The Clash Live - Detroit - Masonic Temple - Monday 17th September 1979

From what I remember, the Clash were dealing with some equipment problems (amps coming and going) and I think it stole some of their thunder.

They would get on a roll and then some of the sound would go out. Joe actually kicked an amp over near the end. Despite the bands frustrations, I thought it was a good show and a treat to see them in person...

David Johanson was a tough act to follow because he did a bunch of Motown covers and reminded me of Mick Jagger. I'm pretty sure The Undertones started. Mark

Leslie Fleischman - Facebook - So here’s the story, 1998 Primrose Hill London, there’s a small art gallery, one day I went in to have a look as I worked nearby, there was a small collection of work by Ray Lowery ( pictured below), those of you who know a lot about The Clash will know that Ray Lowery designed the cover of London Calling.

Check out a book called A Riot Of our Own and you will find a lot more about him. He befriended the band after seeing them support The Sex Pistols in Manchester, he then accompanied them on their first US Tour, where he designed the cover of what some might say is their most iconic album, the cover certainly is !

Anyway in that gallery were paintings he produced whilst on the bands first US Tour in 1979, what caught my eye and I subsequently bought was the original Artwork for London Calling and all the designs that led up to it which I bought for a few hundred pounds !

It hung on my wall at home for many years until in 2009 when due to the financial crash I was desperate for some money and sold all of it at Bonhams for considerably more than I paid for it, When I say all, not quite as the set list from that definitive Detroit show I held back, as you can see it’s signed and dated by Ray Lowery and the date of the show which was the 17th September 1979.

This is real Clash memorabilia, once again I’m strapped financially this time thanks to the bloody virus, I’ve had offers over the years but now I need to move this on, anyone interested ? Please DM me with your best offer, thanks.

I attended the Clash concerts in Detroit in September, 1979 and March, 1980 (as well as a forgettable show in 1982). Nestor's recollections of the Motor city Roller Rink show was spot on. i've been to many concerts over the years before and after this show, and I still believe that this was the best concert I've ever seen.

The contrast in the two shows (from masonic to MCRR) was an amazing transformation. However, the transformation was not so much in the band, but in the audience's reaction to the band. One commentator was correct, in the masonic Auditorium show it seemed the audience was there mostly to see David Johansen, who had only recently left the New york Dolls, and had a small but dedicated following in Detroit. It's also true that the Clash had equipment problems and became very frustrated, kicking the amps, spitting, etc.

The MCRR show was a complete contrast. the band came on late (after the sound check which one of your readers spoke of). But somehow it was perfect. it was just late enough where the anticipation was growing to a fever pitch, but no so late that the crowd was frustrated. The second they came on the electricity was intense. Perhaps it was the release of London Calling, or just the fact that this was a crowd of hard core fans who came to see The Clash and the Clash only (although the back up bands performed admirably).

I remember that they opened with Clash city Rockers. As your other commentators mentioned, there were no seats in the Roller rink, and I had fought my way all the way towards the front (probably the equivalent of the 10th row or so). After that first number i remember Joe Strummer was filled with sweat. There was no question that the band was preforming with all they had, and the crowd loved them. I've never seen, before or since, this complete connection between a band and it's fans, they just fed off of each other. It was just one of those nights that I will remember for as long as i live.

The Clash expereinced the same reception the Sex Pistols experienced on their American Tour

The Clash followed the Undertones and David Johansen (formerly of The NY Dolls). Unfortunately, I arrived late to the majestic Masonic Auditorium after having difficulty finding suitable parking -- and missed the Undertones (with much regret).

David Johansen strutted his stuff, and there seemed to be many unusually dressed/coiffed audience members who had come to see him -- as I recall, he had a good reception from the audience...

When the curtains came up for the Clash, I was impressed with the huge canvas backdrop showing flags from around the world sewn together as a sort of quilt.

The Clash played with angry energy, mainly songs from their release "The Clash" (e.g., I'm So Bored with the USA). But there did not seem to be any chemistry with the audience.

On several occasions, Joe Strummer tried to stir up some excitement with his song introductions, but instead, the audience appeared to demonstrate a similar rudeness that the Sex Pistols experienced on their American Tour.

