Good evening, welcome back to the blog and I hope all is well in your corner of the world wherever that may be. I’ll start this post late tonight (Tuesday) and probably get it completed tomorrow by which point everyone in the UK will be halfway through the Justice Tonight tour with three nights still to come. Apparently it’s going to snow in England today so I hope that doesn’t impact anyone’s travel plans for the remaining three nights yet to come in London, Glasgow and Liverpool. More special guests are promised and I can now officially say I wish like mad that I was going to the Liverpool concert.

However I’ve been a bit busy so I need to backtrack a few nights and focus on events that took place on the second night in Manchester at The Ritz. From the early planning stages of the Justice Tonight tour it was clear that we were going to be in for something not only very special but also very different. Guest stars on tours seems like a very 1960′s thing which sadly (with the exception of many concerts in the obvious cities like London and New York) has for the most part stopped happening. Perhaps it’s due to a lack of camaraderie amongst musicians, or the lack of a ‘scene’ or it could just be because of money and politics. Whatever the reason it’s a pity it doesn’t happen more as it’s often a brilliant thing. This tour already had three elements that meant it would work, Mick Jones performing Clash songs, Pete Wylie and The Farm providing excellent ambassadorship for Merseyside and a cause that means something to the audience at the gigs and the musicians themselves. It’s those elements that have seen the list of special guest appearances swell and it looks to continue. So to Manchester….

ClashBlogger bias alert: When I look through my collection of music I’d argue that London and Manchester have been the two greatest cities for music over the 30+ years that I’ve been paying attention and buying music. A huge percentage of my favourite artists originate from one or the other or at worst the surrounding towns, it’s been that way for decades now and shows no sign of stopping. I’d give honourable mentions to Liverpool, Glasgow and Sheffield too but London and Manchester are top of that pile. London’s greatest band over that time of course has been The Clash whereas from Manchester you could make a good case for Joy Division/New Order, The Smiths, The Stone Roses or perhaps Oasis depending on your vintage. (I’d vote for James also but that’s for another post). When the lights went up at The Ritz rumours were already flying around that the gig would feature very special guest stars that were previously unannounced and so it was. I’d wager that few seriously expected to see Mick and Pete joined front and centre by another notable duo of guitarist and vocalist who wrote one of the best albums ever. As the lights rose there were Ian Brown and John Squire of The Stone Roses ready to launch into Bankrobber (after a snippet of their own work with Elizabeth My Dear).

Now’s not the time to launch into a history of The Stone Roses but I think many will agree that their debut album was one of the best things to happen since The Clash split up. Seeing those two share a stage with Mick Jones was like one of those gathering of heads of state photos except these are decent people. Ian Brown of course still can’t sing in tune but seeing him do this apeman shuffle along with John Squire adding to the guitar noise is one of those moments that will last forever in the memories of those lucky enough to attend. It also speaks volumes as to the importance of this tour, the cause itself and the relationships and respect commanded by Mick Jones and Pete Wylie. I’ve not found much in the way of interviews but I’ve a feeling many of these special guests have volunteered rather than being asked. Which tells you so much about The Hillsborough Justice Campaign.

Image courtesy John Johnson Photography - Three legends at The Ritz

Here’s a link to some great photographs of the pair of Stone Roses on stage taken by John Johnson, one of which I’ve borrowed above. I’m also overdue in pointing you in the direction of John Robb (I’m sure many of you have already been following it) and his excellent site and friend of the blog Louder Than War. John’s got my dream job, formerly a member of Membranes (you’ll need to be my vintage) and Goldblade John has gone on to become a successful writer and has authored a number of books before launching the frankly excellent Louder Than War site which focuses on music and the arts. If you don’t visit it often you should, it will remind you of the good old days of the UK music press when there was something to be said. John has been the MC of sorts on the Justice Tonight tour and has been maintaining a superb tour diary which you have to read. I wish he’d have told me I’d have been happy to tag along and proof read each article and help with the odd interview. Here’s where you can get current and I’m hoping to catch up with John for an interview after the tour is done.

I can’t not mention London and Manchester in a football context this morning either and I don’t need to explain our London superiority over our northern friends at City and United I’m sure. However this is really the time for football unity not division. (but losing at Basel…?)

