Hello again and cheers for stopping in at the blog whether it is your first visit or perhaps visit number 101(er) it is nice to have you here. I’m in especially buoyant mood tonight due to two factors, George (the Clash Blog cat) seems to be back to fairly robust health after a few weeks of me medicating her like a recovering drug addict (the cat not me) and also my other passion (Arsenal FC) provided the sort of footballing display today that makes you wonder how much better eleven players can perform in unison, a 6-0 win which was a flattering result for the opposition. It was as if The Polyphonic Spree or Belle and Sebastian had donned red shirts for the night and turned their collective talents to the beautiful game. I’m struggling to come up with other band names that might have as many members as the two mentioned above but quickly found myself clutching at straws and didn’t take the easy path of googling substitute options.

few people make me as happy as this chap....

As you all probably know The Clash began (as a live act) as a five piece band when a third guitarist – Keith Levene augmented the original lineup in 1976. Word has it that Levene was actually the best guitarist of the three with Mick Jones playing more as a rhythm guitarist initially, in fact Jones apparently said words similar to “I better learn more, quickly” when The Clash the more recognised four piece lineup. Levene became an influential musician in the post punk scene in his own right when he joined Public Image Ltd in 1978 with John Lydon after the Sex Pistols had ground to a halt. Levene occupied that position in the band for five years so if by chance you don’t own any of the first four PiL albums it’s a good place to become accustomed with his style which was definitely something unique to him. If I were to recommend just one start with I would probably lean toward 1979′s ‘Metal Box’ although each had their merits. Note to self: yet another example of why 1979 was such a great year for music.

It’s very interesting to consider (if a bit redundant) how the sound of The Clash may have evolved if they had stayed a five piece for an extended period of time, logic suggests that the role of Mick Jones may have been downplayed/sidelined to an extent as a songwriter although that’s just supposition on my part; more importantly that may have been a disaster when such a strength of The Clash was the composition/collaboration ability of Strummer/Jones. It’s funny thinking back to when I was about 12 and first discovered The Clash due to my older brother, at that time the first awareness I had of the band visually were the first two album covers. Naturally enough ‘Give ‘em Enough Rope‘ provided no clues so I deferred to the first album and I’m fairly sure for a short while at least I thought the band were just a

except maybe this chap....

three-piece despite the evidence on the back of the sleeve a drummer did exist with the unlikely name of Tory Crimes. I’m sure I was corrected by my brother within a few weeks but that I wasn’t the only person who may have made that mistake at some point when discovering The clash for the first time. Another strange memory that sticks in my head was buying the first album by The Specials where the cover shot features the band on a white background staring up at the camera and thinking bloody hell there are a lot of people in that group!!

It made me think just how many bands that we follow are typically in that four piece or five piece configuration with the variable most often being whether the front man or woman/lead vocalist plays an instrument or not. It also got me thinking about what three-piece band have been my favourite over the last 30 years or so since I’ve been mad about music. Who would yours be? Two of the most famous from the era of The Clash would be The Jam and The Police, on quick reflection I am struggling to think of a three-piece band with significant impact over the last 20 years although I’m sure I’m overlooking someone. The Clash themselves performed as a five piece band for an extended period in 1979/80 with the addition of Micky Gallagher on keyboards which filled out the sound for so many songs that were recorded during that time spell. So who would your favorite three-piece band be from the last 30+ years and who have I overlooked? We’ve had a bit of fun on the Clashblog Facebook page the last few days where I just throw out the names of two bands to see who prefers whom, things quickly become quite heated but happy to say the pairings have been fairly well matched. Something we’ll have to bring to the blog in the near future just for fun, who will The Stranglers be up against? I’m thinking Ultravox.

As always thanks for your visit and let me know about that three-piece question, cheers-Tim. Leave a comment…it feels like I should hear an echo here some days…  Thanks!!

It’s Tuesday, or Chewsday as I’m told I tend to pronounce it to which I reply yes and the language we’re speaking is known as English. See how grumpy I am when my coffee intake is upside down as it has been this week? I should be right as rain by Thursday at this rate. Thanks for dropping in to the blog once more and I do have a bit of an open topic for this evening. This was spurred by two things; both that Jon Savage book that I’ve been reading the last couple of weeks (and it’s frankly quite brilliant) and also a review that I read today of a book called ‘A cultural dictionary of punk: 1974-1982′ by Nicholas Rombes that has just been released. (link to the review is here)

