Tour dates

[Extracts/Edited]

That time was coming around again, for Strummer returned to London to learn that The Clash had been booked to play five shows in Italy as part of the “Festival of Unity.” This was an annual cultural extravaganza sponsored by the Italian Communist Party, an exponent of “Eurocommunism,” which sought to recapture the movement’s original aims, challenging both the US and USSR.

White, Howard, and sheppard were overjoyed. White: “We were just [feeling], Thank God, we’re going away and doing something, instead of fucking around in a studio every day.» Sheppard was ideologically pleased as well: «The Communist Party held these huge festivals every year, featuring all different kinds of music, partly to generate funds for the party on the local level-they operate politically at a town council/county council level, with a network throughout Italy--but also to enhance the cultural life of the country.”

The venue, however, posed more questions about the band. As Gray wrote, “The Clash of 76 had managed to generate a righteous anger and capture the imagination of the country’s youth on far less fuel than [the miners’ strike]. The Clash of 84 remained on to play a series of gigs for the Communist Party. In Italy.» Gray would claim, “The motive was chiefly financial,” but this seems unfair. Three months had passed since The Clash last graced a stage. The battle had grown hotter, but no new songs had appeared, no recording had commenced. Like Strummer, The Clash was nearing a point where stasis becomes disintegration.

The decision to return to the band’s fountain of energy and inspiration--the Clash audience--seemed essential. While it might have been better to be focused on the home front, these shows would help determine if, indeed, a band still existed. The summer of 1984 had held high drama for Thatcher, with the chances of victory or defeat shifting like the weather. The Coal Board and the NUM were now in talks. One of Thatcher’s biggest worries was that MacGregor would fold under the miners’ pressure and agree to what she saw as an unsatisfactory settlement. When talks broke down just short of agreement, Thatcher recalled later, “I was enormously relieved.” The government assault was intense and multipronged, and Thatcher’s sense of righteousness remained undiminished, but the miners were proving to be a far more tenacious foe than the Argentinians.

...[Reagan]

Across the ocean, another vision had risen. SEX STYLE SUBVERSION read the banner across the back of the stage at Stadio Simonetta Lamberti, a soccer stadium in Cava de Tirreni, a small city adjacent to Naples in southern Italy. The provocative yet vague banner--not glimpsed since its debut at the US Festival-seemed an odd match for a socialist band playing a Communist festival. As a crowd of 15,000-plus roared approval, a slender man with spiky hair strode to the microphone and let loose: “Hip-hoppers! Punk rockers! Young ladies! Show stoppers! The Clash. . are. . out. . . of .. conttrrrooolll.

As the words reverberated through the stadium, Kosmo Vinyl walked away, his words followed by the spaghetti western tune “Sixty Seconds to What?” While the music swelled, the staccato chords of «London Calling” split the night air. The crowd erupted in waves of pogoing as The Clash burst into the light. The sound was tight, seemingly unstoppable. Few outside the band’s inner circle could have guessed that the very first time that the entire five-man unit had been together in over three months was several hours earlier for sound check. Sheppard recalls, «We didn’t rehearse once for the shows in Italy. We just went and did ‘em. We didn’t see Joe until he was sound-checking in Naples.”

As it happened, Strummer had arrived in Naples days earlier, but passed up connecting with the band to go out with some locals. Italian fan Luca Lanini remembered, “Joe was in Naples a couple of days before the gig and became friends with some juvenile delinquents of a notorious central slum named Quartieri Spagnoli. He roamed around town with them on the back of their scooters.»

The company Strummer was keeping and his somewhat rumpled appearance led to trouble when he tried to visit the National Archaeological Museum. Lanini: “Joe wasn’t allowed to enter because of his Mohican haircut and his lion-tamer jacket.” After a frantic series of calls, journalist Federico Vacalebre-who had written the first Italian book about The Clash--was summoned and succeeded in getting Strummer into this hall of hallowed antiquities. The band knew none of this. Asked if Strummer offered any explanation or apology for his extended absence, Sheppard responded simply, “No, he didn’t.” The sound check itself consisted of Strummer barking out «Be-Bop-a-Lula’ in F sharp!” and the band doing a swift run-through of the Gene Vincent classic. Given all of this, the show went off astonishingly well--a tribute, surely, to the work Howard, White, and Sheppard had put in on their own, with an occasional assist from Simonon. The set didn’t stray far from that established on the US tour, although several key new songs like «Pouring Rain,” «Jericho,” and «The Dictator” were missing. The night also saw the return of the much-maligned “Should I Stay or Should I Go” in the second encore.

