I had a dream last night which featured the unlikely guest appearances of Terry Chimes, Osama Bin Laden and a ginger kid I went to school with when I was about nine years old. He was still nine which was odd and Terry Chimes and he were playing snooker (ginger was losing) whilst OBL seemed to be for the most part busy flirting with the girls in the dream and getting in a round of drinks. The only dialogue I recall was Terry saying that he couldn’t believe he was losing another frame and the in the dream I was more focused on me studying the difficulty of each upcoming shot rather than the unlikely cast of characters that I was watching. One of those observational dreams rather than a talking one so I wasn’t able to ask Bin Laden why his photographs aren’t being released or whether he had the taste of salt water in his mouth. (in case you were wondering).

image courtesy R E Aaron

I thought as its relatively early in the evening I would compile some Clash odds and sods for you tonight, and then tomorrow we should have another guest post followed by some of the standard updates than have been lacking of late. First of all the video linked here from the unlikeliest of sources Reuters which is a very short clip about the B.A.D. reunion including a brief chat with Mick Jones, the chap doing the voice-over not only reads his script like he had just heard of The Clash and Mick Jones about 3 minutes before reading the piece but his phrases include immortal cliches such as ‘rock and roll guitar and decidedly English vocal stylings’. It’s as if you took the lyrics from Safe European Home and asked your grandfather to read them aloud and with conviction. I know they say any press is good press but if you previously thought Reuters were square this will only confirm those 90 degree angles.

Another video then for you which I’d never seen before this week. When The Clash played the Jamaica World Music Festival in Montego Bay on Nov 27, 1982 it was part of a 3 day event that combined rock, pop, soul and reggae artists. The festival never became the annual event it was hoped to become but was surely a dream trip for the band, especially Paul Simonon who may have still harboured annoyance from his previous exclusion on the songwriting expedition by Mick and Joe back in 1978. Particularly when you remember much of the reggae influence and relative expertise within the band came from Paul’s earlier days. While the great audio recording of the event has long been available online and off I had not seen this before although read that it was in existence. The whole event was broadcast live on TV at the time in Jamaica and this 4 minute clip was evidently made as part of a special documentary for Canadian television. If anyone knows if the entire VHS is still in existence I’d love to know. Not fantastic video quality but that doesn’t outweigh that it’s still a rare and priceless piece.

Clash footage from the Jamaica World Music Festival, November 1982

Not to go back to the well but on this occasion I’m going to have to do so. You may remember a few days ago that cut and paste/chaotic and rather unsentimental piece in The Sun about the death of Poly Styrene and punk artists in general. The bad article just got worse with an addendum by none other than Alan McGee. For decades I’ve had a lot of respect for Alan McGee, his eye for talent and dedication to Creation Records and many of the the acts who excelled under his guidance can’t be ignored. He has an amazing history and was one of the most influential people involved with British indie music in the 1980′s. If I look back to what I was listening to in 1985 a huge percentage of my favourite acts were either discovered or promoted by McGee. Under normal conditions I could write chapters about all the times I’ve considered him crucial and I still do, which helps alleviate the blurb he added to the original column. You can check it for yourself here but essentially it opens with him lamenting the loss quite rightly of so many leading lights from the punk period but he also puts it down to their lifestyle. It could be a misquote I suppose but I don’t associate the loss of the specific people he mentions, namely “Joe Strummer, The Ramones, Tony Wilson and Malcolm McLaren” with the excesses of their lifestyles.

These were pretty uniformly untimely deaths from diseases and health issues were they not? We’re not looking at people found dead in car wrecks, suicides or with needles sticking out of their arms. Perhaps he means the fast paced life of gigging, touring and recording meant that time caught up with them but in that case why not say that. Perhaps I’m over-sensitive to it, but Joe’s death along with many of the other names we could reel off always seemed such bloody bad luck more than self prescribed. Not to demean cancer or a pre-existing heart condition but aren’t these really the random cards we are dealt to some extent? Not every smoker gets cancer, not every drinker has liver trouble, nor does every cancer sufferer smoke two packs a day. These are tragic diseases we should continue to support the research to combat and prevention of rather than be glib about who was dealt some sort of ‘consequence’. I have seen too many people die from cancer to see it any other way. Alan McGee you remain a brilliant chap but your words could have perhaps been chosen/quoted differently, say it ain’t so Alan. Then again it’s The Sun, why talk to them in the first place?

