Hello once more and thanks for stopping in at The Clash Blog. We’re now entering our 27th month of Clash service and coming up rapidly on 800 posts. I’ve been checking my blog ‘to do’ list this evening and realised there’s some stuff I really need to take care of. I will be adding a forum soon so that you can discuss all things Clash when I’m not here, so to speak. It could also be a good place to share audio files or perhaps try to buy or sell rare Clash memorabilia. We may set up a Clash shop on the site ahead as I’ve got a few retailers who’d like to sell via the site, I just want to find a way so that you can sell your own art, collectibles, vinyl or whatever. Stay tuned – just as soon as I get some down time.

This week has gone by far too quickly, which I wouldn’t complain about if I was ahead with my work but that’s not the case. Therefore I better not ramble on too long this evening although I do have a something I wanted to share if you’ve got time?

Not sure if you ever saw ‘Sid & Nancy’ (of course you did), but I must confess that it must be 15 or 20 years since I saw it most recently on VHS no doubt. Can you believe that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the films release in 1986? I couldn’t either. I’d like to see it again as in real terms (mostly from reading far more books coupled with the internet) I know far more about the main pieces of the story now than I did back then, perhaps that would lower my opinion of the film to see it again? No….I should see it again anyway. Either way it does feature one of my favourite Joe Strummer tracks of all – Love Kills. Regardless, I do bring this up for a reason as the decidedly brilliant Gary Oldman is on BBC Radio 5 tomorrow (Fri Sep 16) from 2-4pm. Mark Kermode hosts it and as you can see from his latest blog post (and the video also embedded beneath) he is seemingly a bit of an Oldman nut so I expect rather strongly that the conversation will turn to Sid & Nancy at some point. It will be live tomorrow from 2pm GMT / 9am EST and if you follow this link and click ‘listen live’ you should be able to hear it. I imagine it will also be archived for a week via the same page if you search under ‘programmes’.

There was a time in the 80′s/90′s where I think Gary Oldman should have been employed to play essentially any male character that required substance, therefore it’s a shame that he’s now too old to play Joe Strummer (yes, I realise he played Sid Vicious) in either of the forthcoming Clash based films. His new film (Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Spy) is getting exceptional reviews.

I’ll be back tomorrow as there is some good/new B.A.D. stuff floating around that needs to be spotlighted. Have a splendid Friday – Tim

Joe Strummer – ‘Love Kills’

Well hello again, cheers for finding your way back to the blog or indeed coming by for the first time. I’ll try and make it worthwhile but you’ve caught me on a Monday so expect some tension. Modest apologies for yesterday’s post which I realise wasn’t very related to The Clash but I also know from interviews how much affection the band and especially Joe held for New York so writing about the city on such a sombre anniversary seemed to be a reasonable idea. One of these days I’ll get back to New York myself but I don’t think I’m ready just yet. Come to think of it Joe, Mick and Topper (Paul was off in British Columbia filming) for much of 1980, taking into account touring they spent more time in Manhattan than London that year.

Anyway, I’ve got time for a few updates and then must get back to work I suppose so let’s get cracking. My final reference to 9/11 comes from this interesting piece in The Philadelphia Inquirer from an interview they conducted with Joe Strummer after the mental events in New York a decade ago. I’d never read it before but I found Strummer’s comments about hoping something good must come from this very optimistic. It really resonated with me as I remember having (and recently wrote about that memory on my other blog) the exact same hopes after the chaos of that day. From such shit you’d hope there must be a silver lining, although I’m still waiting. Here’s the link to the piece from the paper – definitely worth a look.

