As we note in our last entry, everybody's doing the crowdfunding fandango these days -- because, let's face it, if the established outlets did such a great job of making everybody's dreams come true, we wouldn't have so many creative people making their case against their respective industry in print, would they?
Be it that as may, however, my friend and co-author, Mark Andersen, and myself, are reaching a critical point with our book, WE ARE THE CLASH: THE LAST STAND OF A BAND THAT MATTERED (Akashic Books), for which we just launched our own Kickstarter.org campaign on Friday, May 3. That date is meaningful to us, since it coincides with the 28th anniversary of the Clash's busking tour of northern Britain and Scotland, something that no other big-time rock band has ever done. (The indie level, as ever, is a different story; Black Francis and Julian Cope are two artists from that realm who've emulated the concept.)
That point aside, there's more to the story than the romantic image of Joe Struummer and his merry men rolling up to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Leeds, Newcastle, Nottingham and York (to name some of the locations that they barnstormed). As Joe himself said, at the time -- if you couldn't reach people...armed with little more than guitars, and drumsticks...how could you possibly call yourself a band? Not for nothing did Joe say, "Songs get scared, and they disappear."
Above all else, however, the busking tour was about connecting to people, as guitarist Nick Sheppard told me: "It wasn't really about music. Certainly, for us, it was more about being in the real world." That ideal is an equally important part of WE ARE THE CLASH, as well, and one that we hope to reinforce -- once we complete the work.
In keeping with that spirit, check out the link below for our campaign; suffice to say, all contributions are welcomed, whether they're financial, logistical, or material. Please pass on the link, as well, to anyone who might be interested in this story... which aims to be the final reckoning on this little-understood period of Clash history.
KICKSTARTER CAMPIAGN LINK:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1957992306/we-are-the-clash-the-last-stand-of-a-band-that-mat?ref=email
(****5/12/13: NOW POSTED: Highlights from the latest spoken word/poetry session (4/27/13) at the St. Joe Library (hosted by Marnie Heyn), on the "Spoken Word Tracks" page.
ALSO: New commentary and recollections in "WHAT FOLKS ARE SAYING ABOUT UNFINISHED BUSINESS"...just hit the "Archive" button to take you there.
NEW SECTION!: "Featured Reviews": Notable books, CDs, DVDs and records made by other artists (than myself) will go there...such as my look at A VICIOUS LOVE STORY, for example.
MOVED/CHANGED: "Band Interviews" are now divided by last name, or subject heading (A-L, and M-Z), so jclick the appropriate header to find what you want. That's where the Rude Kids interview (and Raggare sidebar) resides now, following its extended re-posting on the homepage. Whew!
Comment capability is back for now, but stick to the topic. If that doesn't happen...I'm taking the toys away again! :-) In the meantime: stay cool.****
ALSO: New commentary and recollections in "WHAT FOLKS ARE SAYING ABOUT UNFINISHED BUSINESS"...just hit the "Archive" button to take you there.
NEW SECTION!: "Featured Reviews": Notable books, CDs, DVDs and records made by other artists (than myself) will go there...such as my look at A VICIOUS LOVE STORY, for example.
MOVED/CHANGED: "Band Interviews" are now divided by last name, or subject heading (A-L, and M-Z), so jclick the appropriate header to find what you want. That's where the Rude Kids interview (and Raggare sidebar) resides now, following its extended re-posting on the homepage. Whew!
Comment capability is back for now, but stick to the topic. If that doesn't happen...I'm taking the toys away again! :-) In the meantime: stay cool.****
KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN #2: "WE ARE THE CLASH" BOOK
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KICKSTARTER CAMPAIGN: REVISITING LIONEL ROGOSIN'S LAST FILM ("ARAB-ISRAELI DIALOGUE")
Amid the usual onslaught of junk emails, online come-ons and spam dribble from some hustler in Montenegro who can't wait to make you rich, a fair number of interesting notes 'n' quotes make it over the transom at Chairman Ralph's HQ.
The latest example follows below, hailing from Michael Rogosin, son of late independent filmmaking maverick, Lionel Rogosin (1924-2000) -- who enjoyed something of a mini-revival recently on Turner Classic Movies, which aired several of his keynote films, including "On The Bowery "(1955), "Come Back Africa" (1960), "Good Times Wonderful Times" (1964), and "Black Roots" (1970).
Notably absent from that listing is "Arab-Israeli Dialogue" (1974) -- the tenth and last film that Rogosin made in his lifetime -- which he shot, out of necessity, in the basement of his production company, Impact Films...if that's not an example of the DIY ethic, what is?
On a less romantic note, however, Rogosin had to proceed this way because he couldn't get funded by any of the established outlets of the time (sound familiar to anyone out there?). But that's a different discussion for a different time; here's a chance to help update -- and expand -- the original artistic vision that Lionel Rogosin laid out in this film, 40 years ago. The relevant details follow below.
MICHAEL ROGOSIN'S MESSAGE (5/03/13)
"Dear Friends, the day has come to share my work with you. I have started a countdown on a Kickstarter Project to raise funds for a very important series of films based on my father's last film, 'Arab Israeli Dialogue'.
"I will be sending out messages regularly and hope that you will share this with your friends and family as we need to reach many people interested in promoting peace to get this funded quickly and finished quickly! Please check this out, send your thoughts and contribute. Any contribution will help us get there. Many thanks Michael
"Please share this with as many people as you can. Here is the link that will explain the project :
"http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1881116046/a-modern-arab-israeli-dialogue
"Please share this with your social networks or anyone interested in peace and the possibility to see my father's late and important work +++more.
"It is really very little money as I have funded a good deal of the work myself but can no longer manage. Please help ! Many thanks, Michael Rogosin."