I was too far from the stage, but I am guessing there was spit being hurled from the front rows, and it looked like a cup of ice was thrown in Joe's direction. As I recall, Joe made some comment about the bad manners and treatment, and when another cup was lobbed towards the band after a song, the Clash decided that was enough and stormed off -- without any encore.

I can recall feeling that the show was a great bill, but was cut short by the antics of hooligans...I severely wished I could have heard more of the Clash...

I also felt (though realized after their Motor City Roller Rink show; comments below) that the stage was too large, the venue not very intimate, and the lineup of acts really not suited for a Clash show...the next show in the Detroit area would be VERY different.

floydy opz - Youtube - I saw that gig - I was 21. Saw them in Brixton too. At the Detroit gig the vegetarian Clash found a deep frozen wild- boar's head waiting backstage for their dinner.... welcome to Motor City...

Can't believe someone was able to capture this in that hot, roiling, over-crowded basement of a venue...

handfularain - Youtube - "...I was there, too! You know what they say...Well some of it was true!" This is awesome. Can't believe someone was able to capture this in that hot, roiling, over-crowded basement of a venue... Love to know how they physically accomplished this. I recall being able to see almost nothing! Flat floor, low stage, crazy crowd...

Joe Pio - Youtube - I went to this show; I was 10 and my aunt took me. There were alot of Punk shows there; Ramones, 999...

Nigel9999 Peterson - Youtube - I was probably about eight feet to your right when you filmed this. I thank you so much for posting it. We were "the fans from Kansas, not the group" and had seen The Jam in Chicago three nights before. The Clash went to the bar after the show trading beer and jokes. Gawd, it was wonderful. The Jam and the Clash in the same week in 1980 when both bands were at the heights of their power? I'd say that was a damn fine week.

rrbbkk - The Clash`s best concert - Their '79 show at Detroit's Masonic Auditorium was ferocious. I had a friend drag me there because it was " important" to see this band and damned if he wasn't right. I became an ardent fan in those 90 minutes. They came back 18 months later and played the Motor City Roller Rink on Seven Mile Road. That was a good one too. Like seeing a teenage sock-hop band only it was The Clash. AND Lee Dorsey. My friend threw a bottle at Mikey Dread. I saw them a couple more times after that but you could tell the disillusionment had set in, especially in '82.

Robert Matheu - facebook - “Mick Jones and I meet for the first time backstage at The Clash’s Detroit show at Masonic Auditorium in 1979. It was on this night that he and Joe Strummer gifted me a copy of their single ‘Jail Guitar Doors.’” —Excerpt from Wayne’s memoir ‘The Hard Stuff’

Rod Sanford - Nice. I was at that show with friends. The Undertones were great that night, btw!

Arthur Jones - In a 2018 Songfacts interview with Wayne Kramer, he talked about his first interaction with The Clash. Said Kramer: "When I got back from prison, just after I got home, The Clash came to Detroit. I went over to meet them, because one of my friends told me that they had written a song about me. So, I went backstage and said hello to Mick Jones and Joe Strummer, and they gave me a copy of a single, and they had written, 'To Wayne Kramer, #1 in the USA.' I was very proud of that.

I didn't know these guys - they were just brothers from across the sea who displayed some solidarity with a fellow musician and wrote about his bad behavior in a song. And it was ironic that it turns out all these years later that's what we call our independent initiative that works in America's prisons

Charles Bowen - facebook - I was at both shows in Detroit. Sat next to Sid Vicious at Max’s Kansas City in New york too.

Mark Lahti - facebook - I almost got kicked out before it started. I pretended to orgasm while I was being searched and the security guard got PISSED.

John Morgan - My brother, Scott and I were at the show. We all wound up at the old Miami.

Jennifer Saffran - I saw the Clash in 1980 at the Motor City Roller Rink. It remains one of the best performances of ANY kind of music, including world class classical music. I was surprised to read/hear of the legacy of The Five to the Clash and others.

Doug Geer - The Clash Official | Facebook - I saw them at the same place both tours. But I have read that they paid a ton for the opening acts THEY wanted...and sounds system etc, so they may have had to scale back on the next tour. Just a guess.

