It’s been pouring with rain the better part of 24 hours, weather like this makes me long for a ride on a double decker down to my local pub. The Sunday papers to read all about the football and have a nice flaky sausage roll. If you’ve always lived in England and bemoan the clouds and rain just trust me when you live in the sunniest place imaginable you do miss the rain. So I’ve been happy as can be this wet winter while the locals can’t stop complaining about the weekly rains.

I’ve been reading (again) the excellent Chris Salewicz bio of Joe Strummer recently, nothing certifies a great book as much as being able to read it again and still find a lot to enjoy. The complexities of Strummer are something to behold but the sincerity and dedication of the man can’t be questioned. If you haven’t read it – it is a book that will at times make you recoil at times as you learn about Joe up close from those who knew him, and while it’s not a book that seeks to put a halo above Strummer’s head it is still a book that needed to be written. I mention this as I was reading about how Joe was perfectly happy as a late teen (and again in his 40’s) to visit a 3-4 day music festival or even an extended country party. It might involve just a sleeping bag on the grass somewhere but his borderline nomadic tendencies probably made being in a band that was constantly touring that much easier to adjust to. Much of it was also possibly because he moved so often before the age of ten (and from country to country) and then felt that he was ‘discarded’ into a boarding school. If that represents the first seventeen years of your life it is fairly easy to understand that Joe probably never felt settled anywhere/felt at home anywhere depending on your point of view. I went the long way round to get there, but knowing and wet and gloomy the English weather can be, how did he manage to rough it when needed? Was the weather that much better in the late 60’s? From my memory (1974 onwards) the only summer England has ever had that was very warm and dry was 1976 which was also the summer that punk germinated in London. Just a coincidence? It does make you wonder. Incidentally there are 10 signed copies of Salewicz’ book Redemption Song – The Ballad of Joe Strummer being given away in a drawing via his site – so drop on by.

I’ve only one other short thing this evening (Clash Cup tomorrow) and it’s something definitely worth a read. The blog ‘Ariff Minds The Gap’ has written a good article about ‘Cut The Crap’. He has more of an opinion on the album than I can compose at present, well at the very least he explores some of the legend behind the making of the final ‘Clash’ album. I’ve got to be honest, if I was introducing someone to The Clash I’d most probably suggest they stop their historic education with Combat Rock. Am I being unfair?

Finally, I found myself in the mood to at last tackle the film ‘Control’ this weekend by Anton Corbijn. As you are no doubt aware the film focuses on the last 7 or 8 years of Ian Curtis and the formation of Warsaw who were to become Joy Division. I read a great deal about the film when it was released in 2007 and then partly by intent never saw the film. I’m pleased I waited, it gave me distance from all the reviews and recommendations and I was able to watch it with my knowledge of Curtis and Joy Division as it previously was – fairly in keeping with the film. I must say I thought it was incredibly creative in it’s production and the major character of Ian, his wife and his mistress were all superbly cast. The film has a brutal starkness to it and the use of Black and White only adds to the desolation of the story itself and the settings of Manchester and Macclesfield in the mid-late 70’s. My only complaint was the minor characters (example, the rest of Joy Division!) were somewhat shallow and bordered on cliched but that scarcely detracted from a stunning film, my comment is tempered by the fact that the film was truly about Ian Curtis after all. The palpable sense of despair and confusion circling his life almost brings you to frustration, but the final feeling is one I’ve had since I first heard he died when I was just a kid – what a tragically brief life. You almost sense that Curtis was dying as soon as he joined the band. Sam Riley as Curtis and Samantha Morton as his wife Debbie are simply remarkable. I hope you’ve had the chance to see the film, if not you should.

Hello again…I’d had this on my list of things I must write about for the better part of six months. I always found myself falling into an abyss however when I got to the stage when I wanted to add a post about it – when you’ve yet to see a play or worse still even had a chance to read the book unless its brand new it is difficult to offer an opinion of any value short of churning out what has already been written and said by the professional critics. Nevertheless I’m bypassing that phobia for one night only in the interests of promoting something that most certainly

Image courtesy Life Magazine

furthers the cause of The Clash. If you live in the UK chances are you’ve already read about this and perhaps seen it, if you live elsewhere it might be news to you. I think I first got wind of this back in 2006 or 2007 when it was written about on some of the existing Clash forums that are online. The purveyors of the production were kind enough to write to see if I could share the details with you.  The clue was above – I’m referring to the play ‘Meeting Joe Strummer‘.

The critically acclaimed play was originally performed at the Edinburgh Festival in 2006 and then went on tour through the UK in the second half of 2007. Its back in the news again as the play is hitting the road again this Spring throughout Britain. As I mentioned I’m certainly only in a position to repeat whats already been written but the synopsis is as follows:

The show follows the lives of two young men, one middle-class, one working-class, from adolescence in 1977 to middle-age as they are transformed by Joe Strummer and The Clash’s potent mix of rock n’ roll, iconic imagery and rebel politics

If you saw the play back in 2007 please write in and share your thoughts. For tonight I’ll publish the official press release notes beneath and I’m seeing if I can arrange an interview with Steve North about the project. On to the press release in full:

Written and directed by Paul Hodson,  performed by Steve North and Jason Pitt

Meeting Joe Strummer is an award winning punk play packed full of loud music, raucous comedy – and deep respect for the music and life of the great Joe Strummer. It’s an emotional blast through rebel politics since punk – and a celebration of the man who set the agenda for a generation – but it’s not a tribute to The Clash or Strummer, really it’s a heartfelt play about friendship. Meeting Joe Strummer charts the friendship of two lads over three extraordinary decades. Meeting as teenagers in the late ‘70s, at the legendary Anti-Nazi League concert in Victoria Park, the play follows their lives as they cope with the Thatcher years and crap 80s music, struggle to stay true to the “Cause” while paying the bills and maintaining relationships, and how they grew up in the real world while trying to stay true to the myth of their hero.