The most intriguing moment came six songs into the set when Strummer stopped to query the crowd: «You must know that we are English, right? Inglese.. This is what it is like in England tonight!” On that cue, Sheppard hit chunky guitar chords reminiscent of the Modern Lovers’ protopunk classic “Roadrunner” and the band launched into a revamped «This Is England.” If not nearly so fully renovated as “Pouring Rain” had been, the song--which could sometimes seem a bit stiff-benefited from the more even tempo and improved dynamics.

Beyond showing that the newer members had continued to stretch and shape the songs, this suggested that--all appearances to the contraryStrummer was following events on the home front closely. He was nonetheless barely more engaged with the band on this tour than he had been since June, traveling on his own, regularly drinking to excess, seeming detached and aloof. To White, Strummer was “out in the stratosphere ... not exactly a space cadet, more like the galactic general.” Sheppard was a bit kinder if no less concerned: “Joe was drunk pretty much all the time. Sometimes it was good value, other times he was best to avoid. I think he was really upset, hurting.” An interview with Vacalebre after the Naples show provided a glimpse of Strummer’s bleak frame of mind. Asked about the Sex Style Subversion backdrop, the singer offered a laconic response: «These three words represent us, we can’t do without it.”

When Vacalebre brought up the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Greenham Common Peace Camp, Strummer dismissed the groups, saying, “We are not interested in them,” explaining darkly, “War is everywhere, inside us, there is no other peace than what we have now, which is armed, nuclear. Our life is at the maximum peace we could possibly have, unfortunately.» Strummer then expressed similar disdain for the massive marches a few months before, saying simply, “Bob Dylan sang about it in 1963.” This seems a reference to “Blowin’ in the Wind,» a protest song steeped in despair; in the words of rock critic Mick Gold, it was “impenetrably ambiguous: either the answer is so obvious it is right in your face, or the answer is as intangible as the wind.»

Strummer-allegedly hard at work on new songs for months also had some startling words to share on that front: “After the tour we’ll concentrate on writing new material. You’ll be surprised when you listen, you’ll snap your fingers, you’ll howl with wonder, it will be different from what you’ve heard to date. Maybe it will be pop, at least in part, and will appeal to women too. You have my word.»

Strummer only became genuinely effusive when speaking about his recently made comrades, mixing praise for them with a swipe at his home city: «Those street kids have become my friends, introduced me to Naples, such an old, charming city . . . I saw where they live, where they have fun, what problems they have finding work, or having sex with their girlfriends. I liked Naples, it’s alive, sunny, carnal, sensual, not depressing and boring like London.» Strummer sounded fatalistic and unmoored, but there was one upbeat development when the band finally came back together. Much to Sheppard’s pleasure, “Joe wanted us to stretch out musically.. He was really pushing us to jam at the gigs, maybe to test our suitability for the planned new Clash record.»

This began to show on the second night, September 7 at the Palasport Arena in Rome, another spacious stadium filled with fervent fans. “London Calling” once again opened, this time featuring an extended guitar intro with first drums and then bass phased in bit by bit. The music built gradually and then pulled back to welcome Strummer--fully two and a half minutes into the song before blasting off. An extended quiet section also appeared late in «White Man in Hammersmith Palais.” As with the opener, this was a powerful addition, making space for a graceful crowd sing-along and some melodic guitar passages. Strummer was very animated onstage, trying out more of what White called his “pidgin Italian” to engage the crowd. He gave an apparently spontaneous-and somewhat off-color-introduction to “Rock the Casbah,” asking the crowd if they know what a “casbah” was. With no answer forthcoming, Strummer held forth: “The casbah in the Middle East is where you go to get down with something, maybe hear some dirty rhythm or something funny with a snake or if you want to do something with a donkey!” Regardless, this proved to be another powerful show, maybe even better than the night before.

While the band grew more musically assured with each day, Strummer was in a downward spiral. Salewicz writes, «Joe went on a three-day bender, guzzling bottle after bottle of brandy. Raymond Jordan was appointed to babysit Joe through this crisis.” Howard remembers Strummer “screaming in the hotel bar,” and both he and White recollect band meetings where Strummer out did Rhodes in verbal abuse. “As though Joe was acting as manager, everyone was torn to pieces,” Howard says. “Usually these events ended with someone in tears.»