John Youens - The Clash Official | Facebook - Possibly has a bit to do with management as well...in 1979 they did their first 2 US tours and had Caroline Coon helping them - with not much regard for the profit/loss balance sheet, getting Epic to send money as the tours progressed...in 1980 they were managed by a professional company, Blackhill, who probably tried to reign in excess expenses and get the tours to break even at least....smaller venues are easier to manage, lower rental costs, less insurance costs, etc...., especially as The Clash liked low ticket prices for their fans, but still liked to stay in decent hotels....unfortunately, they kicked against the professionalism of Blackhill (Paul turning up to a meeting in a rabbit suit...), sacked them and then this led to Joe wanting to bring Bernie back for the chaos he brought with him....the rest is history....

we stormed the stage and jumped around with the band for the last song!! Incredible

Simon Crawley - I saw them with The Undertones....we stormed the stage and jumped around with the band for the last song!! Incredible.

On the night of the show I snuck out of the house, went down to the rink, and listened to the muffled sound of the show from the outside

@robertlivingood - YouTube - This video means so much to me! I was ten years old and lived down the street from the Motor City Roller Rink when The Clash played there. I loved the band and desperately wanted to see them but was "too young." On the night of the show I snuck out of the house, went down to the rink, and listened to the muffled sound of the show from the outside. Now, 35 years later, I finally get a glimpse of what it looked like on the inside. This is beautiful!!

@MGZstudios - YouTube - I was at this show. Amazing. One of the best shows I've been to. I worked in the live music business and played in bands and still this one holds up as one of the greatest. So glad you guys had a Super 8 camera cranking. I was about 20 feet behind you! So amazed you were able to hold a steady shot. I remember a slam dance circle of insanity in that vicinity! The 3 foot high stage and being in a Roller Rink even made it more special. No pretension. Just solid Clash.This was one of the great bands at a great moment in a great city. Let's make America great again like this.

@sparkyguitar0058 - YouTube - This was the best of about 6 shows before they closed this place and tore it down. Souxie and the Banshees, Iggy, Ramones. Some great times in my past.

@handfularain8938 - YouTube - "...I was there, too! You know what they say...Well some of it was true!" This is awesome. Can't believe someone was able to capture this in that hot, boiling, over-crowded basement of a venue... Love to know how they physically accomplished this. I recall being able to see almost nothing! Flat floor, low stage, crazy crowd...

@joedoomsdaypio4374 - YouTube - I went to this show; I was 10 and my aunt took me. There were alot of Punk shows there; Ramones, 999...

@NigelPeterson-pd5er - YouTube - I was probably about eight feet to your right when you filmed this [Detroit Punks 8mm film]. I thank you so much for posting it. We were "the fans from Kansas, not the group" and had seen The Jam in Chicago three nights before. Were you there for that beautiful thing? And, did you follow The Clash to the bar after the show and trade beer and jokes with them? Gawd, it was wonderful.

jettjones99 - 103 w - I attended this concert, my first time seeing the Clash. It was a great show.

Joe Strummer walked onstage swinging a couple flashlights in almost pitch darkness

Martin Deck - I saw the Clash twice in September 1979, in Detroit and Toronto, and I have a distinct memory that when they performed Armagideon Time, Joe Strummer walked onstage swinging a couple flashlights in almost pitch darkness. I can't find this memory corroborated anywhere on Google, but I wonder: do you remember that from their Montreal gig?

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Paul Morley of the NME travels on the tour bus from Detroit on the 17th through to New York on the 21st interviewing and following the band.

DETAILS: The Scene. The Clash on tour of America. There's a glamorous image, with a confident, crusading edge to it. The Clash: a lot of hope and responsibility there. America: it still means a lot. Clash's current six week coast to coast tip to toe tour of the United States Of America is their first major assault.

RASH CLASH
MASH IN MOTOR CITY BASH

photos by Kate Siman

(Paul offers band salami; band demurs.)

by Dave DiMartino

Joe Strummer and I are sitting in a bar, talking about his band. I ask him about "I Fought the Law" and its relatively unex- pected success on American radio. Doesn't he think it odd that the one song promising to break the Clash in America is a tune he didn't even write?

Joe shakes his head in disgust, some- thing he's been doing quite a bit of. "It just goes to show ya, ya know?" he says.

