Sunday already and I’m not vaguely sure where the last 36 hours skipped off to. Nice to see proper football back at last and a signal that the bloody summer here is now entering its final stages. Welcome back to the blog wherever you may be reading and I wanted to point out a few more changes that should help with site navigation. Over on the right under ‘categories’ I’m going to add each post for video clash / westway traffic / clash shopping /clash landmarks etc so if you find a post you like and want to review older posts in the same vein you can find them far more easily. So for example this post will get filed under Clash Landmarks for the rest of time…or something. I’ve also added that ‘events’ page on the top navigation on the page which (when I get it current) will help us keep better track of things that are coming up on the calendar. Speaking of the calendar I noticed its been a while since I did a Clash landmarks feature and also tomorrow marks the anniversary in 1982 of when The Clash began their North America Combat Rock Tour. For all intents this was the last ‘proper’ Clash tour and the one which led to the huge success and ultimately the implosion of the band. The tour kicked off just outside Denver at the Red Rocks amphitheatre.

Red Rocks is of course famously associated with a live performance by U2 in 1983, another semi-ironic case of U2 making inroads by following in the steps that The Clash had taken before them. That live album by U2 took the awareness of the Irish band to a whole new level even before they had consolidated their appeal outside of England and Ireland, a live album that sold for years and was seen as a must have for fans. A good example of CBS failing to do what Island Records did so well, capturing exactly what the fans of a band wanted. Island saw that U2 had something of an extra gear when playing live (the material on Red Rocks improves greatly on the first 2 albums) and decided to capture that as a live album. The Clash live were an amazing proposition and a quality live Clash album in 1983 might have not only increased the profile of the band but taken the pressure off of the band to tour, record, tour, record. Just a thought and not what this piece is about. Somehow we waited until the late 90′s for a live Clash album which is just insane.

Ever since I can remember seeing a band live has held huge appeal to me and the venue has often been a part of that. In London I’d sometimes see a band I was only half interested in if the location was somewhere I’d never been before. Going into the lobby of a club for the first time before you see the configuration of the stage always held a lot of excitement for me and if I visited a new city and when I moved to new places checking out the venues was always high on my list of things to do. I’ve got a long list of places I’ve read about that I wish I could get to for a concert, sadly many especially in cities like New York are now long gone. Outdoor venues have typically held as much appeal to me as camping (read as none) as I don’t want bugs biting me, rain falling on me or the lack of a ceiling causing the sound to echo upward to the heavens. Plus really, standing in a field also has its own set of problems. Hollywood Bowl is one excellent exception to the rule and another I’d like to visit is Red Rocks just outside Denver. The natural rock formations create an amphitheatre carved out of nature rather than trampling dirt down and throwing up bleacher seating. It apparently sounds as great as it looks and maybe one day I’ll get up to Colorado and see a show there. I would have loved to have seen The Clash there and I think James supported Neil Young there on an acoustic tour back in ’93. In part two I’ll look at the concert itself and the history of Red Rocks which I previously had no idea about. Mostly though it should have been Strummer at the heart of the biggest live album of that era and not Bono – another example of where The Clash could have taken pressure off with better management and planning. A shame, though I don’t quite know why I keep revisiting the late stages of the band recently? Probably trying to understand it better – but more to the point it shows me the list of reasons was as long as the regrets it then caused. Part two later in the week….back to sick cat watch here….

Hello good Clash people and thanks for entering your demographics (without me even asking) over on the Clashblog FB page. Nice to see we range from 16-60 and from every corner of the globe. What a diverse bunch you are ~ I wouldn’t have it any other way! When I wrote on July 4th about the anniversary of the first ‘official’ Clash concert in Sheffield it reminded me how fun the “Clash Landmarks” series had the potential to be. I wanted to write about locations where The Clash played or recorded or somehow had a significant part to play in the history of the band. So I’ll get back to writing the Clash Landmarks series tonight and try and cover a venue every couple of weeks or so. I’ll be the first to confess I don’t know everywhere like the back of my hand so I might need your help with Cleveland and Paris, Vancouver and Bristol. If you want to be part of the circulation of information get in touch….all hands on deck.

