Everybody’s waiting for a Happy Monday or so the lyrics went so I’m going to do my best. Hope your weekend went well and you’re all recharged for another working week. I’ve got so much to do this week but an untold desire to do it so we’ll see if that lasts beyond Tuesday afternoon. Thanks for your responses to the ‘best of’ 2011 posts, I always find it remarkable that every single person I hear from who manages to briefly meet or be around Mick or Paul or in the case of last year Don Letts et al has nothing but good things to say about how friendly and accommodating the experience turned out to be. As you know I only had a short time with the two aforementioned during the tour with Gorillaz in October 2010 but the same sentiments would be attached. Friendly, patient and happy to be with people who essentially were complete strangers even if some strangely blog about them almost every day.

When everyone seems to say the same thing you realise that’s just the way Mick (especially as he’s been most active as far as touring etc) and Paul are. It’s good to read and hear and reaffirms that being ‘fans’ isn’t the one-way street it can often seem, they genuinely appreciate the support and interest as far as I can tell. Right then on to this morning’s post which will be very short as I’ve only got time to share a video which came to my attention via Gil W who not for the first time digs out some great stuff. Outside the UK you might not be familiar with the concept of a pantomime but every Christmas you’ll find them in towns throughout England (do the Welsh and Scottish do this…I’m not even sure) and they’ll be plays heavily reworked for slapstick comedy and strong audience participation. Often featuring celebrities in unlikely roles such as Aladdin or Dick Whittington they are a strange event which remain popular as part of the festive routine. So it was with Mick Jones’ daughter at the Portebello Panto production of Robin Hood this year and a certain someone makes an appearance as King Richard. Press play below for the rest….

The event was for a good cause with funds benefiting the Shepherds Bush Families Project deep in the heart of Clash territory. Mick obviously was having a good laugh with this but not sure it’ll rival the Shea Stadium version at any time.

The cause: Shepherds Bush Families Project works with families in severe housing stress, including those living in B&B hotels, hostels, refuges and living in temporary accommodation which are in unsuitable and affected by overcrowding and disrepair.

Thanks go to Roughler TV who chronicle a lot of cool stuff from Portobello, so check out their YouTube page to learn and see more. I’ll be back with more soon – Tim

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

Good evening and a massive cheers for dropping in. I’m most certainly coming down with some sort of bug/flu type of thing which is marvelous. To combat it I’ve drunk a lot of fluids, had my vitamins and fruit and tried to relax a bit but to no avail – thus I think that a gin and tonic might be the solution. I’ll let you know how that works out.

Right then, seeing as it’s already Nov 22/23 I need volunteers in the UK. That ‘Mick Jones Review’ AKA ‘Justice Tonight’ tour has come around rather quickly and kicks off next Thursday in Cardiff and then is followed on consecutive nights in Manchester and Sheffield before taking a hiatus. It seems that Pete Wylie has been down in London the last few days rehearsing with Mick Jones et al and I really think this is going to be a special (and very unique) tour. Not withstanding the fact that it is for a patently good cause. (alright I’m continuing this the next day – medicine enforced 13 hours of sleep….ridiculous!) If you are on of the lucky ones heading to any of the three opening concerts and would like to submit a short review of the night and/or photos please contact me so we can include it on the blog. I’ve a feeling we may see Mick performing different Clash songs on different nights and would really like to document events on the blog to some extent. You can contact me via twitter or via this page. Thanks in advance. Tickets are still available for all dates except London so (global economic collapse aside) I don’t know what you’re waiting for – you can purchase tickets here.

I’d planned a longer post but last nights medicine has put paid to that so I’ll write more later today. Finally for now I’ve seen a rumour grow in volume in recent weeks that Big Audio Dynamite are going to be back in business and playing live again in 2012. Nothing official yet but stay tuned. Add to that Gorillaz are recording some new material although whether either of Paul and Mick are involved remains to be seen. If you know more than me please let me know.

I know that the blog was hacked again about midnight last night, apologies – hoping to move to new server in the near term. Have a pleasant Wednesday.