THE OFFICIAL LIONEL ROGOSIN WEBSITE:
http://www.lionelrogosin.org/
TURNER CLASSIC MOVIE PROFILE:
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/568367%7C0/Lionel-Rogosin-3-13.html
The latest example follows below, hailing from Michael Rogosin, son of late independent filmmaking maverick, Lionel Rogosin (1924-2000) -- who enjoyed something of a mini-revival recently on Turner Classic Movies, which aired several of his keynote films, including "On The Bowery "(1955), "Come Back Africa" (1960), "Good Times Wonderful Times" (1964), and "Black Roots" (1970).
Notably absent from that listing is "Arab-Israeli Dialogue" (1974) -- the tenth and last film that Rogosin made in his lifetime -- which he shot, out of necessity, in the basement of his production company, Impact Films...if that's not an example of the DIY ethic, what is?
On a less romantic note, however, Rogosin had to proceed this way because he couldn't get funded by any of the established outlets of the time (sound familiar to anyone out there?). But that's a different discussion for a different time; here's a chance to help update -- and expand -- the original artistic vision that Lionel Rogosin laid out in this film, 40 years ago. The relevant details follow below.
MICHAEL ROGOSIN'S MESSAGE (5/03/13)
"Dear Friends, the day has come to share my work with you. I have started a countdown on a Kickstarter Project to raise funds for a very important series of films based on my father's last film, 'Arab Israeli Dialogue'.
"I will be sending out messages regularly and hope that you will share this with your friends and family as we need to reach many people interested in promoting peace to get this funded quickly and finished quickly! Please check this out, send your thoughts and contribute. Any contribution will help us get there. Many thanks Michael
"Please share this with as many people as you can. Here is the link that will explain the project :
"http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1881116046/a-modern-arab-israeli-dialogue
"Please share this with your social networks or anyone interested in peace and the possibility to see my father's late and important work +++more.
"It is really very little money as I have funded a good deal of the work myself but can no longer manage. Please help ! Many thanks, Michael Rogosin."
THE OFFICIAL LIONEL ROGOSIN WEBSITE:
http://www.lionelrogosin.org/
TURNER CLASSIC MOVIE PROFILE:
http://www.tcm.com/this-month/article/568367%7C0/Lionel-Rogosin-3-13.html
UNKNOWN PLEASURES/1 TOP CLASS MANAGER BOOK REVIEWS
No doubt about it: Joy Division's credentials in the Great Influential Band Sweepstakes are impeccable. Like many charter members of that particular club, Joy Division didn't stick around for long - just three short years (1977-80) - and, in purely commercial terms, didn't approach anything like a gold rush until frontman Ian Curtis hung himself in May 1980. (Indeed, it's worth recalling that the band's best-known song, "Love Will Tear Us Apart," could only be heard in live performance until April 1980 - when the band filmed a video for it - and, even then, didn't appear as a single until June of that year.)
Even so, it's impossible to imagine the post-punk and alternative landscape happening without Joy Division - to name two of the more obvious musical strands that bear their fingerprints. However, the band's reluctance to explain themselves, let alone take a public stance on its music, invited plenty of room for speculation. Of course, Joy Division's awkwardness became its collective calling card, as former bassist Peter Hook gleefully recounts his new memoir, UNKNOWN PLEASURES: INSIDE JOY DIVISION (It Books).
That reputation came well-earned, Hook writes: "If the audience went wild, we'd start with 'I Remember Nothing,' just to wind them up. One thing that punk taught was to be challenging. One thing that punk taught you was to be challenging - always try to break the rules, forge your own way." Of course, that ethic is lacking in much of today's pop landscape; as Hook realizes when he describes watching some best-forgotten "battle of the bands - years after his old band's demise - and waxes his disgust at the contestants' readiness to do whatever the industry guests deemed commercially acceptable.
"They've missed out that growing-up stage of being bloody-minded and fucking clueless," Hook protests. Indeed, it's tempting to imagine what pop Machiavellis like Simon Cowell might tell an up-and-coming Ian Curtis today: "God, your lyrics are utterly depressing...'She's Lost Control?' How will you get a 12-year-old girl to buy that? And where'd you get that baritone monotone, the bottom of a gravel pit? Lose that, and the funny little dance, too." (For a surreal example of how the industry has tried to catch up, see the link below.)
Thankfully, Curtis's intensity made such talk moot, although the journey was hardly a picnic; the band didn't finally shed their day jobs until October 1979, when a 24-date support slot on the Buzzcocks tour finally gave Curtis, Hook, drummer Stephen Morris and guitarist Bernard Sumner the freedom to chase the rock 'n' roll dream. Not surprisingly, the picture that Hook paints owes as much as to Spinal Tap - cue Curtis and company raining mice, maggots and feces down on the Buzzcocks - as it does to J.G. Ballard, or William S. Burroughs, to name two of the singer's oft-quoted literary inspirations.
Elsewhere, Curtis comes across as a combustive mixture of self-belief and self-destruction, and - it must be said - capable of compartmentalizing his life to an astonishing degree. However, for fans posing the Million Dollar Question - why didn't anybody listen harder to such lyrics as, "A loaded gun will set you free, so they say" - Hook responds: "You just see your teammate doing his bit; he looks and sounds up to speed, so, great, that leaves you to concentrate on your own side of things. There's no analysis going on."
The heads-down, get-on-with-it mentality of the band's Manchester roots didn't encourage such discussions, it seems, which explains the contrasting Curtis portraits we've seen in Control, and 24 Hour Party People (Sam Riley's smoldering slow burn, or Sean Harris's teeth-baring aggression? Take your pick).
In the end, however, Hook has given us a book that reads well on both levels, Casual listeners who know little beyond "Love Will Tear Us Apart" will most likely enjoy those Spinal Tap-ish, what-goes-up-must-come-down moments - such as a truly surreal encounter in McDonalds, where the person serving Hooky turns out to be Steve Brotherdale, one of the band's now-you-see-'em-now-you-don't drummers.
