Hello all – welcome to the weekend and a new season for Arsenal. A lack of activity in the transfer market leaves Arsenal supporters.…..ahhh….no, wrong blog, you really don’t want to hear all that do you? I will boldly predict the premier league table this weekend if you want to chime in…but for now The Clash!

Image courtesy Hank O'Neal - Mick Jones NYC 1982

I had something on tap for this evening until the video beneath came to my attention (thanks Simon & Brenda). There is a part one to the video but its essentially 6 minutes of very little to watch although Joe is funny towards the end, part two is what is of interest. This has been on youtube for quite some time so apologies if you have already seen it – it isn’t tagged in an obvious fashion so hopefully I’m not the last Clash fan in the world to have seen this. Thanks to Brenda again who can shed extra light on the specifics – the film was captured in Dec 1981 at Electric Lady Studios in New York. The video captures some conversation with Mick and Joe as they’ve been working on mixing Know Your Rights from the last Clash album (well..next to last) which wasn’t to see a release for another six months or so. Joe is really funny if not entirely convinced by the unfinished track but seems to loosen up when the playback starts, Mick explains ‘it hasn’t been mixed yet’ . The video captures a full version with fairly decent audio of the playback of the song with the original rough mix, a very different sounding song in tone and lyrics from what eventually found its way onto Combat Rock after Mick was removed from production duties. A lot has been written about ‘Rat Patrol’ mixes of the album when Mick headed production which not only featured at times radically different versions of songs that remained on the album but also a number of tracks that were then scrapped at a fairly advanced stage. Production was handed over to Glyn Johns who shortened tracks in length and ‘polished’ (I wouldn’t use that adjective) the songs to something that was more palatable to CBS or other members of the band depending on whose account is correct. Sadly while CBS saw fit to release one greatest hits album after another we’ve yet to have a full version of the Rat Patrol mixes from The earlier sessions so they can be compared side by side. Perhaps for the 30th anniversary?

The video is interesting  for a number of reasons, the energy in the studio, the demeanour of Joe who seems gradually satisfied with the track and the focus of Mick. The reaction to the song being played back is priceless in itself and leaves me wondering if Mick’s removal from production duties had far more to do with the label or management than Joe (or Paul/Topper).

I actually debated whether this video is even a good fit for the blog as due to the circumstances a lot might be read into what you see. Its really worth remembering everyone is very aware of it being filmed (not a daily event when cutting an album) and react in accordance to some extent. I don’t know more than most of you – and some of you know a lot more than I about the later days of The Clash. As I’ve expressed numerous times I think about 50 things went wrong over those last 18 months and you can argue that pulling Mick off of production was yet another one. It’s so simplistic to put it down to a single event, simplistic and almost certainly wrong. As a fan of the band and especially the music I’d like to have heard the original mixes of that album but not as bootlegs as they seemed to be pushing sounds into far bolder shapes than what was to then become Combat Rock. Regardless its on youtube anyway so I thought you’d find it worth a few minutes of your time.

Still – hope you enjoy it…..it made my evening a level more challenging (yes I argue with myself about the blog….how normal is that?).  Back soon ~

Mixing ‘Know Your Rights’, New York Dec ‘81

PS – My thanks to our friend Alan Miles who posted this video to our facebook page, please have a look at this splendid cover version of ‘Straight To Hell’

PPS – Keep an eye on the EVENTS page (top tool bar) as I’ll keep adding reminders for upcoming stuff !!

Well…the Birthday lark is well and truly done with now and thus the task to be a more mature and responsible adult becomes more pressing, it struck me this morning that its 21 years plus since I was 21 – what a strange concept. It also struck me that you sometimes pass by historic events in life without knowing the ripples from them will last a lifetime. Bad things on a grand scale like Hillsborough and 9/11, wonderful moments like the Berlin Wall coming down and South Africa turning over apartheid. Then of course there are each of our private moments, falling in love, breaking up – losing relatives and friends or achieving something you’ve worked for years at. In our world (The Clash) there were a number of pivotal moments not least of all the sequence of events that led to Joe Strummer being part of the band in the first place, the perfect foil for the songwriting skills and arrangements of Mick Jones. If the stars weren’t lined up properly in 1976 who knows what might have been. Then there was the opposite end of the lens, when the band let first Topper and then Mick fall from the lineup.

