Good day Clash people. The days after that tour….have me thinking rather a lot. What a tour it was, for all the right reasons. Often when I’m far afield it’s been hard to imagine the events from the wrong end of a telescope but somehow Justice Tonight was easy to picture, easy to relate to and so bloody hard to be missing out on. Someone wrote somewhere over the course of these gigs that it was ‘all a bit rough and ready at times, exactly in keeping with the origins of the music’ and I couldn’t agree more. This wasn’t sponsored by Carlsberg or simulcast on MTV. This was a series of benefit gigs like no other in recent years in the midst of a tour that kept raising the bar for a cause that truly does matter. Could anything be more in keeping with The Clash and their fans?

“The way you get a better world is, you don’t put up with substandard anything”       Joe Strummer – 1999

This might be one of those posts I tend to write that will ramble a bit, in fact I’m fairly certain it will be. I’ll get there in the end I hope so I’ll beg your patience. I doubt I’ll manage it all in one sitting. I want to write about the story of The Clash, I want to write about The Clash and their audience, I want to write about making a difference and caring and I want to write about the cause that led to this tour in the first place. I also want to try and write about the Hillsborough disaster. I’m not an expert but I know how I felt about it then and still feel today.

Pete Wylie (image kind courtesy of Pete Stevens)

You don’t need to be English to understand the impact of Hillsborough to any greater degree, no more than being English will help you understand the importance of punk rock. If you feel and care, if you’re awake and alert, it transcends the fact it might not be local to you. What helps is a belief that wrongs should be righted, that change is the responsibility of us and not ‘them’ and that music isn’t the solution on it’s own although it can bring together passionate people who want to affect change. That’s what punk rock was really about, empowering the kid with no money and no contacts and get out there and do it for himself. It is often applied to music but can apply to anything, just allow it and it can be so.

“The most important thing for anyone, I think, is to be engaged, whether you’re an artist or a journalist is to be engaged in the process at some level”    Billy Bragg

When I first saw Billy Bragg it was during the coal miners strike in the UK. They were dark, tense and really militant times. At the same time activism wasn’t seen as pointless pursuit. The 1980′s are portrayed by the media as a time for silly haircuts and synth-pop but they were also the last time (until recently) that I saw activism being seen as worthy and full of potential to bring about change. We had the East/West divide, the cold war, a wall in Berlin and Apartheid to combat. In tandem with some right wing governments and fascist seeds being spread around they were good times to kick against the system. I know I did, it came naturally. As for Billy Bragg, for me he embodied the spirit of The Clash and I thought we can change the path of the country, people will listen, the wrongs will be righted. A few years later Bragg and Paul Weller toured as ‘Red Wedge’ which essentially was to get young kids involved in politics and vote labour. Was it a success? Yes, if like me, you became more engaged. No, if you judge it on the fact that Thatcher was again the winner in the following general election. At least people were paying attention.

Joe Strummer became the de facto mouthpiece of The Clash and with that the voice of that generation, a tough mantle to take on and one that I think caused him untold pressure and strain during the years the band were active. ‘Spokesman’ is not a role that anyone other than a dictator would comfortably adjust to, Joe was never a dictator. Joe often said things like we know the world has a lot of problems and four punks from London don’t have all the answers but essentially we’re here to encourage you to ask questions and get involved. Years later when I saw Billy Bragg again for the eleventh or twelfth time his message had moderated a bit but in actuality it was more valid than ever before, he didn’t ask you to wait for him to take the lead position. He said ‘I’m not able to change the world, music can’t change the world, but you can. The community we can build around music can take an idea such as not letting apathy win and bring it to work tomorrow and to the polls when we vote. I can’t change things but you surely can”.

To my ears he was channeling Joe Strummer – the same message really and the right message certainly. Not coincidentally Billy Bragg played with Mick Jones, Pete Wylie and The Farm in Liverpool on the Justice Tonight tour. The message remains, a good cause is one you will fight for and a good cause can result in justice if you push it. Part 2 of this will follow soon, sorry for the gap.

