Just a quick cap to the weekend and a follow on from the essential books that we were yapping about in a recent post (linked here) I had meant to mention in that post the excellent Jon Savage book “England’s Dreaming” which chronicles most of the important punk events from ’76 through to ’78. A great read and highly recommended to pick up, incidentally its available at ridiculous prices online used if you want to pick one up. Anyway I remember reading at some point a companion book to the one I just mentioned was going to be released in the future and that time has arrived.

The new book is titled “England’s Dreaming, The Companion Tapes” and essentially was part of his source  material for the original book. Its already been released in Europe as far as I can tell and the reviews are little short of excellent. The new book contains the source interviews that Savage conducted with essentially a who’s who of musicians that were integral to the scene during those formative years of punk in the UK. If you’re overseas and have already read the book don’t spoil my anticipation as I just ordered it this evening, but it truly has me waiting in high anticipation for its delivery.

The book offers some 59 in-depth interviews and weighs in at over 700 pages in length. Those interviewed include each of The Sex Pistols, Joe Strummer Chrissie Hynde, Jordan, Siouxsie Sioux, Viv Albertine, Adam Ant, Howard Devoto, Pete Shelley, Syl Sylvain, Debbie Wilson, Tony Wilson and lots of others. The topics covered include many of the foundation stones to get a well rounded look the evolution of a scene and the sound that represented the great shake up that changed the music industry. Whether the changes lasted as long as they should have is open for debate but I maintain that the sheer quality and breadth of what was to become post punk could never have evolved were it not for the changes that came about due to punk. There was a certain chemistry that came into play after punk, the formula resultant was partially a change in the attitude of bands and what topics they sung of, the amazing change of sound and texture of music from ’77 onwards and of course the explosion that resulted in dozens of indie labels, better distribution of records and an industry that was more in tune with kids who in turn bought more records and felt far more a part of something.

I think few periods can compare with the fertile ground of music from ’77 to about ’86 and I think that punk laid open all the possibilities. I also think this book will further my understanding of that. The book is available via the usual sources, here is the ISBN  978-0-8166-7292-9 (for N America anyway) and this link will provide you with more information and reviews etc. I’ll be sure and write about it when I finish it.

Back to cat watch for me….hopefully a better night than last. Cheers- Tim

Sunday already and I’m not vaguely sure where the last 36 hours skipped off to. Nice to see proper football back at last and a signal that the bloody summer here is now entering its final stages. Welcome back to the blog wherever you may be reading and I wanted to point out a few more changes that should help with site navigation. Over on the right under ‘categories’ I’m going to add each post for video clash / westway traffic / clash shopping /clash landmarks etc so if you find a post you like and want to review older posts in the same vein you can find them far more easily. So for example this post will get filed under Clash Landmarks for the rest of time…or something. I’ve also added that ‘events’ page on the top navigation on the page which (when I get it current) will help us keep better track of things that are coming up on the calendar. Speaking of the calendar I noticed its been a while since I did a Clash landmarks feature and also tomorrow marks the anniversary in 1982 of when The Clash began their North America Combat Rock Tour. For all intents this was the last ‘proper’ Clash tour and the one which led to the huge success and ultimately the implosion of the band. The tour kicked off just outside Denver at the Red Rocks amphitheatre.

Red Rocks is of course famously associated with a live performance by U2 in 1983, another semi-ironic case of U2 making inroads by following in the steps that The Clash had taken before them. That live album by U2 took the awareness of the Irish band to a whole new level even before they had consolidated their appeal outside of England and Ireland, a live album that sold for years and was seen as a must have for fans. A good example of CBS failing to do what Island Records did so well, capturing exactly what the fans of a band wanted. Island saw that U2 had something of an extra gear when playing live (the material on Red Rocks improves greatly on the first 2 albums) and decided to capture that as a live album. The Clash live were an amazing proposition and a quality live Clash album in 1983 might have not only increased the profile of the band but taken the pressure off of the band to tour, record, tour, record. Just a thought and not what this piece is about. Somehow we waited until the late 90′s for a live Clash album which is just insane.

