THE CLOCK KEEPS TICKING

IT IS ALWAYS THE TIME !

THE CLA5H - HIT5 BACK

FOR THO5E THAT CAN'T AFFORD THE CLA5H 5OUND 5Y5TEM BOX 5ET, THE CHURCH OF 5ONY HAVE I55UED A 5MALLER BOX 5ET OF THE BAND5 FIVE ALBUM5 AND A 5TENCIL, PACKAGED TO LOOK LIKE A FLIGHT CA5E THAT COULD BE YOUR5 FOR £30, ARE THE5E ALL RE-MA5TER5 OF THE RE-MA5TER5 THAT CAME OUT A FEW YEAR5 BACK? . THEY HAVE AL5O RELEA5ED ANOTHER BE5T OF, CALLED HIT5 BACK. DOES THE WORLD REALLY NEED ANOTHER CLA5H BE5T OF I THOUGHT, THAT WA5 UNTIL I LOOKED AT THE TRACKLI5TING, AND THE CONCEPT BEHIND IT, IT'S A TWO CD SET, 32 TRACK5 IN TOTAL SPANNING THEIR FIVE ALBUM5 AND 5INGLE5, BECAU5E UNLIKE PREVIOU5 BE5T OF'5 THERE ARE 13 TRACK5 THAT WERE NOT RELEA5ED A5 5INGLE5. THE TRACKLI5TING DOE5N'T RUN IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER EITHER, THE ORDER I5 BA5ED ON A 5ET LI5T CHO5EN BY JOE 5TRUMMER WHEN THE CLA5H PLAYED THE BRIXTON FAIR DEAL ON JULY 10^th 1982. BY DOING THI5 (AND PO55IBLY THE REMA5TERING) ALL THE OLD FAVE5 I GREW UP LI5TENING TO 5OUND 5OMEWHAT FRE5HER TO THE5E OLD EAR5 WHEN TAKEN OUT OF THEIR ORIGINAL CONTEXT FROM THE ALBUM5 THEY APPEARED ON. HIT5 BACK HA5 IT ALL; THE PUNK, THE FUNK THE ROCK, THE RAGGA, AND MUCH MORE.  IT AL5O RETAIL5 AT THE AFORDABLE PRICE OF A 5INGLE ALBUM/CD WHICH ALL IN ALL MAKE5 IT THE ONLY CLA5H BE5T OF THAT REALLY MATTER5.

TURNING REBELLION INTO MONEY / CA5H CITY ROCKER5 ?

THE CLA5H'5 5OUND 5Y5TEM BOX 5ET WA5 RELEA5ED THI5 MONTH AMONG5T MUCH DEBATE ABOUT IT'5 MERIT5; WHY REMA5TER THE PA5T, AND THE CO5T; A £100 IN A TIME OF RECE55ION? I5 THI5 IN KEEPING WITH THE CLA5H'5 PRICING POLICIE5 OVER PREVIOU5 RELEA5E5. FOR EXAMPLE THE 5ANDANI5TA TRIPLE ALBUM.

WITH ALL THE EXTRA5 BADGE5, FLYER5 ETC A5 WELL A5 THE MU5IC AND FILM THI5 NEW BOX 5ET I5 THE ULTIMATE CLA5H COMMODITY, BUT ONCE AGAIN THE PA5T HA5 BEEN AIRBRU5HED AND A 5TALINI5T PURGE HA5 ERA5ED CUT THE CRAP FROM THE CLA5H'5 PA5T.. ANYWAY ENOUGH FROM ME HERE'5 5OME WORD5 FROM THE CLA5H :-

“THAT'5 THE GAMBLE WE HAVE TO TAKE. WE BELIEVE WHAT WE'RE DOING I5 RIGHT. IF WE HAD TO BE DICTATED BY WHAT OTHER PEOPLE 5AY IT WOULDN'T BE THE CLA5H.” - PAUL 5IMONON ON 5ANDANI5TA RETAILING FOR LE55 THAN THE PRICE OF A DOUBLE ALBUM 1981.

