Big news from Clashblog towers…..It’s raining !! Seriously…it’s raining…and at 6pm the temperature is just 82f. I forgot what it felt like to not be hot. It will be back over 100 degrees in 24 hours so allow me a little joy where I can find it. Oh and no my Clash license plate did not arrive if you’re taking notes.

I think this is a good time to tell you our main story later tonight (I plan at least) is long overdue as it features Terry Chimes. The fifth Clash member if you will as he was there at the beginning of The Clash story and again when they needed him most to fill in for Topper admirably and at very short notice. Terry rarely pops up in the press and it’s always nice when he does. His crucial work on the first album and then carrying the sticks for some of the biggest concerts the band ever played should not be overlooked, perhaps more importantly he’s a very nice chap. We’ve only really had 2 prior chances to shine the blog on Terry in our 13+ months so I’m glad to see something fresh. Before I get to that three short things I’d like to make sure you are aware of.

First up a good article following up on the now traveling (New York and Tokyo still to follow) Ray Lowry London Calling exhibition. Fresh from the stay in London that we covered (video on yesterday’s post) in depth it’s now residing in Ray’s part of the world in Lancashire. The requests for opening night tickets were hugely oversubscribed which speaks volumes to the continued interest to all things Clash related essentially everywhere. The exhibition runs until August 7th at the Sea Gallery in Crawshawbooth outside Manchester. Please follow this link to the Lancashire Telegraph’s feature for more inside information.

I’d like to give huge props to Shannon who has supported the blog since we were still wearing nappies, Shannon in addition to being another Clash nut has also began a one person crusade to see Mick Jones’ Rock and Roll Public Library leave the safety of London and hit other ports near and far. Our shared goal of seeing to leave the UK is still up in the air but I’m sure she’s excited to see Mick’s collection head out to Norwich a while back and now is set for Glasgow. Shannon started a facebook group that now numbers close to 400 members (go on..join to push her over the next summit) in her ‘unofficial campaign to see Mick Jones Rock and Roll Library go mobile’. Her continued commitment to this has enabled many more people to be aware of it and see many images from Mick’s stockpile. I won’t steal her thunder but rather share her happiness that Glasgow is next on the agenda, more details via this link - Aug 13,14,15 if you’re taking notes at home and more linked info here also. Speaking of facebook, our own little page has now edged past 900 Clash devotees – please jump on board if you like…people are rather chatty over there! Thanks for all your support.

One more thing if you’re in the UK or close, this weeks NME has a special pull out mini magazine dedicated to The Clash (nice one) which is free with the music weekly. It looks to be one of the shiny special things with a buyers guide, interviews and such. Might be worth your time. Also you can actually get the NME in a digital format now for just a pound a week….not sure that would include the NME Clash thing but still worth looking at – more details via their subscription page.

We’re doing some painting and decorating on the blog so you’ll be seeing a few changes – At the foot of the post if you like the article please consider the ‘like’ option for facebook, you’ll even get to see your name on there afterward. Also I wanted to make it easier for you to scan through older posts – so at the foot of the home page you’ll find a page counter to allow you to flick through up to 15 pages (30 posts) at a time. Currently it should show 213 pages, so if you’re new to the site get tucked in. Thanks for dropping in….Tim

Good morning and thanks for returning to the blog or finding it for the first time as the case might be. Doing a bit of housecleaning around the blog today and thought I’d share what I want to get done over the summer. In addition to The Clash Cup, Clash Landmarks, Clash Shopping, interviews, guest pieces (yes please), Westway Traffic and the other usual daily items I am going to add our first annual readers poll, more features on other bands and based on numerous requests a Clash fan’s guide to London. It seems a lot of people take something of a pilgrimage to London and want to visit numerous locations associated with the band which is rather cool. I can almost relate, except for the fact I grew up in London.

Needless to say I could rattle off the name of 15-20 places worth a visit but I’ll try and put together something far more substantial. I may need your help, so if you want to contribute any first hand journalism to the blog that would help make it even more valuable. The London I know best is up to around the mid 90′s, its changed of course since then so newer reporting would add authenticity. The readers poll will be fun, an informal look at where we stand on all things Clash. It will also help me know what parts of the blog you find most worthwhile/pointless.

I’ll also add a bi-weekly (or so) video clash post where we look at cover versions and other oddities that keep being added to youtube and the other video sites. I also want to review online radio sites and podcasts, the very best way to hear a lot of new music (or excellent old stuff) is online so I’ll dig into that too from time to time. Podcast remains a possibility, is there enough to talk about? Do I have enough to say? It would probably need to be broader than The Clash but still remains under consideration. Most of all the blog exists for you to read…that’s why I started it and why I’ll continue it. If the visits dried up I’m sure I’d do something different but as long as you read it I’ll keep moving forward. The most help you can provide is tweeting it, mentioning it on facebook and telling your friends. There are literally tens of thousands of Clash experts out there and hundreds of thousands of fans. The more who visit the blog and then share with it the better. If you saw The Clash in 1978 you’ll have a unique view, if you saw BAD in 1986 the same applies. Don’t be shy – add comments, ideas, suggestions….the more we can achieve the better!

