Good morning, I’ll be a little short with the early post as it’s the anniversary date of when I met Ms. Clashblog (the woman who performed miracles to make the site look how I’d hoped) so I need to be at my best.

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this but Jean-Jacques Burnel is still insisting that Joe Strummer was keeping an eye on the Stranglers for ideas back in 1976. I didn’t give that statement much credence when I first heard it and he’s still regurgitating it 30 years later. I know Strummer attended early Stranglers concerts and the 101′ers even shared the bill. Don’t neglect the fact that the Stranglers did get an earlier start and a following than other bands on the scene that was yet to come . The correlation between seeing them live and it being inspiration for The Clash (or Joe in particular) is beyond me. Perhaps I’m missing something. I’ve been to Guildford many times, it’s a beautiful even pastoral town. The kind of place I’d like to retire or attend a church jumble sale, it’s not the birthplace of punk.

The birthplace of Punk...or not?

I always saw a clear association between the sound/energy  between the Clash and The Damned, Buzzcocks and to a certain extent the Sex Pistols. Not so with the Stranglers. The entire London scene including the periphery and fans was a very small number of people during the initial months. As you look at the earliest days of Mick Jones writing music and the people he was spending time with; it was a fairly limited list of names. If you saw a similar formative scene in your own town you’d have hardly noticed it. In a city the size of London it was a select group. I’ll write more in the weeks and months ahead about those links and connections in 75-77 and when you weave the thread it emphasises the unique circumstances that  created what was to follow.

Back to the Stranglers, I always saw them as a pub rock band who morphed into punk when it was ideal. That sounds very simplistic but the same has been leveled at Joe Strummer over the years. Pub rock spearheaded by Dr. Feelgood was a good old rock and roll blues based sound that while offering entertainment value in a live setting wasn’t exactly breaking any new ground. You also have to remember that the origins of the Stranglers go back to 1974-75  and 2 years was a lifetime in the music circuit back then. Strummer was often labelled as ‘too old to be punk‘ often lied about his age and/or downplayed it.

Strummer was 24 when he met Mick and Paul and 25 when the wheels started turning. Burnel of the Stranglers was born the same year as Joe (The Strangler being 8 months older) and Hugh Cornwell was 3 years the senior of both of them. The Stranglers found themselves supporting Patti Smith and The Ramones in the UK prior to being categorised as punk, and not the other way round. There’s also alleged bad blood between the bands stemming back to the very early days, a cynic might say that issue leads Clash fans to be be a dismissive about the Stranglers. Not true, I found their music to be uninspiring long before I knew some of those inside stories of the punk scene.

Maybe it was those keyboards, maybe it was the vocals or maybe it’s perpetuated by the belief that they were leading the charge of the new wave in London. Burnel certainly is keen to keep banging this drum.

I didn’t mean for this to become a Stranglers rant but after years of hearing who inspired who I wanted to dig a bit deeper. Strummer as a songwriter and performer was never one to dismiss who influenced him, in fact it was a badge of honour. I just don’t think a band who were contemporaries of the 101′ers would ever top that list.

Tim

Morning, I hear it’s raining and not too summery back in London today, you lucky bleeders. Before my Clash update I wanted to share this article about Afghanistan with you from the Times. Are there any right thinking individuals out there that think this is suddenly going to become easier? Does anyone in a position of power even own a history book? Obviously the situation is far more complex than I’m going to dig  into within this forum, but who are ‘we’ trying to make safer? Moderation might not be in vogue, but is that because it might prove that the current path is rutted with holes?

Belfast 1977

Right, on to other matters. Stiff Little Fingers were one of the better bands to emerge from the spillage that the eruptions of 1976-7 caused. The impact of The Clash on the bandwas apparent in their sound and they were never shy about marrying political themes to their great guitar buzz.  In the 1970′s Belfast was a city under siege and the daily environment was a natural catalyst for SLF. I found this great interview with Henry Cluney from the band last night, the memories of those indulgent times are pondered and it’s great to see him still performing.

An Alternative Ulster
Grab it and change it it’s yours
Get an Alternative Ulster
Ignore the bores and their laws

Looks to be 100% that Mick Jones will be appearing at the JGD event with Billy Bragg tomorrow. It kicks off at 2pm and its free.

If London had McLaren and Rhodes then Manchester had Tony Wilson, but it also had Bruce Mitchell. Mitchell saw The Clash in their early days and his call to arms was complete. It can’t be overstated that in the days before myspace, MTV and 24 hour access to information having people such as Mitchell getting your name out there and gigs booked was a crucial element in terms of the punk scene and then the indie revolution that followed. The Guardian has a great feature on Mitchell today.

Right, I’m off for now enjoy your weekend wherever you are. Good hip hop in Islamabad?

Tim

Fireworks, gunshots and drunk drivers equates to freedom by any other name I guess. As America celebrates it’s 233rd anniversary I feel the years kicking in. Deep in the recesses of my youth was the U.S. Bicentennial which I have vague memories of being aware of. Something else special was going on that summer of ’76 and it was on a smaller scale in a flat above the Westway.

All these years later The Clash remain on peoples minds and writing the blog daily has brought that into much sharper focus. Good to know I’m not whistling in the dark anyway. As you might have worked out this Clash Blog post’s title will be a recurrent one where I steer you toward other blog entries about the Clash.

Kick off with a quick glance at Dabysan who has a profile that tells you nothing sensible but still he wrote a rapid fire review of The Clash at Shea CD. He gives it the once over and really applauds it. He also makes his case for not buying it sooner (maybe he was working on his profile) but makes personal amends by calling it the best live album ever.  It’s a double edged sword in my eyes, I love live music and I think hearing/seeing The Clash live when they were on full throttle is one of the best things ever. I still don’t own a great live Clash album. Lacking Topper and a set list that’s punctured doesn’t get it done on this release either. It’s a good live album but I’d point to the Smiths, The Wedding Present and James as bands I like who captured the live recording to much greater effect.

I’ve a feeling we might never get the perfect live Clash album we’d like to see which is a crime.

Which version do you fancy?

Next up is a brilliant undertaking by Jeffen who has essentially written an overview (and downloads) for every version of Straight To Hell he could get his hands on. It’s a really ambitous concoction and he’s done a marvellous job. Please take the time to visit and give him and leave the plaudits this merits. It’s such an entertaining list and features among the 22 versions the long Clash version, Red Letter Day (where did they go?), The Pogues, Phil Cody and many many more (in my best K-Tel voice). Don’t listen to me, tap the link and go and see.

Today’s Cut The Crap award goes to Kerrang! magazine for their top 50 punk albums list, yes it’s an old post but that doesn’t make it any less bollocks. I don’t ask to see The Clash take the top 3 slots but nothing in the top 5? In proper punk spirit we’ll make our own list here. Send your ideas to me and I’ll add it to theideas list. Here’s my top 10 in no particular order.

The Clash – The Clash

The Saints – The Saints

The Clash – Give ‘em Enough Rope

The Libertines – The Libertines

Sex Pistols – Never Mind The Bollocks

Black Flag – Damaged

Wire – Pink Flag

Buzzcocks – Love Bites

Operation Ivy – Energy

The Clash – London Calling

Take your shots, I know it’s not the most original but I did it in less than 5 minutes whilst I was on the phone!

I’ve some really exciting news about the blog that I hope to be able announce by Monday – it’s an exclusive interview and I’m going to ask for your help with questions.

Til Tomorrow…