“IT'5 A BIG FLOP. THE THING I LIKE ABOUT MAKING A 5TAND ON PRICE5 I5 THAT IT'5 HERE AND NOW AND NOT JU5T A PROMI5E. IT'5 DEALLING WITH REALITY: HOW MANY BUCK5 YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE TO PART WITH AT THE COUNTER TO GET IT. IT'5 ONE OF THE FEW OPPORTUNITIE5 WE HAVE TO MANIFE5T OUR IDEAL5, TO MAKE THEM EXI5T IN A REAL PLACE. TO DO IT IN THATCHER5 BRITAIN DURING A RECE55ION WA5 A KIND OF FLAMBOYANT GE5TURE.” - JOE 5TRUMMER ON THE OUTCOME OF THE 5PECIAL PRICING OF 5ANDINI5TA 1981

“HE WHO FUCK5 NUN5 WILL LATER JOIN THE CHURCH.”  

THE CLASH - Live In L.A 1982

1982 was the year that The Clash's outsider values (particularly Joe's) ideologically.... clashed with reality. Drummer Topper Headon had a 'drug problem' and the bands popularity had been growing across the world. By October, Topper had been sacked, and the band were gonna be taking the sound of West London to the stadium stages of America supporting The Who, at the request of Pete Townsend, who was a big fan. It was a case of the old guard meeting the new guard Once again just like when they signed with CBS in 1977, the band were accused of 'selling out' but once again it was about “Reaching more people” and with the Who supports they had a ready made audience to get the message across to, The Clash went out and “Did a job.” and fine job they did to.

The intimacy with the audience may not have been there, but was there anywhere else for the band to go? The previous year, 1981 The Clash had done residencies at Bonds in New York, The Mogador in Paris and The Lyceum in London.

The criticisms and contradictions, were pretty irrelevant because by the 1980's The Clash had broken free from Punk Rocks constraints, but they still tried to remain true, at the Shea Stadium gig hundreds of fans were let in to the after show party.

Did The Clash break the USA, or did the USA break The Clash? It was during this stadium tour that tensions between Strummer and Jones heightened, this would ultimately mean the end of the band when Mick Jones was sacked in 1983 for having “moved away from the original ideals of the group.” The Clash were more than just a band....and if they were just a band, then they were the only band that mattered.

Since The Clash split there has only been one other band with the same mouth and trousers attitude and they are the Manic Street Preachers, and without The Clash there would have been no Manic Street Preachers. Joe may no longer be with us, but his heart still beats with every herbert that picks up a guitar, writes some words and tries to get a message across.

This is a great quality bootleg (with artwork) recorded through the soundboard that I liberated/leached from somewhere/someone who/where I can't remember, respect to whoever and wherever you are, and to everyone else ENJOY!

THE CLASH - Lost Treasures

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted anything by The Clash, time to change that with this mighty fine
collection of ….Lost Treasures i.e. various re-mixes, alternate versions and rarities by the greatest Rock’n’Roll band ever, a band that weren’t afraid to explore new musical landscapes and experiment with different sounds and vibes, with Mikey Dread and Futura 2000, or just be themselves, helping out their friend and music writer Kris Needs and his band Vice Creams, by providing the musical accompaniment on the single Danger Love, giving Rock Against Racism an alternative version of White Man In Hammersmith Palais to put on a RAR compilation album Then there’s the time they backed infamous vice queen Janie Jones as The Lash. This collection contains all those and more, it shows just how on top and ahead of the game they were. Some of their experimentations may have pissed of the punk purists and made them wanna puke, but if punk was about pushing the boundaries then The Clash were true punks from the start to the finish. The only band that mattered! and in the age of bands that say nothing and do even less they still do!! ENJOY!

