So will it be this B-Side...

The Clash Cup if you’re new to the blog is a very simple and democratic process allows you to select your favorite Clash song by way of voting on the blog. We are now in round two and looking to whittle down the best Clash songs ever until we reach a final 16, then eight and so on. Each of the pairings is set 100% at random so you take what you get even with the decision isn’t always easy. Before tonight’s pairing we do have to review the voting for the most recent installment of the cup which was earlier in August. Decent voter turnout for the last matchup but I would suggest the more likely song still won out:

This is Radio Clash defeated Ghetto Defendant 28-18

Closer than I expected but I don’t think enough runner-up votes to allow the Combat Rock track to make it through to the next round, which to be fair is probably how it should be. As I said this is most likely the last round where the voting will often be fairly easy, so let’s have a look at the next pair:

Round 2 Match 10

City of the Dead versus  Justice Tonight/Kick It Over

Well that’s a turn up for the books as neither song would make the most obvious list of Clash songs which is not to say either song is poor by any means. In fact both songs are quite unique in terms of sound and come from that spell of hyperactivity that The Clash were guilty of from ‘77 until ‘79. The other thought I had almost immediately is how do you separate the two and choose a winner? I know which one I prefer (just) but I won’t share it so as not to influence your voting… as if. Also by sheer coincidence both tracks appeared on Super Black Market Clash which I think is another novelty in this pairing. The extended version of the album is sometimes just the perfect tonic for a good Clash fix perhaps especially because it featured many songs you don’t hear quite as often. Battle of the B-sides!!

Form book:

Round 1 – City of the Dead defeated Freedom Train           98% of the vote
Round 1 – Justice Tonight defeated Junco Partner             73% of the vote

Odds:

I am not quite sure what you can take from the first round, both for convincing wins although Justice Tonight had to overcome a trickier challenge from Junco Partner which was tough because I love both songs. If I had to predict a winner I think it might just be City of the Dead because it is an original track and not a dub/remix. Though I do think the voting will be close.

Stuff:

...this B-Side?

Not many tracks by the Clash have dated that badly at all, although I do think City of the Dead is one of the rare exceptions where the production just sounds a little muddy and the song could only be from the mid-late 70s. Worth remembering a song this good was originally just a B-Side to the stellar Complete Control. Justice Tonight of course was B- side to another of the most famous Clash singles London Calling so for yet another reason this pairing has fantastic symmetry. You don’t need me to tell you it’s also the dub version of Armagideon Time, a song that I will go on record and proclaim as my very favourite Clash cover version and high on my list of all Clash songs.

As for the voting the polls open immediately and you will have until next Tuesday morning to cast your vote for which song remains in the competition. Before you vote it’s always good to have one last chance to compare the songs side-by-side so if you’d like to just click the links that I provide. For City of the Dead let’s substitute the live version so we don’t focus on the production of the original. I do think some of Joe’s lyrics on the track are superb. Your last task is to reserve 8:54 of your life to just mellow out to Justice Tonight / Kick It Over and make sure you turn up the bass first of all.

Enjoy voting and thank you – this is actually rather an interesting pairing.

“Revolution Rock – a Joe Strummer Tribute” is being sponsored by Bombshellzine.com, Drum Media and Renegades Empire. The event in supported and in tandem with Strummerville. Bands paying homage for 2010 are: The Domnicks (WA) featuring Nick Sheppard from The Clash, The Rumjacks, The City Lights, Madonna (VIC) and The Tearaways (VIC)

This marks the fourth annual occurrence of the Joe Strummer tribute night which has grown in popularity year-over-year and has become Australia’s premier opportunity to recognize the work of Joe Strummer. Better still the expansion of the project now includes a second city in Australia with a special night being held in Melbourne which will cover on the blog also. I believe Evan will be forwarding photographs and video from the night in Sydney to expect those early next week, by which time I hope I’ll have finished covering each of the Joe Strummer events that took place last weekend. Naturally enough there will be some interest with Nick Sheppard appearing on Saturday as a result of his time spent with The Clash during their last years.

