Good afternoon everyone and cheers for stopping in. It’s lunchtime in the desert so therefore Thursday evening in the UK as I write on December 1st which just happens to be the first date of six scheduled concerts on the Justice Tonight tour in Cardiff. I’m going with my gut on this plus some of the feedback from the Liverpool concert that took place earlier in the year, these six concerts are going to be something really special for Clash fans and indeed those who believe that music has the power to make an impact. While many of us have seen B.A.D., Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros, Carbon Silicon or other events that featured member(s) of The Clash the emphasis has always been on the artists own work outside that sphere. Which is as it should be but until now there’s never been something performed live with the promise of Clash songs being performed.

Of course Joe Strummer worked many Clash songs into his set, even going back as far as his time with The Pogues. Conversely Mick Jones has seemingly until more recent years left history on the shelf in favour of his subsequent material. That stance has only really changed in recent years which leads me to believe that his change is probably due to the loss of Joe in 2002. Mick has apparently felt that the Clash songs are too good to be left unperformed live and that with Joe gone the most appropriate person left to honour these songs is himself. Even when it would have been a huge crowd-pleaser (last year with Gorillaz for example) Mick has never added a Clash medley just for the sake of it. I’m all but sure Damon must have suggested it at some point, probably met with a scowl by Paul Simonon as a result. When I saw Gorillaz last year I remember watching Paul and Mick beside each other on stage again and just wishing for a Clash song (I certainly had flashbacks to seeing them as a teenager so long ago) but of course it wasn’t to happen.

So tonight, and for the other five concerts to come I hope those of you who are able to attend get something I didn’t really ever expect to see. Part of a set quite rightly dedicated to The Clash and perhaps just as importantly it’s truly in the spirit of Joe Strummer. I’m positive that he’d approve. We’ll see what songs get played and who picks up the vocals and see some moments that should he held onto for a long, long time. If there is one concert I’m really aching about missing over the last 5-10 years it’s this tour. The guest stars plus Pete Wylie and The Farm all appeal to me as well in equal measure to the cause itself.

The floral tributes at Anfield (home of Liverpool FC) on the days after the Hillsborough disaster

This is for those who lost their lives at Hillsborough after all, on an afternoon where they’d headed over to Sheffield simply to watch a football match. Something I did countless times at exactly the same age and in the same places. This isn’t a football blog but I love the game almost as much as the music and though I was actually at Highbury that afternoon the events of that day will always be with me. Somehow a ‘modern’ country paid the ultimate price for treating hundreds of thousands of people like cattle and the loss of lives remains as inexcusable today as it was that grim day. If you’re under 25 it’s almost impossible to imagine how we supporters (much like fans at concerts) were once herded and simply taken for granted. Tragedies and disasters can and do happen but this one was so avoidable that it’s painful to even reflect on. Going to matches was never the same after that, nor should it have been. Time does heal the wounds to some extent but the vitriol and lies from parts of the British press can never be forgiven. I sincerely hope a significant aspect of these concerts is raising awareness of the cause itself.

Enjoy it and perhaps savour it. Best of luck to Mick and those on the tour and to you who are heading out to see it. Roll back the years and have a laugh but please remember why the concerts are taking place. You also ought to know I’ve heard from people in deep despair because they can’t make one of these concerts. If you care to share your experience on the blog even if its just a sentence or two I’d be glad to include in the days ahead, photos too please!  Cheers – Tim

Hello again everyone and thanks for spending a moment on the blog. I hope that everyone who wanted to nab a ticket for the Mick Jones Review (not really, see yesterday’s post) was successful in their quest, London is already sold out. They ought to add another night(s). I hope I’ll be able to cajole a few of you into compiling some notes about the tour, sending in set lists, photos or moments of madness. Perhaps we’ll start a sweepstakes for the Clash songs that he’ll add to the mix for the 6 night tour. It would be really special if he chooses a dozen or more to rotate and give hundreds of people a chance to hear different Clash songs performed ‘live’ by a member of the band for the first time ever in some people’s cases. I think it is class/common sense that if the song featured Joe on lead vocals he hands the vocal duties over to someone else. It would be extremely odd to hear Jonesy sing a Joe part. Has it ever happened before trivia lovers? Let me know.

In the fog of war this week I almost forgot that in London this Thursday night The Good, The Bad and The Queen played that special Greenpeace anniversary show. Paul Simonon of course reprised his place in the band along with Damon Albarn for what could be but hopefully isn’t a short lived return for the band. Did some of you make it along? Initial thoughts? Get in touch via the usual channels and I’ll dig out some reviews if I can find some.