Ninety-six people died in a football ground that afternoon, the only thing they were guilty of was going to see a game. Here are the first thirty-two names that we should never forget and their age that spring afternoon in 1989. These were my peers and were for many of you as well. You can learn much more and help the Hillsborough Justice Campaign by visiting this link.

John Alfred Anderson (62)  Colin Mark Ashcroft (19)  James Gary Aspinall (18) 

Kester Roger Marcus Ball (16) Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron (67)  Simon Bell (17) 

Barry Sidney Bennett (26)  David John Benson (22) David William Birtle (22)

  Tony Bland (22) Paul David Brady (21)  Andrew Mark Brookes (26)

Carl Brown (18)  David Steven Brown (25) Henry Thomas Burke (47) 

Peter Andrew Burkett (24)  Paul William Carlile (19)  Raymond Thomas Chapman (50) 

Gary Christopher Church (19) Joseph Clark (29) Paul Clark (18)

  Gary Collins (22)  Stephen Paul Copoc (20)  Tracey Elizabeth Cox (23) 

James Philip Delaney (19) Christopher Barry Devonside (18) Christopher Edwards (29) 

Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons (34)  Thomas Steven Fox (21)  Jon-Paul Gilhooley (10)

  Barry Glover (27) Ian Thomas Glover (20)

Good afternoon everyone and cheers for stopping in. It’s lunchtime in the desert so therefore Thursday evening in the UK as I write on December 1st which just happens to be the first date of six scheduled concerts on the Justice Tonight tour in Cardiff. I’m going with my gut on this plus some of the feedback from the Liverpool concert that took place earlier in the year, these six concerts are going to be something really special for Clash fans and indeed those who believe that music has the power to make an impact. While many of us have seen B.A.D., Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros, Carbon Silicon or other events that featured member(s) of The Clash the emphasis has always been on the artists own work outside that sphere. Which is as it should be but until now there’s never been something performed live with the promise of Clash songs being performed.

Of course Joe Strummer worked many Clash songs into his set, even going back as far as his time with The Pogues. Conversely Mick Jones has seemingly until more recent years left history on the shelf in favour of his subsequent material. That stance has only really changed in recent years which leads me to believe that his change is probably due to the loss of Joe in 2002. Mick has apparently felt that the Clash songs are too good to be left unperformed live and that with Joe gone the most appropriate person left to honour these songs is himself. Even when it would have been a huge crowd-pleaser (last year with Gorillaz for example) Mick has never added a Clash medley just for the sake of it. I’m all but sure Damon must have suggested it at some point, probably met with a scowl by Paul Simonon as a result. When I saw Gorillaz last year I remember watching Paul and Mick beside each other on stage again and just wishing for a Clash song (I certainly had flashbacks to seeing them as a teenager so long ago) but of course it wasn’t to happen.

So tonight, and for the other five concerts to come I hope those of you who are able to attend get something I didn’t really ever expect to see. Part of a set quite rightly dedicated to The Clash and perhaps just as importantly it’s truly in the spirit of Joe Strummer. I’m positive that he’d approve. We’ll see what songs get played and who picks up the vocals and see some moments that should he held onto for a long, long time. If there is one concert I’m really aching about missing over the last 5-10 years it’s this tour. The guest stars plus Pete Wylie and The Farm all appeal to me as well in equal measure to the cause itself.

The floral tributes at Anfield (home of Liverpool FC) on the days after the Hillsborough disaster

This is for those who lost their lives at Hillsborough after all, on an afternoon where they’d headed over to Sheffield simply to watch a football match. Something I did countless times at exactly the same age and in the same places. This isn’t a football blog but I love the game almost as much as the music and though I was actually at Highbury that afternoon the events of that day will always be with me. Somehow a ‘modern’ country paid the ultimate price for treating hundreds of thousands of people like cattle and the loss of lives remains as inexcusable today as it was that grim day. If you’re under 25 it’s almost impossible to imagine how we supporters (much like fans at concerts) were once herded and simply taken for granted. Tragedies and disasters can and do happen but this one was so avoidable that it’s painful to even reflect on. Going to matches was never the same after that, nor should it have been. Time does heal the wounds to some extent but the vitriol and lies from parts of the British press can never be forgiven. I sincerely hope a significant aspect of these concerts is raising awareness of the cause itself.