"I'd just like to say this: America, how is it we make twenty-nine brilliant records and you won't give us a drop of airplay-and we make one shitty one and you lap it up. How Is It? Tell me..."

☆☆☆

Howard Johnson has a lot more going for him than HoJo cola. His hotels, for Instance Right in the middle of beautiful downtown Detroit sits a real beauty of a scrap-heap, the kind of mammoth, over- grown monstrosity that only the Motor City or any other dying metropolis can provide

Vertical, not horizontal, it shoots upward and leaves little room for people to walk about comfortably, The ceiling of each floor's hallway hangs down ominously, threatening the safe passage of anybody over six feet tall and adding even more to the already pervasive, claustrophobic at mosphere. The view outside-cars and busses streaming in every direction, city construction men attempting to beautify what can't be beautiful with their jackham- mers and sledges it all says more about Detroit than any chamber of commerce ever could. [Ah, go back to Miami. wetback. -Ed.)

In the lobby, we sit waiting for the Clash's bus to take us to an afternoon soundcheck at the nearby Masonic Temple, tonight's venue. A well-dressed, fifty-ish man sticks some change into a lobby vending machine as we wait and pulls out a fresh new copy of the latest Penthouse magazine. Outside, a weary-looking black man, old and hunched over, sticks his arm deep into a city garbage can and pulls out a prize-an empty Stroh's bottle that some unknowing tourist didn't

realize was worth five cents. He sticks it into his half-full burlap sack, throws the sack over his shoulder, and walks on, halfway to his own bottle or halfway to his own copy of Penthouse. Who cares? Welcome troit to De-

We climb on the bus.

(Dear Abby: Do leather pants couse Jock itch? A: Ask Forrest Tucker.)

☆☆☆

Mick, had you any preconceptions about what America would be like before you came here?

Mick Jones: Yeah, plenty. And?

Mick Jones: Most of my preconceptions were absolutely true.

Like?

Mick Jones: Everything's bigger here. And the food tastes twice as bland. Like the tomatoes, for instance-they're so big, but they don't taste like anything. Everything's been given a shot of something. It doesn't seem quite real

How about you, Paul? Any preconcep tions about your Detroit audience?

Paul Simenon: I dunno. Only that they must all have cars or something.

☆☆☆

("We've done it the American way and It won't work. --Mick Jones ")

Detroit is the Clash's fourth stop on this, their second American tour. They began at Monterey an ex-hippie's failed attempt at recreating the 60's festival and a total financial washout and reportedly went down a storm, pulling in encore after encore. They've hit Minneapolis, Chicago a night ago, and tomorrow they're on their way to Boston. They have a way to go yet, and they want to make sure everything will be running smoothly for tonight's Detroit show.

At the Masonic Temple, the equipment is already set up. The ban goes through several numbers, extending them, obvious- ly less concerned with tightness and more concerned with sound quality. Everything sounds good-the system, the players, the monitor system they weren't quite sure about-and another part of the band, the less disciplined, more adventurous part, surfaces. They have no one to impress but themselves, and they sound terrific. They ought to do more things like this. In public.

☆☆☆

Clash bassist Paul Simenon is upstairs relaxing in a Masonic Temple dressing room. The soundcheck is over, and Simenon sits talking to the most spectacu- larly beautiful girl I've ever seen.

Some questions about the band's new album. The on one you just recorded, OK? What were you looking for when you asked Guy Stevens to produce it?

"Madness," Simenon says. "And we found it." How so?

"Well-he's just loony." ny." Simenon points down at the tape recorder. "Like he'd pick this up and just throw it somewhere, ya know? He wouldn't care." A smile creeps up on his face. "Like we had this big piano in the studio, right? He poured beer all over it. Once everybody was getting ready to watch Marilyn Monroe films on the telly. right? He started crying. He walked over to the telly, hugged it and then poured beer all over it. And then it blew up. So we didn't do much telly watching while we were recor ding."

Simenon is extremely happy with the new album, as is the rest of the band. Sandy Pearlman's production efforts on Give 'Em Enough Rope, its predecessor, seem to have left no small impression.

"I'm not as pleased with the second album as I'd like to be," Simenon says, "I dunno it's just like He pauses. "It doesn't seem loose enough, that's all. Seems a bit uptight."

