Good evening and welcome back to the blog, I hope your Thursday was a fine one…no real news today here, erm I had to wear a jacket – in the daytime (!) for the first time since March, yes a slow news day indeed. Three small matters to bash through today and lets call them fashion, photos, and thank you. I’m needing to brew some coffee but will be back promptly with fashion (surely not a topic I have expertise on…).

image courtesy http://www.twoshortdays.com

Fashion then, complete this list of names for me if you will – David Beckham, Will Young, Mark Ronson, Orlando Bloom, Rio Ferdinand (*wot? man utd player on blog…control-alt-delete) Daniel Craig and ____ ______. So does this list represent the new coalition cabinet? A good list of men to get stuck on a broken submarine? The missing name amongst many others is none other than Paul Simonon and the list is candidates for GQ Magazine‘s (UK edition) best dressed man of 2010! I’ll warn you now, the list takes about 40 mouse clicks to get through and involves patience and boredom looking at fancy dans from stage and screen but I’m only telling you about it because you can vote for your personal winner. Oh yes you can. Better still to save you 25 minutes you’ll never get back I’ve got the link right here to take you to the Paul Simonon page and one click will register your vote. If however the topic itself provides endless fascination you can go through the whole list starting here in case you decide to instead cast your vote for Bill Nighy (seriously). I’m thrilled to see Simonon nominated and your goal is to help ensure he gets more votes than Paul Weller who is also on the list. Do the right thing for which I thank you.

Now then a reprise of a topic on behalf of a friend of the blog who just happens to have been the premier photographer of the punk and post punk scene in Liverpool. Naturally there is focus on the crucial three of Bunnymen, Teardrops, and Wah but he was also right under the monitors for essentially a who’s who of brilliant music from 1978 onwards and his photographs are simply majestic at capturing acts including The Clash so many years ago. I’ve written before about Francesco Mellina but don’t see why not do it again as he has just launched his brand new website which allows you to purchase many of his most iconic images. The holidays are coming up and I can’t think of something much nicer for The Clash fan in your life. If you any specific questions please email me but in the meantime here is the the link to his new and improved website. A little more on Francesco follows:

Francesco was born in Polistena, in the southern Italian region of Calabria. He taught himself English by listening to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones records before setting off, aged 16, on a tour of Europe which saw him eventually settle in Liverpool. Francesco trained in photography at Liverpool Art School and started taking photographs at the famous Eric’s club in Liverpool, recording the various sub-cultures in clubland during the pivotal-post punk era. During this time he developed a career as a nationally recognised rock photographer and was a regular contributor to magazines such as The Face, NME, Melody Maker, Sounds, Smash Hits and various publications around Europe.

Lastly tonight I wanted to share a pretty special moment with you – and its you that makes this even possible in the first place. I write this blog for the memory and continued sharing of The Clash – but for Clash fans especially. I think its remarkable how much passion remains for the band still in 2010 and the interest in the band just keeps growing and happily the blog has done the same. Since launching in June of 2009 with the exception of 50 days of rebuilding the site this Spring I’ve essentially update the blog every single day and you keep reading it – to the tune of often…which means that some of you have been here quite a few times. Anyway, sometime between tomorrow morning and lunchtime I”ll be welcoming the 250,000th ever visit to the site - inconceivable to me a year ago and thanks to all you – a quarter million thank times. Be good….Tim

Our 2011 selection of bumper stickers may need ideas...

Hello again good people, I had the best intentions about getting a post out this morning but the day was so nice that sitting in front of a computer seemed a bit harsh, although I did spend 2 hours in the company of Arsenal…that was nice as we edged Man Citeh 3-nil. Good times indeed. So I’ve got a good audio link for you tonight and a video also, so that will keep you occupied and save me from typing too much although the usual tendency of babbling on is hard to break. I’ve nearly finished that Marcus Grey book about London Calling so will have a review of that within the next week or so and I also need to review the NME special, the feature in Uncut and the Big Audio Dynamite reissue. When I first started this up I wondered if there would be enough to cover and really I feel like I’m having to defer and delay a lot of things all the time…I never imagined that!

First things first, a really entertaining interview took place with Paul Simonon and Damon Albarn when Gorillaz were in Minneapolis. I can’t recommend this one highly enough; it runs about 20 minutes and contains a few tracks but better still the time spent by the host Mark Wheat is split just about evenly between Paul and Damon. Paul is in sparkling form, funny, observant and more than that enjoying himself. Mark knows his subject well which adds to the value of the chat. You’ll get to the bottom of the submarine crew apparel for once and for all as these two are the main culprits. Any of that cynicism I remember reading about this ‘partial Clash’ reunion on Damon’s cartoon driven beat (not my words) I think ebbing away from even the most hardened observer now. Jones and Simonon are not only enjoying themselves but feel they are part of a very special band and contributing to it – not just collecting a cheque. I tried for an age to embed the audio file on the blog but something wasn’t meshing correctly and I waited for a reply to a technical inquiry all day but nothing was forthcoming – so instead I’ll need to give you a link to it. Forgive Damon stuffing his face full of something during the interview, horrible lack of manners. The interview link is here and was conducted by Mark Wheat on 89.3FM Minneapolis Public Radio – The Current.

