Good day Clash people. The days after that tour….have me thinking rather a lot. What a tour it was, for all the right reasons. Often when I’m far afield it’s been hard to imagine the events from the wrong end of a telescope but somehow Justice Tonight was easy to picture, easy to relate to and so bloody hard to be missing out on. Someone wrote somewhere over the course of these gigs that it was ‘all a bit rough and ready at times, exactly in keeping with the origins of the music’ and I couldn’t agree more. This wasn’t sponsored by Carlsberg or simulcast on MTV. This was a series of benefit gigs like no other in recent years in the midst of a tour that kept raising the bar for a cause that truly does matter. Could anything be more in keeping with The Clash and their fans?

“The way you get a better world is, you don’t put up with substandard anything”       Joe Strummer – 1999

This might be one of those posts I tend to write that will ramble a bit, in fact I’m fairly certain it will be. I’ll get there in the end I hope so I’ll beg your patience. I doubt I’ll manage it all in one sitting. I want to write about the story of The Clash, I want to write about The Clash and their audience, I want to write about making a difference and caring and I want to write about the cause that led to this tour in the first place. I also want to try and write about the Hillsborough disaster. I’m not an expert but I know how I felt about it then and still feel today.

Pete Wylie (image kind courtesy of Pete Stevens)

You don’t need to be English to understand the impact of Hillsborough to any greater degree, no more than being English will help you understand the importance of punk rock. If you feel and care, if you’re awake and alert, it transcends the fact it might not be local to you. What helps is a belief that wrongs should be righted, that change is the responsibility of us and not ‘them’ and that music isn’t the solution on it’s own although it can bring together passionate people who want to affect change. That’s what punk rock was really about, empowering the kid with no money and no contacts and get out there and do it for himself. It is often applied to music but can apply to anything, just allow it and it can be so.

“The most important thing for anyone, I think, is to be engaged, whether you’re an artist or a journalist is to be engaged in the process at some level”    Billy Bragg

When I first saw Billy Bragg it was during the coal miners strike in the UK. They were dark, tense and really militant times. At the same time activism wasn’t seen as pointless pursuit. The 1980′s are portrayed by the media as a time for silly haircuts and synth-pop but they were also the last time (until recently) that I saw activism being seen as worthy and full of potential to bring about change. We had the East/West divide, the cold war, a wall in Berlin and Apartheid to combat. In tandem with some right wing governments and fascist seeds being spread around they were good times to kick against the system. I know I did, it came naturally. As for Billy Bragg, for me he embodied the spirit of The Clash and I thought we can change the path of the country, people will listen, the wrongs will be righted. A few years later Bragg and Paul Weller toured as ‘Red Wedge’ which essentially was to get young kids involved in politics and vote labour. Was it a success? Yes, if like me, you became more engaged. No, if you judge it on the fact that Thatcher was again the winner in the following general election. At least people were paying attention.

Joe Strummer became the de facto mouthpiece of The Clash and with that the voice of that generation, a tough mantle to take on and one that I think caused him untold pressure and strain during the years the band were active. ‘Spokesman’ is not a role that anyone other than a dictator would comfortably adjust to, Joe was never a dictator. Joe often said things like we know the world has a lot of problems and four punks from London don’t have all the answers but essentially we’re here to encourage you to ask questions and get involved. Years later when I saw Billy Bragg again for the eleventh or twelfth time his message had moderated a bit but in actuality it was more valid than ever before, he didn’t ask you to wait for him to take the lead position. He said ‘I’m not able to change the world, music can’t change the world, but you can. The community we can build around music can take an idea such as not letting apathy win and bring it to work tomorrow and to the polls when we vote. I can’t change things but you surely can”.

To my ears he was channeling Joe Strummer – the same message really and the right message certainly. Not coincidentally Billy Bragg played with Mick Jones, Pete Wylie and The Farm in Liverpool on the Justice Tonight tour. The message remains, a good cause is one you will fight for and a good cause can result in justice if you push it. Part 2 of this will follow soon, sorry for the gap.

Ninety-six people died in a football ground that afternoon, the only thing they were guilty of was going to see a game. Here are the first thirty-two names that we should never forget and their age that spring afternoon in 1989. These were my peers and were for many of you as well. You can learn much more and help the Hillsborough Justice Campaign by visiting this link.