Joy Division trainspotters will likely head to the five "Timelines" - which take us from the band's punk-era birth, as Stiff Kittens, to Curtis's death, and the surviving members' continuation as New Order- and the track-by-track overviews of its two albums, Unknown Pleasures, and Closer, where the late Martin Hannett's mad production genius is examined at length. Whether you agree with Hook's viewpoint, or not, he's got the storyteller's gift of gab going here, which is only a good thing.
Of course, every band benefits from careful guidance, which makes 1 TOP CLASS MANAGER (Manchester District Music Archive) an appropriate companion volume - since it's drawn from the notebooks of Joy Division's late manager, Rob Gretton. Compiled by longtime partner, Lesley Gilbert, the notebooks' contents leave little doubt that Gretton was the band's true "X Factor," figuratively, and literally.
Like his proteges, Gretton kept public statements to a minimum, preferring to think out loud on paper - where we see him methodically tally up recording and touring costs, making to-do lists, or batting around ideas. (Unknown Pleasures could also have been called Aura Of Violence, House Of Correction, or Symptoms Of Collapse; New Order prevailed among a shortlist of names that also included Communion, and Year Zero.)
Trainspotters will undoubtedly enjoy perusing these particular details, and the occasions when Gretton lays out his core philosophy ("no long tours - no TV and radio unless we agree - no press interviews/photos - unless we agree - no publicity - promo - unless we agree"). Gretton's celebrated toughness is also never far away, such as his drafted rebuttal of a damage claim ("I still maintain that the small tear was present when the van was hired and I admit no responsibility whatsoever").
What's left out is equally telling, as well; in the next few months after Curtis's death, entries shrink to terse one-liners (May 19 states, "JOHN PEEL: 'NEW DAWN FADES'"). Gradually, though, the business of getting New Order up and running takes precedence, and the pages grow full again. The final page ends with a reminder to transfer the band members' bank accounts - except for Curtis - with the addition of guitarist/keyboardist Gillian Gilbert, whose arrival changed the previous all-male equation.
Originally published in 2008, 1 TOP CLASS MANAGER is well worth your time to track down - if nothing else, it'll give you a rare glimpse of the nuts-and-bolts business of management, and what it takes to bring a band into the public arena. Through both these books, in fact, Joy Division emerges intact from its Teutonic fog of mystery as real people, with all the faults and weaknesses that status implies- which makes a far more interesting story than the "Ian Curtis Died For You" myth, anyway.
Highlights: Why Your Should Never Meet Your Heroes Dept.: Ian Curtis approaches William S. Burroughs after a gig in Amsterdam, and asks for a free book, only to hear: "Get lost, kid!" (UNKNOWN PLEASURES)
Lowlights: None, dammit!
Rating: *****/***** (Both books)
FURTHER INFORMATION
UNKNOWN PLEASURES:INSIDE JOY DIVISION:
http://www.amazon.com/Unknown-Pleasures-Inside-Joy-Division/dp/0062222562
1 TOP CLASS MANAGER
http://www.1topclassmanager.co.uk/
JOY DIVISION'S WEEK ON "X FACTOR" (2010):
http://www.newsbiscuit.com/2010/11/20/x-factor-viewers-thrilled-by-‘joy-division-week'/
A PERMANENT RECORD (TAKE TWO): JULIAN YEWDALL LOOK BACKS ON THE 101'ERS (4/22/13)
A WORD FROM THE AUTHOR: JULIAN YEWDALL
Could you please let your readers in the U.S. know that this book is a limited edition of only 1,000 copies, and at present it is very unlikely there will be a second edition.
The cheapest way to obtain a copy is through Amazon.co.uk. The current selling price is £25 + £6.98 postage to the U.S.A. (this translates as $53.29 U.S.) the normal cost of postage to America is currently in excess of £17.00 so this is a very good price.
Unfortunately the postal rates here have just increased yet again. and due to some sharp practices by wholesale suppliers in the U.K. the book price is only likely to increase in the future, so anyone waiting for the price to come down will have a very long wait. It is also unlikely there will ever be a U.S. edition.
Sadly the cut-throat world of the publishing industry is making it harder and harder to make a fair profit and sell at a reasonable price, so don't be surprised to see it rising to £35 - £40 per copy in the near future!
...AND NOW: PART TWO OF OUR INTERVIEW
CHAIRMAN RALPH (CR): As you know, there was a fair amount of bitterness when Joe joined the Clash, and shed his past overnight – suddenly, the man who'd been playing Chuck Berry songs was sporting a jacket that read, “CHUCK BERRY IS DEAD.”
How did you feel about him leaving? How did your own artistic journey evolve after your 101'ers experiences?
JULIAN YEWDALL (JY): Joe's departure to join the Clash came around the same time as the street eviction plans became known, so suddenly everything was thrown into question. The priority was to find somewhere else to live, fast, something we had all done together several times before, but the big difference now was their was there was no unifying goal, and in the harsh reality of the days that followed it felt like the end of something very special.
The whole street took on the feeling of a sinking ship as people started to move out. I remember meeting Sid Vicious, and Paul Simonon and Keith Levene, who were taking over rooms in the house as others vacated them,
I was preoccupied with opening up a new squat in Oakington Road W9, Joe was keeping a low profile, he wanted to avoid people he knew would question his decision to quit The 101'ers.
I could understand why Joe had joined the Clash, he knew that Punk was going to be the next big thing, and was about to over-write everything he had been doing with The 101'ers, and if he was not a part of it then it would be a huge opportunity missed. What was harder to understand were the stories that he had signed up to a manager, was being told what to wear and write and seemed to to be giving away his independence in the process, according to 101'ers drummer, [Richard] Dudanski who was invited to join the fledgling Clash, Rhodes was insistent on erasing all aspects of Strummer's "supposedly dubious past", including any acknowledgement of The 101'ers, Dudanski declined the job offer.