I’m also thinking about restructuring the ongoing Clash Landmarks series on the blog. I’ve got some ideas I’ll share soon and I’m hoping some of you can help me in far flung cities and countries. Lastly I really hope that the UK gets it right the the Alternative Vote referendum today but as you can tell here, I’ve got major doubts. More tomorrow and let me know what you think of the video and whether I’m getting the wrong end of the stick with Mr. McGee in the comments (you know…down below…so I don’t get an echo when I type). Cheers – Tim

Hello gang in all the corners of the world, how was your day then. Don’t forget if you have a special Clash related story from your particular country I’d be glad to include it on the blog. Did you start a band because of The Clash, do something out of character as a result or had your life changed by seeing them live? This is the place to share it and I’d like to start handing some of those stories over to you when possible. You already know my story for the most part, first heard them coming from my brother’s room round about my 12th birthday and 30 years on barely a day passes where I don’t think of a song or a lyric or at the very least look at my photos of the band on my bookshelf (not to mention the books about them). My continued passion for music is traced back to The Clash and I hope/think my ability to listen to almost any band objectively (almost….not Coldplay or The Police of course) stems from the fact that The Clash were so ambitious with what they recorded so long ago. How can you become addicted to London Calling or Sandinista! as a young kid and then not look for bands to push themselves to their own limits? Of all the things I appreciate about The Clash the assistance they provided in helping me spot formulaic music is close to the top of that list.

Anyway, off topic a bit but I wanted to share with you an account of a special Joe Strummer night that took place last week in Hamilton, Ontario (just along the lakefront from Toronto). In the chaos of last week I missed covering this earlier so my thanks to Skip for making sure this gets an appropriate nod on the blog. One place I’d like for the blog to excel is to make sure Clash fans know about events in advance that might be of interest, whether they are in Rennes or Rochester, Derby or Darwin we’ve got readers from literally every country and if you give me enough notice I’ll add these events to the events calendar I’ve put on the site and provide extra information to help promote where I can. Art exhibitions, tribute nights or concerts are all fair game so please share the word if you know of something that I might have missed, especially outside if the US and UK where I tend to catch wind of a higher ratio for obvious reasons. Skip wrote up the following review on his cool blog “The Hills are Alive” and allowed me to share it here. Please visit his blog to check out some more photos and videos from their 9th annual Joe Strummer tribute night in addition to some other great stuff….check it out and say hello while you’re there.

We were lucky enough to experience 2 straight nights of Joe Strummer songs at This Ain’t Hollywood this past weekend.  Great crowds (the first night was capacity packed, second one almost) and a way better experience than having to live thru an evening of Gorillaz or Big Audio Dynamite to get your 2011 Clash fix.  It was so good we already can’t wait for the next version on Good Friday and Easter Saturday of 2012.  There wasn’t a bad act amongst the lineup with a heap of supergroups, one-offs, reunions and special guests appearing.  Folk, Punk, Celtic, Rock, Reggae, Rockabilly, Thrash genres and everything in-between were all covered.  Personal highlight had to be seeing the Letdowns (ex-Wetspots) play.  Ah, so many good shows they’ve had and all the memories just came flooding back the moment they hit the stage!  Our fave song, Straight to Hell got a sweet treatment and hearing Burning Lights from the soundtrack of I Hired a Contract Killer was fantastic!  Top marks for The Saints Are Coming for bringing a great Celtic twist to some songs that we wish the video we took did more justice. And speaking of video, this event got us thinking about investing in a better camera to take videos of live music with since our current setup is hit and miss. its just an everyday digital camera and not meant for live music.  Ahhhh, there’s always a reason for more gear!