Strummer’s erratic behaviour was obvious the third night, at Stadio Mirabello in Reggio Emilia. The show started off strong again, with the extended “London Calling,” followed by fierce versions of “Radio Clash, “Safe European Home,” and “Career Opportunities.” Strummer then paused to bring on a young female fan he had met earlier in the day to serve as translator. Calling her «honey” and «baby,” the boozy singer launched into his appeal, which the Italian gamely translated: “Has anyone noticed OUT THERE They have all the bookshops, all the bloody restaurants, everything .. How come I stand here in this SHITHOLE without even a toilet!??

The crowd roared, and Strummer answered his own question“Because they’ve taken all the money!”-and turned back to the woman, ordering her, “Now tell them, ‘Let’s get down!» As puzzled fans struggled to absorb this, Strummer coached his admirably patient translator through introductions of White, Howard, and Simonon. Finally, the singer introduced himself, with self-loathing nearly dripping from his tongue: “My name is the biggest fucker in the world! Get it?”

Strummer dismissed the woman with a curt, “Grazie, baby,” and shouted, “Here is Signore Nick Sheppard!” Amazingly, the transition was seamless. When the guitarist ignited «Police on My Back”which had now become his main vocal showcase--the set finally emerged from the theater of the absurd.

After urgent versions of “Are You Ready for War?,” «White Man in Hammersmith Palais,” and “Three Card Trick,” Strummer paused again, this time to ask the crowd for requests. When an audience member called out for “Lover’s Rock,” the frontman responded with apparently genuine shock: “Lover’s Rock’? Are you sure about that? You must be crazy, man, you must be crazy!” It was a bit of inspired humor, taking dead aim at one of the least successful Clash songs ever--but then Strummer Went on to yell, “We’re all fucking crazy!” Such a clichéd rock and roll outburst seemed desperately out of character.

While the band swiftly launched into a slam-bang rendition of “Complete Control,” Strummer seemed anything but in control-a point underlined when the singer then introduced the feminist epic «Sex Mad War” by praising “the nice-looking women in Italy ... bella bella bella!” Once again, the performance was dynamic. But even though the rest of the set was equally fervent and well played. no sober observer could fail to be concerned about Strummer’s condition.

If anything, the tour’s final show at Genoa’s indoor Arena Palasport before more than ten thousand spectators on September Il was even more electric and chaotic. White later described the show as “a riot,» and he was not far off the mark. In many ways, the evening was a classic Clash performance, with just enough unpredictability and danger to keep any showbiz boredom fully at bay. Introducing himself as «Harry the Fucker,» Strummer once again put the knife in his own chest. Beyond that, he led the band through one of its most dynamic, wide-open shows. Sheppard recalls, «Joe was wild and excitable and wanted us to stretch out musically.» One of the fruits of this came early in the set: a gorgeous “Spanish Bombs” that began almost a cappella with Strummer singing over somber drums and muted guitar before building to a ferocious climax.

If Strummer was a bit “off the rails”-in Sheppard’s words--it could make for compelling theater. “Are You Ready for War?” started strong but partway through Strummer went off, abandoning the usual lyrics, ranting and raving. The band valiantly stuck with the singer, until he literally waved them off, barking an order for them to go into “White Man in Hammersmith Palais.”

The band complied, but as Strummer hit the song’s climax, he suddenly stopped. Yelling, “Vengal Franco says it’s cool . . .”apparently a reference to Italian promoter Franco Mamone-the frontman started inviting the crowd onstage.

It is not apparent why Strummer did this. Sheppard later speculated that the singer was bored and simply wanted to interrupt entertainment-as-usual. It is also possible that he may have felt too much distance from the crowd.

A few days before, Strummer had defended playing in this series of huge venues: “It’s the only possible way. We cannot do five concerts in Genoa, five in Naples... Can you imagine what would happen if instead of being here we chose a small club? We do not want thousands of people forced to stay out of our concerts for the enjoyment of the privileged few.”

This made sense. Yet this stance directly contradicted what Strummer had told another journalist seven months before. Vowing to play seven nights in one city if need be, Strummer had insisted, “We want to be bigger than anyone else but do it in a way that matters.” Both Strummer and Simonon had often talked about the catalytic role of the crowd in fueling their pertormances. As such, they mourned the loss of intimate connection as their concerts’ scale grew.