John Alfred Anderson (62)  Colin Mark Ashcroft (19)  James Gary Aspinall (18) 

Kester Roger Marcus Ball (16) Gerard Bernard Patrick Baron (67)  Simon Bell (17) 

Barry Sidney Bennett (26)  David John Benson (22) David William Birtle (22)

  Tony Bland (22) Paul David Brady (21)  Andrew Mark Brookes (26)

Carl Brown (18)  David Steven Brown (25) Henry Thomas Burke (47) 

Peter Andrew Burkett (24)  Paul William Carlile (19)  Raymond Thomas Chapman (50) 

Gary Christopher Church (19) Joseph Clark (29) Paul Clark (18)

  Gary Collins (22)  Stephen Paul Copoc (20)  Tracey Elizabeth Cox (23) 

James Philip Delaney (19) Christopher Barry Devonside (18) Christopher Edwards (29) 

Vincent Michael Fitzsimmons (34)  Thomas Steven Fox (21)  Jon-Paul Gilhooley (10)

  Barry Glover (27) Ian Thomas Glover (20)

The London setlist (click to enlarge) thanks to Wayne for sharing

Good sunny/Sunday morning to you, hope this finds you in fine fettle. Just a short update for now as I’ve got a mountain of things to get done today but wanted to share some more excellent reviews of Justice Tonight as the tour made its way up to Glasgow for the final night. I’m a bit worse for wear today as last night was our local Joe Strummer memorial and tribute gig in Phoenix with six bands paying tribute to Joe. A fine time was had and it was great to meet fellow Clash enthusiast Gil who I’ve got to know via the blog. More on that concert in the days ahead. However in the interest of trying to keep things sequential I wanted to publish a pair of first hand accounts of Glasgow from the final night of the tour that has everyone buzzing.

First up I wanted to thank Barry from Newcastle who even though he’d been down to the Manchester concert the week before took the drive up to Scotland for a second dose of the tour, I can’t say I blame him after all you never know then this is going to happen again. Please stick with me on the blog over the coming days as I’ve not had time to get everything related to the tour on the blog. I’ve also got a 2nd account of Glasgow to follow, the very best in photographs from the London concert and a piece that I’ve been working on about Hillsborough, The Clash and benefit concerts and why this tour made so much sense in overall terms of Clash history. While we’ve all been caught up in the excitement of seeing Mick take these songs on the road and attract a pretty bloody impressive list of guest stars I think it is really important to remember why the tour even took place and why Hillsborough is more than a tragedy but a lesson we can all learn from. Justice does still need to be seen to be done and we’ve already had to wait far too long. It’s not a local cause or a Liverpool cause but the right cause. Back to Barry then (sorry mate) he’s a mad keen Clash enthusiast and I know these concerts made his year – so let’s jump over to his account:

Well the Justice Tonight tour came to Glasgow for the final show of the tour..and boy they did not disappoint..once again. The. farm got the show off to a great start with Peter Hooton all over the stage, it has to be said that their sound was so much bigger than the Manchester gig I attended. Then on came Pete Wylie who obviously loves partying in Glasgow  “This is our second city” he kept saying and the Scots really love that. At one point someone threw a Liverpool FC hat onstage Wylie picks it up and holds it up shouting “yeah this is Scotland where you knit your condoms”..and that was the cue for the arrival of the legend known as Mick Jones

Punctuated by Mick’s big  smile all night they launched into Train in Vain, Mick seemed to be on top form running all over the stage and the crowd went mental…I get goosebumps just writing this and reliving it again. Throughout the gig  Mick was so happy and just after a really heavy Clampdown he made the night even more brill when he quietened down the crowd and said-

“..shhh shhhhhhhhhhh Joe is here,  Can you all see Joe next to me cos I can he’s here”

Unreal moment I tell you man and then he said something like ‘We are enjoying this tour that we’re going to do it again next year’ as you can imagine the crowd reacted with utter joy.Then they launched into London Calling with Mick doing all of the vocals, brilliantly I should add. Suddenly the end of the show was upon us and Mick decided not to do Rush the B.A.D. number which has featured during the tour but instead launched into a superb Janie Jones. It’s been amazing to see and quite an emotional tour, especially last night…can’t wait for 2012.

Cheers Barry, I can tell by your notes just what it meant to you. Sounds like it was an amazing night once again. I do appreciate you taking the time to write it up. Please join me in thanking Barry – these guest contributions on the tour really do mean a huge amount to us who haven’t been able to make it to a show.