Ever since I can remember seeing a band live has held huge appeal to me and the venue has often been a part of that. In London I’d sometimes see a band I was only half interested in if the location was somewhere I’d never been before. Going into the lobby of a club for the first time before you see the configuration of the stage always held a lot of excitement for me and if I visited a new city and when I moved to new places checking out the venues was always high on my list of things to do. I’ve got a long list of places I’ve read about that I wish I could get to for a concert, sadly many especially in cities like New York are now long gone. Outdoor venues have typically held as much appeal to me as camping (read as none) as I don’t want bugs biting me, rain falling on me or the lack of a ceiling causing the sound to echo upward to the heavens. Plus really, standing in a field also has its own set of problems. Hollywood Bowl is one excellent exception to the rule and another I’d like to visit is Red Rocks just outside Denver. The natural rock formations create an amphitheatre carved out of nature rather than trampling dirt down and throwing up bleacher seating. It apparently sounds as great as it looks and maybe one day I’ll get up to Colorado and see a show there. I would have loved to have seen The Clash there and I think James supported Neil Young there on an acoustic tour back in ’93. In part two I’ll look at the concert itself and the history of Red Rocks which I previously had no idea about. Mostly though it should have been Strummer at the heart of the biggest live album of that era and not Bono – another example of where The Clash could have taken pressure off with better management and planning. A shame, though I don’t quite know why I keep revisiting the late stages of the band recently? Probably trying to understand it better – but more to the point it shows me the list of reasons was as long as the regrets it then caused. Part two later in the week….back to sick cat watch here….

Good Morning ~ just a quick one for you. Oh…and updates here…the cat (George) is still not well but is sleeping comfortably, Clash license plate for the car has not arrived and yes I do have hot coffee. So we’re good to go.

I’m going to be working hard the next few weekends on spicing up some of the inner pages on the site which are the links on the top red toolbar. Some are being deleted due to neglect but I’m also adding a few. Check back as you’ll see some improvements. Bandwidth prevents a video page although I’d love to do it – perhaps when the site gets bigger and earns its own keep, at present it’s still like a 10 year old kid who just takes and takes and won’t get a proper job! I will be adding an events page with a full calendar for Clash related events such as concerts, radio events, record releases, art gallery events and other broadcasts and tribute events. It should prove pretty useful. I’m also toying with a Clash Blog shop with exclusive items offered here instead of ebay and etsy in addition to items that are produced by other online merchants. I’m going to be negotiating with merchants to get some Clash Blog pricing and promotion set up as I know the Clash shopping features have been popular. If merchants can perhaps sell here instead of giving huge fees to ebay the fees to list here will help expand the site and cover extra hosting costs. I’m also hoping to partner with Strummerville in some respect…..stay tuned.

Two retailers had asked that I give a quick mention for their products so have a look and see what you think.

Nippaz With Attitude: They sell a whole range of baby gear for the child with something to say. My focus and therefore the link is the Strummer line of products which if I had a small human in the house I’d definitely be getting some of this swag. Check out the site and see if you find something you like. I spoke with the owner who told me:

“I get plenty of people asking me about our Strummer design and saying ‘I don’t get it – who’s Joe Strummer?’ We don’t sell it to make loads of money – we sell it because it fits in with what we believe in and every time they ask, I tell them to go and buy a Clash album and learn…for those who know exactly who he is – they love the design. We hope it sums Joe up….a man with the answers for a lost generation of punk kids”

Saint Joe shirt from Early Grave: A chap called Fuller got in touch who has a design company called Early Grave and he has launched a brand that is a St. Joe t-shirt. He’s an avid Clash fan and feels the shirt represents just how he feels about Joe. Check out the shop and the other products they offer. Fuller also added a little extra information for you:

“Early Grave is a project based out of Orlando that caters primarily to the world of skate and street culture. The brand is influenced by popular culture, politics, life and death. Although many of Early Grave’s messages reflect on the darker side, the brand itself is very much a positive outlet that is intended to promote staying young at heart, critical thinking, making decisions for yourself and continuously questioning authority”

So just a little bit of shopping for the Summer. As for me I wrote this as the sun rose so it’s time to do some proper work. (Note…I’m going to start scheduling posts so I may be referring to a Tuesday on a post that goes live on a Wednesday for example, I haven’t lost my mind – just seeking efficiency!) Booo…the cat is still not well….