Joe Strummer was a hero to many, including Paul Hodson (writer & director) and Steve North (performer). After Strummer’s tragically early death just before Christmas 2002, Paul and Steve began talking about making a piece of theatre to celebrate his life. A “biopic” type show seemed wrong; but a piece that told of Joe’s spirit, passion, talent and humour through the eyes of some of his fans seemed right. During two years of research those close to Joe as well as admirers from afar gave their time to talk about their feelings for him. His official biographer Chris Salewicz said not a day went by without people approaching Joe to tell him he changed their lives. Is there another music star, living or dead, who can have had such a profound effect? Joe’s influence clearly went beyond the great music he made.

Meeting Joe Strummer is played in a deliberately rough-and-ready, semi stand-up style. It glows with warmth, humour and self-deprecation -  ‘it’s required viewing, not just for Strummer’s many admirers, but also for anyone who enjoys funny, perceptive and passionately sincere new writing.’ Manchester Evening News

Paul Hodson has written and directed for theatre for over twenty five years; as well as writing more than a hundred hours of broadcast television drama. He won a Fringe First in Edinburgh for Meeting Joe Strummer in 2006; his play about John Peel, Teenage Kicks, sold out its run at the 2007 Edinburgh Fringe.  From 1991 Paul was Artistic Director of Brighton Theatre Events, who produced critically acclaimed work that toured throughout the UK. As well as writing and commissioning new work Paul adapted a number of books for the stage, including Nick Hornby’s Fever Pitch, which toured for 6 years and Bill Bryson’s books The Lost Continent and Notes From A Small Island. Other original plays include Brighton ‘Til I Die, to celebrate the centenary of Brighton and Hove Albion, and Pretty Vacant about punk rock survivors. In 2009 Paul formed the future is unwritten. The company’s first production was Thirteen, commissioned by Brighton Festival.

Steve North ’s theatre work includes premieres of Pretend You Have Big Buildings (Manchester Royal Exchange), Not The Love I Cry For (Arcola), Fever Pitch (West End/National tour), The Football Factory (national tour). He created the role of Steve in the original production of Meeting Joe Strummer . Film and Television work includes E20, Whistleblowers, Sense and Sensibility, Casualty, Midsomer Murders, The Day Britain Stopped, Murphy’s Law, Is Harry on the Boat? Vital Signs, London’s Burning, Easy Hours. He co-wrote and was Associate Producer of the film South West Nine and was also Associate Producer of The Football Factory and Dolphins.

‘I first saw the The Clash when I was 15 in June 1980 at Bristol Colston Hall. I met Joe Strummer and Mick Jones after the gig and asked Joe if he would do an interview for my fanzine ‘What the Rich are Doing’. Joe said he would, but the fanzine died after one issue so we never did the interview. I met him once again after a Mescaleros gig in Brighton in Nov 2001, the year before he died.   Too drunk to explain how he had been my inspiration for most of the last 22 years, I garbled ‘you changed my life’ at him interrupting an interview with a young fanzine writer. Joe looked up, smiled and went back to the interview. I staggered home.’ Steve North

Back to me now…the tour begins this week Feb 19th in Crawley (who said nothing ever happens in Crawley eh?) and zig zags throughout England for the next two months. For full tour details visit this link and for more official information on the production please visit here.

Further reading: BBC interview with Paul Hodson from this month. If you have specific questions I can forward them for you or send them a tweet to ask about ticket information.

Hoping to expand upon this over the weekend with a lot more info from Mark Matthews the man behind the project. If you’re new to the blog Shatter The Hotel is a project in conjunction with Strummerville to create a CD of Clash songs performed in a dub / reggae style. The disc itself is brilliant and benefits the Strummerville  charity – if you haven’t bought it then you can do so and learn more on the site. The UK launch event took place last night at Inn on The Green in Ladbroke Grove. By all accounts it was a great event with a smashing vibe and hopefully I can furnish more info over the weekend. Pete was their with his camera and has captured some lovely images – starting with Dubmatix beneath:

Dubmatix at The Shatter The Hotel event - courtesy Pete Stevens

I’ve been listening to the disc a lot recently and as opposed to other ‘Clash cover compiliations’ this is a really cohesive piece of work and makes for a worthwhile sit down and listen (or drive…or skank). The disc has liner notes from Chris Salewicz and features among others Don Letts, Dubmatix, Chomsky All Stars and of course Prince Blanco (Mark) himself. You can get a flavour of the album on the MySpace page. Back later tonight…

Strummerville Merchandise - image courtesy Pete Stevens