Evan and Baz were interviewed about the event by Renegades Empire which is an independent Australian punk music magazine. Evan has kindly allowed me to reproduce the interview below but do check out the Renegades Empire website (as a thank you for sharing this).

1. What brought about the decision to put on Revolution Rock originally?

Basil: As a massive fan of both The Clash and Joe Strummer it made perfect sense to do such an event…I guess the catalyst was a few years after his death I was seeing lots of tribute nights and simply couldn’t believe no-one in Sydney had done one for Joe.

Evan: Baz had mentioned the idea of doing something in Sydney. A lot of people world wide were affected by Joe and his music. So when he passed away people felt compelled to do something. At a rather enthusiastic Bronx concert we started getting serious about the idea. The next day we started putting it together and the rest is history.

2. Are you both fans of Strummer? How has his life and legacy impacted your life?

Evan: Joe Strummer was always making new music as he went on. He never lost his passion or faded away and if anything got better with age. Also, there was also a very human side to Joe in which you saw the highs and low and you could see a real person behind the performer. I always liked his honesty and rather a musician who can be honest and somewhat real than one merely writing a polished bio about how honest and real they are.

Basil: Sure are! The way the guy lived his life everybody should aspire too, he would talk to anybody about anything anytime. He stuck up for the little guy, he had a heart of gold and made amazing music to boot! It is truly amazing to see his legacy live on all over the world and it truly is a testament to what he did when he was alive to impact people’s lives.

Evan: Also in terms his influence in doing these events, I think his DIY approach helped push a couple of guys who were a bit new to putting on shows to pull their resources together and give it a go.

Also his world music sensibilities helped make us look at different styles of bands for these shows. It was important to make it inclusive to all people and musics and not just be about mohawks and three chords.

3. How has previous Revolution Rock’s gone, and what have been some of the highlights for you over the years?

Basil: Every year we are amazed and every year is a highlight…in 2009 we took a gamble and put a completely unknown band on to headline the event (King Cannons) and the gig sold out within half an hour of doors opening! Which goes to show, it is not just the substance of the bands but the idea of the night that brings the punters in.

Evan: Whilst the bands and the music are always amazing, it’s a highlight to meet people from different places, ages and walks of life and see how passionate they are for Joe Strummer. Meeting a guy who’s twice your age who can tell you about seeing the Clash and how it affected him, hits home. I think over time these events have become about the people at the shows and the thing that binds them and that has formed a community in itself.

4. What is the selection process for the bands you choose to play Revolution Rock? Who is playing this year and any insights into what Strummer tributes they will be playing?

Basil: We just want bands that “get” Joe Strummer and The Clash. Not bands that want to be there for fame or money (after all it is a charity event), but bands that genuinely love to play music and genuinely want to pay their own tribute to the great Joe Strummer.

Evan: It’s usually the bands who have that genuine love and excitement for Joe always make the best bands. The bands who are watching the first band till last or who will talk about how stoked they are to play the show are the ones who always give the music the proper respect and connect with the crowd.

Basil: This year we have playing The Domnicks from WA which features Nick Sheppard who at one point in his life was actually a member of The Clash! We also have The Rumjacks, The City Lights, Madonna and The Tearaways, couldn’t hope for a better line-up! I hear one band is doing White Riot this year, which is a first for Revolution Rock, believe it or not!

5. Tell us about Strummerville and why should people support the charity? How can people support it if they can’t get to the gig?

Basil: Strummerville is an amazing charity which was set up by Joe’s family and friends following his passing in 2002. It provides facilities and resources to young bands that perhaps otherwise wouldn’t have access to these facilities. It also provides mentoring for the bands, and who knows maybe one day the next big thing could come straight out of Strummerville!

Evan: I think people who are into Joe’s music are also into new music’s and diverse forms of creativity. So getting behind Strummerville is essentially helping support the very music and ideas we all care about. Back in the 70’s Joe Strummer had Tymon Dogg to help him learn his chops and get his start and now in 2010 kids now haves Strummerville to help them out.

