Jun 76 - Black Swan , five piece ....
Sept 76 - 100 Club, London gigs ....
Dec 76 - Anarchy Tour ....
Jan / Mar - Early 77 Gigs ....
May 77 - White Riot UK Tour ....
Jul 77 - European Dates ....
Oct 77 - Out of Control UK Tour ....
Jan 78 - Sandy Pearlman UK Dates ....
Apr 78 - UK Festival Dates ....
Jul 78 - Out on Parole UK Tour ....
Oct 78 - Sort it Out UK Tour ....
Feb 79 - Pearl Harbour US Tour ....
Jul 79 - Finland + UK dates ....
Sep 79 - Take the Fifth US Tour ....
Dec 79 - Acklam Hall Secret Gigs ....
Jan 80 - 16 Tons UK Tour ....
Mar 80- 16 Tons US Tour ....
May 80 - 16 Tons UK/Europe ....
May 81 - Impossible Mission Tour ....
Jun 81 - Bonds Residency NY ....
Sep 81 - Mogador Paris Residency ....
Oct 81 - Radio Clash UK Tour ....
Oct 81 - London Lyceum Residency ....
Jan 82 - Japan Tour ....
Feb 82 - Australian Tour ....
Feb 82 - HK & Thai gigs ....
May 82 - Lochem Festival ....
May 82 - Combat Rock US Tour ....
July 82 - Casbah Club UK Tour ....
Aug 82 - Combat Rock US Tour ....
Oct 82 - Supporting The Who ....
Nov 82 - Bob Marley Festival ....
May 83 - US Festival + gigs ....
Jan 84 - West Coast dates ....
Feb 84 - Out of Control Europe ....
Mar 84 - Out of Control UK ....
April 84 - Out of Control US Tour ....
Sep 84 - Italian Festival dates ....
Dec 84 - Miners Benefit Gigs ....
May 85 - Busking Tour ....
Jun- Aug 85 - Festival dates ....
Sept 85 - European Tour ....
Jan 86 - Far East Tour ....
1986 onwards - Retrospective
74-76 - Joe with the 101ers ....
Jul 88 - Green Wedge UK Tour
Aug 88 - Rock the Rich UK Tour ....
Oct 89 - Earthquake Weather UK ....
Oct 89 - Earthquake Weather Euro ....
Nov 89 - Earthquake Weather US ....
Jun 99 - Comeback Festival dates ....
July 99 - Short US Tour ....
July 99 - UK Tour ....
Aug 99 - Festival Dates ....
Oct 99 - UK Tour ....
Nov 99 - Full US Tour ....
Dec 99 - European Xmas dates ....
Jan 00 - Australasian Tour ....
May 00 - Mini UK Tour ....
Nov 00 - supporting The Who Tour ....
Jul 01 - UK & US Instore Tour ....
Oct 01 - Full US Tour ....
Nov 01 - Japanese Tour ....
Nov 01 - Full UK Tour ....
April 02 - Brooklyn NY Residency ....
Jun 02 - UK Festivals ....
Jul 02 - Hootenanny Tour ....
Aug 02 - UK Festival Dates ....
Sep 02 - Japanesse Dates ....
Nov 02 - Bringing it all Back Home ....
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Audio exists and circulates |
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Audio exists but is not in circulation |
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No known Audio |
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Audio (radio) interview |
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Soundcheck |
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Video exists and circulates |
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Video exists but is not in circulation |
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No known Video |
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Gig cancelled |
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Never took place / bogus date |
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Unoffical release |
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Offical release |
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| Clash pages only - Rated 0-5 for iTunes. How real the sound feels re: the sound you'd hear in the concert hall. |
 to  Rated 0.5 to 5 for sound (for iTunes) |
 Unknown generation |
 Master source |
 Low generation (better) |
 High generation (copied too much) |
 Soundboard |
 FM |
Here is a list of known articles around the time of the tour.
If you know of anything that is missing please do let us know.
Retrospectives (magazine features)
Sounds, Tora! Tora! Clash!