I decided to keep my distance during those very early days of the Clash, I had my own issues to deal with at that time, plus by now photographers were swarming all over this new up and coming band, and so it wasn't till a couple of months later backstage at the RCA gig that I started to photograph them for the first time.
By now I'd gone to study photography, film and television at London College of Printing and eventually went on to work as a freelance film editor for television documentaries, and then later as a news photographer in the Gulf State of Bahrain.
But I still followed what Joe and the Clash were up to, and continued to photograph him from time to time over the years whenever possible.
CR: Your photos capture the Clash at a crucial part of their development: was Bernie Rhodes really “the man with the plan,” as some writers suggest, or did they have a good grasp of what they wanted to do from the beginning? When did they become “The Clash,” in capital letters, as it were?
JY: I think Bernie Rhodes was definitely a man with a plan, but I've no idea what that was? Bernie was trying to 'create' a band along the same lines as his associate Malcolm McLaren, this involved ideas from the Situationist movement promoting absurdist and provocative actions to enact social change, and attract publicity, something it succeeded in doing very well. But, ultimately it led to all kinds of problems within the band, which has been well documented elsewhere, I think the relationship between Joe and Bernie was very complex and went right to roots of just whose band it was? clearly though, Joe's input was absolutely crucial to making it happen.
All I know is that when I first saw them perform live they came very much ' fully formed ', the sound, the look, the words, the way they stood on stage, all this had come together in just a few months and was truly impressive, plus, they were just fantastic to photograph.
CR: How did Joe eventually come to see his 101'ers past, especially as the Clash began to embrace many of the roots rock styles that distinguished his former band?
JY: Just four months before his death, Joe was discussing the re-release of ELGIN AVENUE BREAKDOWN (REVISITED) with Richard Dudanski, it would feature newly unearthed live tracks that showcased Strummer's raw R&B beginnings and it indicates just how important those early experiences still were to him. He was always looking at other styles of music, taking ideas and re-working them into something new, you can see it in the history of the Clash, the music he wrote for film, and in the Latinos and Mescaleros.
CR: I love the images of the Slits perched on the rooftop of the Elgin squat – talk about one image saying a thousand words! What qualities made them a distinctive band of the era – other than being an all-female band, which most writers focus on, to the exclusion of everything else?
JY: The Slits were true originals, they embraced punk with an enthusiasm you could feel, and the fact that they were an all-girl band meant they came up with lyrics and music that was refreshingly different to what the male bands were doing. I was lucky enough to photograph them right from the start when they were at their most inventive, crazy and risk taking. On stage their early performances were high energy, verging on the edge of control, and they looked just great on stage.
CR: Of course, the whole “dole queue rock” mythology is an integral part of the Clash's story, as well. What's the biggest misperception that writers tend to have about that aspect of the band?
JY: One misperception is that squatting and living on the dole was just a comfortable West London 'scene', when in fact it was often a hard and stressful lifestyle. Insecure by its very nature, the future truly was 'unwritten' in those days, living in damp sometimes dangerous buildings, with primitive cooking facilities, no hot water, no bathroom, one toilet shared by ten or twelve people, bedbug and flea infestations, blocked drains, harassment by police and authorities, all this took its toll and there were casualties of all kinds. Add to this mix some drugs, alcohol, thievery, music, bulldozers and barricades and it sometimes had the feel of living in a disaster zone !
CR: As the cliché goes, history always repeats itself. Nearly 40 years after punk's celebrated Year Zero, the most noxious elements – from overblown pop, to repressive legislation, and the yawning chasm between rich and poor – are, if anything, worse than the first time around. Looking back – what did punk achieve?
JY: When punk first arrived here in the U.K. it articulated an already existing deep seated frustration with what young people were being offered, as entertainment, as work and as a future, and for a brief period appeared to really threaten the existing system, with its anarchic rejection of accepted practices, and do-it-yourself accessibility, it was not unrelated with what was already happening here in more localised ways with squatting, and why for some of us it didn't appear to be anything that new.
McLaren and Westwood with The Sex Pistols, and Rhodes with the Clash, and others I'm sure, cleverly put form to these ideas and led the media and record companies round in circles for a while, which was very funny and had the added bonus of creating a massive amount of publicity and sizeable amounts of money. But of course it wasn't long before it became appropriated and re-packaged into yet just another product, but that isn't to say punk didn't achieve anything, it gave millions of young people a means with which to question and challenge what was going on, and most importantly in a form that was possible, and the d-i-y spirit that punk came to symbolise lives on as strong as ever and continues to inspire to this day.
CR: Musically, of course, we seem to have circled back to a handful of guys getting together in a room, deciding what the whole country will get to hear – what's the most important thing that today's crop can learn from the 101'ers, or the Clash?
JY: Self-belief can take you a long way, there are so many great artists and musicians who were turned away by the powers that be, only to later succeed spectacularly on their own terms.
The big difference now is we're living in a digital world, which has brought with it huge creative opportunities at the same time as wiping out skills that have existed for centuries,and the difficulty now is how to be seen and heard in this ocean of choice and possibilities ? That's something the younger generations will figure out, but I think if you are authentic and use real life as your source of inspiration, and have a plan that puts you in control, then expect set-backs and failures, build them into your long term project, they're part of it, and if things start going right, keep your feet on the ground and your wits about you, and never sign a contract when first presented, take it away and read it again and again until you really understand, and then, sign it ? maybe ?
CR: And, lastly, as always – the million-dollar question: What's next for you?