Also Strummerville have always backed this event 100% and have given it great support.

Basil + Evan: If people cant get to the show on Saturday at the Annandale or the Birmy on the 4th of September in Melbourne they can donate online or buy some merch at www.strummerville.com You can also do things like organize a benefit and spread the word and let people know of their work.

6. The night has only been held in Sydney the last couple of year, what influenced your choice to take it to Melbourne as well this year?

Basil: Every year we get bigger and bigger and we always wanted to expand to other states as there is a lot of interest from bands and fans in those states. One guy and his wife flew over last year to Sydney from Adelaide just for our Sydney show! So we really want to take this to the other states and spread the love so-to-speak. Next year – Perth!

7. What can we expect for this weekend’s Revolution Rock in Sydney?

Basil: You can expect 5 of the best bands in this country all playing dedications to Joe Strummer and The Clash in their own way and style…it really is something for all ages (over 18 of course!) as we have young punks every year and then old rockers, and people that attend the events love getting together with like-minded fans and dancing their arses off!

Evan: Five great bands, a lot of good vibes and Baz’s long awaited return to the stage (the sleeping giant has awoken)

8. What’s next for you guys?

Basil + Evan: After the post show nap, we’re launching a small music label called Paperbag Music which will be a host to bands, shows and a distro for a variety of great bands and hope to continue helping up and coming bands get out there for all the world to see. Also bunch of new shows on the boil and the sad realization that we’ve gotta wait till 2011 to do another Strummer show.

9. Last words?

We just wanted to give a quick thanks to everyone who has made the pilgrimage from near and far every year to this event. Also to all the bands who give their time and do great performances each year. Finally everyone who’s supported us over the years by posting something online, telling a friend about the show or just letting us know how much they enjoyed the gig.

The show just isn’t about bands or hearing Clash songs but a community of people coming together and sharing their enthusiasm and love for music and for Joe. They’re the heart of this event.

I do have something else about the event planned for you tomorrow evening so check back then, and if you happen to be in or around Sydney really hope you make it along on the night. I’ll be back more with some more new stuff – Tim.

Tonight though I wanted to continue our look back at the Joe Strummer birthday events from the weekend just past. Last night we had a look at Austin Texas and tonight we go to the West Coast for the annual Joe Strummer night that is held in San Francisco. If I’m not mistaken the Bay Area also celebrates Joe in December though I may be wrong, perhaps a whole year has passed and covering last year’s event, this was the seventh year that San Francisco has hosted a Stummer event. First of all though a quick look at the venue itself: the club is called “Bottom of the Hill” I’m assuming because it’s located near the bottom of the hill (which indeed it is). Located just south of the heart of San Francisco in a neighborhood that could be best described as semi-industrial the club looks like a pretty standard San Francisco home from the outside, check the image to the left to see what I mean. Inside however it’s been refurbished into a pretty cool night club which Rolling Stone magazine has called ‘the best place to see live music in San Francisco’. You MUST watch the InterChords on the right video sidebar…stunning!

Come to think of it I’m pretty sure it was a year ago when Billy Bragg appeared at the Joe Strummer event in tandem with each the Jail Guitar Doors project. This years event went off without a hitch by all accounts and with tickets at just $10 a Joe Strummer/The Clash evening was in the capable hands of half a dozen bands including the Armagideons, The Hooks, Monkey, Sistas in the Pit, Stigma 13 and Interchords. Once again San Francisco did a great job supporting another Strummerville event when the date rolled around. I’d like to ensure a huge thanks is offered to Gil for providing and filming the video clips (and recommending clips) of the evening and also huge thumbs up to The Call Up for the summary reproduced below via his MySpace page.

Great show, thanks to all!
Not fully rested yet, but another great tribute this year. We seem to manage to pull in a bit more each year for Strummerville. This year we are able to send $968.50 (USD) to Strummerville!

