Hello again and welcome back to the blog, I hope your day mirrored mine in that you occasionally see something (a concert, a sunset, a pretty girl) that you know wasn’t exclusively for you but you realise you’ll remember it for years and maybe decades to come. In my years of going to concerts there are a few dozen that I’ll never forget in fairly explicit detail, while hundreds of others were great, good, fair or awful it’s the occasional brilliant moments we cherish.  I had one such moment today, I’ve been following Arsenal since I was a tiny kid and regularly attended games throughout my time living in London. Since leaving England I can’t say my commitment to the team has changed (it might be stronger than ever) and I probably watch 98% of their games even when it involves getting up at 430am to see them as it sometimes does. Over those 35+ years I’ve seen a few thousand goals and although you enjoy them all, once in a while you see one that you know will stick with you for many years to come. So it was a few hours ago when Samir Nasri scored a goal of pure grace today it makes you appreciate the beauty of the sport. I’ll enjoy that for a long, long time.

So this got me thinking about the first time I heard The Clash and the first time I saw them. It made me remember being introduced to songs and bands that become almost a part of who you are as they become embedded in your character. If you’re anything like me you’ll defend the music you love as much you might your own family (or perhaps more). If someone tries to convince me that The Clash don’t belong in a list of the 5 most important bands of all time we’ll have a long debate in store. If a legitimate fan of music tries to say that The Clash weren’t the single most influential English band to emerge from the punk/post punk era we’re going to have to disagree. I also looked at what The Clash and my football club have in common and it’s my big brother, who really introduced me to both.

My older brother turns 50 tomorrow, which I can’t quite fathom. Yes, he has always been 7 1/2 years older than me and the aging process was inevitable but surely he can’t be turning 50 years old. I remember the first post I ever wrote for this blog and reflecting on how my brother’s room was always the home of everything I felt guided by. In 1973 I’d take his Arsenal programs from his wardrobe to read while looking at the sleeves of albums by T-Rex, David Bowie and Roxy Music. The music that came from his  room was a constant soundtrack to being an adolescent and building expectations of what being a teen might be. By 1977/8 I understood that music was more than a hobby for him as it dictated his clothes, his girlfriends and the concerts he attended. I must have been ten when I noticed there was more passion and fire in the singles and albums he was playing, as Elvis Costello, The Clash had begun to dominate his turntable, replacing Queen and Wings. Later that summer of ‘78 when I just turned eleven was when it all made sense to me. He took me to record shops, I started my own collection of vinyl. He started taking me to concerts, I began my own journey of determining what live music represents. I was already obsessed with football and suddenly I had to find time read the NME, Melody Maker and find the extra cash for the next single that he recommended.

I’ve no idea if I would have found The Clash and so much brilliant music without my brother, I’d like to think so but I can’t be sure. I’ve no idea if I may have instead found love for cricket or rugby if it wasn’t for him, probably not as we lived to play football when I was five…but I might not have attached myself to Arsenal. I’m so lucky my big brother left his bedroom door ajar for me to listen and I can simply say ‘Thank You’.

Happy 50th David.

It’s pissing down with rain again – seems to be a weekend thing around here. Just two quick things and then should be back with a Clash Cup pairing later this evening.

I wrote a few days ago about a photo exhibit in Toronto of concert photography (Toronto Calling) which includes some great pictures of Joe Strummer amongst others. Steve was kind enough to write in to provide some more background to that story – and there’s also been a new article about the exhibition in the Toronto Star that he found. So..over to Steve:

I didn’t know if it was okay to post directly to the ClashBlog so I thought I would just send you the link this way. This is a review of that photo exhibit currently on display in Toronto. Interestingly they point out that Joe wasn’t in a good mood the night of the Clash’s first show in Toronto. He always seemed to be a bit grumpy when he performed here with the band. At another show at Toronto’s CNE you could tell he wasn’t feeling well or clearly did not want to be here (unfortunately Toronto wasn’t considered a major stop in those days for bands ready to conquer America). There is a great footage of his backstage indifference captured by the program The New Music (I sneaked backstage for one show by literally walking in backwards and can attest to his behaviour. The New Music, by the way, was a great weekly program that extensively covered music in the 80’s. It was hosted by J.D. Roberts (who went on to become John Roberts of CNN!).

In any case, Joe did an about face when he got older. He adored the crowd when he returned with the Pogues and when he was with the Mescaleros it seemed he had become comfortable with his role as, I dare say, an icon. I met him a couple of times in the years just before his death and he was funny, happy and accommodating. He signed every autograph and posed for every picture. The best image I have of him in my mind is him walking down Yonge St. in Toronto for an appearance at radio station CFNY. He was all dressed in black with his guitar slung over his shoulder. When he got to the studio some fans were waiting. One shoved a book in front of him and Joe said: “I’m going to write my own book about the Clash one day. I’m going to call it a bunch of fuckin’ goofs!” at which the crowd burst out laughing. Because he was late for the appearance, the DJs were adjusting their scheduling so, with some time to kill, Joe took his guitar out of his case and started busking on the street. Fantastic. During the recording of the show he played a few songs. During the commercial break I asked him for his guitar pick. He gave me one, but I asked him to give me the one he just played with so he handed that one over. After the taping of the show he hung around and talked to everyone who was there until only he and his record company rep were left. They then went next door to Starbucks for a coffee.
But I digress.

