Hello again…thanks for dropping by and as promised a new post to go hand in hand with a new day. I was working today and quietly having a very normal quiet morning with a cup of coffee when I turned on the BBC (online of course – I don’t have the world service aerial rigged up these days) when the news from Cumbria started being broadcast. So much for a peaceful morning and I’ll not even try and understand that sort of carnage which thankfully is a very rare event in the UK, but with Dunblane and Hungerford still in the memory that’s often enough for me. I hope that the communities impacted pull together after such a dark dark day – not much more to add. The Cumbrian coast and Lakes are amongst the nicest parts of England, which only adds to this surreal event shrouding those towns.

Fortunately a bit further South in Manchester, Manchester Rugby Club hosted a much happier event this past weekend. Strummercamp was apparently a huge success and under normal circumstances (the blog being up and running!) I’d have been able to be part of the build up to this years event. The two day non-profit festival celebrates the life and influence of Joe and was well attended again this year. The lineup was sadly lacking The Godfathers (what a great live band…I saw a few of their St. Valentine’s Day shows back in the day) but still offered a great festival where you didn’t have to travel into the wilds of the West country to get a fix of good music and entertainment. A good summary appears on this post from e-festivals.co.uk. If you happened to attend last weekend please write in and share your report!

Off topic (back to the old flow, you’re probably used to this) a great friend of the blog tells me that the new Iron Man film (imaginatively titled Iron Man 2…or IM2 she regaled me) features two songs by The Clash during the comic book turned Robert Downey career resurrection vehicle. Should I Stay popped up early on but of course that’s been used by Hollywood (and Levis) on prior shifts, more encouragingly Magnificent Seven also makes an appearance. Can you imagine….little Billy marveling (pun intended) at the antic of Iron Man and you’re mumbling ‘Cold Water in The Face’.

Trying to pull all the loose ends together, but as you might recall Carbon Silicon (Mick’s proper band) played a unlikely gig in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (fuck it I’m going old school) in early May and a very enjoyable video surfaced of the event. Thus you’ll find it beneath for your viewing pleasure.

We’ve got plenty of videos to get through including so many of Mick and Paul it may have been a good thing I wasn’t bombarding you with those the last 6 weeks. Back soon – and thanks for your messages condoning my return.

Tim

Bloody hell it has been a while hasn’t it? Last time I wrote was back in April, Malcom McLaren had just passed away, Gorillaz had taken on 50% of the The Clash lineup and BP weren’t the dirtiest corporate name on the face of the earth. Since then I’ve seen Cesc Fabregas try and kill the bond with Arsenal fans, the Gulf of Mexico turned into an oily soup, Dennis Hopper pass away and the onset of Summer here in Phoenix. Not to mention a change of government back in the UK which certainly dominated my thoughts for a good while. The best news from that whole affair was a good chasing of the BNP from public office back to the alleyways where they belong.

I’m sure we’ve got quite a lot of Clash news to catch up on – so I’ll dedicate the first few days to reviewing exactly what has been missed. If you

Glastonbury to be graced by Mick and Paul

want to submit anything whatsoever for the blog that I might have missed now is a great time. Top of the bill is the fact that Bono’s bad back caused U2 to withdraw from the headline slot at Glastonbury and none other than Gorillaz filling that void – thus Mick Jones and Paul Simonon will headline perhaps the biggest live stage in British music. If there was ever a time you’d like to think Joe is watching from a corner of that festival this would be it. It’ll come as no surprise to learn that Glastonbury 2010 is completely sold out.

Why was the site down – and for so long? Gremlins otherwise known as hackers seemed to have nothing better to do than decide a large amount of hidden code was just what this blog needed. Rather than ask you to navigate ever slower load times and other features not working correctly we decided to suspend the site and rebuild it from scratch. We’ve managed to keep the old posts and 90% of the images from the archives and all of this on a platform that should be much more stable. Better for you to browse, better for me to post and easier to navigate and be part of the community that we had gone so far in building those first 10+ months. Sorry it took a while but I needed the talented services of the Clash Blogette and she has that plate spinning lark of two jobs, two kids and me to keep happy – so it took longer than we envisaged.

We’ll celebrate the first Anniversary of the blog later this month ~ a belated happy Birthday to Topper Headon ~ and a giant THANK YOU for coming back to the blog. Thanks for keeping the chatter alive on Facebook also!  I’ll aim to post as often as time allows and I welcome your input and contributions as always.

All this and the World Cup coming too….June should be a laugh. Clash Cup will return also!

Cheers

Tim

Good Evening. I found it interesting when I posted news on our facebook page about the sad death of Malcolm McLaren at the age of 64 earlier today opinions ranged from shock, sadness, indifference all the way through to some curious satisfaction. The debate here and in other places will surely be intense in the days ahead as the press and us more simple music fans try and depict exactly what did McLaren accomplish. Seeing the mild controversy today made me smile a sad smile however, just as during his life even in death he created controversy.

