Good evening, how goes it? I’m starting this post late on a Tuesday night, actually it’s now Wednesday morning so I’m not sure that I’ll finish it this evening. A good day today overall, work was good and so was dinner and I remembered how good The Joy Formidable album sounds played loud in the car.

Like many of you second only to the music/passion of The Clash I’ve spent the better part of 30 years trying to convince anyone who will listen that no band before or since ever looked as bloody cool as The Clash. You can keep your Beatles in Hamburg or The Doors, don’t get carried away with the baggy jeans of The Stone Roses or the industrial chic of early New Order. No band has ever looked as exciting and as gang like as The Clash either on stage or off. Fortunately there are seemingly thousands of photographs available online now that you haven’t seen and more keep surfacing as a document to just how great they looked for the most part. Much of that is owed to Paul Simonon who never looked shit and it seems inspired the other three to sort out their hair (Mick) or colour choices (Topper). Essentially I don’t think The Clash would have had such a visual impact if it weren’t for Paul which isn’t to say that looks are everything but when the music is that good and the band look like the gang you’d hope to gain entry to it makes a nice mix.

Along with all of the photographs I also see a lot of sketches and paintings of Clash members so to make for a less serious post than usual I thought I’d feature of few of those tonight. Let me preface this with saying that I can’t draw well, I can doodle and create a passable cartoon of most things but I can’t draw a human likeness to save my life so my sarcasm will be kept mostly in check. After all it’s not the quality of the drawing that matters but the fact that the people in question took the time to interpret an image most likely from a photo that they’ve seen. This all started with the first picture below that caused some mirth, who did it look like I asked, apart from Joe. Thus tonight’s images will feature images by (hopefully) amateur artists and I’ll include a link where possible. There’s already a lot of focus on the more professional work but this deserves it’s own post. This might be an ongoing thing if you like it, or submit your own I promise to show it.

Please click on each image for a much larger view/click through all images.

Joe Strummer/Mohican: This one caused a bit of debate over on Facebook. Is it Joe, is it TinTin or is it the singer from Glasvegas pretending to be Joe or indeed succeeding in being TinTin. Initially it made me laugh a bit but any tribute to Joe ultimately rests well with me even if he might have been upset with the portrayal of his ears. The yellow/shirt jacket is rather tasty but I’ve yet to decide whether that’s a red t-shirt or a ruffled tie, what do you call those things anyway? Of course we’re going to place this in late ’82 when Joe got the Joe-hican done to his barnet. Any ideas on a source image?

The only band that matters: This is a step up overall would you agree? I found it on the tumblr account of ‘Your Nice New Outfit’ but I’m afraid  I can’t provide the source/artist credit which I’d like to. All in all I like it with an asterisk about Topper’s hair colour, I realise incorporating The Clash star was important but Topper (and his braces) take the hit. I do like the minimalist choice of colours, it’s borderline pop art but pretty interesting. Mick looks like he could do with a sandwich, Joe looks great, Topper we’ve mentioned and Paul looks a bit like someone else. I do like how Topper was drawn especially, that might be forever now be my Topper Headon cartoon template.

Three car sketch: I don’t know. So much work has gone into this you can tell so let’s be positive, the car looks excellent. So do the bodies and the clothing, so much detail (is this all pencil?) in the clothes especially and of course we’re all familiar with the photo, this was taken from outside Shea Stadium I believe. Joe in particular is really well done and only the faces let the drawing down if you ask me. Mick seems to look a bit like Paul whilst Paul looks like an actor from the 1980′s whose name I forget, somewhat. Joe is the best overall although he looks happier than I recall. Credit where it’s due – ‘Liv’ on flickr has this to offer and much more besides if you take a look. – revision — Thanks Chloe for pointing out that Paul is on the left and the middle character is indeed Terry Chimes. I thought it looked a bit odd!