Enjoy it and perhaps savour it. Best of luck to Mick and those on the tour and to you who are heading out to see it. Roll back the years and have a laugh but please remember why the concerts are taking place. You also ought to know I’ve heard from people in deep despair because they can’t make one of these concerts. If you care to share your experience on the blog even if its just a sentence or two I’d be glad to include in the days ahead, photos too please!  Cheers – Tim

Hello again, I’m back again and so I hope, are you. It was a perfect day today, the sort where you feel like leaning against a tree with a good book and just letting the sun warm you and the wind create the only external sounds. Alas I had to work. Then again I’m glad to have work so one can’t complain.

I hate it when I’m unintentionally late with event news on The Clash Blog but I regret it’s happened. I recall asking months ago for a secretary to help keep the blog current, where is that mystery girl (or boy if need be)? This post won’t be very lengthy as I want to be sure that those readers in and around London are aware of a rather special night tonight (Thursday December 1st) that’s about to take place. It happily coincides with the first night of the Mick Jones review and I’ll have more on that later I’m sure, but for those in the capital that need a Clash fix before the Justice Tonight tour hits town you can get your dose a week early.

Here’s the short version – an action packed Clash themed evening down at the Earl of Chatham in Woolwich SE18. The night is designed to ‘remember Joe Strummer and celebrate The Clash’ and will be headlined by punk tribute band 48 Thrills with a raft of special guests. Here’s the official blurb:

Arms Aloft in Acton Town are pleased to support a Jail Guitar Doors benefit taking place on Thursday 1st December 2011 at The Earl of Chatham, close to Woolwich Arsenal station. Quality punk tribute band, 48 Thrills will play a Clash-heavy set to mark the 35th anniversary of the start of the Anarchy Tour (the first important Clash tour); to remember Joe Strummer (close to the 9th anniversary of his passing) and celebrate the 50th birthdy of 48 Thrills frontman, Joe Williams. ‘Rude Boy’, Ray Gange will play a DJ set and former Clash road manager, Johnny Green will sign books.

Tickets are £10 from which proceeds will go to Jail Guitar Doors and can be purchased via Pay Pal by clicking the button below. In the spirit of back-to-basics punk rock you have to buy each ticket individually – apologies for the inconvenience! Please bring your e-mail confirmation to the venue where it will be swapped for a souvenir ticket.

Tickets are available online via this link but are also available on the door. More excellent news is that proceeds will be going directly to helping the Jail Guitar Doors cause. There is also a facebook event page with more information and the site from 48 Thrills as linked above.  I so wish I could go…for the music, for Ray Gange and his DJ stint and in addition to Johnny Green author Pat Gilbert will be there. It should be a blinder of an evening. If you happen to be going please share with us how it goes. Please do all you can to share this event on Facebook and via Twitter even though it’s at very short notice hopefully more will make it down. Sorry about that (my tardiness) but please tell Ray, Johnny and Ray that the Clash Blog says hello! Here’s a timetable of events for the evening:

REMEMBERING JOE STRUMMER – CELEBRATING THE CLASH

Earl of Chatham, 15 Thomas Street, London SE18 6HU

7.30pm Doors open  
7.40pm Rube Boy screening
8.45pm Book signing
9.00pm 30 minute DJ set
9.30pm 48 Thrills live
10.15pm Clash Poster Auction
10.30pm Pat Gilbert Interviews ‘Live On Stage’
10.45pm 30 minute DJ set
11.15pm 48 Thrills live
11.45pm 60 minute DJ set
12.30am Last Orders
1.00am Finish

The Earl of Chatham is at 15 Thomas Street in Woolwich SE18, nearest rail station is Woolwich Arsenal. More details on the map above. Hope some of you can get along to this one. Cheers – Tim