Sunday morning then, thanks for dropping in to the blog. If you’re of similar vintage to me and grew up in the UK and most of Europe I presume you probably remember Sunday being the sleepiest day of the week. Now it’s a bit like a watered down version of a Saturday isn’t it? In the 1970′s in England the only places open were newsagents in the morning so shopping wasn’t an option, there wasn’t any football and generally it was a day to do little other than bring the paper to the pub for a in-depth read and probably end up with a roast dinner. It was almost seemingly designed for a recovery from a late Saturday night but even that was usually not that extremely late as the pubs closed at 11pm. Seems like a very different world that spawned punk and The Clash in 1976 but when you see old video footage of practically anything from that era (try this for example) the fashion, the hair and every aspect of life looks like the hangover from the 1960′s resulted in a soupy mess of stagnation.

When you add to that the fact that the economy was entering a downward cycle the breeding ground for something new and exciting was especially fertile, particularly for youth. Inner city life had long since lost the ‘swing’ of the 1960′s and with grim job prospects and it being harder to afford a place to live made cities like London, Manchester and Liverpool perfectly positioned to support a new movement for young kids. With that said though it’s not as if punk rock in the UK replaced pop music and that hundreds of thousands were buying the earliest singles by The Sex Pistols, The Clash or The Damned. It remained a fringe scene for the better part of 12 months until the media decided it posed a huge threat to the existing morals of society. The turning point was probably The Sex Pistols appearance on the Bill Grundy show on December 1st 1976 which resulted in the daily newspapers finding a new danger to rally against and it was punk rock. You have to remember that more than television or gossip and long before the internet nothing shaped public opinion in the 1970′s like the daily paper. It’s very reasonable to assume that prior to ‘The Filth and The Fury’ headlines that 90% of UK adults had never heard of punk rock as they cuddled up to their latest ELO or Wings album and suddenly their children had to be protected from something more sinister than they could comprehend. The truth was that small punk scenes only existed in a handful of cities around the UK at that time, if you lived in Exeter or Norwich, Stoke or Bradford no such scene had even formed. Early audiences at concerts by The Clash and others outside of London were more likely to be attended by aging rockers, the curious or the local drunks than someone who already owned the first few Ramones albums. The scene came later as did the inspiration, by the second half of 1977 and into 1978 every town in the country had a new band who realised that anyone could make a record and it all fell under the umbrella of punk. A lot of crap was recorded under the banner of punk but there were also dozens of excellent new bands that realised that if you could master 4 or 5 guitar chords and get a pub willing to put on a gig a local scene could begin. For me personally, a huge ratio of the bands that have meant so much over the years formed between the start ’77 and the end of ’78. Not every band would legitimately be considered punk in sound (any more so than London Calling was) but punk in terms of attitude and creativity for sure. The biggest and best legacy of the era is what changed compared to previous- new bands on small labels became the norm and not the exception. Record labels were set up in small offices and garages and with the help of people like John Peel and the fanzine culture bands could get heard with little or no financial backing.

I think it also ushered in the most exciting spell of music we’ve yet to see as punk merged into post punk and then what was to be become ‘indie’ 1979-1987 saw a fantastic variety of bands on labels that didn’t even previously exist and the catalyst for all of this was punk. Just for fun I looked at the best selling singles in England in August 1976 and it simply demonstrates just how much punk was needed and how close music was becoming (had become?) to being a non factor for all of us. Below is a look at the top 20 at that time:

As you can see there is hardly a ‘guitar band’ in that list and most of it wouldn’t look out of place in a collection of singles for someone aged over 25 (35?) even at that time. Who were the kids of 1976 supposed to be inspired by? Elton John was top of the charts and at age 29 had ended his run of albums that were vaguely monumental, Dr Hook were soft American pop by guys in their late 30′s. David Dundas was a one hit wonder from Oxford, Tavares were a bland R&B band in their late 30′s, Jimmy James was more insipid R&B from a chap pushing 40. Even the relative excitement of Glam Rock was all but dead with the art rock of Bryan Ferry being as near to ‘alternative’ as this chart offers even those he was 31 by then. The lack of a young guitar band in that list is almost painful when you think that a decade earlier the charts were dominated by The Beatles, The Animals, The Rolling Stones and The Who – each of whom were populated by young men at that time. By 1976 it was like the sixties had never even happened, the charts were as safe as they were in 1956. The door was wide open for something fresh to happen and the impact was genuine, a year later the 40 top selling singles in August 1977 included The Stranglers, The Sex Pistols, The Jam, Television and The Ramones – none of whom would have got a look in just 12 months earlier. Not quite sure what got me started on this today but it’s important to note that beyond The Clash you could suggest that the seeds planted in 1977 saved music and by 1978 and 1979 (I’ll write about those later) the difference was incredible.