So which of these three is your favourite and which one would you never like to see again? Let’s be complimentary and remember Paul couldn’t play bass when he met Mick. See you in the comments I hope. Tim

Hello and a very good evening to you from the heart of bummed out city better known as Clash Blog Towers. That’s Monday out the way then and I just got back from a bike ride pedaling away to Global-A-Go-Go by Joe Strummer plus Sound Effects by The Jam, the music was good even if the heat and humidity leaves me feeling a bit shit.

A few early warnings are due on the blog as I make a pre-Bastille Day vow to get on top of the Clash Blog calendar for once and for all, so remember if you have any Clash related events you want to make sure everyone knows about please contact me so I can get it added to the events page. Free advertising and a very nice audience for you as well.

Just under two weeks from now should be a good night out in London for Clash nuts. On Saturday July 23rd at 8pm Bloomsbury Lanes is a special Kill Your Idols night dedicated to The Clash. Rebel Truce will be covering Clash songs, Clash songs will be spun by the DJ all night plus Westway to the World and The Future is unwritten will be playing in the cinema. Rather than listen to me here is the official blurb:

Bloomsbury Lanes is pleased to welcome back Kill Your Idols club night with a special celebrating one of the greatest bands ever; The Clash.

Widely referred to as “The Only Band That Matters” The Clash were pioneers of the punk scene that swept the world cementing their status as one of the most important artists in history. With a raucous sound, politically driven lyrical content, rebellious attitude and experimental nature spanning a range of musical styles The Clash have influenced an enormous amount of artists and their legacy will never be forgotten.

To pay tribute to these musical legends we looked far and wide for a cover band that captures the energy and spirit of The Clash. Though not a “look alike” band in the fullest sense, Rebel Truce have the visual style and excitement of the Clash, and the same explosive, all action stage presence, with front man Jerry in particular delivering an adrenaline fuelled, foot stomping performance that has won over even the most sceptical Clash fans. With a repertoire of some 50 songs ranging from the incendiary blast of “1977” to the assured swagger of “London Calling” to the pop sensibilities of “Should I stay or should I go” Rebel Truce is a must see, not only for fans of the Clash, but for all lovers of live rock ‘n roll. Check out http://www.rebeltruce.com/ for mp3s, photos and more!

Supporting the live acts we will have some of our favourite DJ’s playing sets that delve deep into the record bag to showcase not only The Clash and late 70’s punk but also, a plethora of Clash-inspired artists across a range of musical styles. Every track will have a little trace of Clash DNA..

As well as the musical tribute we will also be showing ‘Westway to The World’ and ‘The Future is Unwritten’ in the cinema. Both of these award winning documentaries provide a fascinating insight into the world of Joe Strummer and The Clash.

Limited early bird advanced tickets just £3 in advanced or £5 on the door. Advanced tickets are available from http://www.wegottickets.co​m/event/122893

They also have a Facebook page if you want to check it out, a good night out and the price is certainly right. Bloomsbury Lanes is located on Bedford Way, London WC1. .

As you’re all aware we’re getting a bit closer to August which not only begins with the birthday of your Clash Blogger but also marks Joe Strummer’s birthday. Year after year one of the best nights out to honour Joe’s birthday takes place in San Francisco, I can say/promise that based on the footage I saw from last summer this is one of the best Joe Strummer tribute nights that takes place. Happily some of the same acts will be there again this year. It takes place on Saturday August 13th at The Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco, which if I’m not mistaken is the night after B.A.D. play at the Outside Lands festival in the same city. Are you thinking what I’m thinking? I think Mick Jones has to be on the guestlist right? This years event promises to be excellent again and in addition to supporting Strummerville is also helping raise funds for KUSF. KUSF was shut down this year and is (was) the city’s only college/community focused FM radio station, learn more about KUSF here – as you know I’ll always champion great radio versus what we are stuck with in the States. Here’s the official blurb about the tribute and I really hope many of you are able to attend. There’s a Facebook page with extra details too.

Every year since Joe’s untimely death, the Bay Area has come together to celebrate the spirit and music of Joe Strummer. This year is no exception.