Paul on Thursday Nov 10, Image courtesy Greenpeace UK

I’d give my eye teeth to see that band live, in such high regard do I hold the solitary album that they recorded. For the time being (I’ve got more stuff later don’t worry) I’ll have to share the video below that features the band performing this week a cover version of sorts as they borrow a song from Gorillaz – Melancholy Hill. What is interesting is that the seeds of that song were written during the making of TGTBaTQ album in the first place according to Damon’s introduction. Make sure you watch the entire video as a special guest appearance is made halfway through and results in a brilliant performance with Paul in particular pulling out some great shapes with the bass. Thanks to videohound Gil W for alerting me to the video earlier today *(yesterday by the time you read this). Alright then, that’s all I’ve time for at the moment with more to follow. Have a splendid weekend and do something worthwhile. Tim

‘Melancholy Hill’ – The Good, The Bad and The Queen (plus special guest – watch the entire video!)

A very good evening from a wet and windy Phoenix, I’m ecstatic about the rain which has brought temperatures down by about twenty degrees (F) in the last few hours. It’s even supposed to snow up in the mountains over the next few days so a quick drive up north may be in order after a brutal summer. Hope all is well in your corner of the world. I was expecting to get through some ‘dated’ news tonight when a new story that can’t be ignored hit my newsfeed this morning. After a summer that has been dominated by Mick Jones you’ll be as excited as I was (nothing personal against my guitar hero) to learn that we’ve some important news concerning Paul Simonon.

If you’re a regular reader of the blog you’ll already know and perhaps share my opinion that one of the very best post Clash musical collaborations with a member of our favourite group was Paul Simonon’s original time with Damon Albarn in The Good, The Bad and The Queen (which incidentally was the name bestowed on the band rather than the name the band chose). Along with Simon Tong from Verve (I still can’t call them The Verve) and Tony Allen the four-piece band started working together in 2006 releasing their only album in January of 2007. As a rule of thumb the idea of ‘supergroups’ is typically something that should be left on the shelf and by definition with four disparate elements TGTBaTQ were indeed a supergroup and yet they released the best album of that year and for my money one of the best half dozen albums of the last half decade. You’re probably familiar with it and I won’t bore you with my opinions of it except to say it’s a haunting journey through modern life in London which is an outstanding document of modern Britain in my humble opinion. If you don’t own it you really ought to. The band created a tour itinerary of smaller english towns (Ilfracombe !) that was as unique as their sound and whilst I hoped that the band would become an ongoing concern it was just the one year that the band ‘existed’. The friendship between Albarn and Paul did of course remain in place and was integral to Paul’s 2010 enlistment in Gorillaz which organically also led to Mick Jones joining that particular gang. However as much as I like Gorillaz and have always been a fan of Damon Albarn/Blur I think that TGTBaTQ has been the best thing he’s done since Blur and Paul’s bass and style just added a whole extra dimension.

I’m not waxing lyrical about them for no reason at all nor will I apologise for the length of my digression. My point however is that they’ve announced they are going to be performing a special one-off show to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Greenpeace on November 10th. First of all the facts – Greenpeace formed in 1971 and have spent four decades as one of the world’s leading environmental activists. They haven’t always made decisions that everyone can stand by but they’ve led the protest at times when others have remained silent. If like me you grew up during the cold war you’ll know that Greenpeace and CND were two beacons at a time when it seemed we were racing to destruction, as opposed to now when it just seems that were are lurching towards it. The world has changed a lot and Greenpeace remain so it’s cool that Damon and Paul are behind this cause ultimately. The gig takes place at The Coronet in south London (Elephant & Castle) on November 10th. I hope beyond hope that someone reading this will be attending and get some snaps and/or send in a review. Tickets go on sale this Friday (Oct 7) at 10am not sure of the pricing but you should be able to nab some here. Hopefully an ideal chance to see them if you’re in London or various corners of the UK.

All of which leads me to a bit of idle speculation and not for the first time. Will this single event lead to the band finally writing and recording a second album as was suggested back in 2007 and again last year by Albarn (somewhat likely) or perhaps even a proper tour (less likely)? As you probably know the band was never ‘named’ nor even officially disbanded but seen more as a project that could be returned to at a later date. Considering that 3/4 of the band went on to make Plastic Beach by Gorillaz you could argue that the momentum was never really lost. There was also a quote early in the year from Simonon who said 2010 was a ‘music year’ for him and 2011 would be an ‘art one’ which opens up the chance that 2012 could see him back in a band. I’d welcome TGTBaTQ back in a heartbeat though I’m probably being optimistic the Greenpeace event might be the required catalyst. Enough from me though, what do you think? Can you make it to the concert and do you expect this to be the final chapter?

That’s me done for now – the windows are open and it’s almost chilly here this morning. Don’t forget you can keep current via Facebook, Twitter get the RSS feed for the blog or email me. Have a splendid day.

The Good, The Bad & The Queen on Jonathan Ross – ‘Green Fields’