Another quick update for you, you’ll have to bear with me as I am finding the energy to type with the brief return to cooler weather. Just ate the nearest thing I’ve had in years to a North London kebab from this new Greek place that has opened nearby. If it were raining and 35 degrees colder I could have squinted and pretended I was walking down to Turnpike Lane tube. His menu I must mention, he was Greek but decided anywhere that bordered the Mediterranean was fair game, Greek food rubbed shoulders with Italian, Turkish, Middle Eastern and Moroccan.  Couldn’t help but think of Joe singing Bhindhi Bhagee as I scanned the menu, welcome stranger to the humble neighbourhood indeed.

Regular readers will remember a lot of the work last year and this Spring that centred around the Jail Guitar Doors project. One of the many special moments was the rare reunion of Mick with Topper Headon as they partnered with Billy Bragg to record a new version of the song that christened the project, the original post was nearly a year ago which is hard to believe.  Since that time the Alan Miles film that chronicled the project has helped raise awareness along with the continued efforts of Bragg plus Wayne Kramer who launched JGD USA.  Following a year spent touring and being an activist for electoral reform in the UK plus his protests against RBS bonuses Billy Bragg is back to help Alan Miles with a Scottish leg of the project. To date only one prison in Scotland has allowed Jail Guitar Doors to donate guitars to inmates but the hope is that may well change soon. Bragg and Miles were in Edinburgh for the Scottish launch of the film Breaking Rocks this week at the Cameo Cinema in the city. After the film Bragg plus two former inmates performed tracks from the cinema stage. I’d like to link you to Reel Scotland.com who have a nice feature on the event in addition to exclusive audio interviews with both Billy Bragg and Alan Miles. Nice work by all!

Meanwhile in the USA you really should follow Wayne Kramer on facebook, lots of information always added plus photographs etc and former MC5 star is a really humble bloke too. Speaking of prison I watched Shawshank Redemption again recently for I don’t know the 30th time, I keep waiting for that film to seem anything less than brilliant and I don’t think it ever will. Just a brilliant film. Lastly….Gorillaz….(sorry) but it seems .5C/G are taking the piss a bit announcing just one date of the US tour in New York’s Madison Square Garden on October 8th. Are they going to announce one venue per day for the next two weeks? Feed Good (inc) not really just a bit of an needless extended wait to find out how far we’re all going to need to drive/fly.

OK I think I’ll wrap it up there and go back to thinking of Greek food and North London.

Hello again and welcome back to the blog, hope things are as you left them. I must confess that half the time I sit down and know exactly what I’m going to write about, another 45% of the time I’ve a rough idea and improvise accordingly and then about once a month I do this. Just sit and see what comes out and if it’s not awful leave it as a post. There are actually a number of topics I could and should be covering but didn’t feel like doing the research and getting my points in order so hopefully the resultant offering will keep you engaged until the bottom of the post.

What I do have however is a nice pot of fresh coffee…its Fresh and Easy’s organic Columbian blend if you are interested. If you are not in California/Nevada or Arizona (so chances are) you’ll not know Fresh and Easy yet. I was excited when they opened here…owned by (Nicky) Tescos they’ve opened up a line of mini supermarkets in these parts with the emphasis being on Fresh and Easy. Unlike most US supermarkets you don’t need a compass to find your way round nor lose an hour of your life to pick up a salad and some fresh fruit. Its really rather nice and no need for checkout staff either so one less inane conversation for me to face daily. It’s so small that there would be no chance of getting lost in the supermarket. Being English owned I hoped that they’d be full of Twiglets, Toffee Crisps and Tizer but to date all I’ve found is Bisto. Anyway…very nice coffee.

Billy Bragg, 1984

With that said I’ve got a topic too – actually the first part of a two part conversation. I’ve worked out from your comments and memories that perhaps 60% of the readers of the blog are my age (42) or older – so like me you were a teen or older when The Clash ended. When I say The Clash ended to me it was essentially Sep 1983 – at the time Mick Jones was removed from the band. I realise the band pushed on without Mick for another few years but lets use late 1983 as a benchmark. So speaking to the readers who were into music at that time, buying records and cassettes and seeing concerts – what did you do in 1984-1986? I’m assuming (hoping) that The Clash were amongst your favourite bands when they split up and that may be part of the reason you’re visiting the blog. I know some people almost disowned the band after London Calling or earlier but hopefully that would be the minority. What new or existing bands picked up the slack for you after the demise of The Clash? The mid 1980′s were all over the place musically as post punk was morphing into something altogether more accessible and successful.’College Rock’ as it became known in the States was there for the more seasoned listener when new wave became just too hip around 1984.

I ask the question as I was tidying my CD collection as usual the other day. In turn I was reflecting on what I listened to most immediately after the demise of The Clash. Funnily enough with the exception of Big Audio Dynamite none of what I was into was vaguely similar to The Clash – almost as if I accepted that the torch was out for the time being. Looking back at the more recognized artists I listened to makes for the reading of someone who would try anything out.

