Everybody’s waiting for a Happy Monday or so the lyrics went so I’m going to do my best. Hope your weekend went well and you’re all recharged for another working week. I’ve got so much to do this week but an untold desire to do it so we’ll see if that lasts beyond Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for your responses to the ‘best of’ 2011 posts, I always find it remarkable that every single person I hear from who manages to briefly meet or be around Mick or Paul or in the case of last year Don Letts et al has nothing but good things to say about how friendly and accommodating the experience turned out to be. As you know I only had a short time with the two aforementioned during the tour with Gorillaz in October 2010 but the same sentiments would be attached. Friendly, patient and happy to be with people who essentially were complete strangers even if some strangely blog about them almost every day.

When everyone seems to say the same thing you realise that’s just the way Mick (especially as he’s been most active as far as touring etc) and Paul are. It’s good to read and hear and reaffirms that being ‘fans’ isn’t the one-way street it can often seem, they genuinely appreciate the support and interest as far as I can tell. Right then on to this morning’s post which will be very short as I’ve only got time to share a video which came to my attention via Gil W who not for the first time digs out some great stuff. Outside the UK you might not be familiar with the concept of a pantomime but every Christmas you’ll find them in towns throughout England (do the Welsh and Scottish do this…I’m not even sure) and they’ll be plays heavily reworked for slapstick comedy and strong audience participation. Often featuring celebrities in unlikely roles such as Aladdin or Dick Whittington they are a strange event which remain popular as part of the festive routine. So it was with Mick Jones’ daughter at the Portebello Panto production of Robin Hood this year and a certain someone makes an appearance as King Richard. Press play below for the rest….

The event was for a good cause with funds benefiting the Shepherds Bush Families Project deep in the heart of Clash territory. Mick obviously was having a good laugh with this but not sure it’ll rival the Shea Stadium version at any time.

The cause: Shepherds Bush Families Project works with families in severe housing stress, including those living in B&B hotels, hostels, refuges and living in temporary accommodation which are in unsuitable and affected by overcrowding and disrepair.

Thanks go to Roughler TV who chronicle a lot of cool stuff from Portobello, so check out their YouTube page to learn and see more. I’ll be back with more soon – Tim

Good evening, welcome back to the blog and I hope all is well in your corner of the world wherever that may be. I’ll start this post late tonight (Tuesday) and probably get it completed tomorrow by which point everyone in the UK will be halfway through the Justice Tonight tour with three nights still to come. Apparently it’s going to snow in England today so I hope that doesn’t impact anyone’s travel plans for the remaining three nights yet to come in London, Glasgow and Liverpool. More special guests are promised and I can now officially say I wish like mad that I was going to the Liverpool concert.

However I’ve been a bit busy so I need to backtrack a few nights and focus on events that took place on the second night in Manchester at The Ritz. From the early planning stages of the Justice Tonight tour it was clear that we were going to be in for something not only very special but also very different. Guest stars on tours seems like a very 1960′s thing which sadly (with the exception of many concerts in the obvious cities like London and New York) has for the most part stopped happening. Perhaps it’s due to a lack of camaraderie amongst musicians, or the lack of a ‘scene’ or it could just be because of money and politics. Whatever the reason it’s a pity it doesn’t happen more as it’s often a brilliant thing. This tour already had three elements that meant it would work, Mick Jones performing Clash songs, Pete Wylie and The Farm providing excellent ambassadorship for Merseyside and a cause that means something to the audience at the gigs and the musicians themselves. It’s those elements that have seen the list of special guest appearances swell and it looks to continue. So to Manchester….

ClashBlogger bias alert: When I look through my collection of music I’d argue that London and Manchester have been the two greatest cities for music over the 30+ years that I’ve been paying attention and buying music. A huge percentage of my favourite artists originate from one or the other or at worst the surrounding towns, it’s been that way for decades now and shows no sign of stopping. I’d give honourable mentions to Liverpool, Glasgow and Sheffield too but London and Manchester are top of that pile. London’s greatest band over that time of course has been The Clash whereas from Manchester you could make a good case for Joy Division/New Order, The Smiths, The Stone Roses or perhaps Oasis depending on your vintage. (I’d vote for James also but that’s for another post). When the lights went up at The Ritz rumours were already flying around that the gig would feature very special guest stars that were previously unannounced and so it was. I’d wager that few seriously expected to see Mick and Pete joined front and centre by another notable duo of guitarist and vocalist who wrote one of the best albums ever. As the lights rose there were Ian Brown and John Squire of The Stone Roses ready to launch into Bankrobber (after a snippet of their own work with Elizabeth My Dear).

