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

Click here to view the embedded video.

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

Hello Clash friends, decent weekend? I hope so, mine was alright but filled with obligations so it felt like it passed at an even quicker rate than usual. Therefore any chance I had at writing a post last night was snuffed out. In fact it’s 10pm as I write this without much of a story in mind so I’ll see what I can shake out of the trees and/or finish the post tomorrow if needed. Have you ever considered how many great bands have hailed from Scotland over the last 30-35 years and when you consider the population is just over 5 million it is quite a testament. One of these days I’ll put together a list of my favourite Scottish bands, I’d have to say the vast majority would be post 1980 but that really covers my (relative) area of expertise. It was a thought that never occurred to me when The Clash were active but you almost have to consider that Joe was half Scottish or at least inspired by that to some extent, I’m English born but with my Mum being Irish I’ve only ever really considered my ‘half-Irishness’ more as an adult. I know that Joe was more drawn to that part of his heritage in his later years. I always felt like a mutt really. Who were the original/better Scottish punk bands anyway, nothing is springing to mind from 1977 (ish). I think the post-punk period was more favourable North of that border, but go ahead and prove me wrong.

Vince White is still going update. For those in the minority that still think The Clash MKII were full of good ideas you might enjoy this link to a new song by Vince White. Even if you don’t like the song you might enjoy his hair. Even if you don’t like his hair you might remember the 4:03 you spent as time you’ll never get back. —update — Good news, this is another Vince White, apologies to the real Vince White, that one is still busy plotting the overthrow of government in London. I was misled by the video being tweeted hashtag The Clash!! —- Actually I’m being unfair, it would be a poor  retelling of history to suggest that the stand in members of The Clash over those final years were treated well, particularly at the very end. Nor were they on much more than a hiding to nothing once that final album went into to the studio. It’s a piece of Clash history that I feel really unqualified to tell and judge it on the music only, those weren’t good times for Joe or Paul if interviews are anything to go by. I did see that final lineup of the band live and it wasn’t awful. I know many of you have good memories of their live performances at the time even allowing for the lack of Topper and Mick. There seems to be a lot ill-will from that period of time so examining it in much detail doesn’t seem to be very healthy and Joe for obvious reasons and Bernie Rhodes for personal ones aren’t filling in the gaps. As a rule of thumb I’ve somewhat excluded that part of The Clash story on the blog although it hasn’t been a conscious decision, perhaps I need to revisit that?

If you’ve wondered recently whether Mick Jones might get pulled back into another stint as producer of The Libertines (if that reunion was to be permanent) you probably received your answer with the news that Pete Doherty has been sent back to prison for six months. It seems that will be the final straw that closes the book on The Libertines and the patience of Carl Barât with regards to Pete. It seems that based on the last six or seven years that jail is not where Doherty is going to find successful rehabilitation which only underscores the tragic waste of of his talent in my opinions. Not only does that put paid to his UK tour but also I think the hopes of a full reunion of The Libertines. There’s also other unfinished cases of guilt by association over Doherty regarding the deaths of ….you know what I won’t even bother you can look it up in the gutter press which now appears to officially be The Daily Mail. Just type Daily Mail and Pete Doherty into your search engine and ask yourself if that outstanding newspaper just might have a vendetta of sorts? On a slightly more positive note I’m looking forward to the forthcoming Libertines film perhaps getting a US release (or at least a DVD). It has been released in the UK and here’s a link to the interview with director Roger Sargent at the London premier. I think there are some strange parallels to The Clash even beyond the music.

This has hardly been my most positive/focused update ever has it? Ah well, I’ll be back tomorrow with some Strummerville news that is worth knowing about. See you in the comments – Tim. Oh and Ryan Giggs….I guess add me to the list of those to be sued, you had an affair with Imogen (don’t call me Michael) Thomas.

