Just the shortest of updates this evening as I’m off to the cinema and dinner. A ‘night out’ I believe they call it. Hopefully will involve some curry and a good chat about what has been a rather long week coupled with the hottest weather of the year so far. I do have to set aside some time for the blog this weekend so I’m sorry about the brevity of this.

One quick thing to get to then, B.A.D. as you know played in Bournemouth last night and featured a new ‘member’ in the band which I’ll get to over the weekend in more depth. By all accounts it was another great gig and I’d even seen a few note that it was they’d seen since getting the old gang back together. Perhaps most interesting of all was the debut performance of an entirely new song (video beneath) which not only is very good despite the usual audio issues with liver recordings on a mobile voice but also is punchy enough to keep your interest. Not sure if that suggests a continuation of B.A.D. beyond these summer dates and some new material on the horizon or not, what is certain is that the odds are higher than they were a week ago.

There is also of course the added variable as to whether the ‘new’ member is permanent or just filling in for these shows, it would be good/wise for B.A.D. to make an official announcement as there are a lot of people wondering what happened to Dan. All it takes is a one line explanation via the facebook page,  especially for people who are paying some hefty prices for tickets. Come on B.A.D. social media team……you can even do a press quote this very blog if you like. (as if…Mick, call me!) Indeed, if the potential for new material being recorded does exist it would be great to tie that all together.

Let me know what you think of the song.

Big Audio Dynamite – ‘Rob Peter, pay Paul’   Bournemouth June 23, 2011

This must be the first time I’ve ever put Bournemouth in a blog post headline, probably the last time too. I’ll be back tomorrow with a fair old selection of things to keep you busy over the weekend plus Glastonbury tales where Don Letts has a DJ set in addition to the B.A.D. gig and also will be bringing the podcast and a new Clash Blog forum over the next week or two so stay tuned for that.

Have a brilliant Friday night. Tim

Nice poster on ebay until tomorrow (May 3)

Hello again, it’s late, after 10pm and I’ve yet to research or compile thoughts for tonight’s post. That kind of day I think, some distractions and a simultaneous intense need to ignore the media today and just focus on website design and statistics….you might have had a similar day? When I start a post like this it sometimes rolls into something useful and other times not so much, I can’t promise which but let’s see where we go. I’m a bit buried, I thought the blog would have provided a very tasty assistant to help me by now but most days its just me with the cat and dog looking at me all day as I blog away both here and elsewhere. Maybe I ought to monetize this a bit by selling ClashBlog mugs and fridge magnets, to pay the salary of my imaginary personal assistant, hosting costs and a ticket to Lollapalooza….then again not the last bit.

There are many loose threads of news that you may have caught elsewhere in recent days and weeks but with the B.A.D. tour I put it all on the ‘to do’ pile. There are a number of interviews with Mick Jones that we need to get to, a number of other concerts that we’ve yet to preview for the aforementioned band, some official news on the next B.A.D. reissue of No. 10 Upping Street which I’ll talk up at length. If there is one era of the story of Mick and Joe that definitely has a little left to be explored it was that spell where Joe worked on the second album by the band. They struck up something approaching the best chemistry they’d experienced since the earliest writing sessions for Sandinista! and not everything made it onto the record that was released. Short of a better live testament of The Clash on stage and the oft-rumoured extras that exist from Joe’s time with the Mescaleros (not sure how credible that story is) no other previously unreleased work would interest me more. I don’t know if there are much more than demo versions of what was worked on during that time but even at that stage of completeness it will be fascinating to see just what is included in the forthcoming legacy edition. I’ve no official word on the timing yet and the sudden activity of Mick and Don Letts this year will surely have some bearing on the release date but it is something worth looking out for.

We’ve also got Strummercamp 2011 coming up at the end of the month, a chance to look back at some Clash relevant gigs over the last week and I’ve not had half a chance to work on the usual features such as The Clash Cup, Video Clash, Lost in The Supermarket or Clash Landmarks. As ever if you fancy knocking out a guest post let me know as that will help the blog to keep ticking along while I get my other ducks in a row. I’m also hoping to relaunch and maintain the podcast in the weeks ahead…the end of the football season will carve out more time for that to be honest as the weekends suddenly get notably less interesting around here as the the temperature soars above 100F over the next four weeks. Some other late news, if you’re trying to decide where to see B.A.D. over the summer, the V Festival Aug 20/21 is now sold out. That poster up on the left is on ebay right now, auction closes tomorrow. Yes please! They’ll have it again, don’t panic.