Good evening, a lack of planning means that tonight’s post is short in depth but full on in terms of the sentiment behind it. I would have had it written for this morning but felt the Paul Simonon story from yesterday deserved pride of place for a few more hours.  I’ve written numerous times of how(I’ve spent the last few years trying to change my sentiment when it comes to finding some good in Joe Strummer dying so young. Trying to move from the senses of mourning, sadness and frustration (which definitely dogged me the first five plus years) to making the loss of Joe something more akin to celebration or at the very least inspiration. When all is said and done he was just a solitary bloke, a special one at that, but one bloke who cared a massive amount about his community and the world at large and managed to find himself to be in a position where he could try and drive change. He ended up heading a band that changed hundreds of thousands of people’s lives, not the first person to manage that and not the last. However I think when it comes to Clash fans above all other fans of specific bands something deeper and longer lasting resonated due to their music, their lyrics, their stance and their passion. There have been dozens of bands who perhaps made music just as good as The Clash, there have certainly been many bands who held wider appeal around the world, but in terms of impact – genuine life changing impact I don’t know if a band from that generation or since who managed to change so many people’s futures or simply attitudes as The Clash. Getting involved and doing it for yourself was never a very Rock and Roll approach before punk and perhaps only with the advent of affordable recording over the last decade has it become so since. The reason The Clash made such a difference was due to all four members but central to that fire was Joe Strummer.

If you ever saw Joe on stage you’ll know that he was born to lead that band, if you had any doubt about his sincerity it was immediately vanquished when Strummer led the band charging through their set. There are days when it seems an awfully long time ago but as soon as I hear a live recording I realise how lucky I was to have been impacted by this band. I can’t be bitter at his loss when the great thing was feeling involved from the age of twelve onwards. Therefore it’s a sad day today only on paper – as I wrote last week November 15th 2002, was that very special night when Strummer and Jones shared a stage one last time. Completely unrehearsed and fully unplanned but as natural and in sync as the 100+ brilliant songs the two composed between 1976 and 1982. Strange events happen to us all, a final phone call to a relative who was soon to pass, a chance meeting with a old friend to bridge a gap of too many years. Strummer and Jones were more than our generations Lennon and McCartney and while everyone has rightly mourned Joe these nine years since I’m not sure how often we stop and think about how it must have impacted Mick, Paul, Topper and Terry. It’s a fair case to argue that these four working together brought out the very best in one another, despite the fighting and struggles. Each of them know that the chemistry they had with Joe and Mick writing was lightning in a bottle. In hindsight the band should never have split up, they would have beaten all-comers in the 1980′s,  but I don’t think you could even beg for five better or more unique and masterful albums released at breakneck pace. At the heart of that was Strummer/Jones and I will forever be thankful that they shared a stage that final time. I think they both had some unfinished business there and although that reunion lasted less than a quarter of an hour it must have been something they both reflected on long and hard after the fact.

So nine years on from the unofficial closing of the story of Mick and Joe I think it’s only right to celebrate it for what it was – it was magic, it was trans-formative and like all great art it can last forever. Moreover I can’t imagine the story of The Clash without that remarkable night at Acton Town Hall. If you were there I’m sure your memories of it would be hugely enjoyed by everyone who reads this blog – the ratio of people who were there that night (I don’t think that hall holds more than 500) compared with who would have liked to have been would be absurd. Anyway, I know I rambled and repeated some of last weeks thoughts but keep Novemeber 15th on your calendars for the years ahead. Two dear friends finally got together on this night again in 2002 at last,  they easily bypassed all the years that had gone and together did what they did best one last time. Definitely an anniversary to celebrate.

