Hello, freshly awake from a nap (is this what getting old is about?) I realised that I’ve got a growing pile of Clash related scraps to share with you. I can’t believe how close the vote is on the Clash Cup – final poll closes overnight (9am PST) so who knows what I’ll wake up to? As for the other poll on the prior article it looks like a closed affair.  Speaking of Joe’s appearance he certainly didn’t look like a punk rock figurehead in 1974-6 before he was ‘sourced’ by Bernie Rhodes into the existing fold of The Clash. As I’m sure most readers are aware Strummer had by that time spent better than 2 years as the front man of the 101′ers. I learned about the 101′ers in backwards order (read – long after the fact) but two resources I’d recommend are this site – the official 101′ers resource and also the Chris Salewicz book about Joe – Redemption Song. Both provide so much information about Joe ‘pre-Clash’ that I’d consider them a vital resource if you have time. The reason this is on my mind tonight is this review of Elgin Avenue Breakdown; although now 4 years old it’s the best document (in my opinion) of the band. Investigate it if you’re still filling in your Clash catalogue and seeking complete archives.

101 Elgin Avenue, turn left out of the tube station

Here’s something that made me laugh out loud. When I was 14-16 if I saw a girl bedecked as a Clash member it would have been love at first sight. All these years later and for just under 3,000 quid you can get the costume to be a Jo(anne) Strummer. Can you believe these bloody prices?? Brilliant looking jacket though I have to say and it’s suede! I had a black suede jacket back in those days that I still miss daily, almost makes me well up thinking about it. Whatever happened to hitting your local Oxfam and making your own clothes?

Two things I didn’t expect to write about in a post were CNN and Islamic Punk Bands. However both birds are killed with this stone if you want to read more, it’s an interesting article that’s given me more to do on my list of music to check out based on the sentence beneath (sounds like Joe would have approved)

Blending traditional South Asian rhythms with punk rock beats, they sing in both English and Punjabi. (Kominas means “scum-bag” in Punjabi, according to the band.) Their songs can be at once political, serious, satirical and insinuating.

The Kominas

More info about The Kominas is here. Right then, that’s about my lot for now – coming up soon I’ve got part 2 of ‘A drummer’s tale’, Clash Cup Results, news about more exclusive interviews, some great guest writing about guitars, Mick Jones haircuts, Clash artwork and buckets of other things. Don’t forget I need your ideas for the Ray Gange interview coming up. I also had a few more emails about the Joe Strummer BBC archives – links are here.

Night….