As always thanks for supporting the blog, sharing ideas and posts and making sure the community stays active and grows. Last month was the busiest for total visits in the last three and I really do appreciate it. I’m going to cut it short for today and then bash through all of the other topics above as soon as I can. In the meantime some short but really enjoyable footage of Mick Jones with some fans outside the recent Los Angeles concert at the The Roxy. One last question, did anyone make it down to The Big Busk with Billy Bragg in London the other day? I must make it over for that soon, you bring your acoustic along and Bragg leads the assembled guitar slingers with the aid of signs with the correct chords on them so you can all busk along. It’s even more daft that it sounds…..have a look. Cheers, see you in the comments and let me know if I’ve missed other stories lately – Tim

Mick Jones meeting the people in Los Angeles April 14. 2011

Bloody hell where did the day go? If you’re in the UK welcome to your 3 day weekend to celebrate the beheading of Anne Boleyn in 1536, at least I think that’s why you all have Friday off. Either that or something related to it I believe.

Thanks to everyone on their positive and warm response to the guest post by Brenda last night which recounted her night in New York hot on the heels of Big Audio Dynamite. If you didn’t see it I’d suggest you tuck into part one here first which will give you a much better flavour for part two. With that said I’ll hand you back to our guest author for the rest of the festivities in the big apple. Speaking of which, is there a New York based reader who might like to help me with a project I’d like to do? If you have easy access to Manhattan, are good with directions and have a reasonable digital camera please get in touch with me as I’d like to borrow your services for a few hours. Cheers.

We decided to wait for Mick at the 53 Street Stage Door. I had already been invited to the party at the Hudson Hotel by a very drunk man wearing a suit and laminate, but I didn’t want to go without Mick’s say so.

It was windy and getting colder. We met many nice people during our interesting vigil in the cold. People trickled out, the S.I.R. Van got loaded with back line. Instrument cases went into a black van. Some band members got in. Finally Don Letts came out. Still no Mick. Don signed autographs and took pictures with fans. He & I had a 30 year overdue talk. We ended up kissing. He grabbed my hands , kissed my gloves…we hugged.  All the backstage guests , the scenesters, spilled out and walked to the party at the Hudson on 58th.  Some of the people I knew were in that crowd, but they looked through us….I went back to the door to wait for Mick.   The van took off. We were bewildered at the door. It was a long 10 minutes. Patience paid off…door opens. Mick (grinning) walks out. He said “Darling” and gave me a big hug. We held back while he signed autographs and talked to fans, then , before he got into a cab, he whispered to me, ‘ Hudson Hotel on 58th , Don Letts is spinning’.

Mick's dapper styling (image courtesy Mesaboogie.com)

We got to the Hudson as Bebe Buell and her handsome young escort were leaving. I took that as a good sign. The door man was picky. I looked at him, I said, “Don Letts is spining’ and they let us in.

It was dark, crowded, there was a pool table in the middle of the room. We found the bar and an unoccupied sofa.  My friend Brian asked, “Do people have fun at these things?” . I told him it would empty out…We danced , had a drink, and when we came back after having a cigarette outside, Mick had just returned too. That’s when we talked.  A lot. A pretty girl, all dressed up and wearing ripped  black tights was talking pictures.  We were there until a little after the bar closed.

I got a bunch of hugs and kisses from Mick and Don.  Brian told Mick he felt left out so he got a hug too. We got in a cab. We got back to the Chelsea after 3 AM. Unable to sleep, we walked to the top of the staircase talking pictures of the art in our jammies. It was one of the greatest nights ever.  As Joe once said of Mick , “Talent is worth waiting for…..”

Thanks so much Brenda!! That quote from Joe remains one of favourites I’ve always interpreted it as at least a partial admission that he wishes he had found a way to find compromise with a far more difficult (than now) Mick Jones back in 1983. I think Mick would be the first to admit the same. I’m glad you had such a smashing evening and happier still that you took time to chronicle if for the blog. As I’ve said many times before, if you’d like to contribute a piece to the blog please let me know. It need not be terribly lengthy or feature the prose of a Hardy or Orwell, just be yourself and share something you think the audience here will like. I know they’d enjoy a break from the monotony of your blogger from time to time also. Please join me in the Clash Blog comments in thanking Brenda for her great recap. Tim