AMERICAN TOUR DATES, SOUNDS 6/1/48
THE CLASH'S 'Pearl Harbour '79' tour of the U.S.A. takes off at the end of the month. The tour will last about three weeks and will include concerts in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Cleveland, Washington, Minneapolis, New York and Vancouver.
According to a spokesman "someone very, very special" has been asked to support the Clash tour.
The band will kick off a new LWT series, 'Saturday Morning Show' on January 6 at 10 a.m.
Clash: many sell-outs but no permits
Enlarge imagesource unidentified
Clash: many sell-outs but no permits
THE CLASH arrived in America this week for their all-important US breakthrough tour without the work permits thai could be their passports to success.
The US Immigration Department, which issues work permits along with the Department of Labour, is already said to have turned down three British punk bands although none have been identified, and there: were fears this week that the Clash could fall victim of a US Government clamp-down.
Work permit applications normally take about six weeks to come through, and the group's American agent, explained that there was still a backlog from Christmas and the New Year. "We have applied for priority status for the Clash," said Wayne Forte, who has been setting up the band's concerts In Canada and America, " and we are just hoping the permits will come through in time. We are arguing that the Clash are the greatest rock 'n' roll band in the world, more significant than Yes or Genesis or the Rolling Stones, and we have pointed to the fact that they were voted no. 1 band of the year by Time
magazine,"
The group was due to play, in Vancouver this Wednesday, and then open in San Francisco on February 7 — the deadline for the work permits. " Everyone is very excited about them over here," said Forte. "All the venues sold out, and are trying to book more dates. Demand was so strong in Los Angeles the ticketron outlet (computerised ticket sales) had to be restocked."
New Clash management
Shop sign
In Feb 1979 The Clash toured the US for the first time ...
The Clash in Monterey during the 'Pearl Harbor '79' tour. George Rose
The Clash | Facebook - The Clash
This photo was taken on September 8th, 1979, not during the Pearl Harbour ’79 tour, which was in February of that year.
Signed
SOUNDS: The Clash in Amercia
The Clash's 'Pearl Harbour '79' Tour of North America review
February 17th, 1979. The Clash's 'Pearl Harbour '79' Tour of North America review by Sylvie Simmons for SOUNDS music mag with pics by Bob Gruen. "For the first time in the US I could see the relevance of pogoing"
Sylvie Simmons - A two-page feature I wrote on The Clash for Sounds magazine in 1979, that someone calling themselves Sounds Clips posted on Twitter.
The paper looks like the dead sea scrolls, so I can't read it. But I do remember the assignment: go see the Clash's show at the Santa Monica Civic (that was back when I was living in L.A) then, after the show, get on the bus with them and overnight to San Francisco to interview them and see them play there.
I distinctly remember Joe being a bit pissed off - not with anyone in particular, unless it was someone from the record co; he just didn't seem happy being in the US - and heading straight to the back of the bus with Paul and staying there all night. Topper seemed happy - before Joe arrived, he was being entertained by an adoring young lady fan - and Mick was a sweetheart. I remember him talking about American bands he loved and wanting to go around all the record shops.
If anyone has better eyesight than mine they can confirm or deny if any of this made it into the piece. PS. I loved The Clash. Everything about them. The music, the ethics and ideals, the lot. Still do. In fact I'll go put on one of their albums right now.
Read the article / Alternate link
The Clash in Amercia
Jaws including an article on The Clash in America by Sylvie Simmons and Pic by Bob Gruen. "Clash were electrifying. Like a bloody great headline, commanding attention and belief."
London Evening News The Clash still cut that honest dash
& Spit, and now polish
6 Jan 1979 / London Evening News and The Sun newspapers
Clash: "We're musicians"
International Musician magazine / Mick guitars - Archive PDF
Melody Maker: Banging on the White House Door - On the road with the Clash
5 pages. On the road across the US with The Clash
Melody Maker: Banging on the White House Door - On the road with the Clash
- republished in UNCUT magazine / 8 pages / November 1997
NME A Garbled Account of the Clash US Tour by Joe Strummer
JOE STRUMMER, ACE CUB REPORTER
On Assignment With The Clash USA Pages 19-20
Melody Maker; Sandy Pearlman Interview
Melody Maker Clash - the world's best rock band
SOUNDS The Clash In America - Sylvie Simmonds
1979 02 17 Read the full article here
© Sylvie Simmons, 1979 The Clash In America
Sylvie Simmons, Sounds, 17 February 1979
"SO YOU think we lost the battle then go home and weep about it. Sometimes you ve got to wake up in the morning and think, Fuck it youre going to win the battle. Joe Strummer.
