source 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."