...and nobody wants, to go to jail

Hello again its just me trying to keep on top of things and its been a busy day. I also must say that the events in Toronto today have been interesting to watch unfurl, having been accidentally involved in some situations that turned into unplanned riots (it’s always very surreal) I can’t believe how long the police are seemingly showing patience with a situation that was always ‘anticipated’ to be a potential riot. You just don’t get the spontaneity like the good old days, nor do you see the police clearing those streets out entirely as they perhaps should have down hours ago.  I’ve been in events London in the past and a few black flag activists make the whole situation volatile very quickly and even if you are there in a peaceful capacity (which most are) you’re suddenly automatically part of the problem. Its nice to see Clash and Clampdown attached to all the headlines! Perhaps the next Joe Strummer will be inspired to write some lyrics in his flat in Toronto tonight. On a topical note when did riots get so ‘pre-planned’ – its the complete opposite of anarchy no? Some of the ‘rebels’ who travel around the planet like angry groupies for G20 World Leader (pretend) summits are almost like career mischief makers. I’d suggest getting your head out of your arse and protest the corporations who are bringing the systems down, the governments are little more than gophers for the corporate heads of state. If you want to light a car on fire I’d think the car of the CEO of BP (and Shell and Exxon while you’re at it) would make more sense than a cop car in Toronto. Just an opinion mind you…not the Clashblog tip of the day!

Enough of that for now ~ at least until more facts are reported, lets go back to last night where Paul and Mick performed with Gorillaz at Glastonbury. From what I can tell most of the concert that was shown live by the BBC has now migrated its way to youtube as you would expect. You can find it all yourself of course but I’d suggest you check out these clips to get you started:

Clint Eastwood | Kids With Guns | On Melancholy Hill | Intro and Welcome

I’m not relaunching the debate about whether you like Mick and Paul being in Gorillaz on these dates, we’ve gone down that path before and I think if you don’t like Damon Albarn or the music itself its overshadowing enjoying the spectacle of two Clash members sharing a stage once more after so many years. Turn the sound down, its still a treat seeing Paul pulling his trademark moves with Jones just a few yards away. Beyond Gorillaz its impossible to know if this might be the last time they appear on a stage together again. Of course there was to be no Clash song and with hindsight perhaps that was just wishful thinking, although on balance I think it would have made the performance much more memorable. Naturally even if Albarn suggested the idea it would have taken the approval of Paul and Mick so I’m sure they’ve got many reasons not to have done so (lack of Topper may well be one). Overall I enjoyed it although I think its a crying shame Albarn never officially introduced Mick and Paul as I felt that would have been class and created a huge response from the crowd. To be fair the assorted guests who wandered in and out weren’t introduced either, this wasn’t an Elton John show after all. You have to wonder how much Mick and Paul have chatted about the old days and the days still to come though? They’ve been spending obviously a certain amount of time with Gorillaz the last few months and more to come. Whether they make the forthcoming US tour dates remains to be seen. I’m guessing no at the moment. (based on nothing incidentally)

Tomorrow I’ll do the Strummerville rounds and see what else has been going on at the festival. Thought I’d finish with some links to the proper papers (ha!) reviews of Gorillaz last night and then some. Differing opinions of course:

Lucy Jones at The Telegraph wasn’t too keen: (though its the Telegraph, they probably still think the banks are trustworthy)

“As the master of ceremonies, conducting his merry band and jumping around like a cheeky monkey, he almost appeared charismatic; but the descent into self-indulgent, half-baked songs diluted the crowd’s excitement and we left disappointed”

The Independent were also not full of happy thoughts.

However The Sun loved it, though they’re delirious at the prospect of England playing Germany in a few hours so can’t think straight.

Finally the Lib-Dem endorsing Guardian (thanks for that) remain equally fence happy when reviewing the gig. Though the video interview is good.