“There’s got to be some good that comes out of it. “Maybe people are just going to be nicer to each other. Because it’s just too horrible”  Joe Strummer (speaking about 9/11)

I know I meant to share this with you over a week ago but I’m sure I forgot (or if I did and I’m now doing it a second time you can complain to the next person who smiles at you). Just before B.A.D. made their Irish appearance at the Electric Picnic last week  did an interview with The Independent in Eire. Did anyone go to the festival? I heard it rained and rained and then rained a bit more. I’ve looked for video clips but had no luck as of yet. It was a great festival lineup this year so if you made it through the mud and want to share your version on the blog please do so. Right then, the interview with Mick is linked here and includes some good stuff about the latter days of The Clash, touring with Gorillaz and the B.A.D. reunion. Speaking of that I think we’ll find out more in the next few weeks if that was a one summer only decision or could be ongoing. I’ve got some inside scoop on that which I’ll share this week.

Also worth a quick look is a piece on the history of protest music in The Washington (Bullets) Post with some great photos and all to short accompanying verbiage. The first few slides do get you fired up with Woody Guthrie, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye and then The Clash (nice lineup) but you’ll see that from the early 1980′s on things have been less inspiring with the exception of some rap music (properly noted). All of which illustrates that we’re severely lacking in protest music with some heart, which still befuddles me as things seem just as backwards globally now as ever. I’m still hopeful that in some block of flats somewhere there is a new partnership set to rival Strummer/Jones. We certainly could do with it and if I sound like a broken record on that topic then send in an mp3 or link to a video to the best protest music (recent!) that we might all be missing, or add it in the comments.

Right then, a big and nasty storm is barreling in so I best go and secure the loose stuff around the pool. Cheers – Tim

It’s almost down to 90f in the desert tonight, the ClashBlog dog is looking at me expectantly and demanding we go for a late night wander. Thus I told her let me put together a quick update for the blog and then we’ll see if it’s cool enough out. Yes it’s been that sort of summer where 88f is going to feel pleasant, indeed these are the conversations I have with the dog.

A few updates on the wires that I wanted to share with you this evening because as ever you can find Clash related tales on the interwebs which is good as it keeps you informed and me out of trouble. First up then is a really enjoyable read from the Sabotage Times which takes an extract from ‘Shadowplay – The Rise and Fall of Factory Records’ (I need to buy this book!) and it looks back at the punk/post punk days of the The Factory at The Russel Club in Manchester, Tony Wilson’s live music fledgling venture that had a history so colourful I wish I had a time machine. The extract itself is brilliant and well worth a read if you bought a lot of records in the late 70′s even if you were miles from Manchester. Of course there is a reference/anecdote about The Clash which you’ll find just below the video on the post. Here is a list of the bands that visited just during the second half of 1978 and into 1979:

Magazine, The Fall, The Passage, Ultravox,Wire, Pere Ubu, Ludus and Penetration, while 1979 saw visits from Gang of Four, Crass, Stiff Little Fingers, The Cure, Cabaret Voltaire, Skids, Throbbing Gristle, The Human League, Mekons, Pink Military, The Raincoats, Simple Minds, The Cramps, Teardrop Explodes, Echo and the Bunnymen, B-52s and Joy Division.

Can you even fucking imagine twelve months like that?

I know a lot of you enjoyed the article about Joe Strummer’s daughter Jazz the other day which looked at her cutting edge involvement with the textile industry. It made me smile more than a little (my grandfather was a tailor so clothing/fashion has always had a soft spot with me). Published this week the London Evening Standard also took a look at what the younger Strummer has been up to which you should take a look at.

Dog is now pacing….

Remind me to get back to this but I’m still on my quest to read eighteen books this year, book 13 is called ‘Bloody Confused’ which is about an American sportswriter throwing himself headlong into discovering the joys of proper (futbol, soccer) football when he moves to England. He becomes a supporter of Portsmouth (poor sod) but the book is so far an excellent investment of time and it just so happens that the author is a bit of a Clash nut. The book automatically seems better, even though it’s good anyway. Two glowing references to our boys and I’m only 80 pages in, what a coincidence and one I knew nothing of at the time of purchase. I’ll need to contact him about that when I complete the book.

Right, that should do for now – I will have more soon, time to put the dog in a better mood. Be Good…Tim