Joe Elliot from Def Leppard

An unlikely witness to the gig was Joe Elliot from Def Leppard who wrote this in a recent condolence message;

"I remember seeing The Clash at Sheffield Top Rank in 1977 & thinking ... Wow!!! ...compared to what was usually on at the Top Rank they couldn’t really play (in the sense of what was the norm back then) but the excitement that came off the stage was phenomenal!!! ...

The Clash were fantastic

Martin: "I can remember seeing the Clash in 77,hundreds queuing,the most unbelievable sights you've ever seen in your life.punk girls wearing bin liners and not much more.

Live the Clash were fantastic,they were out of tune,Strummer couldn't sing but it all came together in those tremendous songs.Watching them steam into my favourite Clash song 'Safe European Home' was an experience ill never forget. I saw them 3 times at the Top Rank and once at The Lyceum." Martin

The most exciting rock’n’roll experience to hit any stage ever

The Top Rank’s were chosen by the agency for this tour. This time Sheffield.

The recording begins in classic fashion; Mick’s quiet friendly greeting “Alright, how you doing” followed by an angry loud Joe “Alright cut down on the fuckin’ gobbing, listen when I want to gob, I gob on the floor, right!” No audience bullshit here!”

Joe then screams a blood curdling “London’s Burning” and The Clash explode into a magnificent searing performance. With hardly a gap Mick’s plays the intro to Complete Control before Joe spits out the lyrics. The “I don’t trust you etc” lyrics not sung even though the song was released back in September. Mick’s guitar playing is terrific and inventive driving the song throughout.

1977, which like all the 8 songs, is fast, raw punk rock at its best. The energy is amazing throughout. “This is a new one, gonna start by Topper” is Joe’s intro to Jail Guitar Doors, which suffers the worse distortion but like all the other performances is hugely enjoyable.

Clash City Rockers is next “This is our next single for what it’s worth” with Joe screaming out “Rock, Rock, Clash City Rockers repeatedly over the ending”

Next it’s the highlight amongst highlights; “This is a song collected for collectors entitled Capital Radio” The song demonstrates how The Clash by this tour were beginning to extend out songs, using reggae style dropouts to drop the ferocious pace down to drum and bass and then explode again into the climactic ending. As the song drops midway Joe begins a great improv “One night I was alone, I’m feeling bad, feeling sad, all over town, no music going down…got no drugs got no booze, so I turned on the radio you know, I got nothing at all, there was nothing on the radio”. Joe repeats the line over and over getting more and more manic and intense as the guitars roar back and bring it to a breathless end.

Protex Blue, not the greatest Clash song but it sounds excellent here, fast and driven, great raw rock’n’roll. It was though we discover here the first song performed live by The Clash as Mick introduces it “This is the first one we did last time..we were here at the Black Swan”.

The bootleg ends in magnificent style with a stunning Police & Thieves. Joe’s introduction is classic; “Alright, if you don’t mind here’s your joke reggae half hour, OK Mon!” The performance just builds and builds, with the interplay between Mick and Joe’s guitar perfectly captured. Joe adds a line “You buy your ticket, you always pay”.

Then for the first time they drop down the pace and Mick solo’s brilliantly before Joe comes in with screams and cries, veins bulging as he works himself up into a contorted frenzy as the music builds and builds. Suddenly the pace drops back to bass and drums and Joe improvises lyrics as the music builds again “started out on a dirty old road…what am I doing here..look at old Mick Jones and Paul Simonon”

Huge thanks to whoever brought this recording into circulation. It’s a magnificent document and ample evidence if any further were needed that The Clash were the most exciting rock’n’roll experience to hit any stage ever.

The invited everybody back to their hotel after

'77 was with Richard Hell & the Voidoids and the Lous, and was manic, pure 'punk', backstage after the gig Mick was all over the place taking photos, Joe was very ill, white, exhausted, but still gave time to us kids for photos. Mick Jones took my address to send me some prints but apparently they never came out (no flash or some other such problem).

They really were the friendliest band I met at the time and invited everybody back to their hotel after. I couldn't go (my mum was waiting in the car to take me home - no, really! I didn't tell them that though). I was 15 at the time. Changed my life (that old cliché). The concert was on a par with The Ramones two months later for excitement, energy. Redian2

RichardB The venue of a magnificent gig by the clash, not sure of the support act on the night, Richard Hell and the Voidoids. Top gig

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