All The Young Punks: A People’s History Of The Clash By Iain Key
Written from the perspective of those who, for the most part, were there at the time, who experienced the Clash live on stage during 1976 to 1985 and or bought their records.
Testimonies from persons within younger generation zones, some not even born yet, some too young to have caught the group on stage or to have bought the records at the time who, nonetheless, have now come to know, appreciate and love the Clash.
Many first-hand accounts of the group live on stage during their formative years are a genuine thrill to read. Some recollections depict how primitive and raw they looked and sounded at the start, in 1976, still playing small gigs around London as part of the nascent punk scene, before they even made it to the recording stage.
Devotees who followed the group around on their ascendant tours reveal something of the magic the legendary Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon line up conveyed; the electrifying energy exuded on stage, the down to earth, authentic personas which the fans met backstage or out front afterwards chatting amiably, drinking as well autographing all the records and ticket stubs presented to them.
The fans, some who looked upon themselves as outsiders, recall the mass of like minded young punks gathered outside gigs they were attending, and almost immediately felt a great sense of belonging; more tell of the subsequent effect the Clash’s music has had throughout their lives.
The adrenaline blast that followed a kind of nervous excitement as those amazing songs were heard being played out for the first time, live on stage, loud and wild; such anthems as ‘White Riot’, ‘Complete Control’, ‘London’s Burning’, ‘Clash City Rockers’, ‘Police & Thieves’, ‘(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais’, ‘Safe European Home’ and many more, the retelling of those events literally jumping off the page. Likewise, fans’ experiences regarding the group’s early support acts also make for some page turning scenarios; the Coventry Automatics, soon to become Special AKA then the Specials; London’s teenage punk turned dub reggae riot girls the Slits and, unforgettably, New York’s deviant electro terrorists Suicide. With only two members, Suicide’s Alan Vega (vocals) and Martin Rev (keys) would have to endure a pretty brutal reception most nights, with horrendous amounts of verbal and physical bile raining down on them from hordes of narrow minded, ignorant, gob fueled punks. My own recollection from the July 6, 1978 gig at the Kinema Ballroom in Dunfermline, Scotland has also been included here – placed alongside a photograph, aged 16, taken a few months later whilst on stage fronting Edinburgh punk combo the Belsen Horrors, but I digress.
Many more, often truly fascinating reports come from such as those who caught the group’s first concerts on US soil; the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in California at the start of 1979 with the legendary Bo Diddley as opening act, as well as the group’s extended run of shows in New York City at Bonds International Casino in 1981. In addition, eloquent appraisals appear throughout from the likes of renowned punk genre authority Greil Markus, Brian Young from original Northern Irish punk combo Rudi, as well as a spree of gushing, and highly (as well as constructively) critical reviews of the group’s albums from their eponymous 1977 debut, 1979’s much revered London Calling, as well as the following year’s brave triple Sandanista and all the way through to Cut The Crap.
Even as the Clash were beginning to unravel and fragment we also hear of tales, both woeful as well as wonderfully positive from fans, some as young as twelve and thirteen, many of them sharing the love and steadfast appreciation they have for their favourite group. The Clash would play out their final days into the mid 1980s with only Strummer and Simonon remaining from the original four piece line up.
‘All The Young Punks: A People’s History Of The Clash’ is an excellent take on the whole Clash phenomenon, a fairly hefty tome that’s been well researched and put together by Louder Than War magazine’s Iain Key but, ultimately, it’s a book written by the fans, for the fans. Includes an illuminating introductory foreword by Billy Bragg plus a ton of Clash and fan photographs and stacks of period memorabilia. If you really dig the Clash then you’ll likely as not really dig this too!
Lenny Helsing
All The Young Punks: A People’s History Of The Clash By Iain Key (Spenwood Books)
