Good Evening – just a short post tonight but I wanted to share a quick summary from the Rich Kids reunion show last night. I so wish I could have been there as it sounds like it was brilliant on so many levels. The good news? Two friends of the blog (namely Stuart and photographer Pete) were there and have kindly provided a summary of the event and photos to boot! Thanks to the two of you and let me hand it over to Stuart:

Well, what a fantastic night at the Rich Kids bash. You’ll be pleased to know that Carbon Silicon were back with a bang – only four songs – Global War on Culture, The News, Why do men fight and What the fuck. All delivered with fun and energy which reminded me why this band is soooooo SPECIAL . A very special mention for Rusty Egan who guested on drums and was so powerful – highlight being his magnificent performance on the News – wow did he give some welly. An awesome Why do Men fight also deserves a mention – a good old rambling epic – like the old Carbon Silicon days – went on for ages but totally captivating. Other highlights of the evening include Viv Albertine (God she looks good – Oil of Olay adds next surely?) wooing the crowd with “Confesions of a Milf” , Ian Broudie and Glen Matlock with The Illusions belting through Wreckless Eric’s Whole Wide World, Glen again with Patti Palladin leading a singlaong – ohhh so many great moments…… As for the Rich Kids – well what can i say – they played with enormous energy and it was hard to believe they hadn’t been together for 30 odd years. Another special mention for Midge Ure, as his vocals were outstanding. Most enjoyable though was seeing these guys having such a great time – it was quite touching. Encores were A Rousing All or Nothing with the band being joined by Mick TJ and Gary Kemp and having a generally riotous time finishing with an absolutely belting Rich Kids – honestly it was fantastic and I feel so lucky to have been there – God these old punk rockers know how to put on a show, have a laugh , and create a brilliant atmosphere – I’m proud to say thats my kinda music. It was also nice to see Pete the Snapper albeit briefly and I noticed with disappointment the demin quota was at a more manageable level than the Breaking Rocks bash in October – mind you who am i to talk – it was so cold i had a cardigan on under my jacket – so Val Donican jibes my way next time Pete! I’ll try and write this up properly when i get a moment but hopefully this’ll give a bit of an idea – all the best – Stu

Mick Jones looking dapper for 2010. Image Courtesy Peter Stevens

Stu – thank you…that’s a lovely capture of what sounded like a uniquely amazing night. Pete – Thanks as always for doing what you do best! I’ll sort out more photos when we talk….. Stu – I’ve got that breaking rocks article to post soon….

Video clip above and to the right ~ worth a look for a hidden Clash track mixed in there!

Tim

Hello again, back on the work treadmill are we then? Me too…but that’s alright gives you a sense of moving forward at least. I get really annoyed with people moaning about their jobs especially when so many people right now would kill for any sort of employment. Right, so where we then?….on January 1st I wrote part one of the look back at The Roxy Club in Covent Garden. The short lived venue holds a unique place in music history in London as it not only was the first club purely for ‘punk’ but it brought Don Letts to the Clash fold and the list of bands that played on that stage is something else. Tonight I wanted to write about those bands and close with details of the Clash concert that took place there on Jan 1, 1977. Prior to that (and I’m hoping he won’t mind) but in the first post I asked if anyone had attended the Roxy during the all too brief existence of the club. Age precluded me from ever going when it was open(excuses excuses) but Karl, a good friend of the Clash Blog wrote in with some memories that I’d like to share beneath:

“Cheers for the write up on the Roxy, Tim. Many memories brought back. I went there probably a dozen or so times while Andrew had it. Saw the Damned, Johnny Moped, Banshees, the Slits, the Adverts and several others (Though sadly, not the Clash) in the first 100 night period. I’d have made it to a lot more had I not lived so far away. Went a few times in the second period but it was never the same. It was tiny, probably took no more than 200/250, maybe even less but couldn’t say for sure. You went up 2/3 steps and on the right there was a small ticket office. Then you came to the upstairs section where I seem to remember a bar before you got to the staircase down to the main room. There was an 18″ or so stage at the end where the stairs were and not much else. I think everything was hand painted black matt emulsion apart from the mirrors and (I think) red upholstery. The shape of the room, as far as I can remember was almost square with a small bar not too far from the stairs or stage. I don’t remember any draught beer/lager or spirits/wines, just cans of lager, usually Fosters. It was a bit of a dive really but it was our dive and I loved it. As I said earlier, living in North Oxfordshire we didn’t get down there as often as we’d have liked, but I never had a bad night there in that first period”

Thanks so much for that Karl!! As with so many things from 1977/8 there were very few photographs taken of the venue, I guess your average punk fan was hardly shuffling around central London with a Kodak instamatic and then doing the speedy hand shake to develop the image. Of the hundreds of concerts I’ve been to I’ve never taken a photograph either, now when you go it’s a bloody nightmare with every tosser holding their phone up above their head to capture images or video from the first song to the last. Rant over…Karl you did a great job of helping me picture the Roxy in its prime. Love the cans of lager aspect only, those were the days at probably 40 pence a tin?

