Well here we are again, another Monday in the great cycle of this year. Please give me a knowing nod if you’d agree that 2011 thus far has been a pretty odd/gloomy/messy year. Better times ahead I hope and its April so we can start with that. I’ve become very aware this last week that the B.A.D. tour has resulted in me not having time to find or review other news nor continue with the usual features on the blog. I hope that works for you because it seems logical that Mick Jones being back on the tour bus seems worthy of front page coverage but I’ll try and mix it up more in the week ahead. One piece of news I want to make sure we get to this week is very much Strummer/Jones related so please come back for that probably on Thursday I’d guess.

The two shows in London are now consigned to history but by all accounts the atmosphere and general good buzz between audience and band from Saturday was repeated on the Sunday night also – and why not. Some of you I know were going both nights so let me know if there was any discernible difference – as far as I’ve been made aware the set lists for both shows was the same. Speaking of set lists I’d like to thank Gavin for sharing his Saturday night bounty (pictured left) with the blog. Typed and printed eh? Very 2011….not sure if that’s what I’d expect. I have an old friend (*if he’s reading he’ll know who he is) who felt the quest to get the set list from the stage for most concerts we attended as a holy grail of sorts. To his eternal credit he was typically very successful at it too, not sure if he kept them. Can I also quickly request once again that if you’d like to send in your own short reviews of the rest of the tour I’d love to publish them here – they capture a bit more of the flavour than many of the reviews below in my opinion.

Tonight I wanted to link out to some of the many ‘proper’ reviews which range from the very good to the rather bland, you can make out which are which as I link them beneath. The bigger question from many of us who remember 1985 like it was yesterday was whether the oversized baseball caps would be making a return. Yes….they are back. I can only speak for myself but I really dislike baseball caps probably because I’m English (?) but I subscribe to the views previously expressed by The Libertines. Englishmen just can’t do baseball caps, sort of the same way Americans can’t make a cup of tea if their life depends on it. It’s alright, we can’t all be good at everything.

The Herald (Scotland) reviews B.A.D. in Glasgow and it’s generally a great review if a bit short. Like others Jonathan Geddes has thoughts about Mick Jones on stage appearance which apart from the shades is very Brighton Rock (the original version) if you ask me. Here’s your link.

“But what an irresistible noise it was, especially on the longer numbers, when the band’s playing slipped into a glorious groove-riding zone”

My favourite online review of the tour thus far comes from the artsdesk.com which contains the immortal line below, but the whole review is a really enjoyable way to spend a few minutes which you can do by following this link.

“To paraphrase Alan Partridge’s remark about Wings and The Beatles, BAD were the band The Clash could have been”

Spinner Magazine sent along Julian M to review the Shepherds Bush gig which is probably one that you’re most likely to have seen especially as

Image copyright Leo Reynolds

the consistently inconsistent ClashOnline ‘official site’ included a link. That site makes no sense at all, they go five months without sharing any news at all about The Clash and then suddenly realise Mick Jones reformed B.A.D. and update every few days. Anyway, the review is alright even if filler text such as ‘punk pioneers’ and ‘epic opener’ are used. Another pet peeve is many saying it is ’25 years since’ when it’s as near to 20 as anything. Unless my memory is fully gone the original lineup were together until the early part of 1990. Here’s the review!

The Guardian have usually been very kind to the legacy of all things Clash related in recent years and so it proved with a nice and fair review of the opening night concert up in Liverpool.

“Age may have rendered their experiments more clunky and withered a few band members, but wrinkly Jones still looks impossibly cool in his undertaker suit and gangster shades. He sings and plays guitar so wonderfully that, Gorillaz moonlighting notwithstanding, you wonder why he isn’t forced – at gunpoint, if necessary – to occupy a stage more often”

I’ll dig out more of these as the week goes on but two other bits of news are worth a mention. One a fact and one a rumour. Tasty rumours are always fun aren’t they? Looks possible that Mick Jones will be appearing at Glastonbury for the second consecutive summer this time with B.A.D. after the Gorillaz headline last year. I’m sure if it happens the call for a Clash song to be performed will again take place and if anything with Don Letts on stage and who knows who (Paul and Topper) nearby it might be a better call than last year. One last thing that I’d like to know more about if you are in Liverpool and ‘connected’ – Don Letts looks scheduled to appear at the ‘Writing on The Wall’ festival in May in the city. The arts and culture festival has a day devoted to looking back at the infamous riots in 1981 and I think Don will speak about that. If you are involved at all please let me know.

Image copyright Peter Stevens Photography

When are BAD going to get an active website? I’ll bloody do it if that’s what it takes (hint hint). Right, I’ve a splitting headache so I think a dark room and the new Elbow CD are calling my name. Tim

Hello again, how is it then? Just time for the quickest of updates as I wanted to get this written before it became irrelevant (no jokes about much of my content being that way regardless of when it is posted please).