Now’s not the time to launch into a history of The Stone Roses but I think many will agree that their debut album was one of the best things to happen since The Clash split up. Seeing those two share a stage with Mick Jones was like one of those gathering of heads of state photos except these are decent people. Ian Brown of course still can’t sing in tune but seeing him do this apeman shuffle along with John Squire adding to the guitar noise is one of those moments that will last forever in the memories of those lucky enough to attend. It also speaks volumes as to the importance of this tour, the cause itself and the relationships and respect commanded by Mick Jones and Pete Wylie. I’ve not found much in the way of interviews but I’ve a feeling many of these special guests have volunteered rather than being asked. Which tells you so much about The Hillsborough Justice Campaign.

Image courtesy John Johnson Photography - Three legends at The Ritz

Here’s a link to some great photographs of the pair of Stone Roses on stage taken by John Johnson, one of which I’ve borrowed above. I’m also overdue in pointing you in the direction of John Robb (I’m sure many of you have already been following it) and his excellent site and friend of the blog Louder Than War. John’s got my dream job, formerly a member of Membranes (you’ll need to be my vintage) and Goldblade John has gone on to become a successful writer and has authored a number of books before launching the frankly excellent Louder Than War site which focuses on music and the arts. If you don’t visit it often you should, it will remind you of the good old days of the UK music press when there was something to be said. John has been the MC of sorts on the Justice Tonight tour and has been maintaining a superb tour diary which you have to read. I wish he’d have told me I’d have been happy to tag along and proof read each article and help with the odd interview. Here’s where you can get current and I’m hoping to catch up with John for an interview after the tour is done.

I can’t not mention London and Manchester in a football context this morning either and I don’t need to explain our London superiority over our northern friends at City and United I’m sure. However this is really the time for football unity not division. (but losing at Basel…?)

Right then, I’ve got to run but will do my best to be back later today with the early news from the London concert which takes place in a few hours. Why the fuck am I sitting in Phoenix? Tim.

Good evening, how was your weekend? Bloody hectic one here but that’s alright it’s going to happen from time to time. On the plus side it’s been really cold and rainy most of the weekend which sounds a bit glum but when you live in a desert it makes a lovely change. The clouds were so low that the mountains to the NE vanished for two days and finally left today to reveal snow, if I liked snow I’d be more encouraged. With that said the best laid plans of getting the blog updated a few extra times this weekend fell to the wayside but I’ll surely get back on track tomorrow. There’s a lot to cover from the Justice Tonight tour but that needs to wait as The Clash time machine has thrown up something really brilliant this weekend.

On Friday I was made aware by a few people of some live footage of The Clash that was filmed in high quality but as it was super 8/cine film there was no sound. A number of people around the net and on If Music Could Talk started trying to work out which concert film was from. Luckily the uploader on Vimeo also added another file called ‘Manhattan 1979′ (linked) which I watched with some faint hope it would lend some clues. Initially it showed the World Trade Centre and various street scenes around New York and then some bounty – an early evening shot of the marquee at the New York Palladium advertising The Clash, Sam & Dave and The Undertones – Sep 20 & 21 and towards the end of the footage live action of Sam and Dave. Clash historians will know the second of those dates led to the famous incident between Paul Simonon and his bass that was captured by Pennie Smith and became the cover of London Calling. What wasn’t certain was whether the film on the other upload featured live footage from September 20th or 21st.

It was at this point where the community that surrounds The Clash went into overdrive and also impresses the hell out of me. Everyone wanted to know which songs were being performed and match the audio to the performance. After going through existing recordings and matching up what was happening on stage in terms of lead vocals, backing vocals and other indicators there were enough clues to match it up perfectly. I’d like to thank Dom who I’ve been in contact with, for painstakingly adding the audio to the super 8 film with all the cuts and edits included – I thank you.