There were even a couple more last minute backline donations and raffle items. Marlon from the Interchords contributed to both

Sistas In The Pit - Joe Strummer night SF 21/8/10

causes and gave up an autographed copy of London Calling, signed by Paul Simonon. How amazing is he?! The acoustic set he played with his brother takes the tribute where no band has gone before and they pulled it off amazingly. Hopefully the video comes out okay. To pull off acoustic Mag 7 into Ivan meets Gi Joe? Come on!

The Hooks donated an autographed limited edition copy of their recent release in vinyl, Everything is Golden! Marble disc beauty it is! And the music…well, its The Hooks! Its great. They played a fantastic set as they always do, full of energy and Joe’s spirit.

New bands to the tribute this year all played great. Stigma 13 just nailed it blew some doors away at the front of the club! Thanks to Commander Cookie Wolf for the suggestion of Stigma 13! Sistas in the Pit paid a soul groove funky tribute to Joe and the crowd loved it. Monkey, the first reggae/ska band at a San Francisco tribute (I believe) kept the crowd moving and played great.

That leaves Cliff Truesdell and his Armagideons. For those who don’t know, Cliff is a veteran of Strummer tributes, having played with The Black Furies. When it looked like a tribute wasn’t going to happen in ‘06, Cliff, along with Eric McFadden, saved the tribute and introduced me to Strummerville! The Armagideons line-up may change over the years, but the delivery of the music is fantastic every year. I still cannot get Pressure Drop out of my head. They ended the night with a damn furious White Riot and just like that, the show was done. Time to pack the gear, close up shop and head home.

A hearty thanks again to all the bands for playing so well, to the great audience and raffle ticket buyers, Justin the always emcee, Gil on point for pics and vids, Neil on some pics this year, all the donors to the backline on the wall of thanks, to Bottom of the Hill, to Jock at Clashical Threads for all the support with flyer, schwag and moral boost, to Trish and all at Strummerville for their support and trust with Raffle items, to Henry Rollins for the autographs on last year’s flyer, to my family who gives me time and space to pull this off, to anyone else I’ve forgotten and to all fans, family and friends of Joe.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Excellent 4 tracks from The Hooks

Sincere thanks to everybody who attended and played in San Francisco, I watched even more of the video clips and you truly ought to do the same, loads of excellent cover versions – I really wish I was there – hopefully next Summer. You could do many worse things with your time than heading over to Gil’s youtube page where most of the evening was captured. Please read more about the participating bands via the links provided. That’s all for this evening more tomorrow I’m sure.

The (frankly brilliant) Hooks

InterChords

Sistas In The Pit

Monkey

Stigma 13

1. I should not speak in general terms (unless it concerns The Stranglers)

2. There is no such thing as an unpleasant Clash fan – it seems to bring out the cool in people

At this rate I’m going to book some time away for SXSW in Austin next Spring to give Texas a third try and hopefully complete my change of heart. Needless to say the blog gets good support from Texas and the fact that they had a Joe Strummer night in Austin says much about the city when other larger cities did no such thing.

The Joe Strummer Tribute in Austin, TX 21/8/10

With that said – I’ll hand you over to our guest contributor Kara and her summary of events:

Joe’ birthday celebration was center stage at Red 7 in Austin, TX last Saturday night, with a Clash tribute band, Clampdown, headlining the evening.  I know I was looking forward to being in the same room with so many Clash fans, and Austin did not disappoint.  Numerous bands took to the stage before Clampdown for a thin crowd, who eventually erupted when Scott Reynolds and the Steaming Beast ended their set with a rendition of ‘Julie’s Been Working for the Drug Squad’  Then Clampdown opened their show with ‘Complete Control,’ which of course sent the audience into a celebratory frenzy.  I would say their performance of ‘White Man (in Hammersmith Palais)’ would be the other most notable moment at which the crowd seemed to really get into the spirit of the evening.  It was an energetic performance, however the best part about the night was the presence of about two hundred people that love Joe and The Clash, celebrating a great man’s life together by singing (ok, screaming) and dancing (more like jumping) along to some of our favorite songs, performed by Clampdown.  The crowd was as diverse as they come (this is Austin, you know…), but there was great unity in our enthusiasm for celebrating Joe’s day.  Glasses were raised, and beer was spilled (on my head), in remembrance of Joe.  I think we are all looking forward to next year’s gathering!