Good evening everyone, hoping your Monday passed by with little consequence and you are fit and well wherever you may be reading this. Interesting follow up in the comments section on yesterday’s post about the ebay listing for what appear to be very old and rare Clash recordings from early 1977. I’d be keen to know if anyone can shed any more light on this as based on what’s been said it sounds like there isn’t even a guarantee these old 1/4″ tapes will even play. Speaking of rumours, I’ve yet to see any official word on Sandinista! 30th Anniversary and I’m wondering if that opportunity has now been missed? If you know differently let me know. Read on as I’ve news of a special price on a great Clash collectible and a chance to win your own copy too!

Here’s a question to ponder then. Do you think of The Clash as a singles band or an albums band? That question only probably holds much relevance if you’re of similar vintage to myself and grew up when the release of a single was often a bigger deal than an album’s release and perhaps as importantly singles wouldn’t automatically be included on albums. Indeed in the good old days of vinyl if you were a proper enthusiast you picked up each single as it came out by a band or at worst went back and gathered/sought out the ones you missed. Partly to have the artwork and the individual piece added to the collection but often because the song wasn’t available on another format. The Clash were despite a lack of major recurring chart success strong believers in the power of the single and released some of their finest work in just that format. What other band would put out a song as great as Bankrobber and not include it on any of their studio albums? I would say that The Clash were a singles band and latterly and album band, crossing that divide with ease as the industry started to change. It’s interesting to note that artists such as Joe Strummer and Mick Jones (Morrissey would be another great example) who grew up obsessed with the single culture of the 1960′s when the idea of marketing albums hadn’t even begun remained loyal to the format and put such stock in releasing great singles.

I envy those of you who were able to collect the 7″ and later in 12″ singles of each of The Clash releases. I managed to get my hands on about two thirds of them over the years but never had the cash at that time to collect them all. It was with excitement in 2006 that CBS/Sony decided to release a box set of all of The Clash singles on CD. Not just 2 CDs containing all of the singles and b-sides but each single and extra tracks were reproduced to match the original vinyl in (slightly) smaller version, complete with original sleeve artwork and special faux vinyl printing on the disc itself. A great friend of mine was a little late to find his obsession with The Clash (I hope I was partly responsible) and he’s certainly made up for lost time since, as a result it was the perfect Christmas gift for him the year it came out. If you’ve never seen the box set it is simply beautiful in its detail and makes a perfect addition to a complete collection of The Clash, particularly now that finding mint condition vinyl and artwork from those original records is harder than ever, it also comes with a rather brilliant 44 page booklet. When the box set originally came out it wasn’t inexpensive ($80 here in the States) but still a wonderful purchase. I’ve just learned that starting tomorrow there is a way to purchase the box set at half of original list price for a very limited time at just $39.98 via a division of Sony Music Entertainment. If you didn’t purchase it first time round I’d encourage you to check out PopMarket.com by Sony this week. They’ve provided full details below and also been kind enough to let me offer one copy of the boxset to a reader of the blog. The only condition is that you need to answer a question I’ll set and be able to furnish me with a US mailing address (sorry if that rules you out…)

Here’s the official word on: The Clash – The Singles Box Set

The Clash – The Singles Box Set
The ultimate gift for Clash fans – this deluxe box set features all 19 UK Clash singles packaged in replica picture sleeves.
• All 19 UK Singles in their original sleeves
• Bonus Tracks from 12” singles, non-UK b-sides and promo discs
• 6 tracks never-before available on CD
• 66 tracks in all
• 44 page booklet with rare photos and memorabilia
Original Price $79.98 / PopMarket.com Price $39.98

The Clash – The Singles is a deluxe lift off box in a slipcase that includes all 19 of the legendary bands UK singles packaged in replica picture sleeve artwork. The box includes the rare NME give-away “Capitol Radio” EP (never previously commercially released), and bonus tracks from 12” singles, non-UK b-sides and promo discs – and six tracks never-before available on CD. There are 66 tracks in all! The 44 page color booklet features all the various single artwork, rare (and many unseen) photos, extensive memorabilia and reflections written by some of today’s biggest artists who credit the Clash as major influences in their careers.

Created by Sony Music Entertainment, POPMARKET is a free, members-only music club that caters to fans, bargain hunters and serious collectors alike. Introduced in late 2010, POPMARKET has quickly become a buzzed-about site for incredible deals that often sell out within hours, containing a mix of premium music and rare, collectible albums, boxed sets and memorabilia at deeply-discounted member’s-only prices available for a limited time.