What’s remarkable about Super 8 film is that although the technology is older than many of us, the quality of the film far surpasses much of what you see compiled these days via mobile phones or even the less expensive digital cameras with video capability. I’ve watched the tape below a number of times and although it’s often blurry and edited badly you certainly feel the energy of The Clash on stage and the chemistry of the band which was perhaps at it’s very peak in the late months of 1979. Thrilling to see and priceless in it’s rarity what we have is a new document that in addition to being 32 years old also captures the band on a night where Paul Simonon was going to create an unrehearsed image that has become as famous as the the album cover it graced, perhaps even more so. While there are no complete songs on the tape we have pieces of I’m So Bored With the U.S.A., I Fought the Law, Jail Guitar Doors, and English Civil War. Enjoy it – it’s brilliant. I’ll be back soon with lots more. Tim

(Full credit from the YouTube upload) – The Clash – 1979-09-21, at the New York City Palladium performing the songs I’m So Bored With the U.S.A., I Fought the Law, Jail Guitar Doors, and English Civil War. It is only short clips of the songs but great nonetheless. This concert was the same night Paul Simonon smashed his favorite bass guitar thus creating one of the greatest moments in rock and roll history ever captured, seen on the album cover of London Calling, and taken by photographer Pennie Smith. More info about this special gig, including the full setlist, can be found here: http://homepage.mac.com/blackmarketclash/Bands/Clash/reco…
The original source of this video was a silent Super 8 film camera. I layered the audio over it and synced it together.

Good morning, how are you? You lucky people who were in Cardiff last night for the Justice Tonight gig got your fill it seems. I’ll be back later with a special guest review of the concert, some extra information about last night and the rest of the tour and more. It’s going to be great wherever you catch it, that much I’m sure of. Mick Jones is unable to stop smiling.

I think seven Clash songs were played and the reception and atmosphere were electric, ‘like being back in the 80′s’ said more than one observer.

For now I wanted to post a few videos of last night, the audio isn’t great (turn down those speakers) but it certainly gives you a flavour of proceedings in case like me you’re completely unable to attend one of these historic nights. Have a great night in Manchester if you’re going and I’ll be back as soon as I can with much more. Sorry this is so short and frankly, sloppy. Tim

White Man (in Hammersmith Palais)

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

Good evening, hope your day was a good one. I just ate far too much Thai food and feel like sleeping so let’s see if I can finish what I started as soon as I opened this post. You join me on a fairly special night as this marks the 800th post on The Clash Blog since I started writing it in late June of 2009. In fact it’s now 876 days since we began this daft idea so 800 posts in 876 days isn’t too shabby. That means something like 700,000 words have been written so far and at the time of writing there have been 636,000 individual visits to the blog. Thanks for your continued visits and support of the blog. All my worries about having enough to write about were completely unfounded as I usually feel a good few items behind. So I’ll bore you with one other number – on average I spend about 2-2.5 hours researching and writing each post so over the course of just under two and a half years that’s about 1,800 hours of time working on the blog or (sadly?) just over 10 weeks of my life during that time. Blimey. Here’s to the next 800! (apologies I like numbers) Thanks to everyone who takes time out to read and circulate this stuff and to the band of course without whom I’d just be chatting about any old nonsense. Or perhaps I do anyway.

image courtesty summerisoverblogspot.com

In the excitement of the Paul Simonon undercover with Greenpeace story some of actual details of The Good, The Bad and the Queen concert in London were somewhat overlooked. It would seem that the band plus string section clicked again as if they’d never been away and if you’re a fan of the album you’ll know that the music itself is so organic and haunting that I can see how it would be like slipping back into a comfortable pair of shoes. The good news as far as I’m concerned is that I have it on fairly good authority that there will be another album to come from the band and as far as I know from the original four members. It’s something I’d look forward to as I think it really does work, in reality it’s probably primarily Albarn’s numerous other ventures that have kept it from happening. Don’t forget it was Paul Simonon who said he wanted to stagger his schedule so that he had a music year, an art year and then a music year. 2010 was his lengthy commitment to Gorillaz, 2011 was his art year and of course his time in jail which may mean 2012 will see him back on the road. Whether it will be with TGTBaTQ remains to be seen, I’d say it’s a decent outside bet. Back to last week’s concert in London though, I wanted to share the video clips I found which are of various levels of quality. While the quality isn’t always stellar it is really great to see Paul back on stage with the guitar strap hanging around his waist, here’s some to get you going.