JY: Putting together 'A Permanent Record' was the final part in a very long term project, and now it's complete I'm looking forward to doing some travelling again, I always feel inspired by journeys taken for adventure. I plan to do another photographic book, and I'm also returning to the idea of making a film, so lots to do.
Could you please let your readers in the U.S. know that this book is a limited edition of only 1,000 copies, and at present it is very unlikely there will be a second edition.
The cheapest way to obtain a copy is through Amazon.co.uk. The current selling price is £25 + £6.98 postage to the U.S.A. (this translates as $53.29 U.S.) the normal cost of postage to America is currently in excess of £17.00 so this is a very good price.
Unfortunately the postal rates here have just increased yet again. and due to some sharp practices by wholesale suppliers in the U.K. the book price is only likely to increase in the future, so anyone waiting for the price to come down will have a very long wait. It is also unlikely there will ever be a U.S. edition.
Sadly the cut-throat world of the publishing industry is making it harder and harder to make a fair profit and sell at a reasonable price, so don't be surprised to see it rising to £35 - £40 per copy in the near future!
...AND NOW: PART TWO OF OUR INTERVIEW
CHAIRMAN RALPH (CR): As you know, there was a fair amount of bitterness when Joe joined the Clash, and shed his past overnight – suddenly, the man who'd been playing Chuck Berry songs was sporting a jacket that read, “CHUCK BERRY IS DEAD.”
How did you feel about him leaving? How did your own artistic journey evolve after your 101'ers experiences?
JULIAN YEWDALL (JY): Joe's departure to join the Clash came around the same time as the street eviction plans became known, so suddenly everything was thrown into question. The priority was to find somewhere else to live, fast, something we had all done together several times before, but the big difference now was their was there was no unifying goal, and in the harsh reality of the days that followed it felt like the end of something very special.
The whole street took on the feeling of a sinking ship as people started to move out. I remember meeting Sid Vicious, and Paul Simonon and Keith Levene, who were taking over rooms in the house as others vacated them,
I was preoccupied with opening up a new squat in Oakington Road W9, Joe was keeping a low profile, he wanted to avoid people he knew would question his decision to quit The 101'ers.
I could understand why Joe had joined the Clash, he knew that Punk was going to be the next big thing, and was about to over-write everything he had been doing with The 101'ers, and if he was not a part of it then it would be a huge opportunity missed. What was harder to understand were the stories that he had signed up to a manager, was being told what to wear and write and seemed to to be giving away his independence in the process, according to 101'ers drummer, [Richard] Dudanski who was invited to join the fledgling Clash, Rhodes was insistent on erasing all aspects of Strummer's "supposedly dubious past", including any acknowledgement of The 101'ers, Dudanski declined the job offer.
I decided to keep my distance during those very early days of the Clash, I had my own issues to deal with at that time, plus by now photographers were swarming all over this new up and coming band, and so it wasn't till a couple of months later backstage at the RCA gig that I started to photograph them for the first time.
By now I'd gone to study photography, film and television at London College of Printing and eventually went on to work as a freelance film editor for television documentaries, and then later as a news photographer in the Gulf State of Bahrain.
But I still followed what Joe and the Clash were up to, and continued to photograph him from time to time over the years whenever possible.
CR: Your photos capture the Clash at a crucial part of their development: was Bernie Rhodes really “the man with the plan,” as some writers suggest, or did they have a good grasp of what they wanted to do from the beginning? When did they become “The Clash,” in capital letters, as it were?
JY: I think Bernie Rhodes was definitely a man with a plan, but I've no idea what that was? Bernie was trying to 'create' a band along the same lines as his associate Malcolm McLaren, this involved ideas from the Situationist movement promoting absurdist and provocative actions to enact social change, and attract publicity, something it succeeded in doing very well. But, ultimately it led to all kinds of problems within the band, which has been well documented elsewhere, I think the relationship between Joe and Bernie was very complex and went right to roots of just whose band it was? clearly though, Joe's input was absolutely crucial to making it happen.
All I know is that when I first saw them perform live they came very much ' fully formed ', the sound, the look, the words, the way they stood on stage, all this had come together in just a few months and was truly impressive, plus, they were just fantastic to photograph.
CR: How did Joe eventually come to see his 101'ers past, especially as the Clash began to embrace many of the roots rock styles that distinguished his former band?
JY: Just four months before his death, Joe was discussing the re-release of ELGIN AVENUE BREAKDOWN (REVISITED) with Richard Dudanski, it would feature newly unearthed live tracks that showcased Strummer's raw R&B beginnings and it indicates just how important those early experiences still were to him. He was always looking at other styles of music, taking ideas and re-working them into something new, you can see it in the history of the Clash, the music he wrote for film, and in the Latinos and Mescaleros.
CR: I love the images of the Slits perched on the rooftop of the Elgin squat – talk about one image saying a thousand words! What qualities made them a distinctive band of the era – other than being an all-female band, which most writers focus on, to the exclusion of everything else?
JY: The Slits were true originals, they embraced punk with an enthusiasm you could feel, and the fact that they were an all-girl band meant they came up with lyrics and music that was refreshingly different to what the male bands were doing. I was lucky enough to photograph them right from the start when they were at their most inventive, crazy and risk taking. On stage their early performances were high energy, verging on the edge of control, and they looked just great on stage.
CR: Of course, the whole “dole queue rock” mythology is an integral part of the Clash's story, as well. What's the biggest misperception that writers tend to have about that aspect of the band?
JY: One misperception is that squatting and living on the dole was just a comfortable West London 'scene', when in fact it was often a hard and stressful lifestyle. Insecure by its very nature, the future truly was 'unwritten' in those days, living in damp sometimes dangerous buildings, with primitive cooking facilities, no hot water, no bathroom, one toilet shared by ten or twelve people, bedbug and flea infestations, blocked drains, harassment by police and authorities, all this took its toll and there were casualties of all kinds. Add to this mix some drugs, alcohol, thievery, music, bulldozers and barricades and it sometimes had the feel of living in a disaster zone !
