Good evening and cheers for dropping in to the blog. My internet has been a bit up and down this evening so even as I type I’m not sure if this will find its way onto your screens today, tomorrow or late tomorrow – hopefully the former. Not much to report on from Clashblog towers unless you count the family cat eating a bunch of grass only to make itself sick on said grass a few minutes later worthy of news? No…I thought not too. Just wanted to hand a large Orange congratulations to the Dutch team who coasted into the final 8 at the WC earlier today, one other WC tip – by far the most enjoyable thing about the tournament so far has been the weekly Alan Davies show on the BBC – Armchair World Cup. Have I ever steered you wrong before?  I’ve not (intentionally) so if you happen to like football and need a really good laugh in this unemployment and VAT ravaged world we live in take a quick trip over to the link and listen to the podcast replay online.

Joe looks over Glastonbury hordes

I had hoped I’d have some official reports back from Glastonbury by now specifically about the Strummerville events over the four days as the bill was quite stacked. Things move a bit more slowly in the West Country so perhaps we’ll have some of that for you over the next 24-48 hours. The only video clip I’ve come across so far around Strummer campfire is the soothing sounds of Bombay Bicycle Club playing ‘Always Like This’. It does at least give you some idea of the mellow and intimate setting of the campfire stage if you’re reading this from far afield. I lied, just found another upload from Drunken Balordi who perform ‘Italian Nightmare’. Great fun to see and very easy to imagine Joe joining in on this track! Also returning to Glastonbury this weekend was the LeftField tent which was hosted/curated by Billy Bragg of course. LeftField is in short the political stage/tent at the festival where songwriters talk and play and seek to engage those needing a bit more in their cider than La Roux. The Billy Bragg interview with the NME is right here if you fancy it. More from the tent this week.

Joe Strummer wasn’t just being summoned in the fields of Glastonbury this weekend as it was also the turn for the Hard Rock Calling event in London’s Hyde Park for those who get nervous if they go West of Heathrow Airport. Much like last Summer an American artist paid a big tribute to the ever present influence of Joe. A year ago Bruce Springsteen played London Calling and this year the more recent Arms Aloft was trotted out by Pearl Jam at the huge concert. I’ve always been essentially ambivalent about Pearl Jam to be honest, but I know they are hugely important to many people. As it happens Eddie Vedder is an unabashed fan/friend of The Clash and Joe Strummer and I give him a large nod for discussing with the gathered crowds at the weekend how much he missed Strummer in addition to his other memories. The full story is over at Beehive City if you want to take a look. Below I’ve got a video of Pearl Jam covering Arms Aloft at the weekend. Sadly I don’t have Vedder’s introduction and the recordng ends a little early ~ but it’s a heartfelt cover version to these ears.

Pearl Jam perform Arms Aloft (in Hyde Park)

I’d write more but my computer is testing my patience so it’d probably be better if I save a bit until next time. Thanks for coming as always and remember the Facebook page is a good place to have a chat or throw ideas around (we just passed 800 in our little gang!) ~ or please use the comments section at the foot of each post. Thanks! Tim

Good evening Clash fans, nice of you to drop in. I’ve not much to say about the football today that hasn’t already been said and its one of those times I’m rather pleased not to be back in London as the collective anguish/frustration is a bit of a let down in truth ~ most of it stemming from ridiculously high hope that England are one of the best 4 or 5 nations at football on earth. That hasn’t been true since about 1969/70 it just seems the media and some of the public are slow learners, or it could be that England’s dreaming. Lack of a good World Cup song might only be part of the problem it would seem. While Germany’s continued dominance over England continues at football, at least we have The Clash and a host of other bands before and since. I’ll let you state better suggestions, but Kraftwerk and Trio aren’t going to win that competition are they?

Strummerville camp

Been doing a little more information gathering about Glastonbury before we get back into something approaching normal service and its been a very busy weekend out West by all accounts as well as a bit too warm. After the performance by Gorillaz on Friday night at the Pyramid stage it seems a star studded impromptu birthday celebration for Mick Jones took place. Kate Moss was there (Pete’s no longer in the picture) and a full account can be found here on Musicrooms.net. I can’t imagine Mick feeling anything other than politely ‘ahh yeah thanks everyone’.There are some photos over at The Daily Star but they are such libelous pricks I can’t give the link in good conscience.

It seems that one of the biggest highlights of the Strummerville Campfire sessions at the festival was The Drums who played long after midnight this morning to a packed audience. Lovely that Joe’s favourite spot continues to bring along his vibe. More on that from the NME website. I’m hoping we can get some videos for some of that over the next few days and of course full reports back via Strummerville.

Just a follow up on the piece I wrote about photographer Francesco Mellina and his wonderful work that captured some of the very best punk and post punk artists during his many years residing in Liverpool. If you are looking for a very affordable but very unique gift for a Clash fan or for yourself (why not?) take a quick visit to this link. Its an excellent box set of classic photographs taken by Francesco including Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, David Byrne and more. You can I believe purchase them via this link, if you have any trouble please contact me and I can put you in touch with Francesco. The price – just £7.99 – not sure about international shipping yet.

