A very good evening to you wherever you may be reading the blog from ClashBlog Towers. An unseasonably warm (almost hot) day today had me looking for my shorts much to the excitement of the girls on the street I’m sure. I don’t want to miss new Clash happenings so I thought I’d boldly proceed with the review of 2011 started yesterday and looking at the most read posts each month from the year just concluded. Before that though two quick thoughts and one of which is also a thank you. Thanks are owed to a good friend in Toronto who was kind enough to send me a 2012 Joe Strummer calendar from Strummerville. I don’t know how many of you already have one or have perhaps been on the fence about acquiring one but now that I’ve seen it in person I can’t encourage you in strong enough terms to rush and get one before January winds down. Not that I intend to use it as a calendar though and write birthdays and Arsenal fixtures on it (is there anything else?) – it’s far too beautiful for that. The photography is remarkable but it’s the overall quality and presentation of the whole package that makes the calendar such a collector’s piece. Others have said they’re going to be framing some of the best shots although it would be hard to limit yourself to just two or three of the images on offer. It’s that good. Again my deep thanks to the sender -I really appreciate it. If you’re not convinced yet you really should be but here’s a reminder and a link to purchase one.

Also worth noting is that Strummerville are organising a music festival this summer to coincide with Joe’s 60th birthday, more on that later in the week. Needless to say it has the potential to be something very special indeed and might be taking place in Somerset. Right then, back to the 2011 ‘best of’ with April, May & June.

April 2011 -

‘Joe Strummer mural damaged‘ (April 7)

I’ve written a lot on the blog about how I feel that The Clash deserve more official recognition, it might sound trite to some but such recognition creates a symbolic place for fans to gather or simply reflect. In Joe’s case that’s even more specific since his passing but in general I think England really needs to get more done to pay tribute to the band and/or Joe. Glastonbury has the Strummer stone but that’s only key during the festival, you might be aware that Soho Square in London has a bench for the greatly missed (here at CB Towers) Kirsty MacColl. London needs to be doing more. I’ve got some hair brained scheme that we could start a campaign of signatures to present to the Mayor of London to get such a tribute taken care of – perhaps that idea will brew more completely this year. Anyway, back to the post in question – New York’s Joe Strummer mural has become such a gathering point for so many since it was created and when it was vandalised in April it caused a lot of anger. Happily the guilty party was caught which I wrote about later and the mural was repaired although maintenance of the piece of art remains an ongoinf challenge.

May 2011 -

‘Ebay listing for early Clash/Mickey Foote sessions tapes’ (May 8th)

I must confess I’m not sure what the final outcome of this one was. I think the person selling these had no right to do so and common sentiment was that he’d have been better off contacting Mick Jones as such an artifact should really have been in the hands of one of the band. There was some intrigue as to how he acquired these but the exact details now escape me. Nevertheless the photos are rather brilliant. If you remember more than me (not hard to do) please add it to the comments.

June 2011 -

‘Joe Strummer mural vandal caught and served jail time’ (June 4)

Ah, there it is – part 2 of the April story. I told you we care about that mural. It was a strange tale though, so if you missed it please go back and have a look.

Right then, that’s all I’ve time for at the moment but I do find it enjoyable looking back at last year and I hope you feel the same. I’ll have part three very soon and after we wrap up the year normal service will be resumed. Thanks as always for dropping in and don’t forget you can keep up to date by  Facebook, Twitter or get the RSS feed which will see the blog sent to you directly. Keep on kicking – Tim.

Good evening once again and thanks for dropping in to the blog. Depending on how the next 24 hours go this may very well be my final post of 2011 in which case it’s probably not a bad idea to acknowledge the passing of another year into the mists of time. I don’t know about you but I think 2011 has just flown by, it’s been a busy year personally, professionally and here on the blog because of all the activities relating to The Clash which isn’t bad going for a band that wrapped up proceedings such a long time ago. Oddly there’s been more to write about this year than at any time since the band were active with the return of Big Audio Dynamite, another great year for Strummerville and of course the events just this month on the Justice Tonight tour which saw Mick and Paul playing Clash songs together on stage for the first time since WarGames was pulling people (idiots?) into the local cinema. Yes, it really was that long ago.

Joe's New York mural last week

In between the big stories there’s been loads of other events worth covering and our rotating look at Clash news both recent and old and in the New Year I’ll work like mad to continue networking and hopefully keep the blog somewhere worth visiting. Now would be a good time to thank you all for reading, the blog has has almost 400,000 visits this year which is nearly double the total of a year earlier – numbers that I never really expected – but it’d be nice to see us pass the half million mark next year. I couldn’t honestly do it without your help – you know who you are. I’m stuck out in the desert in Arizona and it’s your coverage, guest posts, videos, research and wonderful photos in Europe and all other corners of the world that make the blog as fun as it is. I hope I can count on similar assistance next year. Clash fans are a brilliant bunch, very generous and accommodating not too mention intensely loyal and with strong opinions. I love your comments and debates, opinions and ideas and most of all the shared experience of knowing just what this band still means so many years later. Before writing this blog there were (and remain) a few blogs that I read daily or every other day depending on output and they’ve become as much a part of my daily routine as a cup of coffee and checking my email. I always hoped this blog could become the same and if that’s happened then it’s all been very worthwhile. Thanks for being part of it and I hope you can contribute or join me in the comments or on Facebook & Twitter even more often next year.