CR: As the cliché goes, history always repeats itself. Nearly 40 years after punk's celebrated Year Zero, the most noxious elements – from overblown pop, to repressive legislation, and the yawning chasm between rich and poor – are, if anything, worse than the first time around. Looking back – what did punk achieve?
JY: When punk first arrived here in the U.K. it articulated an already existing deep seated frustration with what young people were being offered, as entertainment, as work and as a future, and for a brief period appeared to really threaten the existing system, with its anarchic rejection of accepted practices, and do-it-yourself accessibility, it was not unrelated with what was already happening here in more localised ways with squatting, and why for some of us it didn't appear to be anything that new.
McLaren and Westwood with The Sex Pistols, and Rhodes with the Clash, and others I'm sure, cleverly put form to these ideas and led the media and record companies round in circles for a while, which was very funny and had the added bonus of creating a massive amount of publicity and sizeable amounts of money. But of course it wasn't long before it became appropriated and re-packaged into yet just another product, but that isn't to say punk didn't achieve anything, it gave millions of young people a means with which to question and challenge what was going on, and most importantly in a form that was possible, and the d-i-y spirit that punk came to symbolise lives on as strong as ever and continues to inspire to this day.
CR: Musically, of course, we seem to have circled back to a handful of guys getting together in a room, deciding what the whole country will get to hear – what's the most important thing that today's crop can learn from the 101'ers, or the Clash?
JY: Self-belief can take you a long way, there are so many great artists and musicians who were turned away by the powers that be, only to later succeed spectacularly on their own terms.
The big difference now is we're living in a digital world, which has brought with it huge creative opportunities at the same time as wiping out skills that have existed for centuries,and the difficulty now is how to be seen and heard in this ocean of choice and possibilities ? That's something the younger generations will figure out, but I think if you are authentic and use real life as your source of inspiration, and have a plan that puts you in control, then expect set-backs and failures, build them into your long term project, they're part of it, and if things start going right, keep your feet on the ground and your wits about you, and never sign a contract when first presented, take it away and read it again and again until you really understand, and then, sign it ? maybe ?
CR: And, lastly, as always – the million-dollar question: What's next for you?
JY: Putting together 'A Permanent Record' was the final part in a very long term project, and now it's complete I'm looking forward to doing some travelling again, I always feel inspired by journeys taken for adventure. I plan to do another photographic book, and I'm also returning to the idea of making a film, so lots to do.
A PERMANENT RECORD (TAKE ONE): JULIAN YEWDALL LOOK BACKS ON THE 101'ERS (3/10/13)
How appropriate that today's entry coincides with the original UK edition of THE CLASH, which appeared 36 years today (4/8/77).
Reams and reams of long-winded testimonials have been written about how that album changed our lives, permanently altered the musical landscape as we knew it, inspired us to take on the world, blah-blah-blah, and so forth...you can fill in your own example here, I'm sure.
However, as trite as those sayings appear in cold print, that's exactly how the story played out. Once you heard something like THE CLASH, there was no way that you could imagine yourself shrugging your shoulders, and "settling" for something, ever again...less was not an option anymore.
Before the Clash, of course, stood the 101'ers, and the man at the center of both those particular whirlwinds: Joe Strummer, whose gap-toothed delivery provided an instantly recognizable imprint. However, it's only recently that the 101'ers' "hot beat music" has been gotten a fresh appraisal in the light of day...and, as it turns out, stands up well, not least because of the man who coined such distinctive titles as "Letsgetabitofrockin".
Julian Yewdall witnessed the 101'ers' peaks and valleys, which he also documented relentlessly with his camera. A small slice of these photos appeared in 1992, which Julian self-published as JOE STRUMMER WITH THE 101'ERS & THE CLASH. Though I was well into my embryonic research for a proposed bio of the band, like any fan, I naturally snapped it up right away.
Now comes A PERMANENT RECORD: JOE STRUMMER WITH THE 101'ERS/CLASH/LATINO ROCKABILLY WAR/SLITS (West Nine, which -- at 352 pages -- amplifies and expands the original treasure trove of previously unseen images that its out-of-print predecessor contained.
Suffice to say, if you have even a passing interest in the issues that Julian's camera records -- whether it's the squatting movement, the transition from pub to punk rock, or Joe's development as a performer -- you need to have this book, simple as that.
Naturally, I had to seek out Julian again -- after a 20-year absence of contact, give or take 12 months -- and he took the time to answer some questions that percolated in my head, once I'd finished the book.
CHAIRMAN RALPH (CR): As you state in your introduction, many of these photos take place in the context of the squatting movement – what's the most important thing that you want people to understand about it now?
JULIAN YEWDALL (JY): That it's just as relevant today as it was back then. The number of people homeless now is an even bigger problem and the global economic crisis is creating a situation where more and more ordinary people are being pushed into conflict with state authority and the rule of law.
CR: What kind of legacy did the movement leave, in light of the authorities spending so much time and money to suppress it?
JY: Well there's a whole history of knowledge, tactics and information to assist people in organising and resisting state intimidation, back then it was done using photocopied leaflets, street meetings and the phone, today we have the internet. Ironically almost forty years after I first started squatting, the British Cameron/Conservative government finally brought in a law last year to make squatting residential property a criminal offence. The fact is only a very tiny minority of people ever bothered to squat such properties, most homeless people look for places they can occupy, improve and live in for a reasonable period of time; breaking into someone's house while they are away for the weekend was never viable solution for the majority of squatters. But that didn't stop politicians and the media from creating fear and anxiety in the middle classes with such stories in order to further denigrate people who squatted.