From the USA – R.E.M.  Talking Heads and The Violent Femmes would have been most prevalent things I listened to. In England it was a bit of everything and anything – older bands like XTC, Echo and The Bunnymen and The Cure (up to The Head on The Door) kept me interested and I’d be lying if I didn’t confess to leaping headlong into The Smiths. As a live band they were just what a 17 year old ordered and as a love-sick teenager the angst filled lyrics made you laugh or cry dependent on your mood. With that said I think the three bands/artists that I played most and saw most frequently from 84-87 were Billy Bragg, James and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Three very different acts but in each case I thought (on their earlier recordings) far more inspiring live than recorded.

Billy Bragg was seemingly channeling Strummer in those earliest shows and songs. Tagged immediately as a protest singer I could sense the

The Jesus and Mary Chain....amazing at first

audience was full of Clash fans wanting to share Billy’s fury with the state of England. James couldn’t have been further removed from The Clash, at times sounding inspired by old bands on the Scottish Postcard label such as The Fire Engines, at other times by medieval English folk; James were a frantic and simply odd proposition on stage – led by the mental dancing of Tim Booth. I was lucky enough to be at a number of the earliest London appearances of The Jesus and Mary Chain….a twenty five minute set of ear splitting noise captured the energy of the room and shunted it back into the dark streets. Great great times.

There’s so many other bands from that era who made an impact with me ~ The Redskins, The Fall, Felt, (early) Chumbawumba, Felt, The Housemartins, The Woodentops, New Order, The Pale Fountains, Aztec Camera, The Cult, New Model Army. The records I bought and gigs I attended dominated the years more poignantly than anything else going on in my life at the time (sad eh?). But I’m curious as to what you listened to post-Clash…what made you stand up and take notice? I also want to know more about how it is discovering The Clash ‘after the fact’ – but that’s another post for another day.

I know I missed The Clash terribly, I also know they helped shape me into giving almost anything a try – what more could you ask for? John Peel was a surrogate Dad too!  So did you move on to stuff like this or another vein entirely? Thanks for stopping by…we found a story and the coffee was lovely!

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James on the Whistle Test – 1985

Good evening and cheers for dropping in to the blog. My internet has been a bit up and down this evening so even as I type I’m not sure if this will find its way onto your screens today, tomorrow or late tomorrow – hopefully the former. Not much to report on from Clashblog towers unless you count the family cat eating a bunch of grass only to make itself sick on said grass a few minutes later worthy of news? No…I thought not too. Just wanted to hand a large Orange congratulations to the Dutch team who coasted into the final 8 at the WC earlier today, one other WC tip – by far the most enjoyable thing about the tournament so far has been the weekly Alan Davies show on the BBC – Armchair World Cup. Have I ever steered you wrong before?  I’ve not (intentionally) so if you happen to like football and need a really good laugh in this unemployment and VAT ravaged world we live in take a quick trip over to the link and listen to the podcast replay online.

Joe looks over Glastonbury hordes

I had hoped I’d have some official reports back from Glastonbury by now specifically about the Strummerville events over the four days as the bill was quite stacked. Things move a bit more slowly in the West Country so perhaps we’ll have some of that for you over the next 24-48 hours. The only video clip I’ve come across so far around Strummer campfire is the soothing sounds of Bombay Bicycle Club playing ‘Always Like This’. It does at least give you some idea of the mellow and intimate setting of the campfire stage if you’re reading this from far afield. I lied, just found another upload from Drunken Balordi who perform ‘Italian Nightmare’. Great fun to see and very easy to imagine Joe joining in on this track! Also returning to Glastonbury this weekend was the LeftField tent which was hosted/curated by Billy Bragg of course. LeftField is in short the political stage/tent at the festival where songwriters talk and play and seek to engage those needing a bit more in their cider than La Roux. The Billy Bragg interview with the NME is right here if you fancy it. More from the tent this week.

Joe Strummer wasn’t just being summoned in the fields of Glastonbury this weekend as it was also the turn for the Hard Rock Calling event in London’s Hyde Park for those who get nervous if they go West of Heathrow Airport. Much like last Summer an American artist paid a big tribute to the ever present influence of Joe. A year ago Bruce Springsteen played London Calling and this year the more recent Arms Aloft was trotted out by Pearl Jam at the huge concert. I’ve always been essentially ambivalent about Pearl Jam to be honest, but I know they are hugely important to many people. As it happens Eddie Vedder is an unabashed fan/friend of The Clash and Joe Strummer and I give him a large nod for discussing with the gathered crowds at the weekend how much he missed Strummer in addition to his other memories. The full story is over at Beehive City if you want to take a look. Below I’ve got a video of Pearl Jam covering Arms Aloft at the weekend. Sadly I don’t have Vedder’s introduction and the recordng ends a little early ~ but it’s a heartfelt cover version to these ears.

Pearl Jam perform Arms Aloft (in Hyde Park)

I’d write more but my computer is testing my patience so it’d probably be better if I save a bit until next time. Thanks for coming as always and remember the Facebook page is a good place to have a chat or throw ideas around (we just passed 800 in our little gang!) ~ or please use the comments section at the foot of each post. Thanks! Tim