Like the Savage book the Rombes effort looks to clarify a number of questions that were posed by punk, whether that be in New York, London or anywhere it spread on the map which such rapidness in the mid-1970s. The beauty of the Jon Savage book is that extensive interviews were conducted with so many of the most important individuals involved in the scene, from the musicians to management, journalists and scenesters. I will write more about the book when I finish it but perhaps the most enjoyable aspect is that Savage is just there to ask questions, not to guide the interviewee in providing answers nor gauge the relevancy or accuracy of the memories. The book allows you to make up your own mind as to how London borrowed from New York, or did not do so, it provides you firsthand accounts from most notably The Sex Pistols but also The Clash and many others – some 50 plus interviews in all. The author doesn’t seek to interpret effect or impact, nor blame and transition. Most of all if you weren’t there (myself included as I was too young for it) it spells out just how rapid the ascent and subsequent implosion of the entire scene was. In just 18 months something new emerged, was discovered and followed and then caught the imagination of the national media for all the wrong reasons and none of the right ones. Concerts that were attended by 20 or 30 people in the summer of 76 were filling large halls and attracting an entirely different element just 12 months later.

The Nicholas Rombes book seems to set out its stall asking many of the same questions and the review of the book makes it sound like something definitely worth a look. The main difference being while the author still sources the information from exact quotes he then looks to interpret those to answer some of the bigger questions that the scene left behind. To paraphrase the review those key questions include just why did the whole punk scene imploded upon itself so very quickly? Where did these bands suddenly appear from and just as rapidly vanish? Why did punk fail to fully reinvent the grand notions from the previous hippie generation? (Their words not mine).

The Clash hectored with slogans, but “politics always suggests ‘right ideas,’ doesn’t it? And punk, at its dirty heart, was always about escaping the tyranny of authority, the tyranny of right ideas, the tyranny of those who would say, Here is how you are supposed to think.” Rombes on The Clash

I’ll look to get a copy of the book rather than just defer to the review which is indeed very well written and if the interpretation is correct some of these big questions may have been answered with dangerous oversimplifications of the events themselves. We can isolate so many individual incidents that occurred in 1976, each and every one could have drastically altered the landscape then and what was to follow in 1977. There are so many huge ‘what ifs’ to ponder that arriving at simplified solutions seems a very ambitious goal for a book of its type. For example the friendship turned rivalry between Bernie Rhodes and Malcolm McLaren, the nucleus of the scene was such a small community that band members landing slightly differently and being in a new band entirely was not only possible but was happening. You need look no further than to review the list of names who were involved with those bands that never really were such as London SS or the Flowers of Romance, or even who was in the audiences at those sparsely attended concerts. The role of initially the music press and then the national media and television suddenly forced punk onto a national stage far sooner than it was ready to be there. Crucially when awareness of punk (chiefly the Sex Pistols) did hit the national consciousness in the UK it was primarily in the negative capacity which amounted to little more than fear and hatred. A scene that was originally reported to be exciting and revolutionary was suddenly dangerous and disgusting, all bands were splattered with the same brush while simultaneously the record companies were falling over themselves to sign anybody with the right haircut and some shouted lyrics. Before it was too late.

As with many things hindsight allows you to come off looking as if you know exactly why something didn’t work and justify that the end result was just how it was meant to be. I think books that try to establish that are guilty of boiling things down to a simpler and more palatable solution whereas I think the actuality was far more complex. Punk in its 1976 1977 form (earliest recordings and concerts by The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned, Buzzcocks et al) never really had time to mature into something bigger or more cohesive, within a year any band that was new was given a punk label (such as The Police or The Jam) even though the roots and ideals had nothing in common. When The Pistols basically became public enemy number one in 1977 the scene or the movement really had nowhere to go except in a different direction. A scene that was very creative, artistic, collaborative, incestuous and fluid suddenly became extremely violent, lacking in humour and more negative. Punk as a scene grew up far too quickly and never had time to mature into something that would’ve been just as interesting and creative as the original months were. Many subsequent scenes elsewhere were labeled punk which I am more than comfortable with, even though the only common denominator was often that less professional and privileged musicians were getting on stage and into studios to play rock music in a harder, faster or rougher way. I think on a regional basis no local punk scene has lasted nor could last more than about 18 months by which time the original purveyors are already expected to be moving on to something different by definition. Originality is and was the premise of punk in my opinion and as such it can’t really be repeated.