‘On Melancholy Hill’ (different angle)

‘Northern Whale’

Performing on the Greenpeace boat (from afar)

‘Herculean’

‘The Bunting Song / Nature Springs’ (features annoying bastards talking over the end of the first song)

Naturally all of these sound better on CD – so if you don’t own it jump over to Amazon over on the right —> (hint hint) and your Clash Blogger will get a few pence. I’ll be back very soon, have a brilliant Thursday. Tim

Good morning Clash people around the globe and welcome to another Monday. It’s a better Monday this week as it’s apparently a holiday for something or other, perhaps it is to honour idiots like me who live in a climate as hot as Phoenix? A short update this morning and then more tonight is the plan and I thought I’d reintroduce Video Clash as I haven’t done that for quite some time, the idea being that we feature some of the more recently uploaded Clashcentric videos to be found on the internet. I can’t guarantee they will all be new to you but if some or most of them aren’t I’d be failing miserably. Cover versions, odd clips and sometimes rarities stumble into the mix so let’s see what we have today. I need to do this twice per month, I’m going to try for the 5th and 20th, so remind me.

Festival cover versions (strummer festival season). I don’t think it’s my imagination but it seems more and more bands are covering Clash songs in their live sets. I’ve no problem with that especially if a fan of that band decides they might then want to go back and hear/buy the genuine article. The appeal of cover versions depends greatly on your ears I suppose, for the most part I struggle to hear a Clash song without either Strummer or Jones being on hand to deliver the vocals but that shouldn’t detract from the effort/recognition being paid by various acts in 2012. Beneath is Rise Against performing ‘White Riot’ in Leeds last month and below the video are links to some others, good, bad and indifferent but I’ll let you be the judge.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Rise Against – White Riot – Leeds Festival Aug 27, 2011

I.M.F. perform ‘Radio Clash‘ at ‘Concert for a Cure’ in Ontario. Concert for a Cure is a music-based, family fun day to raise Cancer awareness. A group of youth from Six Nations have come together to bring cancer awareness to the surface in this aboriginal community.

Mighty Mighty Bosstones perform ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’ at the Reading Festival. In all honesty I didn’t realise they were still going (sorry).

Glory Days perform ‘Bankrobber’. Never heard of them before but I like the acoustic version all the same, the band Glory Days (no shock) hail from New Jersey. What bands are named after Clash songs, what Clash song would be a good name for a band? I’d go with Hitsville UK or The Ghetto Defendants.

Japanese Band cover ‘Career Opportunities’. I love this mostly because it has such a nice raw sound, sadly I can’t provide much information because needless to say I don’t read Japanese but I know we got a lot of visitors from Japan so please provide some information if you can – I’d appreciate that.

Click here to view the embedded video.

‘Career Opportunities… in Osaka’

‘Lost in the Supermarket’ on piano. Just like it says on the packet, for whatever reason this song lends itself really well to piano and the emotions of the lyrics translate well to the single instrument rather well. If you can listen to this and not sing along or at least here Mick and Joe in your head then you’re a better man/woman than me. All I can tell you about the upload is that it’s from the UK.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Lost in the Supermarket – piano version

Mick Jones covers Elvis (not Costello). Just to make a change here we have Mick covering someone else rather than vice versa, I’d appreciate more information on this clip?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mick Jones covers Elvis Presley

That’ll be enough for now, please furnish more information, comments and your favourite video from this batch below. Thanks! Tim

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.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Interview excerpts with The Clash, Auckland, February 1982

