It’s probably a sign that you are thinking about The Clash Blog too often when you find yourself in the shower singing ‘Guns of Brixton’. That in and of itself isn’t such a bad thing until I tell you it was the excerpted version from Sandinista! as sung by the child. So there I was singing the kid’s version out of key and at the wrong speed looking for that perfect match – the acoustics of our bathroom lending credence to my poor poor effort. Easy money trivia question for you – who sings this version on the album and who are they (in relation to the band). Off topic from The Clash but football is relevant to some of us, based on this story where do you think this situation is going to end? My area of expertise if I have one was apparently economic and based on that information something is going to give quite soon and I fear it might be the whole house of cards.

So where did the Clash stand when it came to football (soccer to one small percentage of the planet)? I know that the beautiful game was seen as the ideal team building exercise during the rehearsals for and recording of London Calling in the Summer of 1979. By all accounts Mick was the closest the band had to a natural player with a fair amount of flair to his game but perhaps lacking in physique to take much punishment in a midfield role. I think Joe was a very casual player and there’s little account of him being terribly ’sporty’. Paul loved art and I don’t think had much time for football, also worth noting that football in England in 1976 was nothing like today, a very white and British streak ran through 98% of teams as players from elsewhere were a luxury (or novelty) depending on your point of view. Prior to 1979 there were but a handful of players in the league who were back much to the discredit of the game. Thankfully that is no longer the case, the game is completely integrated and racism on the terraces is greatly diminished and in most circumstances essentially eliminated (I should add an asterisk for Spain). I can’t imagine Simonon relating to a very brutal game and segregated scene as it was in that era. Topper? I’ve no idea….perhaps his autobiography will reveal more.

Mick is by all accounts a pretty loyal Queens Park Rangers fan who does attend games, the once fashionable yet small West London club had their

Stan Bowles in action for QPR in 1975

best spell in the mid-late 1970’s (sounds like The Clash?) and over the last two decades have been away from the top flight and out of the public eye. For a few short years Q.P.R. were not only playing some great stuff but also attracting some of the more flamboyant players in the league, this was in the day when mixing booze, gambling, women and long hair was all in good standing so long as you did the business on a Saturday afternoon. Rangers home stadium is a long goal kick away from Shepherd’s Bush and the Westway making it a natural club for all things Clash related.

As for Joe despite naming a song Tony Adams (if you have to ask who he is I’ll be insulted…so try google) he wasn’t an Arsenal fan although Johnny Rotten most certainly is. Strummer showed a moderate interest in the fortunes of Chelsea, who occupy the rich and famed end of West London. It wasn’t always so in the 1970’s and 80’s Chelsea were the third biggest side in London rarely rising above average and nothing like the current bankrolled team. I used to always worry that if I ever met Joe Strummer would I be able to keep my dislike for Chelsea to myself? Being a football fan is the most annoying heritage sometimes if you meet someone and you know who they support. Twice in my life I met musical legends (to me anyway) and both times I put my foot in my mouth about football almost before saying how much I loved their musical talent. So thanks to Billy Bragg (West Ham) and Damon Albarn (Chelsea) for humouring me and especially Damon who wrote 1-0 Chelsea repeatedly on my arm and anything else nearby worth signing when I met him in Chicago many years ago.

I’ll explore the Clash/football aspects further for the blog – if you’ve anything to add the usual way to contact me applies!

Cheers

Hello again – what a day that was…..hope yours was decent, mine started with watching my Arsenal lose (again) and then a cold chilly spot of football myself and I felt like heaping revenge on the ball for this morning. Let’s just say the day continued as it started. So back to something a bit more fun. The Clash Cup Round Two – before I explain the format we have one result to share from round one -

Protex Blue defeated The Magnificent Dance 34 – 20

Credit: Photo by Ray Stevenson / Rex Features ( 565076C )

So we are all set with the contenders for round two. (You might want to skip this paragraph) Don’t forget we have 25 songs ’seeded’ due to the initial voting which will be introduced in round three – let’s call them the heavyweights, the final 25 you all selected would make for the ultimate Clash CD but those votes were cast months ago so nothing is written in stone. From round one 64 songs make it through, 54 outright winners plus the 10 runners up that compiled the most most votes. From these 64 we’ll carry forward 32 winners + the 7 best runners up (percentage of all votes cast) = 39 songs + the 25 seeded songs for our final 64! It’s not as complex as it sounds but we’ll end up with 64 brilliant songs to match up head to head.

Voting I’ll leave open for a week – and the sincere goal is to run at least two matches per week. In a perfect world round two will run over the next 16 weeks (at the most) and will try and get through it a bit quicker as round three will be something else. You don’t need to register – just click to vote – one vote per match up.

