The Clash Cup (noun) 1. An online vote by of some of the most knowledgeable fans of The Clash ever assembled in one place (that’s you) aimed ultimately to determine the best 32,16 and 8 Clash songs ever recorded.

The concept is as simple as the execution of course and may I remind you that all of the pairings that I need you to vote on are created entirely at random. The polls only have three rules, they are open for five days, every vote matters as the best runners up in terms of total percentage are eligible to remain the competition and you can only vote once so please make your decision carefully. We’ve been doing this for a long time and I know the intervals between voting have been too long, long enough to suggest I’d be better equipped to run the political system of a banana republic than any sort of online voting system but its been a year of resolutions for me and another is to get The Clash Cup back on track – starting tonight.

We’re currently in round two and before introducing the songs I’d appreciate you voting on it would be time to look back at the result of our last gathering which took place quite some time ago, it was a close vote and an all Sandinista! affair.

The Street Parade defeated Broadway 35-27

Two strong songs that both exhibited a style that The Clash had never really experimented with prior to the fourth album and both provide good evidence of the quality of songs ‘tucked away’ on that triple album. I’d suggest just with hindsight that if either song were on Combat Rock instead it would be considered amongst the best songs of the album. The setting of Sandinista! in it’s extravagant 36 song breadth sometimes makes you forget how many great Clash songs were on there. While it won’t quite (today, for me) make the category of ‘best Clash album’ I still think it has aged the best and holds excellent lasting appeal. The Street Parade winning shocked me a little as I thought Broadway would edge a very close vote. Tell me I’m wrong but I think Street Parade has taken on a more elegant or special place since the death of Joe Strummer. It has for me but there’s no reason to assume it did for you.

Let’s get straight down to business with the next pair and please forgive me for the shorter than usual pre-match festivities but I’m knackered tonight. The random number generator is buzzing away so let’s see what we have:

Clash Cup Round 2 Match 17

Living in Fame versus This is England

Quite an interesting pairing and if memory serves (or I could just double check) This is England is the only song from the last Clash album to make it into round two, which probably surprises only a small minority of you. I’ve a feeling that through the randomness of the draw that it will make it through to round three now as well. Both songs however will have their fans but there are many who say that famous line that ‘This is England” was the last great Clash song, whether enough people feel that way to see it make the final sixteen remains to be seen. I’m not one of them, in fact I think Living in Fame is a song I’ve returned to more frequently in the intervening years. I should profess though that I’m not in a position to be as objective as I should be about The Clash Mark II, without Mick Jones or Topper Headon I struggle still to hear them as the same band but I appreciate that’s only one opinion.

Form Book

Round 1 – Living in Fame squeaked past The Harder They Come with 51% of the vote

Round 1 – This is England beat Version City with 67% of the vote

So neither song had especially impressive wins in round one, particularly the former so it might be a vote of attrition. I’m never sure how these things turn out but the first round round results suggest Living in Fame may struggle to get 30% of the vote. I hope it is a lot closer than that.

Stuff

The cynic in me would probably include This is England in what I plan to do later – The (post) Clash Cup which would throw together B.A.D., Joe’s solo work, Carbon Silicon, Mescaleros and assorted bits although I’m not sure how confusing the prospect might be. Although it would be interesting I think. This is England to be fair does have some wonderful lyrics but I can’t get far beyond the production and drum machine. Living in Fame, what can I say? How many ‘rock’ bands have not just good but close to excellent dub versions of their songs appearing on albums? I actually like Living in Fame as much as If Music Could Talk and I hope it (along with other tracks) destroys any concept that The Clash just plugged into dub music and stole a few ideas. Clash sound sweeter. (RIP Mikey Dread)

Before you vote I usually link to a few versions to get you in the mood although I don’t think it’s needed with these two as much. Living in Fame with cool photos by Albert Watson then — here you go. This is England sounds better as a demo and without drums, here’s the proof. I do like that version. Thanks in advance for your voting and careful consideration, there will be no coalition governments on this blog.

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Hello and good evening (although it might not be when you read this) welcome back to the blog. Yes I know its been a few days since I squeezed in an update but I took a little break from blogging this week in the hope that I’d recharge my batteries. Instead I found myself spending the evenings listening to a pile of CDs that I’ve purchased recently, attended a concert (Gruff Rhys, he of Super Furry Animals fame) that was simply brilliant and began to study for my Google Analytics certification. If the last part of that sounds incredibly dull it probably is unless you really like numbers and statistics in which case you might enjoy it. I’m also getting into that end of the football season/start of summer vibe so I’ve been getting my bike (not a motorbike) ready for hopefully 50 miles a week of riding which I need to get me out of the house and in fighting shape because of course I expect to get in a fight soon with a Stanglers fan or a random Tea Party supporter. Those bloody tea baggers eh? To add insult to injury Sarah Palin just moved into this very town, as if property prices weren’t low enough as it is. On a lighter note I heard a commentator on the radio today point out that in reality we have slipped back into recession, this wasn’t some paranoid talking head either but a genuine economist with data that supports his statement. Brilliant!