I had a dream last night which featured the unlikely guest appearances of Terry Chimes, Osama Bin Laden and a ginger kid I went to school with when I was about nine years old. He was still nine which was odd and Terry Chimes and he were playing snooker (ginger was losing) whilst OBL seemed to be for the most part busy flirting with the girls in the dream and getting in a round of drinks. The only dialogue I recall was Terry saying that he couldn’t believe he was losing another frame and the in the dream I was more focused on me studying the difficulty of each upcoming shot rather than the unlikely cast of characters that I was watching. One of those observational dreams rather than a talking one so I wasn’t able to ask Bin Laden why his photographs aren’t being released or whether he had the taste of salt water in his mouth. (in case you were wondering).

image courtesy R E Aaron

I thought as its relatively early in the evening I would compile some Clash odds and sods for you tonight, and then tomorrow we should have another guest post followed by some of the standard updates than have been lacking of late. First of all the video linked here from the unlikeliest of sources Reuters which is a very short clip about the B.A.D. reunion including a brief chat with Mick Jones, the chap doing the voice-over not only reads his script like he had just heard of The Clash and Mick Jones about 3 minutes before reading the piece but his phrases include immortal cliches such as ‘rock and roll guitar and decidedly English vocal stylings’. It’s as if you took the lyrics from Safe European Home and asked your grandfather to read them aloud and with conviction. I know they say any press is good press but if you previously thought Reuters were square this will only confirm those 90 degree angles.

Another video then for you which I’d never seen before this week. When The Clash played the Jamaica World Music Festival in Montego Bay on Nov 27, 1982 it was part of a 3 day event that combined rock, pop, soul and reggae artists. The festival never became the annual event it was hoped to become but was surely a dream trip for the band, especially Paul Simonon who may have still harboured annoyance from his previous exclusion on the songwriting expedition by Mick and Joe back in 1978. Particularly when you remember much of the reggae influence and relative expertise within the band came from Paul’s earlier days. While the great audio recording of the event has long been available online and off I had not seen this before although read that it was in existence. The whole event was broadcast live on TV at the time in Jamaica and this 4 minute clip was evidently made as part of a special documentary for Canadian television. If anyone knows if the entire VHS is still in existence I’d love to know. Not fantastic video quality but that doesn’t outweigh that it’s still a rare and priceless piece.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Clash footage from the Jamaica World Music Festival, November 1982

Not to go back to the well but on this occasion I’m going to have to do so. You may remember a few days ago that cut and paste/chaotic and rather unsentimental piece in The Sun about the death of Poly Styrene and punk artists in general. The bad article just got worse with an addendum by none other than Alan McGee. For decades I’ve had a lot of respect for Alan McGee, his eye for talent and dedication to Creation Records and many of the the acts who excelled under his guidance can’t be ignored. He has an amazing history and was one of the most influential people involved with British indie music in the 1980′s. If I look back to what I was listening to in 1985 a huge percentage of my favourite acts were either discovered or promoted by McGee. Under normal conditions I could write chapters about all the times I’ve considered him crucial and I still do, which helps alleviate the blurb he added to the original column. You can check it for yourself here but essentially it opens with him lamenting the loss quite rightly of so many leading lights from the punk period but he also puts it down to their lifestyle. It could be a misquote I suppose but I don’t associate the loss of the specific people he mentions, namely “Joe Strummer, The Ramones, Tony Wilson and Malcolm McLaren” with the excesses of their lifestyles.

These were pretty uniformly untimely deaths from diseases and health issues were they not? We’re not looking at people found dead in car wrecks, suicides or with needles sticking out of their arms. Perhaps he means the fast paced life of gigging, touring and recording meant that time caught up with them but in that case why not say that. Perhaps I’m over-sensitive to it, but Joe’s death along with many of the other names we could reel off always seemed such bloody bad luck more than self prescribed. Not to demean cancer or a pre-existing heart condition but aren’t these really the random cards we are dealt to some extent? Not every smoker gets cancer, not every drinker has liver trouble, nor does every cancer sufferer smoke two packs a day. These are tragic diseases we should continue to support the research to combat and prevention of rather than be glib about who was dealt some sort of ‘consequence’. I have seen too many people die from cancer to see it any other way. Alan McGee you remain a brilliant chap but your words could have perhaps been chosen/quoted differently, say it ain’t so Alan. Then again it’s The Sun, why talk to them in the first place?