Joe Strummer in New York, image courtesy Bob Gruen

If you happen to be in the UK and have access to Sky Arts 1 on your satellite (or in Europe I think most countries can get it also?) please read on. If like me you’re elsewhere perhaps hope some good soul is kind enough to upload this to YouTube or Vimeo in the weeks ahead as usually eventually happens. If you’re a regular on the blog you’ll know I think that some of the great photography we still have to enjoy of The Clash is perhaps at times as great a gift as the music – even if you think that might be a bit of a stretch than the the pleasure to witness the overall work of photographer Bob Gruen is something I’d gladly swap out a few CDs for. You’re probably aware of Gruen who befriended the band early in their career and as far as I know took more photos over a longer period of time than any other rock photographer of the era, nor did his career begin or end with his association with The Clash. His New York location provided him access and friendship with a genuine who’s who of that city’s musical high table from Patti Smith or Blondie to The Ramones and Talking Heads to John Lennon after he relocated there (the pair struck up a great friendship). Bob also remained a very near and dear friend to Joe Strummer and never failed to spend time with Joe whenever possible and many of those advebtures provide wonderful colour to Bob’s stories about Joe. It was probably his friendship with The Clash that allowed him to capture so many great images, just so a search online for his work and you’ll see what I mean – or you could just as easily visit his official site. I’m sure you’ll find him in the audience when B.A.D. play New York next month, so keep your eyes peeled. Apart from his remarkable career he has always struck me as a complete gent as well.

Anyway, tomorrow (Mar 24) on Sky Arts 1 @ 11pm GMT there is a special programme about rock photography called ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Exposed’ which will feature a lot of the work of Gruen, I hope there might be an interview in there also so let me know if you see it. As for that ‘n’ in Rock and Roll its a bit like the one in Fish ‘n’ Chips isn’t it? We really must come up with a more 2011 way of expressing it…. R+R? Who knows… I’ve also written a related piece which features another famed Gruen/Clash photo which is linked here on my other blog.

Gruen must be on a press trip to the UK at present so also please check out this interview with him via The Guardian. Enjoy the broadcast if you can, I’ll be back later. Tim  — also — if you’d like to help the blog please use the social media icons to Facebook share the blog, twitter (tweet) or use LinkedIn/Wikio, all the tools for that are located below. Thanks!

Well hello again to you all and thank you for dropping in The Clash Blog for your 1st or 101st visit, either way you’re very welcome and please come again. I’d love to be able to report that the situation in Japan had marginally improved since I last wrote but as you’re all aware conditions there seem to be getting more difficult and even more devastating than we had imagined just a day or two ago. Even at the weekend though when watching some of the many viral videos that were popping up online it was obvious that the extent of loss was going to far exceed the simultaneous information being provided by the media. Incidentally if you’re in the states and are tired of the endless pontification by CNN you can actually get access on their own website to Japanese television coverage on NHK in English if you prefer or just use this link to watch the channel. As I mentioned previously I do hope all of our many readers in Japan and their families are safe and managing to cope during this terrible time.

On a brighter note I managed to score the winning goal when playing football on Saturday which in itself is quite remarkable but what escalates this to the level of disbelief is that I actually did it with my left foot which I usually use just to stand upon, so that was good and it probably won’t get any better than that. Now today wasn’t exactly a quiet day in terms of Clash news either but the main story tonight does end over a year of speculation that I’ve had. The rumour that Big Audio Dynamite were about to reform originally started circulating about this time last year but the idea never made it into second gear due to the commitment by Mick Jones to play live with Gorillaz which for all intents took up more than half of 2010. So when news of the band reforming did eventually come through at the start of this year for live dates it wasn’t the largest shock of the year (that would be me scoring with my left foot). Although I’ve hinted at my curiosity about the potential longevity of a B.A.D. reunion I never came right out and posed the question of would they now be recording new material, I was simply happy at the prospect of them touring for what might be one last time and assumed that Mick had been bitten by the playing live bug after 2010 but this would be short-lived primarily due to the ongoing existence of Carbon Silicon. The idea of the band reuniting wasn’t that far fetched in the first place as Mick’s relationship with both Don Letts and Leo Williams had always been maintained over the years. I presumed things were going well and the commitment looked to be a little deeper when over the last few weeks a series of summer dates in Europe and Japan were announced which in turn would keep the band ‘together’ for a least a few months more. Now it seems that the band plan to actually record a brand new album – although I must stress I can only find articles that refer to an e-mail announcement from Sony music – rather than an actual press release. So while I’ve no reason to doubt the story on the other hand I can’t guarantee that it is accurate. It looks like the original source of the information  was the always enjoyable ‘Slicing Up Eyeballs’ site which constantly provides excellent news about artists who were most prominent in the 1980′s. Bookmark the site as it’s a great source to learn about re-issues, reunions and other bits and pieces. Here’s a link to the post from Slicing Up Eyeballs that was released early this morning which is quoted from beneath:

“Turns out the reunion won’t just be about looking backward: Mick Jones and Co. “have plans in the works for a new Big Audio Dynamite album,” according to a news release e-mailed late Monday by Sony Music promoting the band’s three upcoming U.S. performances. No other details of the project are known”

So I’d suggest that we keep our ears to the ground for further word on this but as a rule I do trust what comes from this particular source. The idea of B.A.D. writing about things in 2011 is definitely one that appeals to me especially when combining the enthusiasm of Don Letts with the added experiences that Mick has had since the band last were a going concern. Let’s hope it’s true and made more official over the coming days, I do have other news about B.A.D. which I’ll save for this weeks podcast which should be on Friday. Incidentally Steve Jones from The Sex Pistols has been confirmed as the master of ceremonies for the B.A.D. gig at the Roxy in Los Angeles (makes sense as he lives there), and speaking of MCs I’d be neglectful to not mention the sad passing confirmed today of Smiley Culture. He was one of the best UK reggae artists/deejays of his era and instantly reminds me of being 17 or 18 again. His recent years were blighted by a lot of difficult times it would seem so instead I suggest you listen to some of his music and read this more positive piece in The Guardian today. He was just 48.

Right, I’ve got a lot to get to tomorrow, so expect more then. Take care – Tim