THE CLASH - Kingston Advice (Bootleg CD)

It’s been a long while since I’ve posted any Clash stuff, so here we go with a copy of Kinston Advice, a bootleg CD released in 2004 by Kombat Records, and a fine affair it is to. Recorded on Nov 27th 1982 at The Jamaican World Musical Festival. It was The Clash’s last gig of that year, and the last one Terry Chimes played with the band, it was also the only time they played in Jamaica, with the band playing a more Reggae/Groove heavy set. They went on in the early hours of the morning, the sun rose as they finished their set, which goes someway to explain the slightly frazzled set, that and the fact that Joe and Mick had been tripping on magic mushrooms while watching Gladys Knight and The Pips performance the previous night. Enjoy it here! (The Clash, not Gladys Knight that is) The gig has been released as several bootlegs, but all apart from this one have ommited I Fought The Law. While I’m on the subject of The Clash, I seem to remember someone wanted the 1978 Ant-Nazi League gig at Victoria Park re-posted, which has been done, just take a trip to the original post by clicking here for a new link.

Essential Ephemera #10

A set of stickers that came free with THE CLASH's This Is England 12" single

A RE-UP AND REQUEST.

THE CLASH and CHELSEA This Is TV Clash, is what it says on the tin; an audio compliation clobbered together from various appearances The Clash made on television shows. Underwraps was released in 1989, not the best album Chelsea have made, but worth a listen. It opens with a cover of The Clash’s Somebody Got Murdered and ends with a ‘live jam’ called Come On, which features a certain Topper Headon on Drums. Click here for The Clash and there for Chelsea.

ROCK'N'ROLL:STAMPED OUT!

It’s official! Rock’n’Roll is no longer the subversive force of rebellion that it used to be. It hasn’t been for years, but with the release of the series of classic album cover stamps its death knell has been given the royal seal of approval. I mean....and I love both these bands, but....The Clash and Primal Scream hardly royalist/establishment loving outfits now are/were they. Who’d have thought back when London Calling and Screamadelica were released what the future would hold for these two classic albums. Still I suppose it could be seen as some sort of ultimate subversion, I dunno....How the times have changed!

THE CLASH - "We are not a teeny bop puking group!"

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything, and it’s been a while since I posted any Clash stuff. So here as the saying goes; I’m gonna kill two birds with one stone, not that I advocate cruelty to animals, it’s just a saying. Anyway today’s offering is 4 tracks of prime time 1981 Clash recorded live and shown on Austrian TV as part of a program about The Clash. I say 4 tracks, but it’s more like 3 and a bit as Clash City Rockers fades in, but you do get Somebody Got Murdered, London’s Calling and Safe European Home in their entirety and some choice words from Joe Strummer. In the great Rock’n’Roll tradition of Johnny Thunders and Sid Vicious, Topper Headon puked up on an airport terminal carpet. The Clash had flown to Vienna to promote their appearance on Ohne Maulkab a state TV show for teenagers. At the press conference arranged for the band, one journalist asked about the puking incident and the resulting response is a classic/bizarre and rather aggressive/defensive rant by Joe. Not the finest words that he ever said, but funny as fuck. Looking at the state of Topper in the photo, I don’t think it was the in-flight food that had made him ill, and Joes response/reaction to the comment suggests that Toppers heroin use was becoming a strain on the band. Hear it all for yerself here! Once again Thanx goes out to the good folk over at The Clash forum for the recording.

THE CLASH - Live @ Tokyo Sun Plaza 1/2/82 (Complete Show)

When The Clash visited Japan for the first time, they were treated like “western gods” Their gig at Sun Plaza, Tokyo on 1st Feb 1982 is one of the bands most bootlegged concerts, thanks to decent quality Japenese TV and Radio recordings. Various parts of the gig have appeared on the market under such glorious titles as Che Guevara, Death or Glory and Give 'Em Enough Dope, but, this here! recording is the whole gig, a 23 track career spanning live collection, the choice of songs was in part to acknowledge the fact that Japan had waited a long time for the band to visit them. A great recording that came via The Clash forum, whose collection of live Clash recordings should make sure that no Clash fan need buy an overpriced bootleg from eBay.

THEY'RE TEACHING THEM HOW TO BE THICK!

I Was thinking the other day it was coming up to the anniversary of Joe Strummers death, and I wondered… If he was still us, what he’d make of all the shit that’s been going on over the past couple of years, continued war, economic crisis, state surveillance, you know the stuff, I then thought perhaps, more importantly, who was the kids of today and adults of tomorrow’s Joe Strummer. Who’s speaking out for them, and to them about all the shit!?