The law does not apply to factories, industrial buildings, empty schools, hospitals, and other public buildings, and I'm happy to report that just today a few streets away I discovered a huge Adult Education Centre that had been closed down for over a year has now been occupied. The rhythmic thud of a bass drum drifting through the open window took me back to days gone by, but none of this stuff has gone away.
CR: Looking back, the 101'ers were one of hundreds, if not thousands, of local bands looking to make a mark – what qualities made them stand out, at the time?
JY: Being a squatting band living in 'survival mode' with little to lose, toughened up and contributed to a certain 'edge', plus they came into being with a ready made following of squatters and events to play at, which helped in making the transition over to playing pubs and other events.
CR: How did Joe come across, when you first met? Some accounts claim that he was ambitious (even a bit ruthless) from the start – others state that it took him awhile to find his footing, even in the group. Which impression is closer to the mark?
JY: When Joe came to live in 101, he came through connections at 23 Chippenham Road, so he was vouched for if you like, and accepted into the house. At that time living in the house was a bit like joining a gang, in that you had to trust and sometimes watch out for each other. Music became a unifying factor, though I cannot remember who's idea it was to start a house band? Alvaro was the most experienced musician, he had already had a band in Chile, Antonio got hold of a drum kit, Joe continued to practice guitar, and the band kept getting bigger. Somewhere along the line tensions within the band regarding where it was going and who was leading it started to arise, and it was then that Joe's ambition/ruthlessness surfaced in the form of 'a certain coldness' towards people he came to perceive as obstacles in his achieving success. At the time it wasn't easy to explain, though now in retrospect, and having read Chris Salewicz's biography of Joe, I think he was applying similar strategies that he'd used at public school.
Joe never openly revealed much about his past, I knew about his brother's suicide, and that he had come to London from Wales, but his main focus was always on the band, I would talk of wanting to travel to far away countries and he would act totally disinterested, never letting on he had already been to some of these places, I guess he felt he would have to explain too much ?
CR: Musically, which performers or bands exerted the biggest impact on Joe's songwriting style?
JY: That's hard to say, I know that he was listening to a lot of the early blues masters like Robert Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Little Walter, and Sonny Boy Williamson, tracing back to the real roots of rock 'n' roll, then there were people like Chuck Berry, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and the Stones. The 101'ers would go up the road to see Dr Feelgood at The Windsor Castle on the Harrow Road, other bands like The Kursaal Flyers and Eddie And The Hotrods, and Ducks Deluxe were also around. Joe was writing his own songs within the first four or five months of being in the band, Keys To Your Heart, Mr Sweety of The St.Moritz, Rabies From the Dogs of Love, Motor Boys Motor, Silent Telephone were all songs inspired by actual people and events.
CR: Within a short time, it seemed that Joe was writing a lot of songs, some of which haven't seen the light of day – are there any plans to issue them, such as the famous tape that Joe made, and gave to you, to guard his copyrights? I'm sure that hearing him play those songs (like “Keys To Your Heart”) solo would be revelatory!
JY: The original audio tape and typed lyrics were given to Joe's wife and now reside in the Joe Strummer Foundation Archive, I don't know of any plan to release them, but who knows ?
There's a huge amount of material that Joe left behind, some of it has already been shown in various exhibitions, and I've included some of this in the book, but there is still more that I hope will appear in one form or other in the future.
CR: In hindsight, it might be argued that the 101'ers didn't accomplish much, beyond getting “Keys To Your Heart” released – what kind of footprint did they leave, from your perspective?
JY: It's true that the output in terms of records was small, I think Ace records released 'Keys To Your Heart' / 'Five Star Rock'n'Roll Petrol in 76, and four years later Sweet Revenge'/ 'Rabies From The Dogs Of Love.
Only in 1981, five years after the band broke up did the L.P. 'Elgin Avenue Breakdown' on Andalucia Records finally appear, but listen to it today and it still sounds as fresh, raw and utterly compelling as ever.
Joe learned and developed so much with The101'ers and later it helped direct the Clash on beyond the initial wave of Punk into creating their own unique style that embraced influences from far and wide.
What The 101'ers left behind is a rough-cut diamond, forged out of blood, sweat and tears that shines a light not only on Joe Strummer, but also that water-shed period of musical and social history. It's a rare treat just waiting to be discovered.
Reams and reams of long-winded testimonials have been written about how that album changed our lives, permanently altered the musical landscape as we knew it, inspired us to take on the world, blah-blah-blah, and so forth...you can fill in your own example here, I'm sure.
However, as trite as those sayings appear in cold print, that's exactly how the story played out. Once you heard something like THE CLASH, there was no way that you could imagine yourself shrugging your shoulders, and "settling" for something, ever again...less was not an option anymore.
Before the Clash, of course, stood the 101'ers, and the man at the center of both those particular whirlwinds: Joe Strummer, whose gap-toothed delivery provided an instantly recognizable imprint. However, it's only recently that the 101'ers' "hot beat music" has been gotten a fresh appraisal in the light of day...and, as it turns out, stands up well, not least because of the man who coined such distinctive titles as "Letsgetabitofrockin".
Julian Yewdall witnessed the 101'ers' peaks and valleys, which he also documented relentlessly with his camera. A small slice of these photos appeared in 1992, which Julian self-published as JOE STRUMMER WITH THE 101'ERS & THE CLASH. Though I was well into my embryonic research for a proposed bio of the band, like any fan, I naturally snapped it up right away.
Now comes A PERMANENT RECORD: JOE STRUMMER WITH THE 101'ERS/CLASH/LATINO ROCKABILLY WAR/SLITS (West Nine, which -- at 352 pages -- amplifies and expands the original treasure trove of previously unseen images that its out-of-print predecessor contained.