The special pricing offer begins this Wednesday May 11th at noon EST and lasts for 24 hours only, so don’t miss the chance to nab a copy of this boxset. Being CBS they also have some nice/worthy other deals from Dylan, Iggy Pop and Springsteen if you fancy. Here’s the link once again.

Thanks to Sony I’ve also got one edition of  The Clash – The Singles box set to give away absolutely free to a reader of the blog, the only restriction is as it is an official sweepstakes I’ll need you to be in the US to win the competition, sorry. To enter the competition please answer the following easy question via the contact page and enter :CLASH BOX SET in the subject line. Please include the correct answer (assuming you want to win) and your name to be eligible, strictly one entry per person. I’ll follow up to confirm your contact details if you are the lucky winner. Competition is open until noon EST on Friday May 13th and I’ll pick a random winner and announce it that day/contact you that day.

The Clash – The Singles Box Set – POPMARKET Quiz question:

(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais was released in June ’78 and is perhaps the greatest single of all time. As the epic (pun intended) song comes to a close, what does Joe Strummer insist he is only looking for?

Good luck and my most sincere thanks to Sony/POPMARKET for the prize. Please note in the unlikely event that you should happen to decide to purchase a copy of the box set this week via PopMarket AND win the prize drawing AND can’t find a suitable home for a second copy (if your friends don’t like The Clash…question that friendship) – I will (with proof of purchase) pay you for your copy and use the prize for a future blog post. Sound good? Alright…I’ll be back tomorrow. *any confusion about the contest please email me, complaints about eligibility please contact my secretary. Tim

Hello once more, thanks for making a return visit to your Clash Blog. Football is an evil mistress I must say, every August it gathers your hopes up and depending on who you support keeps you emotionally invested for the better part of 9 months at which point you either are rewarded with occasional success on as for most teams (as in life) a more normal result is just taking part without perhaps being top of the class. So it’s been with my club this season who let me down again but I’ll be back and full of hope again in just a few months, it’s not officially time to congratulate Manchester United yet but I’ll do so anyway. Funnily enough this weekend also saw Mick Jones at Loftus Road enjoying an even more rare moment of exultation as his team Queens Park Rangers won promotion back to the top flight of English football returning to the highest division after a 15 year absence. I can’t even imagine how happy he must be this weekend, as a lifelong supporter these are the moments you wait and wait and sometimes keep waiting for. If you’ve no profound interest in football/soccer and want to try then may I suggest QPR (Arsenal will only drive you mental) as they not only play just a short distance from where The Clash first got to know each other but with Mick’s allegiance it is sort of an unofficial Clash FC.

It has been a week of rare Clash finds at least, just a few days after some of the footage from the Jamaica World Music Festival making its way on to YouTube there is an Ebay listing that if authentic might be rather exciting. Needless to say I’ve not got the money to find out so I wondered if I could ask a thousand of you to each contribute £2.50 then we can make a lowball offer of £2,500 and see if he bites, then of course we’ll all be part owners of it and can share it around the internet…or something. To what do I refer?

According to this ebay listing these are the original tapes (the big old 1/4″ tapes) from the CBS sessions with The Clash at Whitfield Street back in 1977 produced by Mickey Foote. It (looks like) seems there are 4 tapes in all consisting of three 4 song sessions and also a near complete version of the debut album. Let’s go with the logic that these are 100% authentic and we’d expect there to be studio chatter along with earlier demo versions of many of the tracks that the band were working on in February, March and April of 1977. I’m not at the level of historian where I would know what question could be asked of the seller to verify their authenticity but perhaps you are. Either way if legitimate I’m truly amazed to even see these for sale on ebay, they should be in the hands of Jones, Simonon, Strummer or in the British Museum if you ask me. Also, for those with better scientific knowledge than me (that would be anyone reading this) what sort of condition would 1/4″ magnetic tape be in 34 years after the recording and how would you transfer the recording? Perhaps CBS should purchase this on our behalf and release this at a special price for true fans rather than yet another Greatest Hits collection of songs/version we already own. Seller is in Glasgow, tell me more if you’ve already seen this listing.