The Screen on The Green in modern times

For tonight though let’s look at the venue where The Clash played their third ever concert and second proper gig. It has special significance to me as I’ve been in there a number of times and spent every other Saturday for much of my life less than a mile away at Highbury watching Arsenal play. That part of North London changes dramatically in just a short distance. The area around Finsbury Park is neither glamorous nor down-market, terraced houses sit on congested roads down towards the former home of theold  football club. Beyond Arsenal to the South I spent part of many match days in the Highbury Barn and as you walk slightly uphill toward Islington proper the homes get more stately along with the shopping and dining options. Highbury Park cedes to Highbury Grove and then a short jaunt West finds you at the top of Upper Street, Islington. Halfway down Upper Street sits the Screen on The Green and when I was old enough to know a bit better I couldn’t walk or ride a bus pass without thinking “That’s where The Clash started out”. Back in the summer of 1976 I had no such clue however, the nearest I got was Arsenal’s ground. I had just turned 9 years old and one of my clearest memories from that age was going to see Arsenal at their first home match of the new season. It was a really hot Saturday afternoon and I remember being crushed that we lost 0-1 to newly promoted Bristol City, new signing Malcolm McDonald didn’t score and the Bristol City goalkeeper shared my last name. I felt betrayed and dismayed all at the same time as the high hopes of a 9 year old boy came rudely crashing down in just a few hours. I even found a video with the highlights of the match that day.

The entrance roof above the marquee

Fate was crueler than I even knew at the time as just 8 days later on August 29th The Clash played their first proper London concert just down the street in Islington. If I was but 5 or 6 years older I’d like to think I’d have been amongst that audience, the reality is I probably wouldn’t have been there as The Clash were barely heard of at that time, Joe Strummer still better known for his former outfit the 101′ers than this new collection of punks. The Screen on The Green doesn’t belie it’s title – it was a cinema first and foremost and has now returned to that role but in the 1970′s and beyond it hosted a number of concerts including this significant run out by The Clash. The building itself is not significant but I always found the neon marquee lights on a wet London night to be most enticing. The setting is notable amongst the shops of Upper Street, looking like a small ship has moored off the main street,  the pavement around it beckons you in as I’m sure was the intent when it first opened as the Empress Electric Theatre.

The Empress Electric Theatre opened in October 1913 following a commission by architects Boreham & Gladding. The original design hosted seating capacity for 600 on a single floor. The original name didn’t last and was soon renamed Empress Picture Theatre. After the war a refurbishment lowered seating to 541 and a new name as it became the Rex Cinema in 1951. The Rex closed on 29th June 1970, but was bought by Romaine Hart’s Mainline Pictures Group of Screen Cinemas, who re-opened it on 13th September 1970 as the Screen on the Green – first film was Robert Redford in “Downhill Racer”.

In February 1981 a huge modernization took place adding significant foyer space, something the original lacked. There was a price to pay as capacity shrunk further to 300. Screen Cinemas ran the venue until 2008, when it was then sold to the Everyman Media Group. As you can see by the photos it wasn’t the most glamorous venue in London but the interior has a great barrel ceiling and the exterior borders on an art-deco feel although it predates that style of construction by about a decade. In part two we’ll have a quick look at the gig itself with The Sex Pistols and Buzzcocks. Audio from the night in question is over on the top right of this page. If you ever went to The Screen please add your recollection in the comments….

The famous neon at The Screen on The Green

Thanks for swinging by – Tim

Welcome back to the blog on this very sunny and warm day. In fact its 115 F out in the back garden as I write – good weather for the lizards who dot our garden wall but not so good for your friendly ClashBlogger. Just to test my common sense we’re off to play football tonight – although I’m sure we’ll do it at a snails pace and with lower exertions – perhaps we’ll just model our play on Italy? That’d be good.