As the video interview on the Guardian points out – this was only the 3rd official gig with this lineup for Gorillaz, a fact that seems to be overlooked. That’s enough of that for now…thanks for dropping by. Oh nearly forgot – that big football match in the morning. What I want to happen and what will happen are probably very different. If you like The Clash Blog as a bookmaker – I’d say the old enemy will beat England but not on penalties. 2-1 in regulation after England pull back the 1-0 deficit late on. Red card also…maybe two….not sure who.

Night! We still believe….we still believe….

That’ll be Father’s Day drifting off then, hope yours (if applicable) was pleasant and you either were smothered with attention from your offspring/left alone to enjoy the football (delete as appropriate). You’ll have noticed that we’re going to persevere with Westway Traffic as nobody seemed to be offended with the initial run out a few days ago. Newcomers to the blog – it’s just a way every day or two of covering a wider spectrum of Clash related news without me getting ever so wordy and you returning to Facebook/The Guardian/Yahoo Dating/The Huffington Post before reaching the bottom of the story. So let’s jump in and see what is on The Westway today.

It’s nice, but is it art? : Another review of the current Ray Lowry London exhibition comes courtesy of the Chance Collective website. More

Could those 3 tiny discs be Sandinista! ?

insight into the guest artist’s contributions plus some pictures you might not have seen yet. I believe all (or most) of the dedicated pieces will be auctioned off after the exhibition for further information come back to the blog, for an auction catalogue you can email Rachel.wood@ideageneration.co.uk  I’ll assume there is a digital edition, semi-serious inquiries might be best.

Simonon fix – Junior edition: I read your comments and your emails, I’m aware that many of our female readers who love The Clash might just love Paul Simonon the most. We’re modern men, we understand what’s what and many of us will agree that few musicians before or since have ever looked as consistently cool as Simonon. Even now he still has that swagger and confident persona and many insiders have said Paul’s primary role may have been helping the Clash look so great. Cynics say he never became proficient with the bass guitar but I disagree strongly. Anyway, the link above is to an article and short video clip featuring Paul’s son model Louis Simonon. The video promotes the newest line of Loewe Leather clothing and accessories, you’ll see your dose session of Simonon Jr at about the 0:21 mark. Full marketing campaign online next month. (please note the Loewe site can be a bit Sloewe to load)

Global music, afrobeat drummer Tony Allen: One of the many intriguing elements to The Good, The Bad and The Queen was percussionist Tony Allen. I didn’t realise Tony Allen was touring with a new project which goes right back to the beginning for the excellent musician. After working with the brilliant Fela Kuti until his death in ‘97 Allen has worked with various projects including of course the album and tour with Simonon, Damon Albarn and Simon Tong. Read this article linked above on askmygirls.com and catch up with his new project now touring under the name ‘Secret Agent’ – check Tony’s myspace page to hear some tracks. Nice stuff indeed, listening as I write and getting well relaxed.

Strummerville campfire will warm The Drums: New York’s The Drums have been confirmed on the bill at the Strummerville Campfire during the Glastonbury weekend. All the news via the S-Ville site courtesy of the NME. The Drums will take you back to 1985ish with an American take on the jangle stuff I used to love so much – think The Railway Children, Bodines, McCarthy, June Brides. Yeah a bit twee but ideal for the setting.

Album Reviews  – The Clash S/T : Gibson (the guitar makers) have wisely added a blog to their corporate website. For one of the big two guitar makers along with Fender most responsible for the sound of The Clash the site just added a review of The Clash S/T. Only fitting that they should have their chance to do so, and a well written review it is and worth a read as the writer keying in on the fact that The Clash only ever made one punk album. Like me I think the feeling is where could you go after Jan 1, 1978 but something new which is just what The Clash accomplished though it seems to have upset many. I have a torrid time writing album reviews it seems so hard to avoid sounding rehearsed or coerced.

Clash Shopping : I wonder where this still shrink-wrapped copy of Give ‘Em Enough Rope has been sitting since 1978? In truth it’s not that old

Might we be needing one of these next year?

as the sticker indicates its a ‘CBS Nice Price’ which was reserved for back catalogues releases after they had been on the books for a few years. Regardless it must be at least circa 1982 or so. Priced to move at $7.99 on ebay – just $3 more than the original sticker.