Right then, I’ve got to run but will do my best to be back later today with the early news from the London concert which takes place in a few hours. Why the fuck am I sitting in Phoenix? Tim.

Good evening, how was your weekend? Bloody hectic one here but that’s alright it’s going to happen from time to time. On the plus side it’s been really cold and rainy most of the weekend which sounds a bit glum but when you live in a desert it makes a lovely change. The clouds were so low that the mountains to the NE vanished for two days and finally left today to reveal snow, if I liked snow I’d be more encouraged. With that said the best laid plans of getting the blog updated a few extra times this weekend fell to the wayside but I’ll surely get back on track tomorrow. There’s a lot to cover from the Justice Tonight tour but that needs to wait as The Clash time machine has thrown up something really brilliant this weekend.

On Friday I was made aware by a few people of some live footage of The Clash that was filmed in high quality but as it was super 8/cine film there was no sound. A number of people around the net and on If Music Could Talk started trying to work out which concert film was from. Luckily the uploader on Vimeo also added another file called ‘Manhattan 1979′ (linked) which I watched with some faint hope it would lend some clues. Initially it showed the World Trade Centre and various street scenes around New York and then some bounty – an early evening shot of the marquee at the New York Palladium advertising The Clash, Sam & Dave and The Undertones – Sep 20 & 21 and towards the end of the footage live action of Sam and Dave. Clash historians will know the second of those dates led to the famous incident between Paul Simonon and his bass that was captured by Pennie Smith and became the cover of London Calling. What wasn’t certain was whether the film on the other upload featured live footage from September 20th or 21st.

It was at this point where the community that surrounds The Clash went into overdrive and also impresses the hell out of me. Everyone wanted to know which songs were being performed and match the audio to the performance. After going through existing recordings and matching up what was happening on stage in terms of lead vocals, backing vocals and other indicators there were enough clues to match it up perfectly. I’d like to thank Dom who I’ve been in contact with, for painstakingly adding the audio to the super 8 film with all the cuts and edits included – I thank you.

What’s remarkable about Super 8 film is that although the technology is older than many of us, the quality of the film far surpasses much of what you see compiled these days via mobile phones or even the less expensive digital cameras with video capability. I’ve watched the tape below a number of times and although it’s often blurry and edited badly you certainly feel the energy of The Clash on stage and the chemistry of the band which was perhaps at it’s very peak in the late months of 1979. Thrilling to see and priceless in it’s rarity what we have is a new document that in addition to being 32 years old also captures the band on a night where Paul Simonon was going to create an unrehearsed image that has become as famous as the the album cover it graced, perhaps even more so. While there are no complete songs on the tape we have pieces of I’m So Bored With the U.S.A., I Fought the Law, Jail Guitar Doors, and English Civil War. Enjoy it – it’s brilliant. I’ll be back soon with lots more. Tim

(Full credit from the YouTube upload) – The Clash – 1979-09-21, at the New York City Palladium performing the songs I’m So Bored With the U.S.A., I Fought the Law, Jail Guitar Doors, and English Civil War. It is only short clips of the songs but great nonetheless. This concert was the same night Paul Simonon smashed his favorite bass guitar thus creating one of the greatest moments in rock and roll history ever captured, seen on the album cover of London Calling, and taken by photographer Pennie Smith. More info about this special gig, including the full setlist, can be found here: http://homepage.mac.com/blackmarketclash/Bands/Clash/reco…
The original source of this video was a silent Super 8 film camera. I layered the audio over it and synced it together.

Welcome back to the Clash Blog with another update on the Justice Tonight tour. Because I have to sleep, eat and work I’ll probably be about 24-36 hours behind events in the UK during the duration of the tour. Life goes on I suppose, although I wish I had a railpass and was going from venue to venue taking notes of these concerts first hand. Speaking of life going on I’m actually sitting at a Girl Scout’s meeting for the Clash bloggette’s daughter tonight as she can’t be in two places at once. Talk about the opposite of punk rock, this is surely it. Of course I’m not making it up how could I….

