Good morning all from a legitimately cold desert today, I could see hints of frost this morning and I don’t mean the ace 1970′s interviewer. I must write about the special reissue of the film ‘Straight to Hell’ this week – I even bought an Alex Cox book yesterday to get me in the mood, he’s done a series of new interviews about the subject many of which ask about Joe Strummer – some interesting reading although his memory seems as patchy as my brothers. Not ideal.  Anyway I need to sit and watch the film again for the first time in quite a few years also which I must. Are you like me in that you own a number of DVDs but don’t often feel like watching them again? I’ll always watch Shaun of The Dead or Scorsese films but that’s about the extent of it, probably as I’m usually listening to music instead and music allows you to do something else simultaneously which a film doesn’t afford you. Anyway, miles off topic once again as its actually time for ‘Lost in The Supermarket’ where I have a quick trawl for Clash related items for sale online from the collectible to the chintzy. As usual just click the link for more purchasing information or the thumbnail photograph for a better view.

Clash 1979 US Tour Shirt – One of the better visual creations by CBS records was for a marketing poster for the first US tour by The Clash featuring the Statue of Liberty tied up in thick rope and clutching her new copy of ‘Give ‘em Enough Rope’. I think it was a great image but not one that became terribly symbolic of the band although it should have. This shirt is just a reproduction but rather cool and affordable and just $12.99 on ebay although it would be shipping from Thailand so allow a few weeks for shipping I’d suggest. Vintage shirts are usually everywhere online but chose to feature this as the ’79 tour graphic is rarely used.

Joe Strummer Stencil - Visually this is pretty stunning, not inexpensive but an original. Here is the blurb -Awesome 12″ x 16″ canvas with acrylic transfer, acrylic paint, and a 3 color stencil. Signed on the back. Excellent condition. Amazing original for The Clash icon. The artist for this piece is Chuck Keppler. – Ships from the US and priced at $250 on ebay..

Shepard Fairey Original – If anyone reading this blog has $7,900 sitting around I’ve got a business investment we need to discuss, but if you’d sooner pick up a one of a kind piece of Clash memorabilia this might work instead. I’ve no idea how to assess the value of art of course, I was told once that art is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it and so it goes with this piece. It is of course the image used for the Antonino D’Ambrosio film ‘Let Fury Have the Hour’ and taken in Victoria Park in April, 1978. The official blurb – Original Screenprint on Wood with Hand Finish. Limited Edition 2 + 1 AP（Artist Proof）Total 3. This is very rare Artist Proof. Signed and Dated by Shepard Fairey, Size: 605 x 455 x 40 mm, 23.82 x 19.91 x 1.58 inches. Condition: Perfect New condition.  This famous live scene from “Rude Boy” and “Let Fury Have The Hour”. The Clash live at Victoria Park in London 30th April, 1978. Paul Simonon on Bass – I’ve liked the image since I first saw it for both the original photo and use of colours. If you insist on getting it to me for Christmas I won’t say no.

Sandinista! Poster (record shop dealers special) - Much more reasonably priced and something I’ve never seen before but having worked in record shops as a teen we’d get cool stuff like this for free. The poster is made for dealers and proudly displays for purchase price for the shop of £3.64 *and 1/2 for the shops. No wonder The Clash were struggling to make returns on their first albums, a triple album at that dealer price was madness but they wanted to compete with standard albums during the Christmas rush. I think it originally sold at 5.99 or 6.49 but I could be wrong. Still it is a lovely poster and there is a live auction right now with current bidding being at £20.99, bidding ends tonight!

With the holidays upon us I’ll try and do a mad dash through much more of these in the next fortnight. I’m off to bid for the Sandinista! poster….Tim

Hello again and cheers for stopping in at the blog whether it is your first visit or perhaps visit number 101(er) it is nice to have you here. I’m in especially buoyant mood tonight due to two factors, George (the Clash Blog cat) seems to be back to fairly robust health after a few weeks of me medicating her like a recovering drug addict (the cat not me) and also my other passion (Arsenal FC) provided the sort of footballing display today that makes you wonder how much better eleven players can perform in unison, a 6-0 win which was a flattering result for the opposition. It was as if The Polyphonic Spree or Belle and Sebastian had donned red shirts for the night and turned their collective talents to the beautiful game. I’m struggling to come up with other band names that might have as many members as the two mentioned above but quickly found myself clutching at straws and didn’t take the easy path of googling substitute options.

few people make me as happy as this chap....

As you all probably know The Clash began (as a live act) as a five piece band when a third guitarist – Keith Levene augmented the original lineup in 1976. Word has it that Levene was actually the best guitarist of the three with Mick Jones playing more as a rhythm guitarist initially, in fact Jones apparently said words similar to “I better learn more, quickly” when The Clash the more recognised four piece lineup. Levene became an influential musician in the post punk scene in his own right when he joined Public Image Ltd in 1978 with John Lydon after the Sex Pistols had ground to a halt. Levene occupied that position in the band for five years so if by chance you don’t own any of the first four PiL albums it’s a good place to become accustomed with his style which was definitely something unique to him. If I were to recommend just one start with I would probably lean toward 1979′s ‘Metal Box’ although each had their merits. Note to self: yet another example of why 1979 was such a great year for music.