Thanks a lot for taking the time to scribe that review Kara (although it’s centre & favourite) and also for the photographs you took (above and below) which feature photos from the night with a prerequisite Strummer themed backdrop which I have such a weakness for. I’d also be remiss if I failed to tell you more about Clampdown – A Joe Strummer Tribute so please visit their myspace page and certainly look out for them playing the pubs and clubs of Texas and beyond, perhaps I can get them to ride the wagon train to Phoenix for the December Strummer event? Their official blurb is beneath

Clampdown was conceived in 2009 with the sole intent of paying tribute to the legendary Joe Strummer and his band, The Clash. Strummer’s untimely death on December 22, 2002 was the catalyst that got the wheels of Clampdown turning. Members of Clampdown include Paul Lopez on vocals, Mark Martinez on guitar and vocals, J.G. on bass, Shawn Terry on lead guitar and Ruben Todd on drums along with Dan Carney on guitar. These men have been paying their dues in the San Antonio and Austin music scenes for nearly twenty years. Collectively, they have participated in bands such as De Los Muertos and The Bent Gents, Stretford, The Dispicables, Molotov Cocks, The Mechanical Walking Robot Boy, Rings of Saturn, and War Rocket Ajax just to name a few. The short ten year career of The Clash laid the foundation for every punk rock band ever since and the mere existence of a band like Clampdown today, twenty three years after The Clash ceased to be, is proof of this fact. Clampdown knows this only too well. Each member has been greatly influenced by this incendiary musical force and each jumped at the chance to pay tribute to Strummer and “The Only Band That Matters.” Clampdown’s tribute is honest and straightforward with no frills. It’s pure… it’s powerful… it’s Clampdown.

Clampdown playing live at the Joe Strummer Tribute in Austin, TX 21/8/10

As you can see we’re talking about some gents with serious musical pedigrees turning their attention to The Clash – that can only be a good thing! I’ve got more over the next few days from the other cities I mentioned and we’ll also march on with the other matters at hand. Thanks for dropping in and please share the blog with your Clash friendly acquaintances.

Speaking of Joe – I wrote a few weeks ago about the Clash/Joe Strummer pop art that has been created by Simon Dixon back in the UK and this afternoon I received my truly awesome Strummer/RAF piece and its just beautiful. Thanks so much Simon I’ll be getting a frame at the weekend as this merits pride of place and I can have it in place in time for his Birthday – better still!! (gallery 4 on his website if you are looking) With that said let me pull of these side streets and see how much traffic is on the Westway tonight. If you are new to the site its our analogy for multiple Clash related stories all in one post, so get your seatbelt on. Links to article are the headlines.

If I were in London I’d be here: How often do you get to see one of the most important English bands of the entire punk/post punk scene in a venue that holds just 200 people? On November 8th and 9th if you act quickly you can do just that and see Wire at the Lexington. I rank Wire as one of the most important bands to evolve from the first wave of punk and they then did what so many failed to do and evolved into something that continued to be both fresh but resolutely unique to them. Record sales might say otherwise but Wire were one of the most influential bands from that era and beyond. Act fast as hopefully you can get tickets (via the link provided) – besides which its in the republic of Islington so you’ll enjoy the entire evening.

Join a Paul Simonon debate: The age old debate about the relative merits of Paul Simonon as a bass player are going on over at Amazon so free to join in. I fall under the raw musician at the beginning who worked hard to improve but huge amounts during his time with The Clash. Paul would be the first to admit that he wasn’t born with desire (or a habit) to play an instrument from his earliest years (that would be Mick) but the foolish jibes that suggest Simonon remained with The Clash because he looked good are complete nonsense. As far as I know Paul never plugged in a guitar until he was 20 years old and later that same year he was playing live on stage. Yes Mick had to teach him the basics of playing the bass but through years of application and effort he became a good musician and certainly a creative one who took pride in his contribution to the sound of the band. Joe Strummer was never a lead guitarist but that didn’t stop him working to become one of the best rhythm guitarists I’ve ever seen. You’re also a tit if you ignore his reggae influences on his playing and the overall direction of the band.