Check out the full listing and let me know what you think – more photos below including a letter about the history of these. Looks like the auction runs til Friday…. Tim (Make sure you read the comments below, some interesting stuff – thanks all)

Friday night according to the clock and here we are once more with the weekend at our disposal. If tax season didn’t coincide with Coachella I’d most likely be sleeping under the desert stars in Indio, CA with B.A.D. on the docket for tomorrow. Instead I’m sending a government that couldn’t agree on how to wipe their collective arse thousands of dollars so they can spend it all on planned parenthood with my blessing. Perhaps fewer Republicans will be born as a result. I’ve seen a robin and a worm have more in common with each other than the politicians in this country, perhaps time they simply called it The States….

So I’ve good news for you and some feel sorry stuff for me. Coachella being sold out and keen to take on advertiser’s money (of course) is offering a webcast of proceedings so you should be able to catch Big Audio Dynamite on your computer from every corner of the world. I’m watching it now (Friday night) and the audio/video is remarkably good. So check out this link tomorrow afternoon and evening and see how Mick Jones and friends are coping with the heat! Remember it’s 8 hours behind London. Interpol are on now…pretty bloody good. Tomorrow I’ll miss it because I’ll be playing football…alas.

Initial feedback of the gig at The Roxy in Los Angeles last night has been overwhelmingly positive so we’ll get more into that over the weekend I’m sure. Looks like the setlist mirrored

No Age playing at Stinkweeds, Phoenix

what was seen in the UK with 14 songs in all. Smiles, smiles and more smiles were the order of the evening and the positive energy of the tour continues. I’m really beginning to wonder if they may actually get around to working on a new album together, the camraderie certainly appears to be there and I’ve no doubt Mick and Don could write about 2011 in a way thats worthwhile. It’s looking more and more like a remix of 1984 anyway if you ask me.

Tomorrow (April 16th) is international record shop day. Before you raise your eyebrows and ask ‘are there still record shops?’ finish reading this blog post. The idea started just a few years ago and has gained incredible momentum. The reality is that yes thousands of record shops have closed down over the last 20 years but those that have been innovative enough and customer focused have survived. There are happily a number of excellent independent record shops still alive and well and in fact as places in the States that had no business selling CDs in the first place stop doing so, business is actually up again, there are even new shops opening. There’s also been a resurgence in collecting and vinyl is again hip…people are searching out good shops and being loyal. Not everyone wants a download. In Phoenix we’ve actually got a choice of excellent shops each of whom are prospering by providing excellent customer service, knowing their stuff and promoting good new music. You should check your town too, you just might find it’s great to hang in a record shop again. Here’s a link to the official site which will help you find a brilliant shop near you – I think every payday is record shop day but that is probably because I buy way too much music and haven’t really grown up yet.

Whilst I was already aware of Record Shop Day due to the fact that the labels are actually supporting (!!!) the shops by making available hundreds of different special edition releases, vinyl and cds, live tracks, rarities and exclusives – my interest was further peaked by a book I purchased a few months ago called ‘Last Shop Standing’ by Graham Jones. It received extra affection from me as I was lucky enough to work in a record shop from the age of 17 until 21 which helped pay for my cider, concerts and inevitably records. I’ve never earned as little per week in my life and until recently it was by far my favourite job ever. If at that age I wasn’t working in a record shop the most likely place you would have found me would have been a record shop. Getting to play and recommend records all day and even get involved with ordering records for the shop (I’d always be the indie buyer …for Rough Trade, Pinnacle and Jetstar) was enough to keep me more than happy despite the lack of cash. Add on the discounts on records, promos, concert tickets and meeting the occasional musician I was a very happy teen. Somehow I also studied during this time and did well enough to earn a ‘proper job’ afterwards but I also got my education in music. Oh…the book….Graham Jones is from the Northwest of England and his story is quite similar to mine, working in a record shop was his dream and he also got his foot in the door. He stayed in the industry, on the retail side, then as a rep for SP&S and then other ventures and now works for Proper Distribution. He’s seen the industry shrink from the manically successful 1980′s when records sold at amazing levels in the UK to an era where supermarkets undercut traditional record shops and the labels didn’t look after those who helped diverse and exciting music sell. The arrival of internet retailers and downloads partnered with the American Idol / X Factor mentality has seen the passion for pop music wane, shopping becoming old fashioned and the purchases wither. While the book is about the UK the story is global, thousands of excellent shops were unable to compete and went to the wall – great towns and districts in big cities were left without a neighbourhood shop. The book looks at how this happened, why it happened and why (at last) a renaissance is now happening. Those shops that remain are truly the strongest of a dying breed but I don’t think the future is written yet (Thanks Joe!) – record shops are coming back.  It’s a great book, full of facts and true stories, funny as shit and more than a little eye opening about the corruption of the charts. I’ll confess many times when I sold a Dire Straits or Madonna album I’d key in The Housemartins or The Smiths….trying to make a difference! The book involves Graham traveling throughout the UK looking at the best remaining record shops – the ‘Last Shop Standing’. (Cheers again Graham)

