Had a ticket but couldn't get in initially as i wasn't a student

Posted by tappijoe on September 28, 2012 at 12:45 pm

this brings back memories. i had a ticket but couldn't get in initially as i wasn't a student but Strummer and co. came to the door and we were all let in although we couldn't buy a drink at the bar as you had to show your card so it was a case of grabbing the nearest student. i remember not many people watching the other bands infact i can only remember the Slits (prob in the bar for the others). next time the Clash played i think it was at the Mayfair and the was a cracking night.

The hippy students had lobbed cans at The Damned

Posted by Stuart Forster on September 30, 2012 at 7:42 pm

yes you are bang on there about the students buying the tickets. 2 months earlier there was about a dozen punks at the poly for the stranglers. I'd just turned 16 and still had long hair. the hippy students lobbed cans at the damned and they left the stage. 2 months later, every student was wearing wrapround shades and covered in safety pins.

I remember the fighting at the door

Posted by Merv Simkins on October 7, 2013 at 3:46 pm

Good article. I was at this gig, aged 19 with long hair. It was a revelation, these (the bands, all of them) were people who seemed to be living the whole thing intensely, not just turning up and playing tired licks before retiring to some bar to get pissed and recite Monty Python sketches.

It was like they were from another world. I remember the fighting at the door (actually not so much fighting, iirc, as a couple of concerted failed attempts to bust in) but none inside, and don't recall much spitting. I spoke to Mick Jones as he sat on the edge of the stage (you couldn't have done that with Yes or Camel).

Don't remember the Prefects but all the other bands did make a vivid impression - a raw, inner-city edge and intensity that seemed to be part of them, not just some stage act - I'd never seen that in any rock band.

It was if they'd gone beyond caring about the tedious day-today crap the rest of us clung on to, most of all they didn't seem to give a shit if what they did ‘worked' as music or art, they just did it, and because of that it was brilliant.

It wasn't like a gig - though many other punk/new wave events I saw were - it was like being at an event with stuff going on all around you.

I had friends at the tiem who formed bands, moved to London and/or went for the whole new-wave thing big time pretty much as a result of having been at this one gig.

Everyone had been talking about this for weeks & we weren't disappointed

Posted by Ian on January 11, 2015 at 12:09 pm

I remember this gig very well! I was 17 & my band,The M.P's,had all got tickets through our student following.This was the one everyone had been talking about for weeks & we weren't disappointed.

The sound was raw & sharp, cutting through you with it's harshness.The support bands were a great foil for The Clash.The Slits & Subway Sect weren't your run of the mill,by the numbers ‘punk' bands.They both brought a different sound to the night. (I also can't remember seeing The Prefects…)

There was a bit of fighting in the hall itself,mainly the odd punk being picked on when he left the safety of his group of mates. The worst part of the night was the attack by a group of skinheads.

A group of us were making our way to the bar after The Subway Sect set,via the main entrance hall.All of a sudden the doors crashed open & a group of 20 or so skinheads burst in.They were all dressed in white boiler suits a la Clockwork Orange & started beating on whoever was in their way.It seemed to last for ages but probably only minutes.One of them wearing black gloves,pumped a fist in the air,blew a whistle & they all ran out the door & into a waiting van.Talk about a well planned operation.Afterwards we found cards on the floor that said "Congratulations.You've just been visited by Longbenton Skins".

Sadly,because of this incident,this gig has stayed reasonably fresh in my mind.

Got tickets via a Saturday job at HMV, as we weren't old enough to be students

Posted by Caro on May 20, 2015 at 9:27 pm

Was there (age 15) with my friend Helen who had a Saturday job at HMV records in Northumberland Street and must have got tickets via that, as we weren't old enough to be students.

Do remember that most of the support acts were fairly inaudible, making the Clash stand out. There were certainly some scuffles although as females we managed to avoid being targets. Also remember the mix of punks and ‘geriatric hippy' students, which was fairly amusing.

I was in the men's when someone from the band's crew was arguing with someone from the students union about security

Posted by Ian Swanwick on January 29, 2016 at 7:33 pm

I was a student at the uni and went with my housemates. We had a copy of the album and listened to it a couple of times before we went to get familiar with the band. Actually, we all went thinking it would be a bit of a laugh, but when we got there it was a real shock to see how serious the audience was - a big reality check.

I was in the men's when someone from the band's crew was arguing with someone from the students union about security. The Clash's guy wanted people in front of the stage with linked arms and the other guy was saying no way that's going to be necessary… (it was).