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The Clash

Hermanthegerman

Well-known member
Veteran
To lazy to count, but today is Joe Strummers birthday.

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dramamine

Well-known member
Listening now to "Corner Soul" from the Sandanista! album (much maligned, but maybe my favorite Clash record). Love ya Joe.
 

Hermanthegerman

Well-known member
Veteran
Well, in my hometown, I was one of the first Punks. On the pic, the side before, it´s not well to see, but we were influinced by making things at your own. Not so much the Punks in a kind of Uniform, from the mid 80s. I had an own made IRA badge, bought reggae badge from London, a skullhead t-shirt from the late 70s, a chain which was found anywhere in the parents house. The "thing" with the german flag colours, on my right leg, was from a diving google. OK, the second from right is me. The joint from my friend on the right was fake. :) But since 4-5 month i was smoking hash.

OK, don´t matter, little Sid in moms kitchen :)

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Hermanthegerman

Well-known member
Veteran
Thank you pop-rocks, about do it yourself, the t-shirt was from my mom.

I had the luck to be in London/England 3 times between 79-80. At the first time Dec. 79, I bought 3 LPs, without hearing. I think i had the right vibe. It was,:

The Rutles-The Rutles
The Clash-Give em enough rope
The Stranglers-Rattus Norvegicus.

I still can remember, as I saw the Clash LP Cover, it was fascinating for me and I didn´t know what the music on the 3 Lps was. At home it blew me away.

The next time 6-7 month later, I was in Clacton on Sea, for a week. We were the first german class, with a low education level, that made the last school trip, before ending school, in a foreign country. We slept in a english family house. The father was not amused, that we wanted to go to the cinema and wanted to watch "Rude Boy". Before the cinema were sitting "real old punks", my friend and me, was scary and we took the next cinema show, some hours later. :)
In Clacton I saw the first time, that money is coming out of the wall, called ATM, never saw that before. And, he he, there was badges to buy with "I hate JR" and "I love JR". I didn´t know the meaning and who is the smiling Cowboy on it. A guy told me that it is a tv series character, JR Ewing from Dallas. :) It´s so lang ago, before Dallas.

But my best story is, December 1980. My bro, a friend, who is on the pic, left of me was in London in the Palace Regent Hotel, near Picadilly Circus. We saw that there is a concert with Madness at the Hammersmith Palais. We wanted to see the show around 5 o clock in the afternoon. Armed with a one liter bottle of Pernod. The gig was sold out, we bought tickets for the later show. And as you do it with 15-16, little bit drunk, we climbed the roof of the Hammersmith Palais and drank our Pernod, around us the lights of great London. London was burning. From a hole in a window on the roof, we could see a little bit. I never forget this in my whole life. Than we went in, first Band i forgot, 2nd was Ten Pole Tudor. I was so naiv and shouted they shall play some Pistols Songs. Was knowing the songs from Rock n Roll Swindle and thought they are a Pistols Cover Band and than came the

SHOCK!

Madness came on stage and 2000 Skinheads shouted Sieg Heil and made the Nazi greeting with the right arm. I really was shocked. In Germany unbelievable. The Two Tone movement was anti racistic and the right wing Skins took Madness as their most favorite Band.
After the gig, we hang around at the back door with a lot of Skins, I have to confess, the difference between Skins and Punks wasn´t clear to me at all in that time. Everything was allright, Madness and their girls came out, gave autographs, talked a little, no bodyguards. And than the skins saw the badges of my friend and me, The Clash, Bob Marley, Reggae, IRA, RAF and so on. In that moment we had to run, fast as we could to the next subway,...:biggrin:

And to take the bow back to the Clash, there was a pub, left of the Hammersmith Palais, were my friend and me drank something. Decades later I saw something about Joe Strummer or the Clash on TV, and Joe was excactly in the same pub at one time.

Sorry for my simple english, but I just had fun to write my little Clash/London story.
 

pop_rocks

In my empire of dirt
these are some great memories of a much different time man!
i was just a kid back then but was very into the music
i remember bands like madness and the specials! the sounds was very progressive for its time
early clash often had similar sound with a hint of reggae
/the punk/ska sound was later reborn here in socal
 

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