Still one of my favourite video clips: The Joe Strummer Mural in New York has been visited, photographed and been a site of pilgrimage for Clash fans now for a good number of years. Overall I love that its there but can’t deny it makes me sad, this video clip of two little lads aged around 8 or 9 I’d guess playing a guitar and snare in front of Joe’s image never fails to lift me up a bit. (you’ve not gone mad, I did mention this once before but its Joe’s week)

Links to the NME online Clash tribute(s): I’ll be writing about that special NME edition in the days ahead as it was really lovely to get a copy sent over from England (thanks again). In the meantime wanted to be sure you had a chance to see the the features the NME added to their website via the original link which has memories and some video and also this series of rather brilliant photos.

Attila The Stockbroker – too old to rap? Nah…: I need to write some tales about Attila one of these nights, he’s been playing live for decades now and a more genuine and committed man you would be hard pressed to meet. I first saw him in the mid 80’s with Billy Bragg and he never stops working – his rap (via the link) sums up his love for being an old punk and Brighton supporter and naturally name checks Joe Strummer. Great bloke – find out more via his site or facebook page. He’s a 21st century bard and comes highly endorsed.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Attila the Stockbroker’s tribute to Joe Strummer

That about me done for now but hopefully enough to keep you going, for no obvious reasons this took me ages to prepare and link etc this evening (age??). Probably need another Westway tomorrow or Sunday – and Saturday is reserved for Joe who should be turning 58 instead of leaving us to struggle along without him. Cheers ~ Tim

“That’s a good album if you’re into your punk music” This chap might remind some of you of yourselves or someone you know. Very basically this very nice lad introduces us to his collect of ‘Clash stuff’. He’s simply a fan but that pure adoration of the band comes through from him laying out all his cds, records and books. In the background he’s got the band providing backing to his narration as he just rambles on a bit. You might not need the full 10 minutes of the video to get the gist of it but its fun to watch just to see the devotion of a fan. I’d also guess he’s no more than in his mid 20’s as he doesn’t reference double or triple albums so he was probably well after the time the band were in full flow, that in itself I think says so much about the continuing impact of the band. I like the video most for his delivery and instructions ‘don’t download that, just buy it’  – also listen (near the end) for the story of how he got into The Clash it might make you a bit weepy.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Paul Simonon interview – 1990 I realise there are a lot of clips online I’ve never seen before and this is one of them. Taken from Canadian TV in 1990 Paul Simonon and Gary Myrick are interviewed at length (ostensibly of course about Havana 3am). Interesting interview overall if for no other reason in the contrast between a lad from London and another from Dallas, Texas. Also reminded me how Havana 3am did some support slots for Big Audio Dynamite upon suggestion from Mick, another one of those things that gets buried in the mountain of debris in my head. If you’ve never seen it you’ll enjoy it.

Click here to view the embedded video.

London Calling covered by SOR Band? – 31/7/10 Where to begin, I can’t resist a Clash cover version and I don’t add many to these posts unless there is something a bit different. This one is different but they look young, they’re doing their best and its a nod to The Clash. Things to watch for: the club looks like the back of my Nan’s house in Dublin, they are playing the song with keyboards (a bit different), the drummer is Animal from the Muppets as best as I can tell. I feel awful as I can’t share a thing about SOR Band, so if you know them or are them please write in, I think the ‘gig’ was in New York.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The Offspring cover ‘Guns of Brixton’ in Vancouver: They’ve covered this for quite a while as far as I know but I’ve never mentioned it on the blog. Its a good run through of the Simonon track if a little bit too regimented. Tell me honestly that The Offspring are normally a little more animated on stage than this surely? That said its a decent version.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Honourable mentions:

Not karaoke, not a cover but this girl just seems to love to mime to Rock the Casbah. Watch for jazz hands and….well the rest of it, I can’t explain…

The Sunshiners cover ‘Should I Stay…’ , not quite calypso or reggae and neither completely awful or especially good.