I’ve got another Glasgow review to get compiled which I’ll have for you this evening or early tomorrow morning plus much more in the days ahead, thanks for stopping in. Tim

Good evening, welcome back to the blog and I hope all is well in your corner of the world wherever that may be. I’ll start this post late tonight (Tuesday) and probably get it completed tomorrow by which point everyone in the UK will be halfway through the Justice Tonight tour with three nights still to come. Apparently it’s going to snow in England today so I hope that doesn’t impact anyone’s travel plans for the remaining three nights yet to come in London, Glasgow and Liverpool. More special guests are promised and I can now officially say I wish like mad that I was going to the Liverpool concert.

However I’ve been a bit busy so I need to backtrack a few nights and focus on events that took place on the second night in Manchester at The Ritz. From the early planning stages of the Justice Tonight tour it was clear that we were going to be in for something not only very special but also very different. Guest stars on tours seems like a very 1960′s thing which sadly (with the exception of many concerts in the obvious cities like London and New York) has for the most part stopped happening. Perhaps it’s due to a lack of camaraderie amongst musicians, or the lack of a ‘scene’ or it could just be because of money and politics. Whatever the reason it’s a pity it doesn’t happen more as it’s often a brilliant thing. This tour already had three elements that meant it would work, Mick Jones performing Clash songs, Pete Wylie and The Farm providing excellent ambassadorship for Merseyside and a cause that means something to the audience at the gigs and the musicians themselves. It’s those elements that have seen the list of special guest appearances swell and it looks to continue. So to Manchester….

ClashBlogger bias alert: When I look through my collection of music I’d argue that London and Manchester have been the two greatest cities for music over the 30+ years that I’ve been paying attention and buying music. A huge percentage of my favourite artists originate from one or the other or at worst the surrounding towns, it’s been that way for decades now and shows no sign of stopping. I’d give honourable mentions to Liverpool, Glasgow and Sheffield too but London and Manchester are top of that pile. London’s greatest band over that time of course has been The Clash whereas from Manchester you could make a good case for Joy Division/New Order, The Smiths, The Stone Roses or perhaps Oasis depending on your vintage. (I’d vote for James also but that’s for another post). When the lights went up at The Ritz rumours were already flying around that the gig would feature very special guest stars that were previously unannounced and so it was. I’d wager that few seriously expected to see Mick and Pete joined front and centre by another notable duo of guitarist and vocalist who wrote one of the best albums ever. As the lights rose there were Ian Brown and John Squire of The Stone Roses ready to launch into Bankrobber (after a snippet of their own work with Elizabeth My Dear).

Now’s not the time to launch into a history of The Stone Roses but I think many will agree that their debut album was one of the best things to happen since The Clash split up. Seeing those two share a stage with Mick Jones was like one of those gathering of heads of state photos except these are decent people. Ian Brown of course still can’t sing in tune but seeing him do this apeman shuffle along with John Squire adding to the guitar noise is one of those moments that will last forever in the memories of those lucky enough to attend. It also speaks volumes as to the importance of this tour, the cause itself and the relationships and respect commanded by Mick Jones and Pete Wylie. I’ve not found much in the way of interviews but I’ve a feeling many of these special guests have volunteered rather than being asked. Which tells you so much about The Hillsborough Justice Campaign.

Image courtesy John Johnson Photography - Three legends at The Ritz

Here’s a link to some great photographs of the pair of Stone Roses on stage taken by John Johnson, one of which I’ve borrowed above. I’m also overdue in pointing you in the direction of John Robb (I’m sure many of you have already been following it) and his excellent site and friend of the blog Louder Than War. John’s got my dream job, formerly a member of Membranes (you’ll need to be my vintage) and Goldblade John has gone on to become a successful writer and has authored a number of books before launching the frankly excellent Louder Than War site which focuses on music and the arts. If you don’t visit it often you should, it will remind you of the good old days of the UK music press when there was something to be said. John has been the MC of sorts on the Justice Tonight tour and has been maintaining a superb tour diary which you have to read. I wish he’d have told me I’d have been happy to tag along and proof read each article and help with the odd interview. Here’s where you can get current and I’m hoping to catch up with John for an interview after the tour is done.

I can’t not mention London and Manchester in a football context this morning either and I don’t need to explain our London superiority over our northern friends at City and United I’m sure. However this is really the time for football unity not division. (but losing at Basel…?)

Right then, I’ve got to run but will do my best to be back later today with the early news from the London concert which takes place in a few hours. Why the fuck am I sitting in Phoenix? Tim.