This blog can and should be Clash City online, that’s been the goal so let’s get to it! Thanks as ever, talk to you soon.

Tim – Clash City Blogger

Good evening Clash people, I hope you each had a decent day and welcome back to the blog. Today has been a good day and taught me that with patience and fortitude karma will eventually catch up with even the biggest scoundrels. For reasons of discretion I can’t really expand on that but those are my words of wisdom, never give up when you know you are right about something, giving up just lets the bastards of this world continue to act like bastards. That always applies but its always good to see some evidence that never giving up has merit. I’ve been going through my list of Clash related topics this evening and realised you’ll have to join me on the A40 straight over the rooftops of West London otherwise we’ll never get through all this stuff, so turn up the radio as we venture into Westway Traffic once more. I’ve made a rule to cap these out at around 1000 words so you don’t think I’ve lost my mind, plus I know you’ve got other things to do.

Strummer tribute season begins: As we get nearer to August we traditionally enter into one of the two times of year that we can expect to see Joe Strummer tribute shows. Apart from the anniversary of Joe’s death in December his birthday quite rightly sees a flurry of activity designed to commemorate his work. We’ll start the summer events with one just outside of Detroit in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ann Arbor is a great little college town and is the site of a tribute night in a few weeks at The Blind Pig, 208 S 1st Street.  Doors are at 9pm – $10 gets you in and a host of bands include Duppy A Jumba, Arrogant Bastards, Bootknife and others. Learn much more about the venue via their facebook page.

Gorillaz not so Rotten: I found this article quite interesting, apparently John Lydon was approached by Damon Albarn to work with Gorillaz on the same Plastic Beach project that obviously netted Paul and Mick. Interesting both that Lydon turned it down to but more for his reasons for doing so – chiefly “I really don’t want to be dabbling in other people’s gene pools” This from the man who borrowed and mixed a whole spectrum of sounds (to his immense credit) in all of this years fronting Public Image. Not too mention some of the excellent gene pool dipping that led to some of the collaborative work he enjoyed. I’d suggest that ego/supporting Damon were probably the larger issues but I’m sure there will be more on this story.

Album Review – London Calling: This is a great little site which encourages and receives some really good product reviews, not just music. I’m sure you’ve all read many reviews of The Clash album that almost always is listed as their finest hour (that’s a discussion we’ll have on the site at a later date), but regardless I always enjoy reading other people’s opinions and you’ll find some well informed and researched pieces on that site. Four different reviews appear via the link provided and each is worth a read.

The Big Pink Clash Book: I know this book has been available at some Borders recently for $6 but some of you have had trouble finding it. I’m still prepared to try and get my hands on some more copies if you’ll cover postage and packing (just email me and let me know). Failing that there is a site now offering if at $24.99 (see the link) or Amazon have now chopped it down to $30 from the original $45. Either way its a lovely coffee table book, perfect for your first Clash book – perhaps a little lacking in new information if you are a collector.

Things you should hear – Jimmy Cliff concert: Second mention for NPR this week, I promise I am not on a commission. But if you have 90 minutes of time near your computer this weekend you could do many worse things than listen to this Jimmy Cliff at this years Bonnaroo Festival. Also, things you shouldn’t hear – this is a great site of bad cover versions. If you’re anything like me you’d ask if Paul Young trampling all over Love Will Tear Us Apart makes the site? It does of course and hence I provided the link to the site.

Clash on the list: Making an admittedly decent list of greatest album covers of all time, the readers of Wired.Com do include a Clash album on the list. No points for guessing which one makes it – but go and check anyway. Unknown Pleasures is also on there and while I treasure the music I think that may be one LP sleeve where the artwork is even better than the contents.

Bookmark this – The Big Takeover: One of the nicest men I know and one of the most knowledgeable people around when it comes to music that matters is Jack Rabid. His music magazine The Big Takeover comes out twice a year and is like buying a great novel, 200 pages of the best music journalism this side of 1985. In depth interviews, amazingly sturdy commentary about music and our society and hundreds of reviews. Leaning toward indie, punk and post punk but lots of new artists and retro pieces to satisfy all tastes. Please purchase his magazine, you’ll not regret it. In the meantime bookmark the website, its just been revamped and looks great and has more content than a lorry load of Rolling Stone. 30 year old this year, but never too late to discover.

Around the Strummerville campfire at Glastonbury: I highly recommend this account from Glasto this Summer, if you’ve never been it gives a really evocative telling of some of the best things about the festival. The story hinges around Strummerville also which makes it even better. Good blog by the way.

Right that’s my lot for tonight….thank you to so many of you who read the blog and have brought support, ideas and most importantly friendship. It’s nice to know I’m not typing into an empty chasm – it’s been an emotive day for me…and sharing it with some of you has been more value than you know.