I’ll mention how the song did in the prior round, you can click on the song to hear it before you vote and I’ll share an opinion if it might help the propaganda of getting the songs I want to see through (I’m kidding). Songs are selected via a random number generator which has the approval of Bernard Rhodes.

Round Two Match One

Cheapskates versus Kingston Advice

Blimey that’s a tough one to start things off I am going to hold off on voting til tomorrow but probably leaning towards one of them. Cheapskates strangely enough also featured in our first week of match ups back on August 16! Kingston Advice came out of the hat the next week.

Form -

Cheapskates won round one 27-4 over Idle in The Kangaroo Court  87.1%

Kingston Advice won in round one 27-10 over Look Here 73.0%

Odds (pure supposition) I’d say Cheapskates is a slim favourite but you may see the Sandinista! track go through as a best runner up. So every vote matters even if your preference is trailing.

Best Lyrics?

Don’t give me the benefit
Of your doubt
‘Cos I’ll bite it off and spit it out

In these days the beat is militant
Must be a clash there’s no alternative
In these days nations are militant
We have slavery under government

Listen here – Cheapskates or Kingston Advice

Thanks for voting !!!

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Alright then back again and I’ve no dreams to share with you this time, actually I had a crap night’s sleep so a dream would have been rather welcomed. Just a few things tonight for you to ponder – a bit of news, a great review of Sandinista! and a few snippets. I’m constantly astounded by how many songs by The Clash get covered by other artists, I could feature a new one every day on the blog and still we’d never catch up – they get added to the various audio and video sites constantly. Some are good…some are bad….many are interesting and usually I can make my mind up on where I stand.

In this case though I keep changing my mind. Nouvelle Vague are more of a musical collective than a band, to date they have used in excess of 30 musicians and vocalists but the nucleus of this french band remain the same. If you haven’t heard of them their currency is cover versions – almost exclusively cover versions of punk, post punk and ‘new wave’ songs. Some of the tracks I’ve really got a lot of time for especially the covers of songs where the original vocalist guests with them. Namely their version of ‘All My Colours’ by Echo and The Bunnymen featuring Ian McCulloch of course (slowed down but simply sumptuous) and ‘Our Lips are Sealed’ by Fun Boy Three with Terry Hall guesting. That said Terry Hall could show up in our kitchen and I think dinner would taste better. Staying on task, Nouvelle Vague have been around since 2004 and have three albums under their belt. Artists covered include those mentioned above plus XTC, Depeche Mode, Bauhaus and The Violent Femmes. You get the idea. They’ve also now covered ‘The Guns of Brixton’ and being a band with a rotating cast I’ve seen/heard versions now with three different vocalists both male and female. It’s a cover version but does manage to reinvent the song to a somewhat sultry stroll. I’ve liked it on a Monday and resented it the next day but wanted to get your take on it. The version below is live and for the purist I’ve a link to the studio version also….perhaps they should have invited Paul.

My verdict, they have done a number of covers that I really think are worth seeking out or buying the album would be even better but I don’t think The Guns of Brixton is their best or most innovative effort. Incidentally they are out on tour around the States from now until February 20th, if they were coming to Phoenix I’d go along so if you do drop me an email.

I’d like to say thanks to a friend of the blog that we’ve linked to before, Mike who writes for the Houston Examiner. Now from what I can tell his gig is writing restaurant reviews but he manages to slip in his thoughts about music from time to time and specifically The Clash. I won’t steal his thunder but I will implore you to follow this link and read his thoughts about two of the greatest albums of our times. Mike asks this fascinating question which I know has its merits: (read the whole article for context)

“If London Calling might be considered the greatest album, as I believe it is better than the ones ahead of it on Rolling Stone’s list, and if Sandinista! is better in edited form, might not it be considered the best album of the rock era?”

Also Prez Obama gave his state of the union speech tonight…rather good stuff but still so much work to be done. I did like these words especially which should remind someone of these careerists what being a politician is supposed to be about in a democracy – no matter what side of the aisle you sit on.

“Just saying no to everything may be good short-term p olitics, but it’s not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambition”                                    President Obama,  Jan 27

Finally, a word about Scotland. Pound for pound has any nation produced more brilliant bands than our friends to the North? I’ve always had a very affectionate space in my record collection for bands from ‘up there’ and it took this article to remind me that the quality of bands from Scotland remains intensely good. The Scotsman list their greatest Scottish bands of the decade – Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian and Idlewild just for starters – ensure you read on and research them all. I can’t even list the number of acts fully or partially Scottish that have made me a happier man. Don’t forget Joe was half Scottish also (before anyone starts getting all English on me!) which he seemed to feel was a large factor in who he became as a man.

Cheers…