Whatever Strummer’s reasoning, the barrier between artist and audience had been obliterated. Chaos reigned for several minutes as Strummer alternated between exhorting the crowd“Italy, come on, come on!”-and wrangling with skeptical security. Once the stage was finally full, Strummer led the band back into a reprise of «White Man,” the crowd and band singing and moving together.

Sheppard: “I thought it was great! We ended up on the drum riser as our stage. We had to leave the stage after one song. When we came back there were no monitors and one microphone!” Nevertheless, the next half hour of the show was a steamroller, going from punk to dub and back again.

An equipment breakdown stalled “I Fought the Law,” but the band took the opportunity to uncoil an extended dub breakdown leading into “Bank Robber,” followed by «Janie Jones.” The band then kicked off «Tommy Gun”-only to take another left turn as White was unceremoniously pulled into the crowd.

White: “In Tommy Gun’ I would take a sudden run to the edge of the stage, stop, lean over, and fire an imaginary salvo. It was great fun. . until some bright spark in the audience grabbed the guitar’s machine head and wouldn’t let go…. It was either me or the instrument so in I went!” sheppard: “All the crowds on that tour were really wildIremember Vince getting pulled into the crowd and coming out with a shoe missing and his clothes fucked up.»

When the song ended, a ragged White clubfooted it over to Strummer and asked for the band to go otistage so he could get a new pair of shoes. The singer was not having it. As White later wrote; «Joe glared menacingly at me. I don’t think he saw me, not a bit. It was eerie. Eyes glazed, and like the messiah calling his followers to prayer he stooped low, and pulled the microphone to his lips.

While the dazed guitarist looked on, Strummer slowly intoned. «ENGLISH.. . CIVIL ... WAR!» White: «The crowd erupted. I started smashing out tuneless chords in wild abandon. A few people jumped up onstage and started leaping around. I quickly forgot how stupid I looked. Suddenly all the madness made sense.» With glorious chaos swirling around them, the band quickly knocked out two more numbers before exiting the stage: “Know Your Rights” and «Magnificent Seven.” At the end of that shimmering punk-funk juggernaut, Strummer screamed, “I.. WANT . MAGNIFICENCE!”

But what made for a gripping performance didn’t necessarily align with mental health. While the show had been riotous, the after-show drama would be as well. While Sheppard, Howard, and Rhodes shared a meal at a fan’s restaurant-”One of the only times I enjoyed Bernie’s company!” laughs Sheppard--White, Vinyl, and Strummer descended into something close to hell.

Sheppard told Gray, “The shows were really good, and we played really well,” later adding,

“The gigs were full of freedom and experimentation musically, and we felt confident as a band. I loved the whole experiencethe food, the people, the country.» While sheppard admitted, “I didn’t really pay too much attention as to why Joe was off the rails.”

The Last Days of the Clash.

From Page 173...
Cava de'Tirreni pg174
Genoa pg 174
Turin pg182

[Edited]

One day Kosmo turned up to rehearsal and told us a tour had been lined up in Italy.

The idea came to me to get some funky clothes made up for the Italian tour. As I was still only getting £150 a week I had to confront Bernie for the money. Amazingly I got it! £500! Perhaps he thought these clothes would make me more happening'. He seemed happy I was showing initiative. A tailor in Berwick Street, Soho made up two Elvis style draped suits in a red and a green tartan. I was made up. Those clothes gave me some sense of definition. I had no idea what my purpose in the band was anymore. I was discouraged from writing songs.

Joe turned up at our hotel in Italy a day after us and the tour commenced starting in Salerno, then Rome, Reggio Emilia and on to Genova.

The show in Genova was a riot. I focused all my attention on the audience. There I felt I could connect. There was nothing on stage except ego, paranoia and enmity. Paul had taken to strutting and preening in front of me every time I was in the middle of playing a guitar solo and it was really beginning to get on my tits. I began banging into the cunt to get him out of my way. All the way through the show the crowd went mental.