THERE WERE no riots, no outraged citizens, no glaring headlines when Pearl Harbour 79 came to an old elegant building in downtown Vancouver last week. The only report in the newspaper? s music section was that the local symphony orchestra had gone on strike. The Clash? s first American tour is being felt by the press as the stimulating aftershock of the Pistols US invasion a year ago or not at all. ...
Sounds Garry Bushells USA Tour Notes
February 1979 - Read the full article here
THE CLEANCUT cuddly Clash continue their perillous ' assault on the North Americansub-continent with typkal clearheaded foresight.
Meaning they were actually granted work permits a mere 24 flours before their first single gig in Vancouver last Wednesday, despite losing vast quantities of gear to Canadian custom officials who stripped them of studded bracelets, belts and knives which were taken 'downtown'for destruction.
Don't have the insides
Q MAG Pearl Harbour Tour: The Clash's First Amercian Tour
Link or Text version
2 pages.
A selection of quotes from the band members and others from the tour.
When the Clash Finally Played Their First U.S. Show
Bryan Wawzenek
Published: February 7, 2019
Ultimate classic Rock
Read the full article
or archived PDF
The Clash were about two and a half years into their career before they played a gig on U.S. soil. The band's first American show wasn't at a grimy punk club: They were already too popular in the States. Besides, Give 'Em Enough Rope had already shown the Clash was moving beyond the rudimentary constraints of punk.
They played their first U.S. gig on Feb. 7, 1979 at the Berkeley Community Theatre in Berkeley, Calif. The 3,500-capacity venue on the campus of Berkeley High School had a rock pedigree, with past gigs by Bob Dylan, the Who and Jimi Hendrix. ...
Village Voice: The Clash See America Second Most Intense Rock Band Ever
R Christagau / Photo image only / Read the full version here
Edmonton Journal: Rock Talk: Lisa Robinson
LA Weekly: The Clash In L.A.: Just the Best
The Clash - punk band and proud of it
Green Bay Press Gazette
Sun Mar 4 1979
'Clash' - Rock's new revolutionaries
North East Bay Independent and Gazette / Fri Feb 16 1979
Includes review of Give 'em Enough Rope
The Baltimore Sun Punk band touring here, has limited expectations
'Secret' history of The Clash
Read the full article or PDF archive
Penned by Oberlin College assistant dean
Updated Jan 12, 2019; Posted Feb 04, 2015
Doane also is the author of "Stealing All Transmissions: A Secret History of the Clash." The English punk band -- the classic lineup includes Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Nicky "Topper" Headon -- became widely known as "The Only Band That Matters" in the 1980s, influenced a generation of musicians who followed and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. Doane recently gave a talk on his book at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Archive. Doane spoke with Plain Dealer reporter Michael Heaton. ... Read the full article
Clash Crests on New Wave Punk Wave
Los Angeles Times 1/20/79 / Read the full article
Even with Elvis Costello's five previously announced concerts, February promised to be an exciting period for rock in Southern California. But now we can look forward to a bonus: The Clash has just been signed for a Feb. 9 appearance at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium.
Tickets for the Clash concert - part of the English band's first U.S. tour - will go on sale Monday. Tickets also go on sale that day for two of Costello's shows: Feb. 14 at the Long Beach Arena and Feb 18 at San Diego's Fox Theater.
Clash City Talkers: New York Meets Jones And Co.
Ira Robbins, Trouser Press, June 1979 / Read the full article
There's nothing quite as frustrating to watch as the hypocrisy of press, radio, and record companies rushing to get behind some new band that has successfully survived their initial indifference and become some sort of hot property.