Before the year ticks over though I think we should quickly remember that the passing of time also means we head into 2012 without some great people we were very accustomed to having around. These gaps don’t get filled but the spirit and energy of these people can only live on through you keeping them in your hearts and on your lips. To that end a sad goodbye from me to:

Trish Keenan the brilliant singer from Broadcast who died in January from pneumonia at just 42.

We also tragically lost Poly Styrene due to cancer aged only 53. That one hurt.

Amy Winehouse deserved much better than to lose her life aged just 27, a reminder that the media didn’t know what to make of Winehouse except act like voyeurs but she was a young woman with immense talent.

One of the saddest losses was the suicide of Wales football manager Gary Speed who took his own life, if you know someone who struggles with depression never underestimate the difference your friendship and support can make.

Away from music we also lost Christoper Hitchens  – never dull, controversial but a brilliant writer without compare, Socrates (the genius footballer and featured in Clash and B.A.D. songs), Ken Russell who made films that changed the landscape before The Clash were about and we also lost Steve Jobs who ensured people care more about their fucking phones than each other – thanks Steve.

I’m sure I’ve forgotten some important names and there are also the people who were in your everyday lives that some of you have lost – carry them with you. Have a safe and happy New Years Eve wherever you may be spending it and let’s hope that 2012 isn’t the year of the Newt. I’ll be back soon – Tim

Good evening Clash Blog people….what is your official title anyway? Blog readers? Friends? Yes, friends works for me as I’m glad that you take the time to visit and catch up with the latest and seeing as I’ve not had much time to blog over the last week we definitely have a lot of catching up to do so I’ll try and filter through most of that over the next few days. If you’ve already ready some of the information I’ve been compiling please accept my apologies – I’ll be back on top of my game in a few more days. Here at Clash Blog towers operation ‘find a new place to live near the sea’ continues but nothing quite sorted out yet. I expect we’ll have to go back to San Diego in a few weeks so if any readers want to meet for a beer just let me know, I’d murder a good pint at this stage.

Image courtesy 'mudkiss' http://www.flickr.com/photos/vivamel/with/6455103519/

Mick Jones as you know has had a December almost as busy as mine with the warmly received Justice Tonight tour to benefit the Hillsborough Justice Campaign. There’s been more a flicker of rumour that we might see a return to the stage of this Clash-centric billing in 2012 and there’s even been talk that it might be taken over to North America. Not sure if that’s speculation or gossip (is there a difference?) but that would surely be a hot ticket. If we ran a form book for 2012 events and were setting up odds I’d put money on Jones appearing overseas in the new year the question is will it be the continuation of the Justice Tonight concept or something else? There’s a guaranteed audience for a gig that features a core of Clash songs with Mick being the star of the show but the Hillsborough cause won’t really translate overseas although of course it should. Add to that the question of whether Pete Wylie and The Farm would be game/available and it might be a stretch, if it happens I expect it would only be a 5 or 6 cities versus a full tour but it would certainly make for some interesting guest stars. Of course there’s also B.A.D. to consider which left off earlier in the year with promises of more live dates and potentially new recordings neither of which seem far fetched. Finally but just as valid is Carbon Silicon who remain Mick’s most ‘current’ commitment. At this point I think bringing that band on the road earlier in 2012 in the UK and then over to North America might be the most likely scenario. All of this is pure guesswork on my part – I think I need to find a way to talk to Mick! Having said that I bet he’ll change his mind more about 2012 as the mood takes him, which is a great position to be in.

During the tour earlier this month I hoped that a more in-depth interview would take place with Mick and was excited to see that one was conducted by the excellent Sabotage Times. You can read the long chat with Mick via this link and you’ll enjoy the candour that Mick shows as he talks about Joe, the influence of The Clash, the riots this past summer, the Hillsborough tour and many other topics. It won’t come as a shock to you to learn that Mick is very proud and simultaneously humble that he’s been able to do all he has, both recently and in the past. His love for what he does seems to be at the core of it – if Mick Jones wasn’t to be a musician I don’t think Mick ever developed a plan B. I have to respect that. Here’s a quote below and thanks again to Sabotage Times for publishing this one – they are are a great online magazine so please bookmark it. I’ll be back soon – hope your week has zipped by.

“We always got criticism in The Clash but we always thought ‘you should be happy. We’ve gone a long way and it represents what you can do’, you know what I mean? We took it all the way to Broadway and that meant something. When we got the flack we thought we don’t care because we represent something that will go a long way”    Mick Jones