In Tommy Gun', I would take a sudden run towards the edge of The stage, stop, lean over and fire an imaginary salvo. It was great fun. That is, until some bright spark in the audience grabbed the guitars machine head and wouldn't let go. Other arms flayed out and grabbed on. Try as I might I just couldn't pull it back. I lifted the strap off my back and tugged as hard as I could but it was a losing battle. I was like holding a bone with a with a thousand dogs. It was either me or the instrument and so in I went. Hands groping all over tearing and mauling and screams as I hit the ground clinging for dear life to my beloved white Les Paul. It was scary. The boot went in once or twice. A couple of fists as well. I suppose it was a sign of affection. The bouncers were quick off the mark and got me out fast and in no time at all I was back up on the stage shaking and trying to compose myself. My lovely new suit was fucked. One jacket pocket had been ripped down around my knees. A lapel hung sadly over the other side. I lost a brothel creeper as well as a sock. I hobbled about the stage with one brothel creeper on and one bare foot trying to finish the rest of the song. I pulled off the other shoe. I wandered barefoot over to Joe like some deranged rag and bone clown.

"Fuck this! Let's get off now and come back for the last song. I wanna change. I look like a cunt.' Joe glared menacingly at me. I don't think he saw me. Not at bit. It was eerie. Eyes glazed and like the messiah calling his followers to prayer he stooped low, pulled the microphone to his lips and slowly announced: I....want......a........riot... .....A ..........RIOT....... ...OF MYÖ ........00000WWWWN.

...

The crowd erupted. I started smashing out tuneless chords in wild abandon. A few people jumped up on stage and started leaping around. I quickly forgot about how stupid I looked.

The bouncers tried to throw people off but there were far more bodies climbing up than they could deal with. Soon the stage was so Full of people I could hardly move or hear a thing. I couldn't see any of the band. No one could see me. I played the guitar solo where my fingers remembered it. But nothing mattered now. Sweaty bodies were climbing all over me.

Incredible roaring cheers and it was house lights, off stage towels, and back to sulking in the dressing room again. That night Joe, me and Kosmo, Nick and some others headed out to a bar.

Dazed and drained we made our way back to the hotel. I got to my room. I arrived in the hotel lobby later that evening.

The next show which was the last on this tour had been cancelled for some reason. Everyone was just hanging around there waiting to see what was happening. After a while, Joe showed up. A lot of heavy talking was going on and there's that big atmosphere of serious importance as if World War Three has just broken out. And there we were. Just a punk band after all. But we still head out there, to that venue, the football stadium in Torino walking around it with no gig to play. The band and entourage head out for a big meal in some fancy restaurant that's been arranged for everyone seeing as we weren't playing.

Next day we're leaving. The bus is sitting outside the hotel baking in the hot sunshine. Back in London ...

Vacalebrico - Joe Strummer by Europhone Radio

18 November 2014 / 1hr 7mins / Italian / Listen here

Federico Vacalebre describes talks about Joe and the Italian mini-tour, as well as their meetings in London.

The Clash Intervista Italia

6 September 1984? / Unknown Italian TV / 7:53mins / 360p

Open in full in a new window

Italian Articles

The Clash, the return to Italy in 1984

di Matteo Picconi (blog)

Link - Italian
Link - English translation

THE "NEW" CLASH "MILAN CALLING" It is the beginning of 1984 , the literary year of George Orwell, of the first AIDS deaths , of Margaret Thatcher's strong anti-union repression.

In Italy, the parliamentary commission on P2 publishes its final report, confirming the authenticity of the lists seized the previous year in the villa of the venerable Licio Gelli; in the capital two million people attend the funeral of Enrico Berlinguer, secretary of the PCI, who died following a cerebral hemorrhage that surprised him during a rally for the European elections in Padua; for the seventh time, the Monster of Florencereturns to terrorize the city, killing Claudio Stefanacci and Pia Rontini, aged 21 and 18 respectively.

But 1984, for music and rock lovers, is also the year of the return of the Clash , the new Clash, who on the occasion of the " Out of Control " tour return to perform with five concerts in the Peninsula.

Archive PDF - Italian
Archive PDF - English

UK Articles

NME The Clash Pop Will Die

25 February 1984

Also a copy here

Stephen Kerr | @kidcobbler | Link

Great interview! Loved reading it again (because I was an NME junkie back in the day).

MOJO FOUND The unheard Clash 1984 tracks

October 2018 / 2 pages

Mick supporting U2 in Lyon on their 'Unforgettable Fire Tour' in October 1984

Clash City Collectors | Facebook

US Articles

Creem Magazine

Oct 84

The Clash in Naples

International articles

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 ....