The Clash, who couldn't get a record released in America until nearly two years after their first LP was unanimously acclaimed by the English press, suddenly became the darlings of the season when they toured here in February.
Clash: New Import for Rockers
Fri Feb 2 / The Los Angeles Times / 2 pages
Active or passive: two rock voices
The Los Angeles Times
2 pages
Experimental Rock. Vigorous in Britain
By John Rockwell
The New York Times
January 14, 1979,
Section D, Page 35
Rock is an indisputably American creation. But the British caught on quickly, and from the time of the Beatles onwards, British acts have defined the form in disproportionate strength to the relative populations of the two countries. A re- cent sampling of British "new wave" disks indicates that there is still a lot of life left in that country's experimental rock camp.
British Groups Enliven Rock Music Tradition
Rutland Daily Herald
Sun Jan 14 1979
Wider article on British rock music in Amercia in 1979
BO DIDDLEY & THE CLASH, 1979 US TOUR | EVERY GENERATION HAS THEIR OWN LITTLE BAG OF TRICKS
The Selvedge Yard | facebook.com - http://selvedgeyard.com/
June 2, 2013 by JP
1979, Cleveland — Bo Diddley opened for The Clash on their US tour — Image by © Bob Gruen. In 1979, Joe Strummer and Paul Simonon of the Clash asked that Diddley open for them on the band’s first American tour. “I can’t look at him without my mouth falling open,” Strummer, starstruck, told a journalist during the tour. For his part, Diddley had no misgivings about facing a skeptical audience. “You cannot say what people are gonna like or not gonna like,” he explained later to the biographer George White. “You have to stick it out there and find out! If they taste it, and they like the way it tastes, you can bet they’ll eat some of it!” via
The Clash where huge fans of Bo Diddley, as many of the formative British bands (and American too) of the ’60s and ’70s were– The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Beatles, The Yardbirds, and many more. Bo Diddley joined The Clash as their opening act on their 1979 US Tour– opening up a radical, young, new crowd to the sound of the man many consider to be one of the most important pioneers of American Rock & Roll music. Bo Diddley himself made no bones about stating that HE was THE beginning of Rock & Roll. Bo Diddley not only influenced sound– he also influenced the attitude, energy, and look of Rock & Roll for decades to come. Look at the pics here, I see the bold plaids that Diddley and other Rockers of the ’50s wore (Plaid was for hipsters, not squares, in the ’50s..), that emerged again strongly in the ’70s through the Sex Pistols (great credit due to Vivienne Westwood), The Clash and others. You can also see and hear where Jack Black got the lion’s share of his game from– no doubt Bo Diddley. The man is a legend and has never gotten his due, and the due that came, came too late. He had a well-earned chip on his shoulder, and even insisted The Clash pay him upfront, as he’d been screwed over so many times before.
“I was the cat that went and opened the door, and everyone else ran through it. And I said– what the heck, you know? …I was left holding the doorknob” –Bo Diddley
ca. 1950s — Norma Jean “The Duchess” Wofford in white blouse, Jerome Green squatting in front with maracas, and Bo Diddley with his signature rectangular Gretsch guitar. Bo and his crew were the badasses of their generation, just as The Clash were in theirs. — Image by © Michael Ochs
“If you can play– all you need is one amp, your axe, and you. “ –Bo Diddley explaining his feelings about The Clash’s monstrous wall of sound during their 1979 US tour.