The day I finished the book I emailed Graham and asked if I could reproduce a page from the book with a personal story he had about The Clash. He kindly said that would be fine and I’ll feature that tomorrow – in the meantime I insist you visit an independent record shop tomorrow if you can – or at least grab yourself a copy of Graham’s book as it is simply brilliant. Here’s a link for you about the book where you can order it - or you can probably find it in an excellent indie record store – I did.    Tim

Good evening once again and welcome back to the Clash Blog from a rather windy and beautiful spring evening in the desert. It’s been a day full of laughs (thank you Tottenham) and unexpected costs (thank you old house for showing your age) but all in all I’ve had worse days and I wouldn’t swap shoes with anyone except perhaps the person who was able to secure an auctioned item that I briefly wrote about on the blog some time ago but wanted to revisit.

Firstly though I wanted to once again circulate the link to the biggest collection of which I’m aware of the world service broadcasts that Joe Strummer did for the BBC. I get asked for that link at least three or four times per month so wanted to share it again. If you’ve never trawled through the many hours of Joe as your DJ you’re in for a treat, he’s far more than a DJ though, more like a worldwide tour guide of music. With so many years now quickly passing since Joe’s death I find myself going back and listening to an episode or two every month or two. It’s great to hear the tunes he plays and better still are his introductions and ad-libs. The broadcasts deserved a bigger worldwide audience and as far as I know only his death stopped the continuation of a show that he absolutely loved making. Here’s the link (with special thanks to Radio Clash Blog) and according to my quick estimate there is about fifteen hours of entertainment there to be had.  If you’re getting in at the ground floor and this is your introduction to Joe on the radio you’re going to love it and if you simply miss Joe it’s a nice way to have him in your office or living room for an hour at a time. Radio was such a huge part of Joe’s youth and many of ours as well, it’s still the format that allows you to get lost in ways that video and television never will so why not do so with Strummer.

Last night I was looking at the bandwidth being eaten up by my eight (!?) email accounts and thought it might be a good idea to prune some of the oldest stuff that I’d sent and received. When doing so I came across one of the many excellent emails you’ve sent about The Clash over the last couple of years and realised that I’d only ever fully enjoyed this on my own time, so once again thanks to Pete in London for sending this to me in the first place. I’ve never had an extreme amount of spare cash beyond a lucky run on roulette now and then in Las Vegas (always returned to its source) and have usually resisted purchasing anything at inflated prices that was collectible. Especially when it came to music, and while I’ve got a number of records that are now worth a tidy sum it’s only because I bought them at the time and then looked after them in a consistent manner. Whenever I’ve had say $100 to spend on music I’ve been happier picking up 7 or 8 cds than dropping the entire amount on something ‘collectible’. If I did have some extra cash sitting around over the years I do think I’d have been tempted more than once to get hold of some original art pertaining to the music I love, whether collectible original photos, posters or album artwork. Back in December 2009 perhaps the single coolest piece of Clash related art (in my opinion) went to auction and ended up finding a new home for the princely sum of £72,000.

