Good evening, how was your weekend? Bloody hectic one here but that’s alright it’s going to happen from time to time. On the plus side it’s been really cold and rainy most of the weekend which sounds a bit glum but when you live in a desert it makes a lovely change. The clouds were so low that the mountains to the NE vanished for two days and finally left today to reveal snow, if I liked snow I’d be more encouraged. With that said the best laid plans of getting the blog updated a few extra times this weekend fell to the wayside but I’ll surely get back on track tomorrow. There’s a lot to cover from the Justice Tonight tour but that needs to wait as The Clash time machine has thrown up something really brilliant this weekend.

On Friday I was made aware by a few people of some live footage of The Clash that was filmed in high quality but as it was super 8/cine film there was no sound. A number of people around the net and on If Music Could Talk started trying to work out which concert film was from. Luckily the uploader on Vimeo also added another file called ‘Manhattan 1979′ (linked) which I watched with some faint hope it would lend some clues. Initially it showed the World Trade Centre and various street scenes around New York and then some bounty – an early evening shot of the marquee at the New York Palladium advertising The Clash, Sam & Dave and The Undertones – Sep 20 & 21 and towards the end of the footage live action of Sam and Dave. Clash historians will know the second of those dates led to the famous incident between Paul Simonon and his bass that was captured by Pennie Smith and became the cover of London Calling. What wasn’t certain was whether the film on the other upload featured live footage from September 20th or 21st.

It was at this point where the community that surrounds The Clash went into overdrive and also impresses the hell out of me. Everyone wanted to know which songs were being performed and match the audio to the performance. After going through existing recordings and matching up what was happening on stage in terms of lead vocals, backing vocals and other indicators there were enough clues to match it up perfectly. I’d like to thank Dom who I’ve been in contact with, for painstakingly adding the audio to the super 8 film with all the cuts and edits included – I thank you.

What’s remarkable about Super 8 film is that although the technology is older than many of us, the quality of the film far surpasses much of what you see compiled these days via mobile phones or even the less expensive digital cameras with video capability. I’ve watched the tape below a number of times and although it’s often blurry and edited badly you certainly feel the energy of The Clash on stage and the chemistry of the band which was perhaps at it’s very peak in the late months of 1979. Thrilling to see and priceless in it’s rarity what we have is a new document that in addition to being 32 years old also captures the band on a night where Paul Simonon was going to create an unrehearsed image that has become as famous as the the album cover it graced, perhaps even more so. While there are no complete songs on the tape we have pieces of I’m So Bored With the U.S.A., I Fought the Law, Jail Guitar Doors, and English Civil War. Enjoy it – it’s brilliant. I’ll be back soon with lots more. Tim

(Full credit from the YouTube upload) – The Clash – 1979-09-21, at the New York City Palladium performing the songs I’m So Bored With the U.S.A., I Fought the Law, Jail Guitar Doors, and English Civil War. It is only short clips of the songs but great nonetheless. This concert was the same night Paul Simonon smashed his favorite bass guitar thus creating one of the greatest moments in rock and roll history ever captured, seen on the album cover of London Calling, and taken by photographer Pennie Smith. More info about this special gig, including the full setlist, can be found here: http://homepage.mac.com/blackmarketclash/Bands/Clash/reco…
The original source of this video was a silent Super 8 film camera. I layered the audio over it and synced it together.

Good evening once again and welcome back to the Clash Blog from a rather windy and beautiful spring evening in the desert. It’s been a day full of laughs (thank you Tottenham) and unexpected costs (thank you old house for showing your age) but all in all I’ve had worse days and I wouldn’t swap shoes with anyone except perhaps the person who was able to secure an auctioned item that I briefly wrote about on the blog some time ago but wanted to revisit.

Firstly though I wanted to once again circulate the link to the biggest collection of which I’m aware of the world service broadcasts that Joe Strummer did for the BBC. I get asked for that link at least three or four times per month so wanted to share it again. If you’ve never trawled through the many hours of Joe as your DJ you’re in for a treat, he’s far more than a DJ though, more like a worldwide tour guide of music. With so many years now quickly passing since Joe’s death I find myself going back and listening to an episode or two every month or two. It’s great to hear the tunes he plays and better still are his introductions and ad-libs. The broadcasts deserved a bigger worldwide audience and as far as I know only his death stopped the continuation of a show that he absolutely loved making. Here’s the link (with special thanks to Radio Clash Blog) and according to my quick estimate there is about fifteen hours of entertainment there to be had.  If you’re getting in at the ground floor and this is your introduction to Joe on the radio you’re going to love it and if you simply miss Joe it’s a nice way to have him in your office or living room for an hour at a time. Radio was such a huge part of Joe’s youth and many of ours as well, it’s still the format that allows you to get lost in ways that video and television never will so why not do so with Strummer.

Last night I was looking at the bandwidth being eaten up by my eight (!?) email accounts and thought it might be a good idea to prune some of the oldest stuff that I’d sent and received. When doing so I came across one of the many excellent emails you’ve sent about The Clash over the last couple of years and realised that I’d only ever fully enjoyed this on my own time, so once again thanks to Pete in London for sending this to me in the first place. I’ve never had an extreme amount of spare cash beyond a lucky run on roulette now and then in Las Vegas (always returned to its source) and have usually resisted purchasing anything at inflated prices that was collectible. Especially when it came to music, and while I’ve got a number of records that are now worth a tidy sum it’s only because I bought them at the time and then looked after them in a consistent manner. Whenever I’ve had say $100 to spend on music I’ve been happier picking up 7 or 8 cds than dropping the entire amount on something ‘collectible’. If I did have some extra cash sitting around over the years I do think I’d have been tempted more than once to get hold of some original art pertaining to the music I love, whether collectible original photos, posters or album artwork. Back in December 2009 perhaps the single coolest piece of Clash related art (in my opinion) went to auction and ended up finding a new home for the princely sum of £72,000.