The Stone Roses

Finally unrelated but worth a read….for a short spell at the end of the 1980′s England had a band that looked set to take on the past and bring us all into a great English rock music revival. Think Oasis but miles better, The Stone Roses released perhaps the best debut albums of all time – it certainly competes with The Clash  depending on my mood. Sadly record company issues, hype and other delays meant that was the summit of their work. Only one other album was released but its best avoided. I know some readers of the blog are half my age – if you don’t have The Stone Roses debut in your collection I implore that you get it. It’s timeless and simply brilliant. I write about it due to a great interview with Ian Brown from the band in The Guardian. He is asked what record brought together the Stone Roses and he explains it was The Clash debut. You can read the whole interview here (you should) but an excerpt is beneath.

I played him The Clash and he went and bought it the next day, and played it every day for about 18 months, before and after school.       – Ian Brown on John Squire

More tomorrow, take on that new week with the passion of a German midfielder and we’ll talk soon.

...and nobody wants, to go to jail

Hello again its just me trying to keep on top of things and its been a busy day. I also must say that the events in Toronto today have been interesting to watch unfurl, having been accidentally involved in some situations that turned into unplanned riots (it’s always very surreal) I can’t believe how long the police are seemingly showing patience with a situation that was always ‘anticipated’ to be a potential riot. You just don’t get the spontaneity like the good old days, nor do you see the police clearing those streets out entirely as they perhaps should have down hours ago.  I’ve been in events London in the past and a few black flag activists make the whole situation volatile very quickly and even if you are there in a peaceful capacity (which most are) you’re suddenly automatically part of the problem. Its nice to see Clash and Clampdown attached to all the headlines! Perhaps the next Joe Strummer will be inspired to write some lyrics in his flat in Toronto tonight. On a topical note when did riots get so ‘pre-planned’ – its the complete opposite of anarchy no? Some of the ‘rebels’ who travel around the planet like angry groupies for G20 World Leader (pretend) summits are almost like career mischief makers. I’d suggest getting your head out of your arse and protest the corporations who are bringing the systems down, the governments are little more than gophers for the corporate heads of state. If you want to light a car on fire I’d think the car of the CEO of BP (and Shell and Exxon while you’re at it) would make more sense than a cop car in Toronto. Just an opinion mind you…not the Clashblog tip of the day!

Enough of that for now ~ at least until more facts are reported, lets go back to last night where Paul and Mick performed with Gorillaz at Glastonbury. From what I can tell most of the concert that was shown live by the BBC has now migrated its way to youtube as you would expect. You can find it all yourself of course but I’d suggest you check out these clips to get you started:

Clint Eastwood | Kids With Guns | On Melancholy Hill | Intro and Welcome

I’m not relaunching the debate about whether you like Mick and Paul being in Gorillaz on these dates, we’ve gone down that path before and I think if you don’t like Damon Albarn or the music itself its overshadowing enjoying the spectacle of two Clash members sharing a stage once more after so many years. Turn the sound down, its still a treat seeing Paul pulling his trademark moves with Jones just a few yards away. Beyond Gorillaz its impossible to know if this might be the last time they appear on a stage together again. Of course there was to be no Clash song and with hindsight perhaps that was just wishful thinking, although on balance I think it would have made the performance much more memorable. Naturally even if Albarn suggested the idea it would have taken the approval of Paul and Mick so I’m sure they’ve got many reasons not to have done so (lack of Topper may well be one). Overall I enjoyed it although I think its a crying shame Albarn never officially introduced Mick and Paul as I felt that would have been class and created a huge response from the crowd. To be fair the assorted guests who wandered in and out weren’t introduced either, this wasn’t an Elton John show after all. You have to wonder how much Mick and Paul have chatted about the old days and the days still to come though? They’ve been spending obviously a certain amount of time with Gorillaz the last few months and more to come. Whether they make the forthcoming US tour dates remains to be seen. I’m guessing no at the moment. (based on nothing incidentally)

Tomorrow I’ll do the Strummerville rounds and see what else has been going on at the festival. Thought I’d finish with some links to the proper papers (ha!) reviews of Gorillaz last night and then some. Differing opinions of course:

Lucy Jones at The Telegraph wasn’t too keen: (though its the Telegraph, they probably still think the banks are trustworthy)

“As the master of ceremonies, conducting his merry band and jumping around like a cheeky monkey, he almost appeared charismatic; but the descent into self-indulgent, half-baked songs diluted the crowd’s excitement and we left disappointed”

The Independent were also not full of happy thoughts.

However The Sun loved it, though they’re delirious at the prospect of England playing Germany in a few hours so can’t think straight.

Finally the Lib-Dem endorsing Guardian (thanks for that) remain equally fence happy when reviewing the gig. Though the video interview is good.

As the video interview on the Guardian points out – this was only the 3rd official gig with this lineup for Gorillaz, a fact that seems to be overlooked. That’s enough of that for now…thanks for dropping by. Oh nearly forgot – that big football match in the morning. What I want to happen and what will happen are probably very different. If you like The Clash Blog as a bookmaker – I’d say the old enemy will beat England but not on penalties. 2-1 in regulation after England pull back the 1-0 deficit late on. Red card also…maybe two….not sure who.

Night! We still believe….we still believe….