“My hero is Bo Diddley. Because…he was playing on the street corner and knew that he needed something else. He wasn’t the greatest fretsman in the world, so he went to a junkyard and got some ball cocks out of abandoned lavatory cisterns. Then he filled them with dried peas and gave them to his upstairs neighbour who became his maracas man. That’s the sort of thing I idolise Bo for. The spirit wherein you have to do something. To me, it’s an inspiration because I’m not the world’s greatest fretsman either… people get caught thinking it’s all about technique when it’s not, it’s about something even more exciting and unidentifiable. That’s why I go for him.”: Joe Strummer in MOJO Classic Volume 1 Issue 8.

It’s in this spirit that we honor Joe this year. The Hooks, Eastern Span, Interchords and The Clash City Sirens will gather to pay tribute to Joe and raise some funds. This year, we will raise funds not only for Strummerville, but for SaveKUSF in San Francisco. There will be a raffle again this year. One of the items is an autographed home made comic book and cd by Angelo Moore of Fishbone. Visit Strummerville.com and SaveKUSF.org for more info. on the great work they do:

So there you have it two excellent Clash related nights out over the next month on opposite sides of the globe and I think we’ve got the big one in Sydney coming up also. Please do all you can to make it if you live nearby or happen to be visiting either city. I know that the support for these gigs is greatly appreciated. Both will be on the events page and if you have more for me please scribe me a note. Cheers, more tomorrow – Tim

Good evening once more Clash people around the world, I hope all is well. I’m alright I suppose, summer has arrived with full vengeance which in the desert is similar to how you feel if you live in a cold climate when mid-December arrives. Outdoor activities become less enjoyable and with the exception of time near a swimming pool you start to get a bit cooped up. Similar, but not the same, I’d rather endure 10 weeks of sunshine and blazing heat than a single winter in Chicago or Stockholm. There was no blazing heat and very little sunshine at that festival ‘way out west’ this weekend so far as I could tell but I have kept half an eye on events from this years Glastonbury festival. Unfortunately most of the acts (B.A.D. included) that I’d like to have seen didn’t seem to make the ‘official coverage’ so we’ll wait to see what crops up online over the next 48 hours. If you were there and care to recount the concert please get in touch with me.

Ideally we’ll have B.A.D. reports from Bournemouth and Glasto in the coming days and take a quick look at the lack of Dan Donovan in the band and what that may or may not mean.

Tonight I wanted to show you a video which caused a huge response on the Facebook page, I was glad because when I stumbled on it the other day I was simply blown away and stunned by the impact it had on me. Someone (Flip2K) was kind enough to upload to YouTube four separate files of London Calling stripped down to the bare components. There is a file for the chopping lead guitar of Mick Jones that is well worth a listen, Topper’s steady beat and also one of Paul’s bass that makes you shuffle for sure but the one that turned me upside down and many other people based on the response was Joe’s vocals standing alone. They are below for your listening pleasure and I don’t think words will do it justice. You can hear every intake of breath and feel the beads of sweat on Strummer’s forehead as he literally throttles the microphone with his apocalyptic warning not just for London but for the world at large. When you think you’ve been as impacted by old Clash songs as it was ever possible to be and then hear this it leaves the hairs on the back of your neck tingling, it simply does.

If you don’t have time to read today’s post please make sure you press play above

For me the timing of hearing this during Glastonbury weekend was perfect. The festival perhaps became Joe’s most comfortable spot and thinking of him and John Peel this weekend seems to be a celebration of what those two achieved. How this passion is missing as Coldplay and U2 trot out dad rock that really makes you feel music is now far too safe and dreadfully confined. I must have listened to the audio above a dozen times in the last three days so I hope it does half as much for you as it did for me. It just happens that the photo on the youtube video is also my desktop wallpaper…..comfort food.

More soon then and I hope to see you in the comments or on Facebook and Twitter. You can also have a daily update sent direct to enjoy with a pint of cider by subscribing to my RSS Feed here