Greetings once more from a very happy Clash Blog towers, the happiness is due to having all the windows open and temperature being below 80 for the first time since probably April. This calls for a a celebration of sorts so I am equipped with a cup of coffee and am also listening to XTC ‘Drums and Wires’ as I write. I’ve found myself listening to XTC rather a lot recently and I’ll go on record by saying they were one of the most influential bands of that era, in fact they’d sing on that rung just below The Clash with few other contenders. You can hear their impact on so many bands of the last twenty years, whether that influence was always intentional or not is open to debate but I hear them all over the place.

So, it’s Thursday already and I can finally start to cross a few more older stories off of my list. By now you’ve almost certainly heard that Mick Jones headed up to Merseyside last month to take part, a headlining part it turned out in Liverpool’s ‘Don’t Buy The Sun’ concert. I could (and perhaps might on my other blog) write an essay as to why you shouldn’t buy The Sun (english Murdoch operated gutter press newspaper) and I’m proud to say I never have. It’s a paper that looks to wave nationalistic, hateful, poorly researched, racist, divisive and frankly ridiculously sensationalistic views under the guise of a newspaper by appealing to the lowest common denominator. Unfortunately as poor taste would have it The Sun is also one of the best selling daily papers in England, except in Liverpool. If you’re of similar vintage to me you’ll forever remember the events that took place in Sheffield in  1989 when an FA Cup Semi-Final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest was so poorly policed that almost 100 football supporters were crushed to death. There were a number of mistakes that day but the fulcrum of the blame laid with some very poor decisions by the police. As someone who went to see my team home and away and had stood on that same section of terracing a number of times Hillsborough hit me and the people I knew very hard, we all realised it was could just have easily had happened to us. However I digress, the story and the facts behind that tragic event were slow to emerge but it didn’t stop The Sun from making up their own mind and wrongly blaming Liverpool supporters for not only causing the tragedy but also acting like animals during the rescue operation. It was hideous knee-jerk journalism and quite rightly resulted in the city turning on the paper and almost completely ceasing to purchase it. That was 22 years ago and the Sun and Murdoch haven’t exactly covered themselves in glory in the intervening years.

This summer of course saw the explosion of the phone tapping scandal with the sister paper The News of The World which comes out every Sunday. A paper that thrives on celebrity gossip and sensationalism was brought to it’s knees due to a scandal that simply wouldn’t go away and Murdoch reacted by closing it down to appease public pressure. Not that his News International empire has even caught a cold as a result but this closure was a sign that there was a limit to what is accepted by even a patient public. Anyway, enough of the history but if you want to you can read much more about Hillsborough and the Hillsborough Justice Campaign via this site and also the Don’t Buy The Sun campaign via this site.

Mick Jones has a longstanding and warm relationship with Liverpool which extends all the way back to the time of The Clash, so when friends Pete Wylie and Peter Hooton of The Farm invited Mick to the event it was something he was happy to get behind. It also helps that he’s been a dedicated football support since childhood, in his case Queens Park Rangers. I’ve read a lot about the concert plus there is some great video footage and I will get those links for you over the weekend, but many have said it was just an amazing evening with Jones receiving a hero’s welcome and performing some Clash songs which were completely unexpected by many I would think. For today though I wanted to link you to a few things that we didn’t  get enough of when Big Audio Dynamite were touring – in depth interviews with Mick Jones. I guess that’s fair enough as the range of questions were well thought out and varied ranging from Clash history to the recent riots in the UK and his feelings about Liverpool. These are some of the best I’ve seen this year.

The Olympia, Liverpool

The first interview was in the live4ever ezine and the interview takes place around the Liverpool concert. Also interviewed is Mick’s cousin Martin Muscatt of the band Taurus Trakker, an excellent read and here’s the link. Also worth a visit is the Taurus Trakker website where you can learn and hear more and also purchase the new album ‘Building Ten’ which features (you guessed it) Mick Jones amongst some other special guests.