From there I need you to sit back and watch a video, I really hope you haven’t seen this before, I hadn’t but I know some of you have seen everything! When I look back at The Clash, The Jam, The Specials and so many other bands in video and photographs from 1977-1982  there was always more than a bit of style on display. A band’s look was not the be all end all but for me there was something great about record sleeves and concert photos from that era. Sometime in the 1980′s the new romantic scene came into play and haircuts and clothing become more than a bit daft but in many cases the most important thing about a band. That seemed to heighten during the first half of the decade and got worse and worse (or better and better I guess). If you’re my age (born ’67) or older I bet you’ve looked back at photos of you and your friends from the 1980′s and thought aloud ‘what was going on there then?’. It seemed to reach absurd levels round about 1984 and that’s exactly when this video was filmed. When you think of The Clash you generally think about the epitome of cool, from Paul’s art influence to New York Gangster threads or 1940′s era hoodlums The Clash always looked pretty bloody great on stage. Arguably when combat gear took front stage in ’82 and ’83 they became a bit too colourful but the age of MTV and videos had arrived and The Clash were still cutting their own unique path. Now I don’t blame Mick Jones for what followed – the fashion police apparently went on an extended holiday in the mid 80′s and Jones with the newly formed Big Audio Dynamite were fully into baseball caps and New York street wear, whether it was being bought on Harrow Road or shipped from Brooklyn is in doubt but I know there were dodgy fashion crimes happening everywhere in London at that time.

Regardless, the video is interesting and entertaining all at once. It’s apparently filmed in Mick’s basement and features a demo/extended version of Sudden Impact from the debut album. Based on the level of completion it was from the final recording process which would place it in the summer months of 1985. What is obvious is that they are having a laugh, lip syncing and to some degree seeing where the band would go visually. Nor were the guitars plugged in, they were having a laugh for the most part. I saw Big Audio Dynamite at least three times in those first couple of years and they were definitely experimenting constantly, with sounds, lyrics, influences and also aware that housing a ‘former Clash star’ carried a unique level of expectation. As much as the press said that B.A.D. were where The Clash may have headed I think once Mick had the band formed the shackles were off to experiment with everything and anything plus within that mix was Don Letts encouraging a cinematic feel. Whether Big Audio Dynamite were quite as  innovative as I think they were can be debated but you can’t suggest they didn’t make a very important contribution to what followed musically. Actually on repeat viewing the wall behind features photos from the album’s artwork meaning the video was probably shot in October or November 1985.

B.A.D. – Sudden Impact remix

I’ll be back tomorrow with lots to get through…thanks for visiting and be good. Tim

Good evening good people, that will be Thursday in the bag then….well done us. A bit of a numbing day today as my last thoughts awake yesterday was the news of the sad death of Ari Up of The Slits at just 48 years of age, I thus woke up with that thought but haven’t had a chance to read more than what I posted last night until sitting down this evening. Three thoughts dominate tonight after reading a little more from various places; firstly in 2010 its easy to downplay the impact of The Slits on a very old school music scene in 1977 and beyond but you really shouldn’t. As an all girl band they were trailblazers for so many who followed and confident enough to learn as they went along.

Ari Up (image courtesy Ann Summa)

They were writing from a new and very feminist place and kicking a lot of rock tradition off the stage as they found their own way. As the vocalist and co-writer Ari was a large part of that, failing to play the demure pop star nor being predictable whether onstage or off. Secondly having read enough from people who knew her either a little or well she was a huge influence and seen as being more unique than even some of the legend makes her out to be, totally a rule unto herself she did what she was passionate about with music and life, which leads me to thought three. Ari had some measure of gypsy blood which I always admire and respect, its easy to be comfortable in your own back garden but trying it out elsewhere takes courage and a little bit of adventure too, born in Germany, raised partly in the UK after The Slits she went on to live in Belize, Indonesia and settled for an extended time in Jamaica to name but three places.

I didn’t learn until this evening that her cause of death was confirmed as being from cancer, which will shut up some of the speculative bastards who posted comments about illegal drugs being the cause at various sites online. Such speculation should cause shame whoever you may be.

Naturally there have been a flurry of obituaries posted all day long and I’d be happy to point you in the direction of the least redundant ones. At times like this I bemoan being a few years too young to have ever seen The Slits live and also a few years too lazy to make the effort following the reformation of the band in 2006. Putting off things like seeing a band like living life itself should not be deferred whenever possible.  Onto some of those stories then….

The Guardian Culture Blog does a nice job capsuling the rise of The Slits and Ari. Esteem indie music site Pitchfork offers a bland almost canned overview with all the passion of a piece of toast. Fortunately LA Weekly writes something far more personal and includes some great video clips too. Rolling Stone offer a nice concise piece with some touching quotes and apparently an exclusive video. The NME pays tribute and includes words from Kate Nash and Johnny Marr. Perhaps the best piece of all is in The Fader including a lengthy interview with Ari talking about the early days of punk in London.

I’ll get back to normal Clash business tomorrow, if you saw The Slits live or have any favourite memories of Ari we’d love to hear from you – leave a comment. Thanks for dropping in.

Just added – LA Times obituary is really very good.