It’s very interesting to consider (if a bit redundant) how the sound of The Clash may have evolved if they had stayed a five piece for an extended period of time, logic suggests that the role of Mick Jones may have been downplayed/sidelined to an extent as a songwriter although that’s just supposition on my part; more importantly that may have been a disaster when such a strength of The Clash was the composition/collaboration ability of Strummer/Jones. It’s funny thinking back to when I was about 12 and first discovered The Clash due to my older brother, at that time the first awareness I had of the band visually were the first two album covers. Naturally enough ‘Give ‘em Enough Rope‘ provided no clues so I deferred to the first album and I’m fairly sure for a short while at least I thought the band were just a

except maybe this chap....

three-piece despite the evidence on the back of the sleeve a drummer did exist with the unlikely name of Tory Crimes. I’m sure I was corrected by my brother within a few weeks but that I wasn’t the only person who may have made that mistake at some point when discovering The clash for the first time. Another strange memory that sticks in my head was buying the first album by The Specials where the cover shot features the band on a white background staring up at the camera and thinking bloody hell there are a lot of people in that group!!

It made me think just how many bands that we follow are typically in that four piece or five piece configuration with the variable most often being whether the front man or woman/lead vocalist plays an instrument or not. It also got me thinking about what three-piece band have been my favourite over the last 30 years or so since I’ve been mad about music. Who would yours be? Two of the most famous from the era of The Clash would be The Jam and The Police, on quick reflection I am struggling to think of a three-piece band with significant impact over the last 20 years although I’m sure I’m overlooking someone. The Clash themselves performed as a five piece band for an extended period in 1979/80 with the addition of Micky Gallagher on keyboards which filled out the sound for so many songs that were recorded during that time spell. So who would your favorite three-piece band be from the last 30+ years and who have I overlooked? We’ve had a bit of fun on the Clashblog Facebook page the last few days where I just throw out the names of two bands to see who prefers whom, things quickly become quite heated but happy to say the pairings have been fairly well matched. Something we’ll have to bring to the blog in the near future just for fun, who will The Stranglers be up against? I’m thinking Ultravox.

As always thanks for your visit and let me know about that three-piece question, cheers-Tim. Leave a comment…it feels like I should hear an echo here some days…  Thanks!!

Sunday afternoon here at ClashBlog Towers so I thought it would be a good time to get another post to help you with the weekend just in case its raining there on something, not raining here just don’t feel like playing in the hot sun. On Friday night I had written about the Ann Summa photography exhibition of icons from both the Los Angeles and general punk scene, sounds like the first night was a big success and don’t forget you can order a copy of her book with many exclusive photographs via this link

I finally got around to checking my inbox/lists this morning and realised I’m far more than a few days behind on Clash features, so many in fact that the only good option is to check how much petrol we have and jump on the Westway for a new edition of Westway Traffic – volume 9 would you believe and our first since August 19. Westway Traffic posts if you are new to the blog are a series of shorter stories that are worth a look at, so just click the header of each story if you captures your imagination. Off we go to then…

Do you have a passion for vinyl? If you weren’t around with the rest of us in the 70s and 80′s you may have missed out on the joy of buying music  back when they were arrived with 12 inches of artwork and inserts in addition to the vinyl itself. If you looking to collect a decent back catalogue of new wave and punk artists it can take forever going from used record shop to used record shop, or you can pay well over the odds at Amazon.com. I think perhaps the best online marketplace if you’re after a specific single or album is often Gemm, though I would suggest having a look at this site that packages up collections of vinyl by individual artist. It’s called backstage auctions.com and for example you can get the first four XTC albums including special editions plus the first three 7″ singles all bundled together for $75. Still not cheap but a convenient way of filling in the gaps in your collection, plus it’s less than I’d want for mine! Lots of early English and US punk is listed much of which has been out of print for decades.

Finally a US release?

The only band that mattered, but of course I highly recommend taking some time to read this article by Gillian Garr over at GoldmineMag.com. Well thought out with some good quotes and details it records the earliest years and releases of The Clash. As you’re well aware the eponymous UK debut album was never given a formal release in the US due to CBS records not being content with the album this resulted in (at that time) the biggest selling import album in US history. The debut album was ultimately repackaged with a completely different track listing and released after ‘Give ‘em Enough Rope’ for the US market. It looks like history is finally being corrected with a limited-edition release for the US of the original album on 180g vinyl as it was meant to be. Sony/Legacy will be releasing 5,000 copies of the British version of the record in the States and there are potential plans to be doing the same for the rest of the catalog in the future. The article explains it in more detail so have a read as this might be one of the most overdue records ever.

Sandinista! 30th anniversary edition While the rumours continue about the exact contents of the 30th anniversary edition of Sandinista! A few things look to be at least partially confirmed. I’m sure the official details will be released in the next two weeks or so in the meantime based on this site it can be confirmed that the release will feature three discs two of which will be CDs and one DVD. The bone of contention is just what we’ll be getting in addition to the original album? Live tracks are almost a guarantee but the fear is many of the tracks will be outtakes and demos versions which most of us have already heard before. The pricing also looks incredibly steep but we are looking at Japanese import at ¥4400, I imagine it will be about 30% less than that $51 price quoted on that site. Not sure how reliable that release date of October 27 is however stay tuned as soon as more is confirmed I will get it to you via the blog.

Old Clash tour bus footage Yes I know this more correctly belongs on a video Clash posts but I don’t trust myself to remember it nor even to be able to find it again. My usual disclaimer applies if you have seen the video before my apologies, if not I think you’ll like it. Set against the backdrop of ’48 hours’ it’s a short two-minute clip of the band on a coach mucking about, I would guess the video to be mid or late 1978 and it features primarily Strummer with a short clip of Paul and Topper. It’s definitely in the UK and if you wanted to see Joe Strummer having a pillow fight now is your chance.

I’ve got loads more but don’t expect you to spend all day clicking and reading…but I’ll be back before you know it. Chelsea top, Arsenal 2nd…I think I may have predicted that….