Ray Lowry greatly helped to create what many consider to be the most iconic album cover of all time when he worked with the band during the creative process for London Calling. I find it amazingly easy to recall first seeing that album cover very soon after its release and knowing, just knowing, that I had in my hands an album that would be for the ages. How could a record sleeve possibly be more exciting that the famed Pennie Smith photo of Paul Simonon about to reassemble his bass on the stage of the New York Palladium? Even the unintentional blur (of which Pennie is not terribly pleased) has its own story as she was backing away from a very angry Simonon who had been pissed off with his equipment all evening, she sensed he was about to lose his composure at that moment and was ensuring she’d be out of harms way as she moved backwards and caught the photo that became the front cover of the record. Ray was working with band throughout the late summer of 1979 and into the Autumn, before an album title was chosen or the image that was finally to feature.While people might choose other album covers as the greatest ever, this remains my choice because it was so bloody exciting and remains so, just like the best music should be. Hope that you’ll agree.

In the original draft stages a number of ideas were put forward by Ray which already show that the unforgettable and Elvis Presley inspired/nicked font (although it wasn’t a font…technically) and colouring had been arrived and agreed upon. Although we now of course see the familiar version with London Calling being left spine and bottom respectively the original ideas captured on today’s blog show that ‘The Clash’ looked to be the bigger part of the text in the draft stage. The sleeve almost featured a photo of the band in a side street in downtown Detroit, an urban shout from the wasteland that was the ashes of the 1970′s. In the final version ‘The Clash’ found it’s way to the top of the image in a much smaller almost less significant font of white on a grey background which worked with Pennie’s photograph. It seemed the title of this record was the siren that Lowry and the band agreed should be heard most prominently and so it was. A message from London to it’s own citizens but also to the faraway towns and not just those in England but wherever the excitement of music still held firm, which can and should be everywhere. Which in turn takes me right back to where I started with Joe’s worldwide musical tastes and subsequent broadcasts.

Nice work…you found your way back to The Clash Blog so thanks for dropping in. Is it really Thursday night already, it seems just yesterday it was Monday and I was trying to see how many tasks I’d accomplish this week. Best laid plans.

Hope all is well in your world, I should have a podcast lined up for you either tomorrow or more likely over the weekend but you’ll want to swing by as there is some rather big news I’m keen to share. Did any of you manage to see the Bob Gruen documentary on Sky Arts 1 in the end? I’m hoping so and also tell me it did more than give a passing reference to The Clash. Surely? Let me know and speaking of great rock photography which when discussing Bob Gruen we are doing by default I wanted to share with you a useful internet tool which I know some of you will use. Have you ever stumbled over a great photograph and wondered if it was safe to ‘borrow’ (you should always credit if you can) or if there was a higher resolution (bigger) version of the image available elsewhere online? This site accomplishes both tasks and having tested it I’d say it works a treat, you can either provide the site with a web address of the image you are interested in (if there are many image files you’ll just need to select which one) or if you have a photo on your hard drive you can upload that also. The site will then provide you with a list of locations that the image appears upon and give you the image size and more information too, it’s really handy if like me you really enjoy photos and collect them for your Tumblr, Blog, Twitter or Facebook account. Oh yeah you’ll need the link won’t you? The site is called ‘TinEye’ reverse image search and its close to being idiot proof, let me know what you think.

Clash stuff? Yes I’ve some of that too….how does a lovely weekend in sunny Spain sound? How about if the weekend included another music festival that featured Big Audio Dynamite? I know…Mick’s gonna get either get a suntan or sunstroke the way this summer is shaping up but the B.A.D. boys will be appearing at the Benicàssim Festival July 14-17 in the town of the same name. What you need to know, its a beautiful beach town on the Mediterranean just down the coast from Barcelona (dive dive) and between the seafood and red wine you’ll be able to get your hands on you will be all set. I never did take a summer off to just travel around Europe and see bands, this would have been a bloody good one. As for the festival it features Arcade Fire (joined at the hip with B.A.D.), The Strokes, The Streets (!!), Portishead, Elbow and some band that sang ‘Golden Brown’ and invented punk rock. All the details you need are available via this link, 4 day tickets are £165 which includes a camping spot. I’ll see you there then…

As you know it is getting hard to track Big Audio Dynamite’s whereabouts this summer and they’ve been good enough to update their MySpace page with all the info you need and I’ve also added the festival details on the left. I make that a (magnificent) 7 festival appearances lined up, wrist bands will be the order of the day.