Here is the link to the story.

Keep up the great work. I look forward to reading the blog every day. One more thing, this spring brings the Specials, Echo and the Bunnymen, The Beat, and Public Image to town on various nights.

Thanks so much Steve – great stories you have to share and thanks for letting me indulge them further via the blog itself.

So what to do on a rainy day like this? I’ve watched some football from England, had far too much coffee and listened to some old Joe Strummer London Calling radio broadcasts, I wish we had more of those to enjoy. The link I’ve mentioned before but if you have never listened to Strummer’s stint as a BBC DJ I encourage you to take some time and bookmark this page!

I’ve got football later in the mud, in the meantime have a look at this - Pressure Drop, the play. I heard about this a few months ago – Billy Bragg is going to be in a play that is ostensibly exploring what it means to be English in contemporary Britain. That said I’m sure it expands far beyond that and might be fascinating, Bragg wrote a fascinating book a few years ago with the lofty ambition of studying that same topic. In a country (like so many in Europe) that straddles the thin line between the extreme right and the extreme left – the conversation is a natural one to be having. I find especially interesting what Billy wrote about the pressure to renounce being English.

“There are plenty of things that I’m ashamed of that England did. And there are plenty of things that we do now that I’m ashamed of. But to renounce that part of my identity which I define as English would be to surrender to the bigots on the right and to the cynics of the left. Instead, I’m determined to engage with both sides and to challenge their perceptions of what it means to be English”  (Billy Bragg)

Finally, I bought more new music yesterday (as usual). We’ve talked about Gorillaz enough this week so I’d suggest you listen to the new Editors album ‘In The Light and on This Evening’. Here’s the link to ‘Papillon’

See you later…and thanks for dropping in – my thanks again to Steve.

Back again….I may have missed a day right? Sorry about that – will do some double duty this weekend. Having heard the entire version of Plastic Beach instead of just a snippet, would you know it was Mick Jones / Paul Simonon playing on the new Gorillaz track if someone wasn’t telling you it was so? I think you can pull out Mick’s style from the song (linked in previous post) but not so much Paul. I do think the album is really good however. You never know with Damon Albarn, I think if anyone has got the potential to get the three members of The Clash together for some recordings it might be him, though Mick’s existing commitments might scupper that idea.

Just to cover old ground but as it’s coming up soon don’t forget that Strummerville will be fully represented at this year’s SXSW music festival in Austin. There are sure to be a number of articles / interviews and hopefully a bit more to follow, all the pertinent details are on the Strummerville site. I had hoped to make it over to Austin at least for the weekend but airfares seem to have doubled while I sat on the fence (apparently due to Spring break and the airlines seeing a chance to make a killing) so I will be reporting as best I can from here. The idea of driving 15 hours each way doesn’t have the same Kerouac appeal as it once did – and having seen New Mexico and heard about West Texas I think I’d lose my mind. One huge feature for Clash fans at the festival will be the Strummerville film – details from the site reproduced beneath:

On Friday 19th March ‘Strummerville – a film by Don Letts’ will premier at the Paramount. The film, directed by the London born, Grammy award winning filmmaker and artist Don Letts, captures the very essence of Strummerville. The film journeys through the past six months of the diverse Strummerville calendar, including interviews with the bourgeoning talents and the friends and family of Joe who work hard to keep the charity going. The documentary also includes unseen footage of Joe Strummer taken from Don’s personal archive. On the film Don says, “In a cultural climate that feels like punk never happened Strummerville (the film) serves as a timely reminder of a way forward. It worked back then and it can work again – and man it needs to!”

On to related ground, I’ve neglected (purely on accident) to write much about Los Mondo Bongo. Many of you will know the band features Pablo Cook who helped start the Mescaleros with Joe Strummer. His new band are currently touring the UK and feature Pablo plus bassist Derek Forbes (Simple Minds), guitarist Steve Harris (Gary Numan) and vocalist Mike Peters (The Alarm). The band are certainly their own unique thing and not just a ‘tribute act’ as they’ve been tagged -  but Pablo doesn’t disassociate from his time with Strummer. They also tend to play a few Clash/Strummer songs live – and do them justice! I promise I’ll write more on them because I’ve been waylaid so far. The video below should give you a taste as should this article in the Derby Telegraph.

“As a writer, it seems a bit odd, saying I’m paying tribute to my own songs. I’m just playing my tunes to people who appreciate Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. We do a few Clash songs as part of the evening – to celebrate Joe. And to keep the flame alive is great for me.”

I really want to do this…..Do you have a Clash or B.A.D. or Joe Strummer ticket stub?? Email me if you do and can forward a photo or a scan…I want to feature them on the site, I do love ticket stubs. Right then…I’ve got to dash but here’s a song I keep listening to this week (and the video is really well done) Vampire Weekend’s ‘Giving Up The Gun’.