That will be all I’ve got this evening, I need to check the cat and it just started raining so I need to go and get wet (it never rains here). Thanks for dropping in.

I’m going to post the equivalent of blogging fast food tonight, reasonably quick to make perhaps briefly filling and guilt ridden and compromised afterward. Actually this better be a bit better than fast food – you tell me? That said somewhere between 30-40 Clash/Clash related videos are uploaded to youtube/vimeo/googlevideo/daily motion and other video sites each and every week. While many are already listed elsewhere I’m going to filter through them and share some of the best, worst and strangest things I come across about 3 times a month. I’ve long considered a video only page on the blog but the bandwidth restrictions would result in the need for a server just for the blog, as it is we come close to our single server capacity with normal traffic. Perhaps next year!

So let’s see what I’ve found this week. (It’s a mixed bag, if you haven’t seen 2/3 of what I add it will be mission accomplished)

Mick Jones interview clips from Summer 2009: Something really nice to start and this has just been added to youtube. Its a four minute plus b/w interview with Mick Jones at The Rock and Roll Public Library from last summer. Not an interview as such but more like clips from an extended conversation. Mick is really funny throughout and the focus seems to be as much on the cups of tea and scones as it does the Clash memorabilia.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mick Jones playing ‘What’s My Name’ with Ebba Gröns 2003, Stockholm: I’d love to provide some information about this clip, I’m sure someone reading can provide many more details. Ebba Gröns were Sweden’s most famous punk band from the late 70’s – I had no idea they had reunited and that Mick appeared with them. More importantly Mick was having a great time it looked, along with the audience and the sound is a good blast of early Clash.

Click here to view the embedded video.

A Clash fan opening and showing The Clash singles box set: I really enjoyed watching this, he does such a nice job just being a fan. In short he opens up the box set, shows you the packaging and the cool mini replica 45RPM CDs that made up the box set. As you’ll see even though it was an expensive item for the collection the wonderful detail in reproducing all of the original singles sleeves is really brilliant as is the fact that the discs each look like a 7″ slab of vinyl. Bloody fun to watch even if you don’t stick around for the duration. Even nicer to own.

Click here to view the embedded video.

G.B.H. covering ‘White Riot’ in Chicago earlier this month: Bloody hell….I’ll warn you first to turn the audio down as the sound quality is pretty shite, but what an oddity this is!! In the Spring of ‘84 (I think) I made a late dash to see some of the earlier 2nd wave of punk bands that were still playing live in London at that time. I need to dig out my journals to see exactly who I saw that year but I know I saw The Exploited and GBH around the same time. Even by 1984 a room full of mohawks and leather was looking a bit out of place but I’ve no regrets! Thus I had no idea GBH were touring this year in the States nor how many of the original lineup remain (at least two I think) but turns out they have a new album out on Hellcat! Good on them! Read more on the Hellcat Records site.

Click here to view the embedded video.

There we go then, I really enjoyed that…might do it more often. Let me know what you think, we’ll never get so short on videos that you need to see me trying (and succeeding) to ruin English Civil War on my Telecaster..don’t worry!

Tim

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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

Two other things I mentioned on Facebook but wanted to include here. Thumbs up to the BBC for honouring the passing of John Sicolo, the article mentions Joe Strummer playing the venue although I’ve no idea how they failed to note the year of Joe passing was incorrect? Also a quick video for you of Anti-Flag and Billy Bragg performing a cover version of ‘Should I Stay or Should I Go’ at last weekend’s Harvest of Hope festival in Florida. Some really good bands on that bill actually, shame we don’t have an equivalent on this side of the country. (it wouldn’t be Coachella!)