“You do it because you know it’s what you enjoy the most, I was born for this to tell you the truth and it was all I ever wanted to do really. I remember going to the careers officer at school and being asked what I wanted to do, and I said I wanted to be in a band and they said they couldn’t help me”  Mick Jones

Sabotage Times is the home of the other interview conducted with Mick when he was on Merseyside and it’s a brilliant one too. You’ll see some duplication with the other interview as he must have had a mini press conference of sorts but there is more than enough to make both worth reading. Stopping just short of being sunkissed I’ve got to say Mick continues to come across as the nicest bloke imaginable. Right then I hope you enjoy both of these and I’ll get those other loose ends pulled together this weekend. Huge thanks to Sabotage Times and live4ever for the Mick transcripts, bookmark those sites! Don’t forget you can keep current via Facebook, Twitter get the RSS feed for the blog or email me.

“I was brought up by my maternal grandmother, so I was a latch key kid with a key round a chain to get in and out of the council flat. But to come so far is an amazing thing, it’s a story for everybody and I love to use it to inspire other people. It doesn’t matter where you’re from – its what you are. For me to be here playing after all these years is such an incredible thing”    Mick Jones

A very good evening from a wet and windy Phoenix, I’m ecstatic about the rain which has brought temperatures down by about twenty degrees (F) in the last few hours. It’s even supposed to snow up in the mountains over the next few days so a quick drive up north may be in order after a brutal summer. Hope all is well in your corner of the world. I was expecting to get through some ‘dated’ news tonight when a new story that can’t be ignored hit my newsfeed this morning. After a summer that has been dominated by Mick Jones you’ll be as excited as I was (nothing personal against my guitar hero) to learn that we’ve some important news concerning Paul Simonon.

If you’re a regular reader of the blog you’ll already know and perhaps share my opinion that one of the very best post Clash musical collaborations with a member of our favourite group was Paul Simonon’s original time with Damon Albarn in The Good, The Bad and The Queen (which incidentally was the name bestowed on the band rather than the name the band chose). Along with Simon Tong from Verve (I still can’t call them The Verve) and Tony Allen the four-piece band started working together in 2006 releasing their only album in January of 2007. As a rule of thumb the idea of ‘supergroups’ is typically something that should be left on the shelf and by definition with four disparate elements TGTBaTQ were indeed a supergroup and yet they released the best album of that year and for my money one of the best half dozen albums of the last half decade. You’re probably familiar with it and I won’t bore you with my opinions of it except to say it’s a haunting journey through modern life in London which is an outstanding document of modern Britain in my humble opinion. If you don’t own it you really ought to. The band created a tour itinerary of smaller english towns (Ilfracombe !) that was as unique as their sound and whilst I hoped that the band would become an ongoing concern it was just the one year that the band ‘existed’. The friendship between Albarn and Paul did of course remain in place and was integral to Paul’s 2010 enlistment in Gorillaz which organically also led to Mick Jones joining that particular gang. However as much as I like Gorillaz and have always been a fan of Damon Albarn/Blur I think that TGTBaTQ has been the best thing he’s done since Blur and Paul’s bass and style just added a whole extra dimension.

I’m not waxing lyrical about them for no reason at all nor will I apologise for the length of my digression. My point however is that they’ve announced they are going to be performing a special one-off show to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Greenpeace on November 10th. First of all the facts – Greenpeace formed in 1971 and have spent four decades as one of the world’s leading environmental activists. They haven’t always made decisions that everyone can stand by but they’ve led the protest at times when others have remained silent. If like me you grew up during the cold war you’ll know that Greenpeace and CND were two beacons at a time when it seemed we were racing to destruction, as opposed to now when it just seems that were are lurching towards it. The world has changed a lot and Greenpeace remain so it’s cool that Damon and Paul are behind this cause ultimately. The gig takes place at The Coronet in south London (Elephant & Castle) on November 10th. I hope beyond hope that someone reading this will be attending and get some snaps and/or send in a review. Tickets go on sale this Friday (Oct 7) at 10am not sure of the pricing but you should be able to nab some here. Hopefully an ideal chance to see them if you’re in London or various corners of the UK.