Cardiff then – I wanted to say a huge thank you to Charlotte from Birmingham who I caught via Twitter on her way out of the gig last night and hoped she might be able to put together an account of the night from her perspective. I woke up this morning and she’d kindly obliged by sending a summary through to me to be posted on the blog. Last night was fun even to track from miles away, as soon as it got to around 11pm UK time I was checking Facebook, YouTube and Twitter to try and find some early feedback. Lots of comments on Twitter like “Can’t believe I’m seeing Mick Jones playing Clash songs” and “Mick Jones with James Dean Bradfield, surreal” plus a fair few about the very strong communal aspects of the gig, rallying cries from Pete Wylie about the state of the nation and the Hillsborough cause. As I wrote earlier in the week I hoped that the cause would be a key aspect of the tour and so it’s proving. One great quote relayed from Charlotte last night as stated by Pete Wylie:

“If you rob a bank, you go to prison; if a bank robs you they get a bonus.”

As you know these are very politically charged times and it seems ironic (probably using that word incorrectly as usual) that the gigs are taking place the same week as the largest national action in the UK since The Clash were at their peak in the winter of 1979. Add to that the ongoing occupy movement and things have a definite early eighties feel at the moment. Enough of my viewpoints, let’s instead hand things over to Charlotte with her rather brilliant account of proceedings:

It’s been a while since I’ve felt so excited by the anticipation of attending a gig, but I just knew that Justice Tonight would be everything I expected and more.

The Farm kicked off the gig, with Peter Hooton explaining why the Justice cause means so much to him, before launching into five of their biggest tracks, including Groovy Train and All Together Now in which Pete Wylie joined them onstage for.

Wylie gave an extremely passionate performance, particularly during Heart As Big As Liverpool. It was clear to see just how much the cause means to him. Joining him onstage, special guest James Dean Bradfield certainly added even more energy to Wylie’s Come Back, successfully throwing his trademark hop-on-one-foot-spin into the equation.

Despite the political issues and seriousness of the gig, the atmosphere couldn’t have been any more relaxed. Don’t get me wrong, there was plenty of correctly projected anger at the government, the Murdochs, and of course The Sun, but everyone also seemed to be having a good time and enjoying the music. The most outspoken person on the night was Pete Wylie, whose constant jibes at Margaret Thatcher sparked much applause throughout the gig, and his new song The Day Margaret Thatcher Dies was received incredibly well.

After casually chatting to fans at the side of the stage, the rather dapper Mick Jones kicked off the Clash songs with Train In Vain, followed by Pete Wylie’s choice of Stay Free, then James Dean Bradfield’s rather spectacular rendition of Clampdown.

At one point, the modestly sized stage held nine musicians, all of which genuinely looked as though they were thoroughly enjoying the gig, especially Mick who spent the whole gig with a slightly cheesy, yet sincere grin spread across his face.

There was no questioning of the cause for the gig, and deafening chants of “Justice for the 96” could be heard throughout the interlude before the first encore. I don’t think I have ever seen so many people look so passionate at a gig.

Of course Joe Strummer wasn’t forgotten, Mick Jones, Pete Wylie and Peter Hooton all giving reference, with the general consensus being that he would have loved the cause, and would have been proud that people are fighting for what they believe in.

Being 22 I know this will be the closest I will ever get to seeing The Clash, and for me, it was definitely awe-inspiring not just to attend a completely non-corporate event, but also to watch a gig where every person on stage genuinely appeared to be thoroughly enjoying themselves.  I’ve never left a venue feeling so elated.

Wow….what a great night and a marvelous summary of it. Please join me in thanking Charlotte for her guest post, I really appreciate it when someone takes the time to give a first-hand account and Charlotte did the Cardiff audience proud. I’ve got many more bits and pieces from the tour to follow and I’ll try as best I can to update every 12-18 hours until the tour is over so all of us overseas or unable to get tickets can feel part of it. I wish I was there…I think I’ve said that previously. Enjoy the gallery below, just click on any picture to enlarge and then cycle through.

The photos last night were rather good with Mick Jones looking dapper and elated throughout and its great to see Pete, Peter, James and all of the others looking so committed. I typically try and make sure I credit the photos but I pooled tonight’s gallery from a number of people on flickr, if you need a credit please let me know. I saved these files at home and now I’m on my laptop so don’t recall the source on each one. I’ve also been wondering what you felt about the sound and the overall execution of The Clash numbers by the composite bands. While it’s nice to see the videos captured on mobile phones the sound leaves a lot to be desired. Right, that’s me done for now. Thanks for dropping in to the blog. Don’t forget to keep current via via Facebook, Twitter or get the RSS feed