Suffice to say, if you have even a passing interest in the issues that Julian's camera records -- whether it's the squatting movement, the transition from pub to punk rock, or Joe's development as a performer -- you need to have this book, simple as that.
Naturally, I had to seek out Julian again -- after a 20-year absence of contact, give or take 12 months -- and he took the time to answer some questions that percolated in my head, once I'd finished the book.
CHAIRMAN RALPH (CR): As you state in your introduction, many of these photos take place in the context of the squatting movement – what's the most important thing that you want people to understand about it now?
JULIAN YEWDALL (JY): That it's just as relevant today as it was back then. The number of people homeless now is an even bigger problem and the global economic crisis is creating a situation where more and more ordinary people are being pushed into conflict with state authority and the rule of law.
CR: What kind of legacy did the movement leave, in light of the authorities spending so much time and money to suppress it?
JY: Well there's a whole history of knowledge, tactics and information to assist people in organising and resisting state intimidation, back then it was done using photocopied leaflets, street meetings and the phone, today we have the internet. Ironically almost forty years after I first started squatting, the British Cameron/Conservative government finally brought in a law last year to make squatting residential property a criminal offence. The fact is only a very tiny minority of people ever bothered to squat such properties, most homeless people look for places they can occupy, improve and live in for a reasonable period of time; breaking into someone's house while they are away for the weekend was never viable solution for the majority of squatters. But that didn't stop politicians and the media from creating fear and anxiety in the middle classes with such stories in order to further denigrate people who squatted.
The law does not apply to factories, industrial buildings, empty schools, hospitals, and other public buildings, and I'm happy to report that just today a few streets away I discovered a huge Adult Education Centre that had been closed down for over a year has now been occupied. The rhythmic thud of a bass drum drifting through the open window took me back to days gone by, but none of this stuff has gone away.
CR: Looking back, the 101'ers were one of hundreds, if not thousands, of local bands looking to make a mark – what qualities made them stand out, at the time?
JY: Being a squatting band living in 'survival mode' with little to lose, toughened up and contributed to a certain 'edge', plus they came into being with a ready made following of squatters and events to play at, which helped in making the transition over to playing pubs and other events.
CR: How did Joe come across, when you first met? Some accounts claim that he was ambitious (even a bit ruthless) from the start – others state that it took him awhile to find his footing, even in the group. Which impression is closer to the mark?
JY: When Joe came to live in 101, he came through connections at 23 Chippenham Road, so he was vouched for if you like, and accepted into the house. At that time living in the house was a bit like joining a gang, in that you had to trust and sometimes watch out for each other. Music became a unifying factor, though I cannot remember who's idea it was to start a house band? Alvaro was the most experienced musician, he had already had a band in Chile, Antonio got hold of a drum kit, Joe continued to practice guitar, and the band kept getting bigger. Somewhere along the line tensions within the band regarding where it was going and who was leading it started to arise, and it was then that Joe's ambition/ruthlessness surfaced in the form of 'a certain coldness' towards people he came to perceive as obstacles in his achieving success. At the time it wasn't easy to explain, though now in retrospect, and having read Chris Salewicz's biography of Joe, I think he was applying similar strategies that he'd used at public school.
Joe never openly revealed much about his past, I knew about his brother's suicide, and that he had come to London from Wales, but his main focus was always on the band, I would talk of wanting to travel to far away countries and he would act totally disinterested, never letting on he had already been to some of these places, I guess he felt he would have to explain too much ?
CR: Musically, which performers or bands exerted the biggest impact on Joe's songwriting style?
JY: That's hard to say, I know that he was listening to a lot of the early blues masters like Robert Johnson, Blind Willie McTell, Little Walter, and Sonny Boy Williamson, tracing back to the real roots of rock 'n' roll, then there were people like Chuck Berry, Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and the Stones. The 101'ers would go up the road to see Dr Feelgood at The Windsor Castle on the Harrow Road, other bands like The Kursaal Flyers and Eddie And The Hotrods, and Ducks Deluxe were also around. Joe was writing his own songs within the first four or five months of being in the band, Keys To Your Heart, Mr Sweety of The St.Moritz, Rabies From the Dogs of Love, Motor Boys Motor, Silent Telephone were all songs inspired by actual people and events.
CR: Within a short time, it seemed that Joe was writing a lot of songs, some of which haven't seen the light of day – are there any plans to issue them, such as the famous tape that Joe made, and gave to you, to guard his copyrights? I'm sure that hearing him play those songs (like “Keys To Your Heart”) solo would be revelatory!
JY: The original audio tape and typed lyrics were given to Joe's wife and now reside in the Joe Strummer Foundation Archive, I don't know of any plan to release them, but who knows ?
There's a huge amount of material that Joe left behind, some of it has already been shown in various exhibitions, and I've included some of this in the book, but there is still more that I hope will appear in one form or other in the future.
CR: In hindsight, it might be argued that the 101'ers didn't accomplish much, beyond getting “Keys To Your Heart” released – what kind of footprint did they leave, from your perspective?
JY: It's true that the output in terms of records was small, I think Ace records released 'Keys To Your Heart' / 'Five Star Rock'n'Roll Petrol in 76, and four years later Sweet Revenge'/ 'Rabies From The Dogs Of Love.
Only in 1981, five years after the band broke up did the L.P. 'Elgin Avenue Breakdown' on Andalucia Records finally appear, but listen to it today and it still sounds as fresh, raw and utterly compelling as ever.
Joe learned and developed so much with The101'ers and later it helped direct the Clash on beyond the initial wave of Punk into creating their own unique style that embraced influences from far and wide.
What The 101'ers left behind is a rough-cut diamond, forged out of blood, sweat and tears that shines a light not only on Joe Strummer, but also that water-shed period of musical and social history. It's a rare treat just waiting to be discovered.