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September 2021 - added news clippings, personal comments and photo.
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The Stokvishal was a great place at this time

"I went a concert of The Clash at the Stokvishal in Arnhem (Holland) on friday, October 20 1978. I don't know for sure if my agenda is completely right, but it seems right. The Stokvishal was a great place at this time, it was an old factory hall based on the, during the Arnhem battle of 1945, completely distroyed area close to the Arhem bridge.

Other concerts I visited at that time at the Stokvishal: Iggy Pop, Cure, Only Ones, Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers, Specials, Madness, Theatre of Hate..."

The Stokvishal, Arnhem, Holland

The Stokvishal venue could accommodate 1,200-1,700 fans & was an important Dutch gig venue (1971-84). Until late 1980 the Stokvishal shared the same booking agent as the Paradiso Club in Amsterdam so visiting UK bands would frequently play both venues.

Although Stokvishal was known for its excellent acoustics, it was also pretty basic with no toilets/showers for the visiting artists (tailor-made for the Punk ethos) The Stokvishal at the Oeverstraat / Walstraat was used as a warehouse for the products and materials of the Arnhem firm Stokvis.

They used to produce baths and sinks and bicycles and mopeds. 

The had buildings across Arnhem including their main factory in the Vijfzinnenstraat which, much later on turned out to be adjacent to our second Goudvishal (1989 2007) in the Vijzinnenstraat 103, only to be separated by this tiny alleyway called de Wolvengang which is still there. The Stokvishal factory had long since been torn down due to the shelling and part destruction  of the building during the Battle of Arnhem in 1944. It was torn down in and around the 1960's.

The Clash Stokvishal got a mention in Johnny Greens book, especially the hippies there who break the neck of one of Mick Jones' guitars.

There's a mention of the ‘circular bar at the Hotel' there as well; pretty sure this is the Hotel Haarhuis bar in Arnhem.

No professional pictures were taken, the only pictures are mine that were taken with a camera of the day with throwaway lightbulbs you could use only one per picture and they were seated in this flimsy aluminum housing you could turn up from within the camera.

Of course the housing got really hot after using a couple of lightbulbs and it would instantly scorch your forehead with eacat which, much later on turned out to be adjacent to our second Goudvishal (1989 2007) in the Vijzinnenstraat 103, only to be separated by this tiny alleyway called de Wolvengang which is still there. The Stokvishal factory had long since been torn down due to the shelling and part destruction of the building during the Battle of Arnhem in 1944. It was torn down in and around the 1960's.

especially the hippies there who break the neck of one of Mick Jones' guitars

The Clash Stokvishal got a mention in Johnny Greens book, especially the hippies there who break the neck of one of Mick Jones' guitars.

There's a mention of the circular bar at the Hotel there as well; pretty sure this is the Hotel Haarhuis bar in Arnhem. No professional pictures were taken, the only pictures are mine that were taken with a camera of the day with throwaway lightbulbs you could use only one per picture and they were seated in this flimsy aluminum housing you could turn up from within the camera. Of course the housing got really hot after using a couple of lightbulbs and it would instantly scorch your forehead with each subsequent foto looking through the lens, hahaha marked for life.

we nearly tore the place down in anticipation.

STOKVISHAL October 20 1978  ;
I saw the Clash playing the Stokvishal in Arnhem  as part of the continental leg of their ‘Sort it Out' tour, Arnhem being the nearest city from my small-town Doesburg and was totally blown away.  Support act were The Lous from France; lous(y) they were and they were booed off. Hearing them now they seem pretty ok.

The Clash made us wait for what in fact were hours (!) but felt like an eternity; Rumor at the  time had it the axis of their snapped somewhere on their way (back ) to the venue. Much later I read they regularly did this on purpose to increase the pressure of the mounting anticipation which certainly worked: we nearly tore the place down in anticipation.

This gig is still at number one in my all-time list. Later that same month they release their second album Give em enough Rope I remember it well. One of my first experiences too with experiencing an event first hand and seeing it totally misrepresented in the papers / media later on: the gig / The Clash got slagged off by the local paper in the following Monday review completely for being a kind of second rate hard rock band.

The Clash: niet veel soeps

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Photos The Stokvishal, Arnhem, Holland