Perhaps that’s why I think The Clash above all others still stand out from that era, the debut album could only have been recorded at the beginning of 1977 and whatever came next had to ask new questions of the band and of course the listeners than the first time round the houses. The Clash knew that and yet were branded as disloyal to punk by the time 1978 rolled around and the music changed along with the date on the calendar. Some authors who seek a definition seem to feel that punk failed, but for me it was always just a starting point not a conclusion. It influenced how you felt, what you thought and your sense of just what authority meant. So much associated with the general recounting of the era focuses upon anger and boredom, disillusionment and negativity but I think the best examples of the music combated that with inclusiveness and possibilities, artistic flair and fashion,  questions and observations and maybe most importantly a need – the burning need – to get off your arse and to get involved with something with anything but not let apathy win out.

No idea if I’m any nearer the answers than I was before or if you agree but it’s a topic that won’t go away. You can order the book ‘The Cultural Definition of Punk’ via this link, I’m going to so perhaps you might too.

Sunday afternoon here at ClashBlog Towers so I thought it would be a good time to get another post to help you with the weekend just in case its raining there on something, not raining here just don’t feel like playing in the hot sun. On Friday night I had written about the Ann Summa photography exhibition of icons from both the Los Angeles and general punk scene, sounds like the first night was a big success and don’t forget you can order a copy of her book with many exclusive photographs via this link

I finally got around to checking my inbox/lists this morning and realised I’m far more than a few days behind on Clash features, so many in fact that the only good option is to check how much petrol we have and jump on the Westway for a new edition of Westway Traffic – volume 9 would you believe and our first since August 19. Westway Traffic posts if you are new to the blog are a series of shorter stories that are worth a look at, so just click the header of each story if you captures your imagination. Off we go to then…

Do you have a passion for vinyl? If you weren’t around with the rest of us in the 70s and 80′s you may have missed out on the joy of buying music  back when they were arrived with 12 inches of artwork and inserts in addition to the vinyl itself. If you looking to collect a decent back catalogue of new wave and punk artists it can take forever going from used record shop to used record shop, or you can pay well over the odds at Amazon.com. I think perhaps the best online marketplace if you’re after a specific single or album is often Gemm, though I would suggest having a look at this site that packages up collections of vinyl by individual artist. It’s called backstage auctions.com and for example you can get the first four XTC albums including special editions plus the first three 7″ singles all bundled together for $75. Still not cheap but a convenient way of filling in the gaps in your collection, plus it’s less than I’d want for mine! Lots of early English and US punk is listed much of which has been out of print for decades.

Finally a US release?

The only band that mattered, but of course I highly recommend taking some time to read this article by Gillian Garr over at GoldmineMag.com. Well thought out with some good quotes and details it records the earliest years and releases of The Clash. As you’re well aware the eponymous UK debut album was never given a formal release in the US due to CBS records not being content with the album this resulted in (at that time) the biggest selling import album in US history. The debut album was ultimately repackaged with a completely different track listing and released after ‘Give ‘em Enough Rope’ for the US market. It looks like history is finally being corrected with a limited-edition release for the US of the original album on 180g vinyl as it was meant to be. Sony/Legacy will be releasing 5,000 copies of the British version of the record in the States and there are potential plans to be doing the same for the rest of the catalog in the future. The article explains it in more detail so have a read as this might be one of the most overdue records ever.

Sandinista! 30th anniversary edition While the rumours continue about the exact contents of the 30th anniversary edition of Sandinista! A few things look to be at least partially confirmed. I’m sure the official details will be released in the next two weeks or so in the meantime based on this site it can be confirmed that the release will feature three discs two of which will be CDs and one DVD. The bone of contention is just what we’ll be getting in addition to the original album? Live tracks are almost a guarantee but the fear is many of the tracks will be outtakes and demos versions which most of us have already heard before. The pricing also looks incredibly steep but we are looking at Japanese import at ¥4400, I imagine it will be about 30% less than that $51 price quoted on that site. Not sure how reliable that release date of October 27 is however stay tuned as soon as more is confirmed I will get it to you via the blog.

Old Clash tour bus footage Yes I know this more correctly belongs on a video Clash posts but I don’t trust myself to remember it nor even to be able to find it again. My usual disclaimer applies if you have seen the video before my apologies, if not I think you’ll like it. Set against the backdrop of ’48 hours’ it’s a short two-minute clip of the band on a coach mucking about, I would guess the video to be mid or late 1978 and it features primarily Strummer with a short clip of Paul and Topper. It’s definitely in the UK and if you wanted to see Joe Strummer having a pillow fight now is your chance.

I’ve got loads more but don’t expect you to spend all day clicking and reading…but I’ll be back before you know it. Chelsea top, Arsenal 2nd…I think I may have predicted that….