I’m also thinking about restructuring the ongoing Clash Landmarks series on the blog. I’ve got some ideas I’ll share soon and I’m hoping some of you can help me in far flung cities and countries. Lastly I really hope that the UK gets it right the the Alternative Vote referendum today but as you can tell here, I’ve got major doubts. More tomorrow and let me know what you think of the video and whether I’m getting the wrong end of the stick with Mr. McGee in the comments (you know…down below…so I don’t get an echo when I type). Cheers – Tim

Well hello again and thank you for your return visit to the blog or perhaps this marks the very first time visiting in which case it’s ever so sweet of you to spend Valentine’s Day evening with me, I hardly know you and you really shouldn’t have. A fairly ordinary Monday is moving towards sunset here and the weather suddenly thinks it’s early April which means I’ve got to see if I need new shorts for the spring. Fascinating stuff eh?

Three quick updates and then I thought it was time to update our ongoing collection of videos that hopefully you haven’t already seen with another installment of video Clash for your viewing/listening pleasure. Firstly I was pleased to here back from The Subway Gallery in London which I spoke and wrote about in recent posts, hopefully it looks as if the lease may well be renewed and closure not as imminent as at first feared. If anything changes on that front I’ll let you know in the meantime if you are near Edgware Road tube station be sure and check out the ‘Joe Strummer Subway‘, incidentally the photograph to the left which I hope you can read (click on it to zoom) adorns the wall where the subway is. Personally I think they should just rename the entire tube station or better still the Metropolitan line from Hammersmith on up could just be called The Clash line. Another interesting trend I’ve noticed on twitter in recent days is just how many people are referencing Joe and The Clash in relation to what has happened in Egypt in recent days, I think it speaks volumes that people would associate such landmark events with The Clash rather than The Blackeyed Peas. Finally a reminder that there is still time to enter the competition to win the Joe Strummer tribute DVD as mentioned on Friday’s podcast, just click on this link to learn more about that and hear the rather easy to answer question that puts your name in the proverbial hat to win one of three DVDs that are being given away. Good luck with that, I’ll be doing the random drawing at the end of the week. Now let’s see what comes through on the old videos since last time.

Topper Headon contributed to a film that I missed last year: I’m not quite sure how I missed the news on this one but better late than never. In 2010 an independent film that celebrated the career of Henry Padovani was released and in addition to featuring his former bandmates in The Police Sting and Stewart Copeland the film also features the recollections of Topper Headon as you’ll see from the clip. Padovani was to The Police what Keith Levene was to The Clash, an early guitarist who left the band just before they made their breakthrough. Thus it seems a bit far-fetched that the film would be dedicated to his time with and after The Police but he did go on to have a successful career of his own – the film was titled ‘Rock n Roll…Of Corse!’ (spelling err on purpose). The premise for the film sounds quite interesting, I wondered if anybody had actually seen it as the reviews from Cannes last year were favourable. It also opens up a can of worms that could see a 101′ers film eventually made especially if that time period isn’t fully explored in the forthcoming Joe Strummer biopic. Speaking of which did you hear the news that Julien Temple is now going to be working on a Marvin Gaye bio?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Big Audio Dynamite interview on Rapido 1989: There’s a chance you may have seen this before but I only show recently been uploaded again to YouTube. I’d almost forgotten television show R R Rapido and I’m sure I never saw this interview with Mick Jones and Don Letts in Liverpool at the time that Megatop Phoenix was released. The video runs for over five minutes and includes live clips, interviews and of course a brilliant collection of hats. Jim Jarmusch also features as he was involved at the time with directing a video for the band. It’s also one of the rare times that Mick’s serious illness in 1988 was discussed in a video interview that I’m aware of, the highlight might be Mick’s face as he watches Don at the end of the video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sara Milonovich covers Johnny Appleseed: One can find literally hundreds of bands doing cover versions of various Clash or Joe Strummer tracks with a chap on the microphone I don’t often come across a cover version with a female vocalist. Therefore I included this cover of Johnny Appleseed partly for that reason but also because it’s such a major reworking of the original song. Performed by Sara Milonovich and Daisycutter at The Living Room in New York. Sara Milonovich, vocals and fiddle / Greg Anderson, guitar / Andy Goessling, mandolin / Leo Traversa, bass / Steve Holloway, drums. More information on Sara is available here.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Epic collection of Clash bootlegs & rarities: If you are a serious collector of live Clash recordings and then chances are you’re already familiar with this chap (I regret I don’t have his actual name sure someone can provide it for me) but his collection and more information is listed under Sharoma.com. He’s now taken it in extra step by putting together three videos that in total run for about 40 minutes covering his collection of rare vinyl and recorded concerts that he has gathered over the years. Lots of things you probably haven’t seen before and definitely worth visiting his website as well as linked above and he does offer to send out plain CD-R copies of much of the collection. I swear I need more hours in my life to maintain and enjoy such a comprehensive collection of live recordings of The Clash but this is a great place to start. Video one is below whereas two and three are linked directly from his website.