In other news, if you are the rare breed who still prefer buying CDs over downloading (me too) that Gorillaz album that snuck out over Christmas is finally to get a proper release next month. More info on that soon at which point I’ll give it a full and proper review, most people who have offered me an opinion told me its really good if a little bit experimental. Then again it was recorded on tour buses and an etch-o-sketch or something wasn’t it?

Otherwise here is an interesting piece about the early days of The Stone Roses and if you read it you’ll notice that The Clash were apparently quite a large influence on the band. I guess I find that a bit of a shock but in a good way, I think I’ll play their debut album this week in honour of them acknowledging The Clash. Ahh…The Stone Roses, did any band ever make such a fantastic debut album and then fail to deliver on that promise quite as epically? Answers below please.

Right back to the business at hand, The Clash Blog beagle has been sick all day. She was (the vet thinks) bitten or stung by an insect and her poor old head is puffed up like Coldplay’s own sense of self-importance and her medication has her all wonky too. Tim

Good morning once again and welcome to your tear-stained (Arsenal supporter you see) Saturday morning edition of The Clash Blog. Hoping that your weekend is off and running in good fashion, I’m left with trying to be hopeful about a team that can’t defend…I’m convinced we won’t concede goals quite as stupid again as today but I said that a few weeks ago.

Of all the moments of Clash history that I think I’ve enjoyed reading about most it might be the anecdotes about the regular sessions the band and supporting cast had playing football during the recording of London Calling that make me grin. Much has been written about that in terms of it building camaraderie and loosening any tension within the band and was apparently a near daily occurrence at the adjacent school playground in Highbury when the band were working on the album in the summer of 1979. It was a time when the band felt there backs were against the wall in terms of money, direction, management and the music press which was previously adoring had turned sour. From that came arguably the greatest record of that (or any generation). I remember getting the record as a 12 year old kid and even before listening to it in depth being thrilled at the cover photograph, the fact it was a double album the first I owned as a kid, the lyrics included (the first time for The Clash) and all the inner sleeve photographs. Something special was in my hands and I still remember telling anyone who would listen at that time in school that this was the album you had to have. Anyway, I just was thinking about that this morning and wishing I had photographs of The Clash and crew enjoying a game of 5-a-side football that summer. I don’t think any photographs exist – but if you know differently prove me wrong.

Also I noticed after the event that yesterday was the 34th anniversary of the first ever record released by The Clash as CBS 5058 was released on a pretty unconvinced British public. White Riot came out on March 18th, 1977 and began the  recorded history of the band by just breaking into the UK top 40 peaking at number 38 which of itself wasn’t a poor showing. When you look back at the sleeve of that 7″ single (pictured left) how could you possibly have walked into a record shop in Dundee or Derby and not at least have been curious enough to purchase it. Hopefully some of you reading this actually did so in those first weeks of release, I acquired my vinyl copy some years later. If you’re of similar vintage to me and want to put perspective on how long ago this was now, it was the same month when the worst airline disaster in history occurred when two 747′s collided on a runway in a fog bound airport in Tenerife. Yes, it was a long time ago. I’ve got vague memories of that (I was 9) as I remember being worried about my parents who were at the time on holiday in the Ivory Coast and I naturally thought flying was the most dangerous thing in the world. Turns out I was wrong.

As far as timeless lyrics did Joe ever capture the mood of England at the time with White Riot? He writes of not wanting to go to jail, but not wanting to take orders. Of rich and poor and the haves and have-nots. Here we are over three decades later and we are seeing riots and protests being a focal point of current unrest (and the outrageously immoral reactions) in many Arab states. A riot of our own? Let’s be having it.

all the power’s in the hands
of the people rich enough to buy it
while we walk the streets
too chicken to even try it