1979, Cleveland — Bo Diddley opened for The Clash on their 1979 US tour. I love seeing Mick Jones in his red tartan plaid shirt, and then looking down at the photo of Bo Diddley and crew rocking them back in the ’50s, and looking extremely badass. — Image by © Bob Gruen
ca. 1950s, New York — Bo Diddley, Jerome Green on left playing maracas. — Image by © Michael Ochs. Back in the 1950s, plaids like this may have been accepted among the Hipsters, but it was a different story in Middle America where it was still thought of it as the fabric of a counter culture movement– outlaw fashion. via
“This group the Sex Pistols pukes onstage? I don’t necessarily like that. That’s not showmanship… They gotta get themselves an act.” –Bo Diddley
Bo Diddley opened for The Clash in 1979 on their US tour, here on their bus. — Image by © Bob Gruen
So how did Bo reflect back upon his 1979 US tour with The Clash? I think he summed it up pretty well when he stated that, “Every generation has its own little bag of tricks…” Watch the video below–
Best Magazine 130
Mai 79 Topper Headon or text version
6 pages / On the road across Amercia with the Clash
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Les InRocks99
2 pages, 3 photos
Photo, pass
THE CLASH ON PAROLE | Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/
THE CLASH ON PAROLE | Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/
Brenda Siegelman - An unusual piece . Band never had laminates like that made , must have been from the record company. I remember seeing this one in LA , Palladium Oct ( 1979), the short US tour was called " Clash take the Fifth " I saw these passes worn , and remembered that there were a lot of " industry " people attending .. it all makes sense now.
Dolly Parton Impersonators
Open photos in full in new window
Archive PDF here. More Tour photos here
Unknown
photosets.net - The Clash - Item Number "clash790209"
Date: 1979, February 9th, Venue: Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California, USA
Pearl Harbour t-shirt
Anthony Moriarty - It was the Pearl Harbour Tour '79 as i printed the tee's for it in London, Kamikazi Pilot on front & Aircraft Carrier explosion on the back. Joe Strummer Never Forgotten. RIP
Interview - Radio Vancouver
Vancouver Interview with Topper and Paul as the band as they embark on their first tour. - Time 15mins
15mins - clearer version
Fuller recording 26mins with songs
Older copy, Part 1 - (5mins)
Older copy, Part 2 - (5mins)
Bo Diddley talks about his experiences opening for the Clash
Bo Diddley talks about his experiences opening for the Clash on their 1979 US Tour. This interview took place in November 2002 at the Rock Nightclub in Maplewood, Minnesota. "it was so loud the building shook"
Bo was fantastic. He got an encore...
@Tralfaz666 - I saw Bo on that Clash tour and he was fantastic. He got an encore...
@jondoeinfo - I was at that show in Vancouver - AND at the sound check he refers to earlier that day. The Clash were no louder than any other rock n roll band of that period. Mick Jones and Joe Strummer only used one amp each if I recall - which is NOT a lot. Maybe Bo just wasn't used to modern music... Bo wasn't complaining at the sound check either, and I was sitting almost next to him.
Saw two CLASH shows in person so loud you couldn't hear anything with clarity
@bowiggly7038 - Saw two CLASH shows in person and both were amped so loud you couldn't hear anything with clarity. Still love Diddley and the legacy of the Clash
NYC Paladium in Feb 1979
@bobbysands6923 - Saw The Clash, The Cramps, and Bo Diddely at the NYC Paladium in Feb 1979. I have also seen space shuttles take off. The Clash were louder. Great concert, unforgettable...but my ears were ringing for days afterward.
Some details ...
@ian7208 - To give some supporting details: Around this time Mick Jones was using the dual setup of a 100 W mesa boogie mark i AND a 100 W mark ii, each into a marshall 4x12. That's literally an insane amount of power that can handle a stadium - and they were in clubs. After a few decades people eventually realized this was sort of overdoing the wattage a little bit.
DC show at the Ontario Theater
@andygoldberger3775 - Was at the DC show at the Ontario Theater on this tour...(Same venue as the Worldwide Premiere of Rock and Roll High School but another posting I guess) Bo was great... had his own punk attitude. Clash…clashed loudly…very…we left midway thru. Saw them a few years later at the Smith Center and they were great.
Fillmore, SF
@frankmorrow3701 - He's talking about the volume of the shows y'all and I totally agree with him as I saw him open for them in SF and he was great and could be heard so clearly and he was a great opening act for them! Then the "wall of noise" happened!! It was so fucking loud you couldn't discern one song from another and actually I thought that it was one of the worst shows that I've ever seen (and still do!) it was truly sad because as Bo said "they didn't need to be that loud" and even tho' I enjoyed it for their energy but the music sucked and I love the Clash!!! My ears were shot for days after that...