Here’s some pics and some of the best of the video evidence (ed: please visit his blog).  Visit our youtube site for all the vizness. More videos still being added as we post this.  Thanks for the memories Strummer Night #9, we’ll see u again for 10!

image courtesy FulsumPrisonBlues on Flickr

Thanks so much for sharing that with us Skip, I hope we can expect even more audio/visual goodness next year. Thanks for keeping the spirit of Joe alive and well in Ontario. I’m going to wrap it up there for tonight but will see you in the comments and tomorrow as well I’m sure. Cheers – Tim

Rockers Galore at the Strummer Tribute

Bloody hell where did the day go? If you’re in the UK welcome to your 3 day weekend to celebrate the beheading of Anne Boleyn in 1536, at least I think that’s why you all have Friday off. Either that or something related to it I believe.

Thanks to everyone on their positive and warm response to the guest post by Brenda last night which recounted her night in New York hot on the heels of Big Audio Dynamite. If you didn’t see it I’d suggest you tuck into part one here first which will give you a much better flavour for part two. With that said I’ll hand you back to our guest author for the rest of the festivities in the big apple. Speaking of which, is there a New York based reader who might like to help me with a project I’d like to do? If you have easy access to Manhattan, are good with directions and have a reasonable digital camera please get in touch with me as I’d like to borrow your services for a few hours. Cheers.

We decided to wait for Mick at the 53 Street Stage Door. I had already been invited to the party at the Hudson Hotel by a very drunk man wearing a suit and laminate, but I didn’t want to go without Mick’s say so.

It was windy and getting colder. We met many nice people during our interesting vigil in the cold. People trickled out, the S.I.R. Van got loaded with back line. Instrument cases went into a black van. Some band members got in. Finally Don Letts came out. Still no Mick. Don signed autographs and took pictures with fans. He & I had a 30 year overdue talk. We ended up kissing. He grabbed my hands , kissed my gloves…we hugged.  All the backstage guests , the scenesters, spilled out and walked to the party at the Hudson on 58th.  Some of the people I knew were in that crowd, but they looked through us….I went back to the door to wait for Mick.   The van took off. We were bewildered at the door. It was a long 10 minutes. Patience paid off…door opens. Mick (grinning) walks out. He said “Darling” and gave me a big hug. We held back while he signed autographs and talked to fans, then , before he got into a cab, he whispered to me, ‘ Hudson Hotel on 58th , Don Letts is spinning’.

Mick's dapper styling (image courtesy Mesaboogie.com)

We got to the Hudson as Bebe Buell and her handsome young escort were leaving. I took that as a good sign. The door man was picky. I looked at him, I said, “Don Letts is spining’ and they let us in.

It was dark, crowded, there was a pool table in the middle of the room. We found the bar and an unoccupied sofa.  My friend Brian asked, “Do people have fun at these things?” . I told him it would empty out…We danced , had a drink, and when we came back after having a cigarette outside, Mick had just returned too. That’s when we talked.  A lot. A pretty girl, all dressed up and wearing ripped  black tights was talking pictures.  We were there until a little after the bar closed.

I got a bunch of hugs and kisses from Mick and Don.  Brian told Mick he felt left out so he got a hug too. We got in a cab. We got back to the Chelsea after 3 AM. Unable to sleep, we walked to the top of the staircase talking pictures of the art in our jammies. It was one of the greatest nights ever.  As Joe once said of Mick , “Talent is worth waiting for…..”

Thanks so much Brenda!! That quote from Joe remains one of favourites I’ve always interpreted it as at least a partial admission that he wishes he had found a way to find compromise with a far more difficult (than now) Mick Jones back in 1983. I think Mick would be the first to admit the same. I’m glad you had such a smashing evening and happier still that you took time to chronicle if for the blog. As I’ve said many times before, if you’d like to contribute a piece to the blog please let me know. It need not be terribly lengthy or feature the prose of a Hardy or Orwell, just be yourself and share something you think the audience here will like. I know they’d enjoy a break from the monotony of your blogger from time to time also. Please join me in the Clash Blog comments in thanking Brenda for her great recap. Tim