Joe might have stayed on the sidelines. I’m thankful that we have those great records to still listen to. Tim

Coma Girl – Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros

Hello there, thanks for visiting the blog again or indeed for finding it for the first time. I’m glad you found it if that’s the case. A story from Clash Blog towers this morning with a direct connection back to 1980/81. Those of you of similar vintage will remember and perhaps agree that 80/81 was nearly the bookend (at the end of) one of the best five year spells for music we’ve ever seen either before or since. Whilst punk seemed to fold in on itself almost as quickly as it began the resulting rise of independent labels and post punk artists created a vast assortment of great music. The more versatile punk bands including The Clash, XTC or John Lydon via Public Image reinvented their sounds almost completely to move with the times. At the same time as The Clash changed direction to the dismay of some they also seemed to find their most prolific groove releasing the 19 tracks of London Calling at the end of 1979 only to confound everyone by then releasing a triple album just a year later.

Sandinista! is many things to many people but above all else its the sound of a band finding out what they were capable of. That path that was begun with London Calling splintered even more ambitiously with Sandinista! though many were heard to say it was over ambitious. Whether the ultimate reason for the band’s 1980 release becoming festooned with 36 songs over six sides of vinyl was a hopeful move to exit the contract from CBS Records has long been suggested, but we were left with the most diverse, experimental and at times brilliant Clash album to date. Guest musicians, guest vocalists and dub versions all featured for the first time as did a chance for Topper and small children to take lead vocals. Songs like Magnificent Seven remain amongst my favourites ever while shards of jazz, gospel, reggae and calypso are shattered across the terrain. The album was called too long and overblown by many and even when reissued on CD required 2 discs to take on it’s full roster. I also had the cassette, which was two tapes in a cardboard sleeve which I still possess.

Overall, though it was often suggested Sandinista! would have made an excellent double album and a stunning single one (in my opinion if you took the 11 best tracks on it you’d have the best Clash album by a nose) we were given and learned to cherish the polar ice station/oil rig version as Mick Jones one put it. At the time I was too young to appreciate Sandinista! in full, as the sounds were too expansive, the changes in direction too confusing to my then 13 year old tastes. All these years later it has become the album I perhaps play the most frequently and certainly the one that I think is the most rewarding and resistant to time.

So it was an exciting day some two years ago that we learned the Sony Music would be reissuing a special 30th anniversary edition of Sandinista! as a Legacy edition. Initially it seemed far fetched, when a band throws three dozen songs on an album how much could be left in the vault. Demo versions and out takes of songs that at times felt gloriously unfinished anyway perhaps? Alternate versions and more covers to warm the band up? The rumours took off for over a year as the promise of live tracks being offered, perhaps an entire concert from that era. A DVD with extras, footage that hadn’t been seen before also made the gossip rounds. Amazon even loaded a listing for a Japanese version of the reissue for an outrageous price which seemed to be further proof. An interview or two alluded to the 30th anniversary edition and it was confirmed to be forthcoming. Then the autumn of 2010 turned to winter and no release date was offered, discussion began to dry up. As the calendar changed to a new year I had serious doubts about the reissue as I didn’t think it would be easy to market a 31st Anniversary edition of anything, unless you were a Tottenham fan looking to honour each passing year (40 n0w) since you last won the league.

This week I learned from a very reliable source at Sony Music that the Sandinista! Legacy edition plans have officially been scrapped, indeed it won’t be happening according to the label and that was a global decision. I suppose there is a chance we might see a reprise of the idea later but the speculation can at least now end. I’ll assume the contact I had was 100% correct, it does make sense as the window to get the release out as an anniversary has now closed.

I wonder if perhaps that is for the best. Sandinista! may be best left exactly as it is, full of brave lyrics and fantastic compositions it doesn’t quite achieve perfection but always is powerful and inspiring opening your minds and ears to sounds and concerns that may otherwise have passed you by. From the call to arms of the title itself to the brilliance of Charlie Don’t Surf and The Call Up asking why we keep fighting in the wrong places for the wrong things.

If the album was slightly flawed and too ambitious I don’t care, as it reflects exactly what The Clash were and hopefully what many of us still remain.

Perhaps leave it as it is. What do you think? Tim