Ray Lowry greatly helped to create what many consider to be the most iconic album cover of all time when he worked with the band during the creative process for London Calling. I find it amazingly easy to recall first seeing that album cover very soon after its release and knowing, just knowing, that I had in my hands an album that would be for the ages. How could a record sleeve possibly be more exciting that the famed Pennie Smith photo of Paul Simonon about to reassemble his bass on the stage of the New York Palladium? Even the unintentional blur (of which Pennie is not terribly pleased) has its own story as she was backing away from a very angry Simonon who had been pissed off with his equipment all evening, she sensed he was about to lose his composure at that moment and was ensuring she’d be out of harms way as she moved backwards and caught the photo that became the front cover of the record. Ray was working with band throughout the late summer of 1979 and into the Autumn, before an album title was chosen or the image that was finally to feature.While people might choose other album covers as the greatest ever, this remains my choice because it was so bloody exciting and remains so, just like the best music should be. Hope that you’ll agree.

In the original draft stages a number of ideas were put forward by Ray which already show that the unforgettable and Elvis Presley inspired/nicked font (although it wasn’t a font…technically) and colouring had been arrived and agreed upon. Although we now of course see the familiar version with London Calling being left spine and bottom respectively the original ideas captured on today’s blog show that ‘The Clash’ looked to be the bigger part of the text in the draft stage. The sleeve almost featured a photo of the band in a side street in downtown Detroit, an urban shout from the wasteland that was the ashes of the 1970′s. In the final version ‘The Clash’ found it’s way to the top of the image in a much smaller almost less significant font of white on a grey background which worked with Pennie’s photograph. It seemed the title of this record was the siren that Lowry and the band agreed should be heard most prominently and so it was. A message from London to it’s own citizens but also to the faraway towns and not just those in England but wherever the excitement of music still held firm, which can and should be everywhere. Which in turn takes me right back to where I started with Joe’s worldwide musical tastes and subsequent broadcasts.

Good evening and welcome back to your friendly neighbourhood Clash blog, I hope that you’ve had a reasonably good day and are ready to try something new on the blog with me tonight (or tomorrow morning depending on when you read this). Just a quick follow-up on the inaugural podcast last week, I do have some pretty good things confirmed on the interview front I just need to set aside some time to learn the software properly so that I can mix interviews with chit chat and music – hopefully the weekend after this I should be able to get that in order, so stay tuned.

I’m beginning to get through my notes for new things I want to add to the blog this year and in addition to the podcast and more surveys/polls I also need to do a much better job of getting through my mailbag. So unless there’s other more pressing matters I hope to do a Clash mailbag every week or two to share with everyone the things I’ve been sent and see if some questions can be answered from your broad cross-section of knowledge about all things Clash related. As you know I’ve never professed to know everything about the band and am constantly learning more and more minutia from many of you and reading (and in some cases rereading) everything I can get my hands on when possible. More importantly I acknowledge that many of you have your own personal experiences and contacts not to mention fantastic memories and resources which can often help clarify questions on the blog and open up some healthy debate. So I’ll also be using the mailbag feature to share questions with you that I can’t answer myself personally. Just to reiterate if you have any questions or would like the blog to help promote any sort of event that has a connection to The Clash (or would logically make sense to be of interest to readers of the blog) please feel free to contact me via the usual channels or leave a message on the Facebook page.

Let’s jump into the inbox and please accept my apologies if some of these in the coming weeks are a bit old but I plan to get current and then stay current.

Burnbake Calling: Thank you Liz (and so sorry for the delay) in making us aware of the Burnbake Calling event in association with Strummerville scheduled for June 10th-13th down in Dorset this Summer. Liz asked if I could mention on the blog that this summers event is still looking for performers (I believe) plus if you’re a vendor who wants a set up a stall or craft workshop to please get in touch either via myself or directly at their site. An excellent weekend in the English countryside around campfires is guaranteed to be a great place to remember Joe. Much more information via the site as linked above. I’ll also follow up nearer the time.

Poster *billposter/flyer Detective needed: I received an e-mail a while back from a chap who has two vintage posters that he’s trying to determine the authenticity of, not being an expert myself I thought I’d see if anyone amongst the readership might be skilled to give expert advice or indeed refer him to somebody appropriate. He has a 1976 Sex Pistols concert flyer (December 4th at Kings Hall Derby) and also a Clash Bond’s poster from the famed New York residence of gigs. I’ve reproduced that one on the left and it looks good to me but I wouldn’t know what questions to ask to determine the correct answer. If you might be of help to leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

Clash photo collectors: I know there are a lot of you with encyclopedic collections of different photographs of The Clash (you know who you are on Facebook!) And I’ve got a chap who is looking for a high-resolution version of this particular Pennie Smith shot. Any ideas? The one online is only 450 pixels x 301 pixels so if you can help him out let me know. Incidentally there’s been sporadic rumors that Pennie Smith will one day issue a second book of photographs taken from her time (a bloody great deal of time) spent with The Clash – I’d love to see that happen and also a reissue of the first book. Is anybody in the know on that?

Okay that should just about do it for this edition of The Clash mailbag, I feel a bit like Jim’ll Fix It trying to pair up answers to some of these questions. Perhaps I should also do a multi-coloured swap shop of Clash memorabilia in the near future (readers in Britain of a certain vintage will know what I’m talking about otherwise you’ll have to rely on Wikipedia) More tomorrow….Tim