Mick Jones, who's just walked into the room, is even harsher. The new album, recorded within two months, slam-bang, In and out of the studio, seems the total antithesis of the carefully measured, la- boriously drawn-out Pearlman affair.

"I didn't realize the significance of how quickly it was done until people kept bringing it up," says Jones of the new LP. "That's only because all the records over here take nine years to do. And believe me the big production, the last one- we've done it, we've done it the American way, and it don't work, and it's a load a shit. So we've done it the English way now and we've got two albums instead of one. And it's all much better. Guy Stevens is probably the best English producer of the last two decades."

"Definitely," says Simenon.

☆☆☆

In the Howard Johnson's bar, Joe Strummer is methodically removing ice cubes from the mixture of orange juice, grenadine and tequila that makes up his Tequila Sunrise. He's putting them in the ashtray that sits on the table between us, talking about America to yet another anonymous American. He's also talking about business.

"Clash will one day sell millions of records in America," he says. "But in the 1990's.

You plan to stay together that long? "No," he grins. "It'll be like on TV, ya

know? Thirty Hits from the Temptations, Twenty-two Highballin' Truckers' Hits. It'll be one of those. Thirty-nine Greats from Old England or Remember the Seventies. Yeah, they'll buy all that shit-and now, when we need the dough. need it to keep going, we're gonna get the two fingers. But that's how you like it over here, don't you? Repackaged nostalgia.

Again, Strummer looks disgusted. "I saw a fuckin' Jackie Wilson record on sale on the telly, right? And Jackie Wilson's lyin' sick 'n half dead in a New York hospital, but they're still floggin' it. I bet Jackie Wilson don't see none of the $9.99 that goes for that."

☆☆☆

photos by Kate Siman

("I'm In a situation where I couldn't even go Into a drugstore and get a hamburger. --Joe Strummer")

(Well, I could go to art school, I suppose...)

("Since Margaret Thatcher, things aren't as easy for poor people. Or young people. --Paul Simenon")

(Audience? What audience?)

(Here's how much we love ya, Mick)

☆☆☆

So what do you think of American audiences so far?

Mick Jones: Well, they're pretty receptive, at least on some levels. They seem to listen, they seem to be aware. I mean it's not like it's made out, it's not like they're all dummies or something. No, the people that come to our concerts seem to be pretty alive.

What exactly are you talking about? The mass American audience that goes to see all the heavy metal groups and drop quaa- ludes and throw firecrackers? Man, if that's representative of America then you know you're in shit as well as I do

☆☆☆ Joe Strummer is still back at the bar, talking about business, while a nearby cocktail pianist plays Barry Manilow's "Daybreak." It's an interesting scene.

It's also been fascinating watching Strum- mer speak. At first, he makes absolutely no eye contact with me-making it painfully obvious that a) he's only speaking with me because he feels he should, and b) personally, he doesn't like me in the least. But as he warms up to the subject-record company screw-ups, American screw- ups-he looks me straight in the eye. He's talking advice now, advice to newer bands who've seen the Clash grow and become what they now are. He's talking about traps on the wayside for new, younger bands, unavoidable corporate politics that might be avoided. Maybe.

"I'd say that there are several smart things you can do," says Joe. "Number one-set up your own business operation before you start, so that-Number two-you can peg your own prices. And I'd say, speaking personally, that it's a bit of a wind-up to get with a major label. You never make a

penny out of it, as far as I can see. How would you have done things differently?

"I would have set up my own operation, for a start. You know, my own company, my own publishing, I'd set it up all our own. Maybe we we couldn't in those days, maybe if we did we wouldn't still be here. I dunno-but if I had a chance to go back and do it again, that's one thing I'd change, I think. 'Cause the understanding is virtually nil, and you always are pulling in the opposite direction. Ya know, we pull pretty hard, but we face a battery of 60 lawyers. When we try to get the price down on one of our things we face a battery of 60 lawyers all pullin' the other way. I just see it as a waste of spirit and effort and time. I think maybe if we got free we'd try to do something like. that.

Can you get free? What're the terms of your contract?

"It's a 99-year deal with 18 tracks a year. Same sorta contracts like the ones they give at Sing-Sing.'