Personally I’m sad. I wasn’t part of ‘that scene’ that in just over two short years went from the Kings Road all the way to The Sex Pistols self destructing on their tour of the United States. I was too young to have experienced ‘The Filth and The Fury’ or the bohemian art college scene that shaped McLaren in the swinging London on the 1960′s. Like many of you I take my knowledge from word of mouth, interviews, books, folklore and second hand information. The Sex Pistols never meant much to me growing up, by the time I discovered them they had already ended – The Clash were only just past their second alum and I grew up with The Clash. The Pistols meanwhile were forever frozen in a time capsule marked 1976-1977 break in case of emergency. Jubilees and Anarchy seemed from another era, I was worried about Thatcher and the Coal Miners.

That’s not to downplay the importance of The Sex Pistols or McLaren, quite the opposite. I’m just saying by the time I arrived as a music lover they were done – nothing new to look forward to – and wasn’t that part of the plan after all? But let me focus on what I know – Malcolm McLaren loved to shock and inflame, he loved the potential of art, music and fashion to ruffle feathers. He was a funny man with with a sinister sense of humour and an eye for the sensational. Would someone else have found (created, meshed, promoted) The Sex Pistols? Would another band have led the original charge of the London scene that followed? I don’t know – I sincerely doubt it. Speculation that Bernie Rhodes (his friend, rival, protege or mentor?) would have done something that eclipsed the Pistols is somewhat moot. I don’t believe Rhodes ever sought just a short sharp explosion with the excitement that nothing would ever be the same again, I think Bernie expected more from The Clash (and they delivered). Nothing can turn the clock back – McLaren founded the Sex Pistols, Rhodes introduced John Lydon to the mix and the rest is as they say history. I’m thrilled ‘punk’ happened, I’m equally thrilled it led to The Clash and the dozens of other bands that changed my life and rapidly evolved into post punk. You can debate that the events would have still taken place without McLaren’s influence – I suppose so, but it might have been so different. Mick Jones as a Sex Pistol? Steve Jones in The Clash? Both could have happened….I’m glad it went the way it did.

So who was Malcolm? Born in Stoke Newington just a short stroll from Highbury he was raised in an artistic time and attended (and dropped out of) a nice selection of art colleges throughout London. He cut his teeth during the turbulent mid/late 60′s in London where politics and protest were bedfellows with sex, drugs and a never ending war in South East Asia. Like art students I knew who never learned to play guitar an interest in fashion followed and it was from that vantage point that McLaren made his connections and plots. I don’t need to explain the connection with clothing , the Kings Road and punk rock to my well versed audience – but I’ve always loved the fact that punk was about making your own rules, your own statement, your own fashion. Bollocks to conventionality, you’re young and you live in London – live it up. With that (presumed) influence from the 60′s its small wonder that he and Bernie Rhodes were both bored by the rising culture of 70′s London. Boring music and fashion had left a gray environment that with the arguable brief ‘fun’ of Glam Rock was as boring as the 1950′s especially if you were young. Luckily for McLaren he was a born wheeler-dealer who also had an eye for spotting talent, especially talent with an attitude. After selling clothing that pissed off people for a few years its no shock that he wanted to then find a band to fill those clothes and piss off everyone. He managed to do just that. Don’t forget that by 1975 McLaren had already been a ‘fashion advisor’ for the New York Dolls (the manager role is overstated) and had first hand knowledge of what had already upset the applecart in New York. Giving it a London flavour was something he knew he could do….us North Londoners will find a way!

So….who was Malcolm? A genius, a svengali, a PT Barnum, a shyster, a schemer, a visionary, a rebel, a comedian, an egotist, an opportunist, a mogul, a creative director, a fan, a businessman, a punk? He was all of those things and more, and yes he fucked some things up but he also was instrumental in the most exciting kick up the arse music has had in the last 40 years. There will be dozens of articles written in the days ahead by far more credible sources than me and I encourage you to read them all to make up your own minds about McLaren.  Oh, let me explain why I’m sad. With the passing of yet another iconic character in the music that inspired much of our lives before the definitive book (film, whatever) has been written is a wasted opportunity and we are rapidly running out of time to chronicle those years. Especially for those who read this blog and love The Clash but are aged under 35 – Malcolm McLaren is just a figure from the past as of now. To me he was some sort of musical Willy Wonka who slid from The Sex Pistols to Bow Wow Wow to making his own music. I’m sad that he’s gone.

Let me leave you with some quotes from better qualified people than I.

“For me Malc was always entertaining, and I hope you will remember that. Above all else he was an entertainer, and I will miss him, and so should you.”           John Lydon

“The whole thing probably wouldn’t have taken off the way it did without him, there’s no doubt about that, but his downfall is that he spent the rest of his life trying to take credit for all of it.”           Steve Jones

“Malcolm gave us sex, style and subversion and helped save my generation from boredom turning pop culture from monochrome to intense full colour”             John Robb (The Membranes)

“When we were young and I fell in love with Malcolm, I thought he was beautiful and I still do. I thought he was a very charismatic, special and talented person. We hadn’t been in touch for a long time. The thought of him dead is really something very sad.”        Vivienne Westwood

RIP Malcolm – “All that scratching is making me itch”