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| The Clash rock the Palladium!!!!! |
Do I really care when it was, exactly, that I first heard 'I Fought the Law?' Nope. It was 1982 and the lads were slated to open for my beloved WHO in Toronto, Canada but instead blew them off, to be replaced by Joe Jackson, so they could ponce about on Saturday Night Live. After the reception Joe Jackson got, it's probably a good thing!
History is really lovely. The Pistols were getting all the publicity thanks to Malcolm McLaren and Sid. They couldn't play their instruments but they sure as hell knew how to play a crowd. Instead of making complete asses out of themselves, The Clash, led by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones with Topper Headon on drums and Paul Simmonon on bass, chose a different path. These working class lads had had enough of the way things were in England and were determined to have the last word! As usual, we Americans were WAY behind the curve and didn't see the first Clash record, aptly titled The Clash, for quite a while later... and sadly remixed to make it more palatable for our sensitive ears!
The those jackasses at Epic send along a Hollywood walla to produce Give'em Enough Rope and it seemed like the powers that be were determined to crush them.... Frankly, great songs HORRIBLE production!
With one more chance and forced into signing a deal that the surviving members of the band are STILL trying to unwind, LONDON CALLING arrived! As a huge fan of Mott the Hoople, it came as a significant surprise that the mad hatter himself, Guy Stevens, was at the production helm. While the mulahs at the record company were tearing their hair out, The Clash in a matter of weeks cranked out one of THE GREAT records of the past 30 years....Released in the fall of 1979 in the UK and early 1980 in the United States, London Calling went on to be their biggest success and one the most successful records of the past few decades.
With the opening notes of London Calling, an antehm still on heard on radion stations far and wide, Joe was letting us all know we'd all better strap in! I still get chills when I crank Koka Kola, Wrong'em boyo, and Clampdown!
This show was recorded before London Calling was released and barely a few weeks after its release in the UK. The band were still playing quite a few numbers from Give'em Enough Rope and their debu record with a fair number of new songs that would only increase as the tour went on. Originally this was recorded for radio broadcast which was common in those days. So, without further note, I give you The Clash - Take the 5th!: Live at the Palladium 9/21/79
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