The Clash need London recognition – a quest begins
I’m on a mission to get The Clash some official recognition in London. Good evening from a very chilly Phoenix. We had a heavy frost overnight and it was one of those rare mornings where I noted the overnight temperatures back home in London were warmer than here in the desert. That’s not right !
A few weeks ago I wrote about a street in Italy being named after Joe Strummer and lamented that nothing similar (be it Strummer or The Clash) has happened in London which seems wrong to me. I’ve sent some emails and the decisions would be need made by the specific London Borough itself but it can and does happen even in London. While getting a blue plaque on a wall is more traditional I still think a street named after The Clash or perhaps a park would be more appropriate. If you’re not familiar with the Blue Plaque it was a program originally started by the GLC (Greater London Council) and now run by English Heritage where a plaque is placed on a wall if someone famous lived in the building at some time. I always remember my sister lived for a while in Kennington (South of the river!!) in a building that was the childhood home of Charlie Chaplin no less and there was an active campaign to get a plaque up…not sure that it ever happened. It always made me pause and think, unlike Chaplin my sister eventually moved to the coast in Suffolk and lives in quiet anonymity. I’ve included an example off to the right and if a former Arsenal Manager deserves one then surely the greatest band to ever come from London merit the same?
In all seriousness I’m going to work on this tenaciously in 2010 and see if I can get assistance from Strummerville to create a petition to submit to a London council for a street name change (or perhaps a park?). Which leaves us – the Clash community to decide where makes the most sense. I can think of fifty places off the top of my head although Camden Town, Highbury, Acton, Shepherds Bush, Ladbroke Grove all spring to mind. Let me know what you think – and we also have to consider which borough council might listen to us. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea might be harder to sway than Hammersmith and Fulham. Also, if by chance you actually work for a London borough and have some contacts or power…I hope to hear from you.
Not letting go of this without some effort! Tim
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Perhaps the best course of action is to decide WHERE the official recognition should be, geographically speaking, and WHAT form it should take….It’s only then that we know which Borough to approach….
Maybe a poll here would be a good start. Re-naming a road I reckon would prove to be a complete nightmare of bureaucracy and red tape..
Pete,
Acton
If nothing else, at least a plaque where Rehearsals Rehearsals was.
Sounds interesting Tim, quite a thing to do
That struck me as a likely choice – coupled with Camden Council (perhaps) being a bit more progressive.
Agreed Pete -
Location first – then go from there. I thought the same thing (street re-naming)….though something more than a bench would be nice.
a plaque on 37 Lancaster Road, where Joe lived for many years.
other than that, I think Rehearsals is a good idea.