Combat Rock Tour

Supported by Rooster & The Red Tops

updated 7 July 2008 - added punters comments (Deborah)
updated 12 April 2011 - added full review
updated June 2022 -added Creative Loafing article
updated August 2022 added article KOS
updated June 2024 added reviews, posters

Audio 1

audience - unknown gen. - Sound 3 - 96min - tracks 23

Car Jamming

Sound quality

Recordings circulate of the first 9 shows of the 23 shows on the ‘North American Campaign’ tour (15 recordings out of 23). Although it appears at least 2 audience recordings were made of the Atlanta gig, the only one in circulation is an unknown number of copies off the master and is one of the poorest from this tour. A shame as the master recording was obviously of good quality although somewhat distant from the stage.

Sound mainly left channel until Magnificent Seven after which it improves, having more detail but is still flat, lacking range and vocals in particular are distant. 

Sold out 4,600 seat Fox Theatre

After the 3 nights at Asbury Park, New Jersey the tour headed to the South and a gig at the sold out 4,600 seat Fox Theatre in Atlanta. An event memorable for the performance (by most accounts), demonstrators and gun-toting Police outside and bizarrely a troop of dancers on stage as the band performed!

Unfortunately the stories behind the gig are more interesting than the only recording in circulation which is well below average making this an in-essential bootleg (unless an upgrade surfaces.)

Four recollections below tell the story:

James Mann writing an obituary for Joe at recalled;

James: I saw The Clash for the second time on the Combat Rock tour, when perhaps, in retrospect, the bloom was starting to fade on their rose. The initial adrenalin rush of punk had, by 1982, started to pause and catch its breath. The Pistols were long gone, The Jam, Buzzcocks, The Damned, and the dozens of other five-minute miracles had either broken up or gotten fat. But here were The Clash, still fighting the good fight and miracles of miracles, with a song on the charts. "Rock The Casbah" was a favorite in those early days of MTV, and dammit, maybe it wasn't a continuation of the righteous anger of "White Riot" or "Clash City Rockers," but it was catchy as hell. J

Joe Strummer and Mick Jones had learned early on that to survive was to evolve. They weren't the same people who had made such a furious noise on their debut, or the snarling popsters of their masterpiece London Calling, but The Clash circa 1982 was still a formidable rock and roll band, and on that night at Atlanta's Fox Theatre, they fucking slayed.

But as impressive as the music was that night -- and it still ranks high in my list of best shows -- two things have stayed in my mind from that night. For some reason, the band had enlisted (or been taken captive by) a troop of dancers, who flitted around the stage in a dervish, making a surreal statement at a punk rock show. At one point a dancer fluttered his hands in Strummer's face, and the  oh so tough punk rocker for a brief moment dropped the snarl and laughed. It was that humanity that connected The Clash to their listeners. As they always said, yes, they were a political band, but it was "personal politics," always in small letters, always about the person. They cared.

Leaving the show that night, we walked onto Peachtree Street, Atlanta's main thoroughfare, and into a riot. Or at least, as close as sleepy, apathetic Atlanta gets to a riot, anyway. Skinheads on one side of the street, shouting curses at a group on the other side of the road. A few bottles were smashed, and my friend and I attempted to shelter his little sister from the hooves of policemen's horses, and I realized at the time that something like this, if we survived, was certainly different than most shows we had been to. Something happened -- something brought about, in some fashion, by the music of Joe Strummer and The Clash. That was Joe Strummer's gift. Things happened. It was intoxicating, heady.’

A mini "riot" out front afterwards

Unknown: The account below sheds lights on who and how the dance troupe came to perform onstage with The Clash;

"an Atlanta rockabilly band called Rooster & The Red Tops opened. The band got into town a day or so early and attended a local club called 688 where a dance troupe called the Section 8 dancers were performing to Clash tunes. 

I had horrible balcony seats. I know of two different tapes. I think the one you have may be the worser sounding of the two. After the show, there was a mini "riot" out front. Some folks from a pro-American local punk band were protesting the appearance and got into a scrape with leaving concertgoers. The police riot squads and SWAT teams got called in and went to town on the fans. A girl from my high school was minding her own business and got hit with a billyclub. We went out a side door so we missed all the "fun" and thus I can only report third hand. The show was kind of a letdown as the Clash were my absolute favorites. One of only two shows I ever camped out for tickets for (the 84 show being the other one.) I nearly slept through a final exam the next day!"