If you ever want to visit the scene of that special night – stay tuned, I’m going to be add Acton Town Hall to the Clash locations series soon. I know Pete (a major friend of the blog and myself) lives nearby to Acton High St – he might even recommend a decent pub or place to grab a curry.

For tonight – and with a huge tip of the cap to Alan Miles I suggest you watch the film below if you haven’t seen it before and purchase a copy if you don’t have one. Part 2 is here and part 3 here. Enjoy it but better still make sure that you also celebrate it. Also, tomorrow should mark the 800th post on The Clash blog so come and join me for an octopus or spider themed update.

The Last Night London Burned

Good morning to you, it rained all night here so the air has a nice and fresh quality rarely associated with the desert. Lovely. This won’t be a long post therefore as I need to fuel up on coffee and then take the bicycle out and get some exercise or at the very least go and walk the Clash Blog dog (written earlier, completed this evening). Kim just bought the dog a red wool jumper, I don’t know about that. I noticed on yesterday’s post a glaring error and normally if I make a mistake or don’t fact check I’m corrected rather quickly by readers, this time though, nothing. The title of the post yesterday referenced Paul performing once again with The Good, The Bad and The Queen which I abbreviated to TGTGaTQ in the post headline which means nothing at all, brilliant. A schoolboy error and once I’m shocked to have got away with. What next? Mike Jones, Joe Strimmer, Paul Simon, Tipper Headon? Perhaps I’m getting senile after all, I noticed yesterday I’m struggling to remember lyrics from songs more often than once before.

Old songs are what brought me to today’s post also as I was listening to Madness while working in the ‘garage of fear’ yesterday sorting through a ridiculous mountain of stuff. I know that The Specials and The Beat are the two bands from that genre that I’ve returned to more often over the years but for a good spell during those first 3 or 4 albums especially I was essentially mad about Madness too. I liked the fact that they were from north London and although they were hugely successful (in Europe if not North America) you always sensed that it hadn’t gone to their collective seven (and then six) heads. Madness as a live band were never going to be as fiery as The Clash or attract quite the same element as The Specials but they were the best band imaginable if you were a teenager racing down cider and planning to dance badly for an hour and a half.

Madness live in Australia, 2009 (Image courtesy TrentSC on flickr http://www.flickr.com/photos/trentcsc/with/3450776465/)

To the casual fan who bought the singles and the average observer Madness were seen as a good times for everyone pop band who merged ska, sixties R&B and classic skinhead moonstomping into the ‘nutty sound’. If you weren’t paying attention you might have missed that they had a lot to say as well. Suggs’ lyrics were sharp and observational as the band developed that looked at politics, homelessness, poverty and many inner city issues that the band were in tune with. What was most telling was that the moment the band decided to get far more ‘serious’ in tone on their final album proper the sales dried up and they split up essentially, returning as ‘The Madness’ later on. Subsequently they’ve reformed a few times and continue to tour to great acclaim for the most part.

I’m only nattering on about Madness as Suggs took part in the Quietus (one of my favourite music blogs – bookmark it if you can) ongoing series of ‘my favourite 13 albums of all time’. His selections overall are rather great in my opinion and happily features the debut album by The Clash. What makes the series so interesting is rather than just a list of albums and a sentence about each the artist gives a lengthy explanation as to why he or she chose it. The Clash notes in particular are really interesting but all are worth a read as it describes the impact of The Clash on him, his band and the scene at large. I’d have loved to have been a bit older and kicking around Camden Town in those years. Here’s a link to his thoughts about the Clash album and also one for the entire list. What artists would make your thirteen best albums?

But I always had a soft spot for The Clash, because they had the reggae thing, like us, and there was a bit of soul in their music, for want of a better word. Joe Strummer definitely had a bit of soul in his voice. Every fucking track on that album’s brilliant, but my favourite’s ‘London’s Burning’.        – Suggs of Madness on the Clash

Right, I’ve got to get ready for a busy Monday so we’ll talk soon, don’t forget to stay current via Facebook, Twitter get the RSS feed  thanks for your support and sharing of the blog. Tim