I thought today of that preposterous TV series from the early 90’s “Quantum Leap”, if you don’t remember it bear with me as this won’t take long. (I know I saw it a few times, which worries me that I spent some of my 20’s watching television when now its little more than a big thing to dust now and then in my office). Anyway in the show the main character (Biff, Steve?) was shot back into the far or recent past to an event of historical importance, his task seemed to be to change history for the good as a time traveler with a purpose. He was aided by some other chap who used to send him messages via (phone? fax? I don’t know…it was a long time ago) as to just what he should or shouldn’t do to best allow the world at large to be a better place. I only remember two episodes; one involved Lee Harvey Oswald though I can’t remember the outcome – and another bumping into the young Buddy Holly and convincing him he should write about ‘Peggy Sue’. Just think, people were paid money to write this stuff up. Why did they never send Steve/Biff back to 1983 to be a fly on the wall in The Clash camp?

Only Mick looks pleased with this interview....

If he did imagine what he would have seen. A band whose hard work and brilliant music was bringing recognition they had always dreamed of. At the dawn of MTV the best British band were poised to do whatever they wanted after Combat Rock and a global audience had found out about The Clash and were taking them very seriously indeed. Biff/Steve would have seen the hardest working front man imaginable insisting that the band work, record, tour at all costs and a songwriter who not only embraced diverse influences but wanted to mold them into The Clash being the hardest band to tag imaginable. He’d also have seen a drummer who was lost to serious drug addiction and a growing lack of stability amongst the remaining members. More than I wonder what Biff/Steve would have done I wonder what I myself would have done?

Would I have taken the band and Bernard Rhodes to one side and said you really need and deserve a long break to recharge the batteries and decide what to do next. Would I have insisted Joe keep his faith with Mick because Mick had never failed the band before and surely never would. Would I have asked that they insist Topper gets the help he needs and when he is well The Clash will be all set to finish what they started. When the band kicked Mick Jones out in 1983 I thought my world had fallen apart, I thought in a few weeks or months the rift would heal and The Clash would get back to business. As the months rolled on and it looked like a lost cause and there was no sign whatsoever of progress I felt lost for a while. My band were done…I was supposed to have them to get me through the rest of my teens and beyond.

What would you do if you went back to 1983? Is the legend just as it should have been? Would another 5 years of The Clash resulted in more amazing output or perhaps a tattered dream where the inner turmoil of the band just transferred itself to the records they made? I know you can’t change history but isn’t it tempting to wonder about it – to see what you’d do if you could do it all over again . I don’t know what I’d have told the 1983 version of The Clash to do, probably take 18 months off, let Culture Club have their moment in the sun and come back and be the main act at an alternative Live Aid at Loftus Road. Instead….we got U2 and Queen (no disrespect) and a music industry that was right back to feeling very pleased with itself. What would you have done? I know we’ve talked about this before but I’m sure to do it again…….

I wrote this tonight as I’m feeling sad at the loss of a friend at a dreadfully young age which I just learned of today and hoping I said the right things to him the last time I spoke to him. I think I did, he was worried about me at the time and I said don’t worry I’ll be fine but thanks for caring. It also brought into sharp relief just what I do with all relationships on a daily basis, not to live a life full of regrets and do or not do things you then need a time machine to fix.

John – you’ll be missed, we needed more gentle and joyful people on this planet.

Back soon – Tim

Cheers for coming back to the blog / finding it for the first time. What is it about lists and when did that trainspotting tendency become something for public consumption? Growing up there were two lists I always looked out for – my older brother would always put together a mix tape – yes we used to have to put on a record, hit play+ record+pause on our cassette deck cue up the song and hope your index finger jabbed that pause button at the optimum moment. Too long and the extra second of silence (with a bit of hiss) would ruin the flow of the tape, too late and introduction of the song might be cut off for half a beat. If you were my brother neither happened, he had it down to a science plus the dual sound meters so he could get the recording level just right thus eliminating those annoying highs and lows. Anyway each year he’d tot up his best singles from the year, note the time on each and convert his knowledge into the best 90 minutes of music you could ask for. On a more professional level by the time as about 12-13 I became aware of John Peel’s festive 50. The NME would always publish the final version and you’d measure your own credibility against his 50 tracks. I think I peaked round about 1985 when I probably had 34 or 35 of Peel’s 50 for the year, probably not coincidentally I worked in a record shop at the time so our discount would take about a quid off of the price of a 12″ single.