☆☆☆

The bill tonight features not only the Clash but the Undertones, a very young, very talented outfit from Ireland whose debut LP should be out here soon on Sire Records. More than likely, few in the Detroit audience will have ever seen or heard the band before.

Not so with David Johansen. Johansen is to follow the Undertones, and Detroit is very much a New York Dolls stronghold. Johnny Thunders' recent local gigs with former MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer seem to have rekindled interest in what the Dolls. have wrought. Detroit is very anxious to see David Johansen.

☆☆☆

Have the things the band sung about on the first LP changed much since the record was made?

Paul Simenon: No, I think those songs still ring pretty true. Probably more so, now. Like "Career Opportunities" we wrote it a couple of years ago, but the situation about getting jobs is worse, and it's getting worse. Since Margaret Thatcher's come in it, I dunno, things aren't as easy for poor people. Or young people.

☆☆☆

Back in the bar again. Joe's half-finished his drink and I'm on maybe the sixth or seventh beer of what's become a very long day, asking if Joe thinks his experiences will

ultimately be of any value to anyone but himself.

"At least some buncha jerks will read this article," he scowls, "if you're ever gonna write it, that is, and, I dunno, maybe it'll help'em a little, maybe it won't. hel Actually.

I'd like t to think that I've done all that for a good purpose. So you can pass on a message, so all that bollockin' around wouldn't have been in vain. But secretly I have to believe that you cannot tell one person anything-1 can't tell you anything, can't give you no advice, 'cause you won't believe me until it happens to you. Not t you personally, but to everybody,

"I mean it's vice-versa, too, 'cause I heard things like 'don't sign anything. Keith Richards, for instance, he did an interview five years ago. 'Don't sign anything, kids, he said. I read that, ya know, thousands of others like me read it but I signed the fuckin' thing. So I'm not sure. Only now I know, 'cause I been ripped, now I know 'don't sign anything, but I had to be ripped to get here. Even though I read that before. So I'm not sure that what we're sayin' can really help anybody. Not until you've really been in it yourself-done in, done over.

"That's why I don't mind bein' done over-'cause I use I know that I'm learning something. Slowly."

Do you think you might be able to remove yourself from the situation?

"Lissen," says Joe, "I'm in a situation where I couldn't even go into a drugstore and get myself a hamburger. So I'm not in any situation I can get myself out of.

☆☆☆

I manage to make it to the Masonic Temple shortly after the Undertones' set, which apparently met mixed reactions. Barry Meyer, also with the Clash on their debut U.S. tour, is back again between sets spinning 45's and having a great time. The Detroit audience seems especially feisty, here to witness a headlining band they've heard on record, read a lot about, but never actually seen in person. When David Johansen emerges onstage, cheers are heard-but there's a tacit understanding between the performer and the audience. He's not the headliner, it's not really his show, and what happens next is essentially Johansen's own making.

In short: Johansen is superb. Three encores, Mitch Ryder and Four Tops tunes, even "Personality Crisis." The audience loves it, totally behind Johansen, totally behind his surprisingly magnetic stage appeal. Fists raised in the air after his third encore, he shouts "DETROIT!!!" into the microphone and the audience shouts just as loudly. And the Clash are next.

☆☆☆

A final trip back to the bar. Joe Strummer is getting ready to leave, I've got yet another beer and the day's third pack of Merit Menthols, a new record, I want to talk about Joe's record company problems.

Joe, you've been saying that you've been done in and screwed over and taken advantage of. What exactly is the deal? What do you have to do that's so terrible? What exactly is the obligation to CBS that's so unfair you can't even get a hamburger at a drugstore?

"How do ya mean 'obligation?"

Creem

——

THE BOOT Goes On
Clash Cool Bash With Trash

LONDON-The recent wave of crowd violence at punk rock concerts may soon be under control, thanks to that lovable gang of peacemakers, the Clash

At future concerts, when a fight breaks out, the plan is to turn the spotlights on the braw- lers and then play "the most boring song we know" until the situation cools down.

Clash boss Joe Strummer is currently going through the Joan Baez songbook, looking for a tune boring enough to settle any punch-out without actually boring the participants to death.