I’m predicting a few days of posts coming short and fast as I really do want to keep on top of Clash related events for you and this might not be our typical weekend. With Glastonbury, the Strummerville campfire and the usual array of random events I might just zip off posts as they happen to hit my head, hope that works for you. If not sit tight and catch up with the blog in a few days! First of all a couple of loose ends.

Something New – Clash Headlines..…You have to love the internet….hopefully you enjoy some of the photos and such on the blog as much as I enjoy finding them? Today I’m going to start an occasional series of ‘headlines’ from newspapers and magazines from back in the day. We’ve tried this before on the header on the blog and it looks nice, not sure if it will work within a post (below) let me know what you think? Click on it for a better experience.

The Ray Lowry London Calling exhibition in…London. The posters are available as previously mentioned for £5 however unfortunately they cannot ship the posters. I’m sure we can start a Clashblog network and get some kind soul to pick up a few and perhaps work something out. I’m also waiting to learn the pricing on the prints from the Bob Gruen exhibition at Subway Gallery. More information as I receive it.

Sandanista! 30th Anniversary Rumours….This one has been doing the rounds since last year. Will CBS/Sony/Legacy find a way to add more tracks to what is already the longest album most of us own? Does BP need a name change? Logic says that they will do something, especially seeing as LC got two makovers in the last two opportunities. Rumours that Sony have ‘something really special’ lined up make me wonder if Mensforth Hill really needs a Gospel version but we can all wait and see. What we do know is that the label should and by all accounts do still have a sizable amount of demos, alternates and a healthy stash of live recordings in the vaults.  I’ve never been much of a bootleg lover but am told it would be easy/beneficial for more live recordings to at least see the light of day. I’d just like more of the ‘official’ live options to include more Topper and less any replacement drummers. Nothing personal and yes they were difficult times for the band but when you hear anything other than Topper its like seeing the Tories be considerate of the social services in the UK. More I’m sure in the weeks and months ahead. I don’t know that Sandinista! needs a special edition, the only thing I’d love to see would be footage of them working on it.

Would you like to help the blog?……I’ve reluctantly accepted I can’t cover everything on the blog that I’d like to sometimes due to time and otherwise due to expertise. One area where we have a gaping lack of information where I know there is a lot of interest is downloads. Let me preface that by saying I’m old school when it comes to my music. I visit record shops to buy my cds….always have and if they don’t all close down I always will. I’ve never been a big collector of bootlegs, I think this stems back to feeling  revolted by some dirty goths at Camden Market many years ago – and I don’t like downloading music. With all that said, thousands of people and thus many of you love downloading concerts, bootleg versions and other rarities. Some of these come as partial files, zip files, torrents and the rest. None of these things fall under my skill set – but I’m a bit of a dinosaur in that regard. So here’s what I need if you can be so inclined:  (and talented)

Someone who is familiar with downloading and testing the downloads. Rating the download for reliability and audio quality. Optional – if you feel like writing a review – please have at it – I’m not the authority on that by any means. I’d like to accomplish one of two things and perhaps both. Focus a page on the site on links to downloads, include a few notes that are useful to people who visit the blog. Write an occasional post for the blog talking about what you’ve found and what you thought of it. If you might be interested let me know – either via the comments, email, twitter or the facebook page.  This wouldn’t be limited to The Clash but all related projects and bands.You’d need a good working knowledge of how to find things and/or I can send you links which I so often just simply bypass at present.

It might be fun…it could be shite….but it would make the site better for Clash fans. Final plug for a different band – if you are in the UK this Nov/Dec please try and see the very seasoned but still brilliant band The Wedding Present. A fan since the very beginning, I still think David Gedge writes some of the best songs of the last 25 years and you really should see them live if you can. The tour details are here and the myspace site is here if you want to listen to some stuff.

More soon ~ cheers for stopping in.