Berkeley CA Community Theater
@loudenkliehr3633 - I was at their first show in the States in '79 at the Berkeley CA Community Theater. Bo opened and was great. I don't recall The Clash having a great deal of equipment on stage at that time. And I don't recall Bo being any less loud than them. I do know that the following night at a benefit show in S.F. they started using a different equalizer than improved the clarity. Maybe that's what made the difference. But as far as them having big stacks of speakers and amps ala The Who, I don't recall that being the case.
Bo on Topper
@Onetinsoldier - According to 'Passion is A Fashion: the Real Story of The Clash written by Pat Gilbert: 'The group (The Clash) loved Bo and he loved them back'. Bo about Topper Headon: 'You know, that is the only white boy who's ever played my rhythm without having to be shown how to do it'. Bo: 'Our music is entirely different, but it was a gas'.
The Clash were so loud
@shaunigothictv1003 - Bo Didley is getting the amps mixed up with the P.A system. I was actually there that day with my Dad. The Clash were audio tuned so loud that it was almost impossible to distinguish one song from the other. I remember my Dad turning to me and saying "Son, that just sounds like a wall of death". Unlike my Dad and Bo, I thought it was funny!
I really enjoyed that concert. I heard so many people that day comment that the Amps and sound was crap. But guess what, they got it all mixed up too. It's not the Amps folks. It's the P.A system. Bo is absolutely correct on the volume issue. But who cares? As long as you enjoy yourself. It was one of my favourite concerts of all time.
Santa Monica Civic
@undergroundwarrior70 - I saw that tour in 1979 at the Santa Monica Civic in Santa Monica, California. I was 23. Bo Diddley was fantastic playing his music on stage. And The Clash were also fantastic. But I do understand what Bo Diddley is saying about having all those amps on stage. Just way overdone to have that many for an indoor concert. The acoustics at the Santa Monica Civic were pretty bad. A couple of years later I saw The Psychedelic Furs there and it was so very loud that I had to go to the lobby so I could hear them better, but couldn't see them on stage.
Lee Dorsey, & Mikey Dread never complained about the PA
@ericmalone3213 - This is some historical revisionism from Mr Diddley. Look at the Penny Smith and Bob Gruen Clash photo books. Mr Diddley had a great time touring with them. The Clash paid Mr Diddley up front in cash before every show. If Mr Diddley had had a problem with the volume, The Clash would have sorted it out for him. They were entirely accommodating. After touring with Mr Diddley, The Clash toured with Lee Dorsey, & Mikey Dread as opening acts. Mr Dorsey & Mr Dread never complained about the PA, & they had a great time as well.
That show in Vancouver - no louder than any other rock n roll band of that period
@jondoeinfo - I was at that show in Vancouver - AND at the sound check he refers to earlier that day. The Clash were no louder than any other rock n roll band of that period. Mick Jones and Joe Strummer only used one amp each if I recall - which is NOT a lot. Maybe Bo just wasn't used to modern music... Bo wasn't complaining at the sound check either, and I was sitting almost next to him.
Bo Diddley talks about opening for The Clash
Source: Bo Diddley talks about opening for The Clash - YouTube
MOJO The Clash From Westway to Broadway
August 1994 (Bonds, US general), JS interview - 20 pages
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,%20JS%20int)/2.jpg)
Breakdown, retrospective and Farewell Joe
Covers November 1978 to November 1982
MOJO March 2003
14 pages
MOJO What are we going to do now?
From Xmas 1979 onwards including the bands demise
October 2004 / 7 pages
April 7th A special benefit, Clash plan a gig for arrested for gig-goers page 66
Oct 6 Ready for Screening Rude Boy the Movie page 125
December 29th With their backs to the wall, The Clash The band enjoy the triumph of London Calling...,"Desperation- I recommend it" 3 pages, page 140
Letter Jam v Clash/Pistols page 145
Clash Map of London
MOJO / Punk: the whole story
Online viewer (very good)
Retropective magazine features, audio, video
For a full catalogies of retropective articles in magazines, interviews and features on TV and radio go here.
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