All of which leads me to a bit of idle speculation and not for the first time. Will this single event lead to the band finally writing and recording a second album as was suggested back in 2007 and again last year by Albarn (somewhat likely) or perhaps even a proper tour (less likely)? As you probably know the band was never ‘named’ nor even officially disbanded but seen more as a project that could be returned to at a later date. Considering that 3/4 of the band went on to make Plastic Beach by Gorillaz you could argue that the momentum was never really lost. There was also a quote early in the year from Simonon who said 2010 was a ‘music year’ for him and 2011 would be an ‘art one’ which opens up the chance that 2012 could see him back in a band. I’d welcome TGTBaTQ back in a heartbeat though I’m probably being optimistic the Greenpeace event might be the required catalyst. Enough from me though, what do you think? Can you make it to the concert and do you expect this to be the final chapter?

That’s me done for now – the windows are open and it’s almost chilly here this morning. Don’t forget you can keep current via Facebook, Twitter get the RSS feed for the blog or email me. Have a splendid day.

The Good, The Bad & The Queen on Jonathan Ross – ‘Green Fields’

Morning, I believe it’s now Sunday? Played football (the proper kinds without helmets) last night and slept like a baby and awake to find only my left ankle now hurts which is a better result than last night. The weather is finally cooling off and reminded myself that the glass things in the house actually slide open – fresh air after the 4 month desert heat is most welcome.

Right then, coffee at the ready so let’s get through some of the recent events so we can again look forward. Keep an eye on these #occupy events, it’s going global so if you’re making a homemade sign and joining the action please share the details. In addition, Americans might have been the first to land on the moon and have the biggest army in the world and all that….but why don’t the protestors work on some chants that carry a bit more conviction than what you might hear from 11 year olds? Also, if you’re marching but sipping from a Starbucks cup you might be part of the problem. They could start with reading some Clash lyrics and then work forwards from there.

Mick Jones image courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/kamikazewords/

We should really start with wrapping up the summer commitments of B.A.D. and as if to emphasise my blog lagging ability it’s now 3 weeks since Mick’s reformed bunch made their appearance on the Isle of Wight at Bestival 2011. I’ve never been to the Isle of Wight, just seen it from the mainland, but by all accounts Bestival is fast becoming one of the best music fests of all and has the added significance of being the last big one of the summer. However based on recent weather in England it should have been this weekend. I’ve read a number of comments and by all accounts it was another stunning set from Big Audio Dynamite who seemed to grow back into reworking songs that have laid dormant for so many years. It seems that the addition of Davo has really beefed up the guitar sound, overall energy and allowed Mick more free rein to enjoy himself. With all that said there’s a definite risk that this could have been the last concert by the band, I’m going to be optimistic and say we’ll see more next year. There’s more events in Europe plus I’m sure they could fill some halls in Asia and Australia/NZ if Mick wants to commit the time to more travel in 2012. If he decides not to I’m fairly sure we’ll see him on the circuit with Carbon Silicon or something else. I think he’s made more lives appearances in the last 4 years than he probably did from 1994-2005 collectively – a very good thing. One of which was Liverpool which I’ll get to in the next post although that one’s been well documented elsewhere.

As for Bestival – thanks to Heston 68 for the YouTube uploads below of B.A.D. live (really good audio and loving Mick’s suit) and an interview with Mick and Don Letts. Rob Peter, Pay Paul certainly merits a release and on vinyl too please. Has anyone heard/read any other official word on whether other new songs have been written? Mick does some offer some clues in the interview beneath. They’ve spent the better part of 5 months rehearsing, touring and playing so you’d hope so. Enjoy the videos – more shortly. Please share the blog if you can on Facebook, Twitter and such – it’s appreciated. Tim

Big Audio Dynamite at Bestival, September 2011 17:48

Don Letts & Mick Jones interview at Bestival