Don Letts has your answers : Always happy to see Don Letts get the level of press he should considering not just his ties to The Clash but the film track record and detail/dedication he keeps bringing to the table. He never seems to lose his energy and I think is adored by more people as the years trundled. A good article on Spinner.com is well worth a read as he covers a platter of topics including whether Big Audio Dynamite will reform in 2011 as rumoured.

“I can neither confirm nor deny a reunion, I’d give it a shot. But I’m the only one who can’t play anything, so it would be easy for me.”

Much more on that NXNE festival shortly but that should be enough to get you through the night…thanks for coming in – and please feel free to comment, say hello, or just talk about your dog (or Paul Simonon I suppose)

Tim

Wednesday already…! The days all run together once it hits 100f here in the desert, the only way to tell if its the weekend is whether the Clash Blogette is home! Seriously though we need something to spice up the Summer…something that doesn’t happen often…something like the World Cup!

What would Strummer do?

OK then….back on task Tim…back to the Clash. I know we’ve had a little bit of discussion these last few days about 1/2 of The Clash performing live in Gorillaz. In the interest of me not repeating that phrase ad infinitum lets call it .5C/G – you can work out the formula. So while some see .5C/G as a embarrassment to the legacy of the band (that wouldn’t be me), others seem indifferent – let them do whatever they enjoy – while  still others really like Damon’s work and Gorillaz so are enjoying the current situation (that would be me). Wherever you stand though the reality is that Mick and Paul will be taking centre stage in a headline slot with Gorillaz at the largest event on the concert calendar in the UK, and arguably the biggest in the world. I speak of course about the forthcoming slot at Glastonbury which adds an extra dimension to the significance of this.

A friendly chap on Facebook launched a page seeking support for Gorillaz to include a Clash song at Glastonbury. Not that the band will be swayed by a Facebook group but it does open up another interesting debate. Yes, this is becoming Clashdebateblog.com…unintentionally though. You can’t think of Glastonbury without thinking of Joe Strummer – no event lends itself more ably to celebrating the time he spent at the festival and the memory of unity and good spirits around the fabled campfire. Its no secret that Strummer would act like a child before Christmas as Glastonbury rolled around so much did he look forward to it. Also worth noting is Joe’s home and the location of his final hours were just a short drive away from the festival site. The Westway replaced by the West country but this was of his own making. The Clash of course never played Glastonbury.

Will they or won't they?

So we have a famous event with .5C/G lined up to appear on stage in the shadow of Strummer’s campfire, does that necessitate a tribute to Joe from the stage? Even the events that allowed this to happen seem a little coincidental; U2 were supposed to headline that evening but a back injury to Bono forced the withdrawal of the Irish band. Gorillaz stepped into the slot, a slot that will have 75% of the audience purchasing tickets with the expectation that U2 were to be on that stage. To their credit U2 have always been very in awe of The Clash, apparently inspired to chase their own dream after seeing the band and The Edge having said “If there was no Clash there would be no U2, simple as that”. Add to this the fact that Joe and the Mescaleros performed Clash songs, Carbon Silicon have gradually added a few Clash songs to their set – their isn’t some prescribed sanctity to playing a Clash number. Will it happen? I don’t know, I’ve seen no official word on that. We might see a Clash song with Mick taking vocals on a Mick number, or Mick seeing a Joe song. Or Damon taking Joe’s role on a song they shared (which would be interesting). We might see no such observance of The Clash back catalogue. How about Coma Girl !!!!

I just want to throw out the question as to whether they should, not whether they will, include a Clash song. Would the audience love it? Of course they would…but how about you? Answers on a postcard – or via the poll below. Poll will be open for a few weeks until just before the event – then we’ll email Damon and Mick!

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I’d love your help to spread the word on this one…so please use those pretty colourful icons below (down there ) to share on Facebook, Twitter and the usual suspects. It really helps the blog – I thank you. If nothing polls 50% you get a conservative/lib-dem coalition.

Tim