THE CLASH - Out Of Control, Nov 83 Demos

BURNING LONDON - The Clash Tribute

On the day that Barack Obama won the US elections, and the day in 1605 when Guy Fawkes entered the British Houses of Parliament with the intention of blowing them up, here’s a little something for ya; A compilation of mainly American artists, including No Doubt, Rancid, Indigo Girls and Moby amongst others covering tunes by The Clash; a band that politicised a generation of British kids, took America by storm and continue to influence the music and politics of young people across the world to this day. Whether this record is a fitting tribute to The Clash, I’ll leave that for you to decide, the stand out track for me is The Afghan Whigs’s haunting take on Lost In The Super Market, that features Topper Headon on Drums. Worth the £1.99 that I paid for it last week, from a second hand shop in The Forest Of Dean, for that track alone, so it’s gotta be worth a click of yer mouse, who knows you might prefer some of the other offerings.

THE CLASH - Live @ Victoria Park, Hackney 30/4/78

It's been a while since I've posted any Clash stuff, probably cos I'm spoilt for choice courtesy of the good folk at the If Music Could Talk forum, so this is a bit of a lucky dip, and out of the hat comes an audience recording from the last gang in town at the Anti Nazi League Carnival, were they played to a crowd of up to 100,000 politically charged punters united against the growing far right movement of the time. The recording aint the best, but the passions there and as an artifact its well worth the click and save as. Alright so you don't get to see Joe in his infamous Red Brigade T-Shirt, you can see that on Rude Boy, but you do get to hear Jimmy Pursey joining the gang for White Riot, mind you, you can see and hear that on Rude Boy as well. Anyway I'm starting to type shite so it's time to go, but before I do that best let yer know where to get this from, and that place is right here right now. Well not exactly now cos DivShare is fucking about and this is the third and last time I'm gonna try, before using one of their competiters. Who said too much choice was a bad thing, shit I think I have in several posts, oops better go now, here ya go here's the link, cos I'm chatting even more shit than before. NO!, NOT AGAIN, FUCK YOU! divShare. I'm off elsewere. Right lets's try again...Quickshare nah bit of a contridiction in terms there, right back to the ever reliable Sendspace it is. YES! RESULT, here's the link. See ya good people. HERE'S A NEW LINK TO DOWNLOAD THIS GIG

THE CLASH - A Tale Of Two Cities.

It was June the year was 1981 and Britain was in the midst of rioting on the streets of major cities like London, Bristol and Liverpool. Where were The Clash? They were in New York getting flak from hardcore fans for not being back home "throwing bricks" This was the White Riot they had sung about. Babylon was Burning and they were in NYC meeting up with film stars, directors and other glitterati. What was going to be a seven night residency at Bonds Casino turned into a two week stay in the Big Apple, due to fire laws and concerns about overcrowding. The rioting in Times Square prior to the opening night, when fans with tickets were denied access may not have had the same ring to it as what was going on in the UK, but it all helped build the myths and legends surrounding The Clash. They took no prisoners at these shows, supported by rap artists, graffiti artists, joined on stage by poets and political activists. This is when and where The Clash took of in America, they had 'em eating out of the palm of their hands, global domination wouldn't be long. Spurred on by the spectacle of the New York shows, in Sept 1981 The Clash assaulted Paris in a similar fashion, playing a residency at the Mogador Theatre, with the same galvanising effect on fans and musicians alike. These set of shows cemented The Clash as a band that really did matter. Anyway enough, you've read the words now listen to the music:

THE CLASH - Bonds 1981 (FM Broadcast)