Rick Johnson

(“The Clash" (from left): Nicky Headon, Mick Jones, Joe Strummer, Paul Simonon.)

"Man, we're disgusted," says the band's riveting guitarist-lead singer Joe Strummer. "Disgusted with everything. We sing about it and we leave it at that. What more can we do? I'm just a singer."

Judging from their American release, "The Clash," there is almost nothing which escapes the British group's malice. They don't like our country; they don't like their country. They're certainly not wild about the work ethic, authority figures, war, racial conflict they even sing a song ridiculing their record label.

Strummer and his mates may feel powerless to affect the world's crises. But if my quartet was being hailed as the best and most intensely relevant of all New Wave catalysts, and some Yan kee upstart named David Johansen stole my show out from under me, you can bet the Union Jack I'd set about changing matters in my own little area of influence straightaway.

Johansen stuck out between the two groups around him at the Masonic Temple Auditorium last night like a fra grant lilac in the middle of a bramble patch. Unlike the good young Undertones from Northern Ireland or the Strummer-led Clash, he had no sociopolitical ax to grind, no seething consumer angst to unleash.

Johansen is pre-punk; all he carried was scintillating, pungent rock in healthy doses. And although the tattered, safety-pinned punkies came with other expectations, the audience rose as one at the end of Johansen's nine-song set to cheer him through three encores.

Comparisons to Mick Jagger in physical appearance, blustery projection and stage mannerisms are trite in Johansen's case. He and his support ing trio sold their portion of the four hour concert solely through kinetic, pulse-quickening performance and selections from Johansen's new "In Force," the most diversely entertaining LP I've heard this year. He tried two Motown classics among his encores: "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" suffered a bit in transition, but "Sock It to Me, Baby" felt just right.

The Clash had a lot of catching up to do, and they didn't make it. Plagued by equipment woes and a rage which bordered on pretension when transferred to the stage, their 19 selections wavered helplessly between moments of deafening brilliance and stretches of futility. In the end, The Clash were not mad as hell, and we couldn't take any more.

MAIN FLOOR 1 CR 111 THE CLASH SEPT. 17 1979
Mon. Eve. 8 p.m Adm. $7.50 MASONIC AUDITORIUM
TEMPLE and 2nd BOULEVARD DETROIT, MICHIGAN
MASONIC AUDIT MAIN FLOOR $7.50
GLOBE TICKET Co. (10 . SEC GOOD ONLY MONDAY EVE. SEPTEMBER 17 1979
ROW SEAT AISLE 1 CR 111

Detroit was next for the Clash attack. We had badges from CBS – well, buttons, which were so awful that we all wore them. They were little stars, each with a band member’s face on it, so that fans could collect a Clash set.

They had ‘Clash Attack’ written underneath. Detroit,the Motor City, had great radio stations – the band loved doing radio interviews.

And the place loved the Clash. We could tell there was a buzz. People were sitting on the edge of their seats taking notice. I rushed around ferrying the band in different combinations to different radio stations.

We taped the music and interviews on ghettoblasters we carried into hotel rooms every night, and played the heavy funk back on the bus, where it blended nicely with the demented hillbilly wailings that Joe had picked up from K-FAT on the coast.

It took a lot of smooth talking for anyone to get backstage before we went on. It took someone special. Ted Nugent – local boy makes rock god – thought he was, but he’d reckoned without us. I answered the knock on the dressing-room door to find the local promoter and a bloke with long frizzy hair shuffling next to him.

I scratched my head. ‘Eh?’ He handed me a pair of scissors. I timed it perfectly.

‘The band are looking forward to it, but could you cut your hair first?’I said, reaching for his locks.

‘The hell—’ he said, jerking his head away and pulling back a fist before storming off.

Kurt M. Ross - facebook - This photo is from the Santa Monica Civic…Avalon Attractions were Los Angeles based! March 3, 1980

Gordon Shirk - March 1980. The Motor City Roller Rink. They were playing a benefit for Jackie Wilson. The October 1979 Masonic show had David Johansen and The Undertones as openers

1 2 3 4 5	Jimmy Jazz 1:40 I'm so Bored with the USA 1:00 Safe European Home 2:30 I Fought the Law edited 1:40 Jail Guitar Doors 40secs