I’ve continued/bastardised my brother’s habit and managed to list my own top 10 albums just about every year since about 1981 and it makes me laugh when I look back now at those lists. I’d meant to write this evening about a few lists The Clash have just appeared on but I’ll save that for the weekend – the results aren’t satisfying to me so I’m likely to vent and today seems such a nice day otherwise. What has also made me defer is those John Peel lists, I had it in my head that although he introduced me to much that I like I don’t seem to recall him having much time for The Clash. Unlike so many bands they never recorded a session for him – but nor were The Clash mad about radio’s treatment of them from the very beginning. I do wonder whether the band were ever invited to record a peel session? If you know for certain please write in. My memory though isn’t correct which probably means I started be more aware of John Peel round about 1980.

In 1977 The Clash were number 9 on his top 50 with Complete Control – worth noting is the Sex Pistols highest song was number 11. Considering it was the year when punk really broke commercially its interesting to note Peels Top 10 consisted of two tracks by The Motors and some Neil Young. The Clash also made number 27 with White Riot that same year.

In 1978 Peel really did endorse The Clash with Complete Control (again!?) in the top 10 but much higher as the number 2 song of the year in addition White Man in Hammersmith Palais was 7th for the year. At 15 White Riot and at 23 Police and Thieves. Its interesting to note Peel had songs that were by then over 18 months old making his end of year list – I’m fairly certain that wasn’t typical.

In ‘79 the four tracks I’ve already mentioned appeared on the festive 50 occupying slots 3,5,26 and 49. Interestingly nothing from Give ‘em Enough Rope made it and of course London Calling was released at the time he’d have been making the list. Also 1979 saw more first generation punk records than the prior two years – is it possible that John Peel was a bit behind the times (unlikely) or did the list answer more to the wants of the audience?

1980 saw The Clash appear four more times – adding Bankrobber to the chosen tracks, 1981 saw two nods and Combat Rock brought 3 tracks to his list in 1982. My understanding was voting for tracks began further into the 1980’s but based on these lists I’m now not so sure. The same website gives an overall weighted ranking score for Peel’s favourite bands and while its no shock to see The Fall, The Wedding Present and The Smiths take the top 3 slots I was pleased to see The Clash in at number 17. Much as I love and miss John Peel I always thought there was some bias against bands from London and The Southeast – that might be valid as The Clash are the highest band on that weighted list from my part of England, while fully half of the 16 bands above are from Manchester, Sheffield or Leeds (and surrounds). Either way thank you John Peel and my brother David for making me as prone to make lists as the next person.

More over the weekend including some lists I hope, come on Holland!

*** additional insight below from a visitor Steve N *** (really useful)

Good post and I know exactly what you mean about lists.

Re Peel and The Clash, they were asked to record a session for Peel in 1978 I think, but Mick was going through one of his perfectionist stages and the session over ran and they ran out of time. Peel was always a bit pissed off about this and thereafter never had much time for The Clash. I think this is all documented in Johnny Green’s  book as he says that Joe always regretted not getting it together to do the session. I remember hearing him play ‘White Man’  in 1979 and then sardonically saying on the lead out ‘The Clash, turning rebellion into money there’, so he obviously didn’t have much time for them then. I remember him playing ‘Pressure Drop’ alot when ‘English Civil War’ single came out as well, saying he thought it was much better than the A side.

The Festive 50 tracks were never chosen by Peel, they were voted by the listeners firstly as their top 3 tracks of all time, then after he got bored of the same tracks reaching the top spots, he changed the criteria to the top 3 tracks of the year (in early 80’s I think). He used to get quite grumpy with the lack of some of his favourite tracks either not making it or being too far down the list as I remember, so he was always scrupously honest.