Worth a very quick look is this list of ‘the ‘top ten duos in popular music’. Pleased to see Strummer/Jones making that list but some of the other stuff on there is either far too obvious or a few that are decidedly dodgy. Always felt Strummer/Jones just rolled off the tongue despite it not being alphabetical, come to think of it Mellor/Jones would have sounded alright too eh?

Strummercamp 2010 is coming up – I’ll write much more in the weeks ahead as the lineup is really good this year. A lot of bands with many memories (and great records) will be up in Cheshire for the event on the last weekend in May. I hope some of you from the North of England might be getting along – if so please get in touch before you go so we can relay your stories. Confirmed acts for the weekend include Spear of Destiny, The Godfathers, The Blockheads and many others. Details are here, I’m sure we’ll cover this in more detail nearer the time. Staying on the Strummerville theme this is a great post by a chap who had a request for his (brilliant) artwork to be used in conjunction with the Strummerville film, a nice article and worthy recognition on the reverse side.

Sorry for the brevity of the post – I’ve got to finish writing a letter and do some laundry (exciting that eh?). Tomorrow marks St. Patrick’s Day but also the anniversary of me leaving London to move to Chicago back in the 90’s. When asked “What brought you to the States?” in the years since my stock answer if I don’t like you has been “a 747″….and to some I tell the truth. I wasn’t wanted for a crime in Hammersmith or anything so exciting – it was a girl.

Just to cover old ground but as it’s coming up soon don’t forget that Strummerville will be fully represented at this year’s SXSW music festival in Austin. There are sure to be a number of articles / interviews and hopefully a bit more to follow, all the pertinent details are on the Strummerville site. I had hoped to make it over to Austin at least for the weekend but airfares seem to have doubled while I sat on the fence (apparently due to Spring break and the airlines seeing a chance to make a killing) so I will be reporting as best I can from here. The idea of driving 15 hours each way doesn’t have the same Kerouac appeal as it once did – and having seen New Mexico and heard about West Texas I think I’d lose my mind. One huge feature for Clash fans at the festival will be the Strummerville film – details from the site reproduced beneath:

On Friday 19th March ‘Strummerville – a film by Don Letts’ will premier at the Paramount. The film, directed by the London born, Grammy award winning filmmaker and artist Don Letts, captures the very essence of Strummerville. The film journeys through the past six months of the diverse Strummerville calendar, including interviews with the bourgeoning talents and the friends and family of Joe who work hard to keep the charity going. The documentary also includes unseen footage of Joe Strummer taken from Don’s personal archive. On the film Don says, “In a cultural climate that feels like punk never happened Strummerville (the film) serves as a timely reminder of a way forward. It worked back then and it can work again – and man it needs to!”

On to related ground, I’ve neglected (purely on accident) to write much about Los Mondo Bongo. Many of you will know the band features Pablo Cook who helped start the Mescaleros with Joe Strummer. His new band are currently touring the UK and feature Pablo plus bassist Derek Forbes (Simple Minds), guitarist Steve Harris (Gary Numan) and vocalist Mike Peters (The Alarm). The band are certainly their own unique thing and not just a ‘tribute act’ as they’ve been tagged -  but Pablo doesn’t disassociate from his time with Strummer. They also tend to play a few Clash/Strummer songs live – and do them justice! I promise I’ll write more on them because I’ve been waylaid so far. The video below should give you a taste as should this article in the Derby Telegraph.

“As a writer, it seems a bit odd, saying I’m paying tribute to my own songs. I’m just playing my tunes to people who appreciate Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. We do a few Clash songs as part of the evening – to celebrate Joe. And to keep the flame alive is great for me.”

Click here to view the embedded video.

I really want to do this…..Do you have a Clash or B.A.D. or Joe Strummer ticket stub?? Email me if you do and can forward a photo or a scan…I want to feature them on the site, I do love ticket stubs. Right then…I’ve got to dash but here’s a song I keep listening to this week (and the video is really well done) Vampire Weekend’s ‘Giving Up The Gun’.