One of the members of the band asked what was going on

Debora: I have a ticket autographed by the band. I actually got these signatures while visiting with the Clash after the concert while there was a “riot” going on outside.  I was outside, around the corner from the main entrance to the Fox Theatre, standing by what I hoped was the “stage” door, when it opened and one of the members of the band asked what was going on.  When he found out about all the police, he invited me in.  After spending some time with the band, we all walked up the street to the 688 Club at 688 Spring Street.  It was a memorable evening! from Debora

Riot after the show between the Maoists and the Reaganites

“The best live show I ever saw was The Clash’s Combat Rock tour date at The Fox in Atlanta. It probably was not their best show…but for me it was everything. Hell I got mugged getting the 3^rd row tickets..totally worth it! There was even a riot after the show between the maoist and the reaganites. What a great time!”

The ‘riot’ was the main topic of a piece in Sounds (UK music press) with the headline Clash City Rotters but presumably they had meant it to be Rioters.  

It said an organised gang described as neo-Nazis (by CBS and local press) tried to stop the Atlanta show demonstrating outside and “hassling concert goers and threatening violence. Police broke up the demonstration and arrested 14 people. Atlanta local press rather predictably led with “Punk rock riot” headlines the next day. The Clash were reportedly uninvolved in any way but this did not stop Joe telling Sounds Dave McCullough in a later piece; “They pulled the police guns out on us in Atlanta”. In reality from the different accounts it looks like local Atlanta political groups took the opportunity of having The Clash in town to stage demos outside the theatre, although there probably were punk rock purists protesting about the band selling out as they would experience elsewhere on the tour. The Police then made a meal of breaking up what must have been the relatively small number of people involved. The band were not involved with Communist or other far left groups and in comments on the tour disassociated themselves from them. 

David Fricke article interestingly included a rumour that Topper would be returning soon.

Tickets

“Good evening"

The recording reveals plenty of commitment from the band throughout the gig with Joe (and Mick) belting out the lyrics to both London Calling and then Clash City Rockers, unusually second in the set. 

“Good evening would you please welcome Mr Terry Chimes on the drums”  Then slam into Safe European Home lots of echo on Mick’s backing vocals. This triple attack of the first songs goes down a storm with the sell-out Fox audience.

Guns of Brixton has some inventive lead from Mick. Train In Vain OK but the poor sound makes Car Jamming a musical sludge. Fortunately before Magnificent Seven the right channel comes in fully and the sound quality goes up a notch. Pumped up Joe and Mick are in fine voice. Vocals are now higher and clearer in the mix with the band now able to use the best quality PA’s etc. The band’s playing though lacks finesse (Terry’s unable to make the band swing in the way Topper excelled). Mick adds light funky guitar licks but its not effective, Joe barks “magnificence” but sadly its not! The band are OK with the straight rock songs but struggle on the looser funkier material. 

“I’d like to introduce Section 8 of the ? “ is Joe’s unclear intro to an echo heavy Know Your Rights. Sounds slow and heavy with no great adlibs like the last night at Asbury. Mick adds some guitar effects to an OK Ghetto Defendant to little benefit.

An edit restarts abruptly into the start of a pumped up Janie Jones; Mick screaming out the “let them know“s. Should I Stay or Should I Go is played now as the less interesting shortened album version and with Joe’s Strum-ish backing vocals.. 

The second CD begins with Rock The Casbah then Spanish Bombs both fine if unexceptional. Mick then picks out yet another variation on the very long intro here to Somebody Got Murdered, the effect somewhat ruined by Terry coming in too early! Mick’s vocals are committed but the sound is too distant and flat to be enjoyable.

Radio Clash is again strong; the band stretch out and improvise a little before a final chorus. Brand New Cadillac then into the final song of the main set Clampdown; Joe’s adlibs unclear and the song is not extended like the best performances.

An edit goes into start of Armagideon Time, best sound now on a good performance but Terry’s heavy handed playing lacks subtlety. Mick then belts out Police On My Back.  Mick’s playing on Straight To Hell is an improvement on some of the Asbury performances and Joe’s vocals are again strong.

Jimmy Jazz next; usually a highlight but although the band try to stretch out it lacks a strong Strummer adlib and Mick’s playing is not inspired. Then straight into a pumped up Garageland and the show ends with I Fought The Law (the sound poorer and distorted) . The audience demand more loudly but on this tour it’s generally shorter sets and less encores.

Clash riot in Atlanta

82 06 19 Record Mirror (Atlanta) Clash riot in Atlanta pg 7

Police Probing Charges Of Brutality At Clash Rock Concert

82 06 15 The Atlanta Constitution Tue (Fox)

Clash's Style Woos Despite Marxism

82 06 03 The Atlanta Constitution Thu (Fox)

The only bandleader that mattered Atlanta remembers Joe Strummer (1952-2002)

Though The Clash played Atlanta only three times during its turbulent history, bandleader Joe Strummer made an indelible impression on the city's music scene during each visit.

"He was a prince among thieves," says Andy Browne of the Nightporters, a contemporary local band who opened for the Clash at the English group's final Atlanta show in 1984...

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