All of which doesn’t begin to get you any closer to news about The Clash does it? When in fact I’ve got quite a bit. I’ve worked out that all too often I try and compile an 800 word post so that your visit feels worthy and as a result I’ve been averaging about 5 or 6 posts a week. Quite good but I’ve always wanted for the blog to be a daily thing whenever possible so I’ve made an unofficial decision to on occasion not wait until there are 3 or 4 topics to cover but instead send out  a shorter three of four hundred word update post which will cover sometimes just one piece of news in more depth. Posts will then be more frequent if sometimes a bit shorter than you are used to. Does that sound good? Even if it doesn’t that’s the plan for the time being. As ever I welcome your guest posts on the blog so if you’d like to write about a Clash memory or a favourite song, concert or bit of trivia that you think that the readers of this corner of the internet might enjoy please get in contact. It doesn’t have to be exclusive about The Clash, you might want to review a concert or album that draws a parallel to the band, you might want to write about the best opening ten seconds of any Clash song ever, or write about the best haircuts ever sported by Mick Jones (first album sleeve to save you time) – I’m open to your suggestions and something that gives more variation than me chirping away daily.

You see I find myself back in the situation where I have half a dozen topics to cover and feel I’m destined to miss something entirely or at best give it short shift (I thought I’d include a link to that phrase as every time I use it in the states people look at me as if I’m the one with the speech impediment, at least I can pronounce ‘otter’ correctly so you know I’m mentioning the river residing little mammal). Speaking of little mammals I wanted to shut up and simply introduce a never before seen (by at least 90% of you) video interview with the four members of The Clash circa 1982 in Auckland, New Zealand. Its so very worth a watch as the video and audio are brilliant quality, Joe plays a few songs, Topper drums on his legs, Mick looks very happy and Paul is cool as the proverbial. The interview is really good and has a touch of foreboding about it as Joe explains that The Clash won’t simply stop or go away. My thanks to Steve for letting me know about the video which originally surfaced on the incomparable Black Market Clash site. Incidentally there is no better resource for tracking every concert/event and live recording in one place than that site. I don’t know how Graham (the site owner) possibly compiled such an amazing level of information but chances are you can settle almost every debate about The Clash via that brilliant website. I consider it the ultimate fact checking site when I’m trying to determine chronology of events or concert information. In fact I’ve tried to find out if Graham would do an interview for the blog about this site/Clash story, he said yes and we’ve yet to schedule it which I understand as he’s a busy chap. I’ll explain why when I get the interview. Anyway please visit his site if you haven’t or even if you have and be sure and say hello on his site. Here’s the video and I’ll be back within 24 hours I hope, see you in the comments.

Interview excerpts with The Clash, Auckland, February 1982

Hello again everyone, I trust you had an excellent weekend filled with pleasant moments and lack of unwanted drama. I’ve been away from the computer for a few days but didn’t want today to pass by without acknowledging the fact that today is a special one in that Nicky “Topper” Headon celebrates his 56th Birthday today. As it happens I’m already 20 hours into that fact but better late than never. I was listening to The Clash over the weekend and the ability of Headon as ever reminded me how he could do whatever he wanted with a drum kit. I was this time listening to some tracks from London Calling and Sandinista!, next time you do the same just try and isolate the drumming in your ears. He could play any style and with the precision and power that just doesn’t come along on a regular basis.

While many of us tend to know more about and reflect more upon Joe, Paul and Mick when we discuss The Clash I don’t think its unreasonable to suggest that Topper might have been the cement between the bricks that made the band at their finest completely unbreakable. Its been written by many and stated by Joe Strummer that the biggest mistake he ever made (and the one that began the implosion of The Clash) was the sacking of Topper Headon. I can’t even begin to imagine how difficult that decision was, surely they all knew it was the riskiest of propositions. So it was. I’ll make a note to write more about Topper soon, but as we’ve discussed before it has been one of the high points of the last five or six years to see Topper so healthy, happy and on form. Long may it continue.

In the days ahead I also want to write some thoughts about the very sad death of Gil Scott-Heron at the weekend at just 62 years of age. If I had a short list of perhaps lesser known musicians  (to some) that I feel everyone should be aware of Gil would always rank high on such a list. His loss is tragic for reasons beyond his relative early demise but also for the fact that we was back recording and touring and somehow was all too often overlooked for being as punk as any of our 1976/7 icons, albeit in a different field. He was the very definition of a visionary in music, so many paths of modern hip hop and counter-culture/protest music will either go right to his name or alongside it. Like Topper he struggled with many of the same bouts with serious drug addiction and served jail time. Like Topper he made it almost all the way back and was back in the limelight and active again. Unlike Topper he never enjoyed an extended time sailing clean again, his ‘comeback’ such as it was ended just as it was getting started. If you aren’t familiar with his craft and you love The Clash, I implore you to find out more.

I’m off to see Gruff Rhys tonight, so I’m sorry for the shortish post. More soon, see you below in the comments. Tim