Now as for that opening spell at the club which has picked up the moniker of 100 nights of magic over the years. In truth when you see the

Opening night at the Roxy, courtesy Erica Echenberg

diversity of punk acts that performed during the opening months of the club it spells out not only the unique upstart of the movement but look at how many acts remained viable after the scene fragmented and grew (in some cases to global stature) by the time the 1980′s rolled round. In addition to The Clash these acts also played in those opening few months; Buzzcocks, Chelsea, Eater, Sham 69, The Damned, The Jam, The Lurkers, The Only Ones, The Police, The Slits, The Stranglers, Wire and XTC. Just an amazing list. One of the rare images captured in the venue was taken on Dec 21, 1977 at the first night of live music at the club. The picture to the right was taken by Erica Echenberg and (with thanks to The Guardian) shows Nick Kent the Journalist, Brian James, John Lydon and Mark P the editor of Sniffin’ Glue. (Sniffin’ Glue needs a feature or two…who can help?). What a brilliant photo though. I’ll wrap up the Roxy review with details on the only appearance The Clash made at the venue and how ties with Don Letts were formed plus a link to a great interview I think you’ll enjoy.

Cheers – I hope you also may enjoy the video below.

Boxing Day….how did this year wind down to it’s final embers so rapidly? 2009 has been a bit of a roller coaster, in the States some of the optimism that came with the election last November was rapidly replaced by the political truths that it’s a country very divided at present. In Britain it seems Gordon Brown is now the lamest of lame ducks (based on the media). Now that I don’t live in England any longer it’s hard for me to gauge – is the faith lost in the labour party as complete as it appears? Are the general public clamouring for a return to the Conservatives, or was it simply because Labour sold everyone out? Your input is encouraged!! Things don’t look a lot better in Europe either to be fair and I think the vast majority of people will welcome a new year and new decade perhaps more fervently than usual. My primary interest in school was economics and while understanding how markets work is somewhat handy – this decade has taught me that nothing will substitute for confidence. At present confidence is horribly lacking, but for the most part I mostly know only people in England, Ireland, North America and Australia. Is it the same everywhere? Things have been bad before of course, but a recovery usually involved returning to a process not unlike whatever brought us into the mire. This time it’s very different, a global market is not sentimental or forgiving and the West (in particular the US) hasn’t worked out how to grow an economy that is entrenched in the service sector, when currently nothing would help the economy more than having something (other than technology) that it could export, or reduce imports. Many of the contractions seen here in the last decade mirror what occurred in Britain and France in the 1980′s when manufacturing was all but eliminated and the regional impacts of the recession(s) were very pronounced.

I don’t proclaim to have any answers but I think a real sea change in thinking is needed so that education, infrastructure and local manufacturing are all given the adrenalin needed to make the next decade less reliant on borrowing and property investment being people’s main paths to stability. In true terms can the West reduce their addiction to consumerism while taking on board the higher taxation needed to create a more stable society? I fear the answer is no as long-term thinking and planning are seen as irrelevant by so many. If the boon of the 1990′s was properly invested however don’t you think that the last few years would been much less painful? Food for thought but hardly a happy message to start off 2010. I’m hopeful that education and investment in the green economy can provide legitimate dividends, if health care is taken away from a profit making (lawsuit buffered) enterprise and seen as a basic right that might help also. I was just reading some analysis for the next decade and it got me thinking….bloody thinking always does this eh? I’ve been reading a book this week that shared this horrible fact; per capita the US has 3 to 8 times more lawyers per person than much of Western Europe, when will people equate that to being an inflation causing fact that adds to the cost of all products by default. There’s a lot to fix but reducing litigation (especially in the medical field) would be a huge step forward. There’s more to 2009 than politics and the economy of course so I’ll try and review my favourite albums of the year in the days ahead too!

Alright, I’m sure you didn’t come here to read all that so back to The Clash. (I’m not trying to give the blog more politics….just allow me to to ramble from time to time).

This makes for better reading as the Scotsman reviews the Joe Strummer memorial concert at King Tut’s the other night. I never went to King Tut’s when in Glasgow but heard it’s a good venue. Anyway it sounds a splendid time was had by all as the assorted bands blistered their way through some Clash classics for the assembled diehards. They also label the audience as primarily over 40 males….don’t know what they mean!

Interesting interview with Ari Up of the perennially overlooked Slits appears on the Clashmusic site (no..it’s not what you might hope – clashmusic that is). The paths that crossed with The Clash are many and the sheer indulgence within other music forms is what keeps their music sounding fresh. 2009 has seen them back in the public eye once more so that’s got to be a good thing.

Carbon Silicon, image courtesy GLK photo

Finally Mick Jones and Tony James bring you a very enjoyable Christmas Video Diary from the Carbon Silicon site. Looks like the boys were having a great time along Oxford Street in the snow, popping into HMV, Selfridges and Starbucks (whoops) along the way. A few bevvies were consumed and a merry time was had. The video is below and the link to the story on their official site is here. I love that Tony James has a love of technology which suggests we might hear more frequently from the band in the New Year.

That’s all for now….oh…well done today Chelsea….!