Hello again…thanks for dropping by and as promised a new post to go hand in hand with a new day. I was working today and quietly having a very normal quiet morning with a cup of coffee when I turned on the BBC (online of course – I don’t have the world service aerial rigged up these days) when the news from Cumbria started being broadcast. So much for a peaceful morning and I’ll not even try and understand that sort of carnage which thankfully is a very rare event in the UK, but with Dunblane and Hungerford still in the memory that’s often enough for me. I hope that the communities impacted pull together after such a dark dark day – not much more to add. The Cumbrian coast and Lakes are amongst the nicest parts of England, which only adds to this surreal event shrouding those towns.

Fortunately a bit further South in Manchester, Manchester Rugby Club hosted a much happier event this past weekend. Strummercamp was apparently a huge success and under normal circumstances (the blog being up and running!) I’d have been able to be part of the build up to this years event. The two day non-profit festival celebrates the life and influence of Joe and was well attended again this year. The lineup was sadly lacking The Godfathers (what a great live band…I saw a few of their St. Valentine’s Day shows back in the day) but still offered a great festival where you didn’t have to travel into the wilds of the West country to get a fix of good music and entertainment. A good summary appears on this post from e-festivals.co.uk. If you happened to attend last weekend please write in and share your report!

Off topic (back to the old flow, you’re probably used to this) a great friend of the blog tells me that the new Iron Man film (imaginatively titled Iron Man 2…or IM2 she regaled me) features two songs by The Clash during the comic book turned Robert Downey career resurrection vehicle. Should I Stay popped up early on but of course that’s been used by Hollywood (and Levis) on prior shifts, more encouragingly Magnificent Seven also makes an appearance. Can you imagine….little Billy marveling (pun intended) at the antic of Iron Man and you’re mumbling ‘Cold Water in The Face’.

Trying to pull all the loose ends together, but as you might recall Carbon Silicon (Mick’s proper band) played a unlikely gig in Zagreb, Yugoslavia (fuck it I’m going old school) in early May and a very enjoyable video surfaced of the event. Thus you’ll find it beneath for your viewing pleasure.

We’ve got plenty of videos to get through including so many of Mick and Paul it may have been a good thing I wasn’t bombarding you with those the last 6 weeks. Back soon – and thanks for your messages condoning my return.

Tim

Damon Albarn you deserve a medal mate. You should probably recognise the two chaps dressed as sailors playing with Gorillaz in Portsmouth on Sunday evening from the live video below. Seems the rumours were true….Coachella next I’m guessing.

More on this soon…..Tim

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’.