THE CLASH - Up'N'At 'Em (Best of Mogador Paris Sept 1981)

a CLASH with THE ENEMY

Had a bit of an eco-politikal weekend, so didn't get a chance to post some more Clash stuff, so here we go. Mind you this wasn't the stuff I'd planned to post. Anyway look at this as a bonus download to The Clash On TV post. It's from Michel Druckers French TV Show, broadcast on 28/9/77; 3 tracks: London's Burning/Complete Control and 1977. (Thanks to Laxman, from you know where for this) I'll get round to posting what I'd planned; The Clash's Tale Of Two Cities soon. Anyway, talking of THE CLASH, there's a band from Coventry called THE ENEMY, who are treading the same path as The Clash did 30 years ago. Their debut LP We Live And Die In These Towns was released today. Thanx to the wonders of t'internet I've been listening to it for a couple of weeks now, ain't too bad as new bands go, and will probably speak to a generation of kids like The Clash did back in the day. Musically The Enemy are a hybrid of The Clash/The Jam and don't let this put you off Franz Ferdinand, lyrically they are very socially aware. Next to Send Away The Tigers by the Manic Street Preachers (who they've been touring with) it's one of my favourite new releases of the year. I'm not gonna post the album, but there's a bunch of early singles, B-sides and session stuff for ya included in this post. Enjoy.

This is TV Clash!

The Clash always refused to appear on Top Of The Pops, the price they paid was the bizarre sight of Pans People dancing to Bankrobber dressed in skimpy black and white hooped skirts and tops. We won't dwell on that, it's probably on youtube if you really wanna see it. Moving swiftly on...This audio download is a compilation of TV shows they did appear on: SO IT GOES(granada 1977), SOMETHING ELSE(bbb 1978), ALRIGHT NOW(tyne tees 1979), FRIDAYS(abc tv 1980), MIXER TV(italian tv 1980) SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE(nbc 1982) 22 tracks of high octane rock'n'roll and reactionary chat. From Capital Radio to Should I Stay or Should I Go. A career spanning set of monochrome moments. Enjoy. It's just a click way: http://www.sendspace.com/file/55ixho

Ooops nearly forgot to thank every one on The Clash forum who made available the stuff from which I compiled this.

THE CLASH - BBC In Concert @ Leicester De Montfort Hall 1977

30 years ago this month, The Clash left London for a trip round a bleak unemployment ridden Britain on the White Riot tour. Their debut LP had been released a month earlier. This was the tour that rammed the 'punk explosion' into the face of the nation. By all accounts it was an orgy of incendiary rock'n'roll, the tour bus was raided on numerous occasions and the band gave their hearts, souls, flesh and blood on every stage in every town they played. The halls were filled with disaffected kids, who'd been given no future but now had found something to believe in, some positivity in a nation of negativity. At the Rainbow Theatre, London, the seats were ripped up the tabloid headlines screamed PUNK WRECK . This recording is from Leicester and was broadcast by the BBC as part of their In Concert series it is the best sound quality of the early Clash playing the songs from their debut album it captures the energy and excitement and fun of the moment. When Mick Jones sings "what a Norman" instead of "what a liar" at the end of Deny, he's referring to their tour bus driver who was called Norman, bet he's got a few tales to tell. Wanna have a riot of yer own? well, it's just a click away: http://www.sendspace.com/file/tno3vn

NEW LINK OVER TO YER LEFT IN RE-UPS/REQUESTS BIT.

'Going To The Disco' wiv THE CLASH @ The Roundhouse, London 5/9/76

5 gigs into their career and their last one with Keith Levine. From these days in 1976 you can see why THE CLASH became one of the few bands that have mattered. On stage early evening, before the bar had opened, polite applause from the assembled denim clad, sitting on their butts hippies. Their indifference saw Joe responding with his soon to be customary confrontational audience baiting banter. The bands anti-apathy, pro-action stance started here. The 40 minute set was a high octane rock'n'roll affair and showed what the future would be like. The final song 1977 sounds vital, a statement of intent and the audience has now become alive. After the gig Bernie Rhodes reportedly told the band they "were shit." Judge for yourself. This bootleg is an important piece of Clash history; 6 of the 15 songs have never been released and weren't performed live for much longer. The recording is brought to you via the good folks on The Clash Forum. Ignore at your peril, enjoy at your leisure: http://www.sendspace.com/file/g1ic31