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That should be enough to keep you busy for now, I’ll be back with more tomorrow I’m sure. Cheers – Tim

Good evening and welcome back to this little corner of the Internet that we like to call The Clash Blog. Hope your Monday went swimmingly well and all things as planned or near enough. I had hoped to feature just one story this evening but then I found that there was really too many new things I came across today that really do merit your attention.

Craig Hlavaty over at the Houston Press has written a great piece about the century man himself Ronald Reagan. The old jellybean lover himself has been in the news a lot over the last few days as this Sunday just passed would have marked his one hundredth birthday had he still been alive. As it was he did live to the age of 93 but the centennial of his birth truly stresses just how old he was when sitting in the Oval Office from 1981 to 1989. Craig’s article is linked here and makes a rather compelling argument that old Reagan was the biggest punk icon of the 1980′s and when you look at the facts of having someone to rally against I think he has a good point.

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Violent Femmes – Old Mother Reagan, 1985 – Madrid

I’m sure we could have a very lively debate about the relative imperfections of both Reagan and his trans-Atlantic counterpart in the UK Margaret Thatcher. There were a number of great songs written about both characters but in terms of uniting the musical scene each present a similar legacy of division and huge long-term socio-economic impact. In turn both inspired musicians to be more per politically outspoken than at any other time since the Vietnam era.

The current/forthcoming tours by Gang of Four, Stiff Little Fingers, Big Audio Dynamite and Buzzcocks 2011 is already shaping up to be a vintage year in seeing some of the artists most strongly associated with punk / postpunk in the UK that I’ve seen for a while. Seeing Buzzcocks again a few years ago convinced me that revisiting the past especially if a band still has something relevant to say about the present and the future with their music is no bad thing. If you’re more than a few years younger than me at 43, some of these tools could potentially represent the last chance to see some of these chaps on stage in something approaching original configuration. Therefore by way of this blog I want to always encourage you to see some of these acts while you can, my personal list of regrets of acts that I failed to see always nags at me in hindsight. While happy that I managed to see so many most important bands from about 1980 onwards I’ll always kick myself for those that I missed, especially considering that for the majority of those years I lived in some of the most ideal cities on any tour circuit (London, Chicago, Los Angeles). One act that I wasn’t lucky enough to see but who toured with The Clash were The Undertones, but it looks like you and I may just get a chance still.

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The Undertones – Jimmy Jimmy (Old Grey Whistle Test 1979)

The Undertones emerged from Derry, Northern Ireland and put out some of the very best in punk/pop over the course of their first three albums. If you don’t own any of those (The Undertones, Hypnotised, Positive Touch) I’d suggest starting at the beginning with the eponymous title from 1979 and the next two followed within 24 months. They even supported The Clash on a number of US and Canadian dates which must’ve been almost a perfect double bill. You really need to read this quick interview with Damian from the band on ‘The Linc’ website. His recollections are really enjoyable especially his mention of Mick and Joe when his band were touring with them. Incidentally Damian and his brother formed the truly superb That Petrol Emotion after The Undertones concluded who were near perfect in my eyes and I did at least get to see them live more than once. The Undertones set out on a 10 city UK tour on March 31st in Glasgow, full details are available here. Get your tickets!

I’ll be back soon and thanks for your visits, comments and continued support of the blog. If you can tweet, facebook share/like or use wikio to share any post I always appreciate that.