White Riot Tour with the Jam, Buzzcocks, Slits and Subway Sect -previously listed as the Polytechnic
updated 5 Sept 2008 updated 25 December - punters comments added
updated 6 Aug 2014 - review of 10 tracks so far released
updated 20 December with Soundsystem DVD info
updated June 2022 added photos
The video was recorded by students and has been drip fed. Five tracks remain unreleased (see right).
The following sources have photos and footage from The Clash's performance at the University of East Sussex in Brighton on May 25, 1977:
1. The University of Sussex's official website features footage of The Clash's performance at Mandela Hall as part of their White Riot tour. See more on the University of Sussex website.
2. An article on dangerousminds.net contains early footage of The Clash during the White Riot tour, shot at Sussex University on May 25, 1977. Check out the article here.
3. A video on YouTube titled "The Clash - Brighton 77 pt1" contains footage of the band's performance at Sussex University during the White Riot tour. Watch the video here.
4. Far Out Magazine also has videos of the band's performance at Sussex University on May 25, 1977, as part of the White Riot Tour. Explore the content on Far Out Magazine.
These sources provide valuable visual documentation of The Clash's historic performance at the University of East Sussex in 1977.
Video, Youtube
Not all of the tracks have been released. 6 tracks were unoffically released on Youtube. 4 more tracks were released officially on Sony's Soundsystem Boxset.
(see right for details)
Video - Filmed by Students - Youtube release (by students?) 10 tracks
The Youtube videos have now been removed.
I'm So Bored With The USA 2:14 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Hate & War 1:94 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Career Opportunities 1:42 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
Remote Control 2:73 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
From the owner of the video
"The Clash footage is from The White Riot Tour, the entire Brighton gig, including the full Clash set. I am still hoping to get a DVD out this year - but their are a lot of parties involved to get clearance from."
"There still are plans for a commercial release and I am in discussion with a production company, it's just taking a long time to get all the clearances. It's not just the Clash of course, there's the Slits, Subway Sect and Buzzcocks too.
Almost all the members from those bands have OK'd on principle the release, a few are very hard to track down, and some have passed-on and I am having to deal with Estates. Joe's has OK'd it but I haven't been able to make direct contact with Mick, Paul or Topper. I've have handled a lot of archive material in the past and always want to release officially, it ensures greater distribution and that Artists get paid for their Art. It is B&W, features an entire set - London's Burning (how timely), 1977, I'm So Bored With The USA, Hate & War, 48 Hours, Denny, Police & Thieves, Capitol Radio & 7 more, including White Riot of course. There were 3 camera, edited live and an ambient mic. The sound is pretty good, good enough for a sound recording too. I'm sorry I can't send you a copy, I'll trade direct contacts for the missing 3 for a DVD of some of the set and I'm sure at release time we can work together to promote each other. It is amazing!"
"I remember watching a black & white video of the White Riot Sussex University gig in Brighton a week after the event, it was shown between bands at a gig in the basement of the art college, I have often wondered if this video is still around, I guess it was shot by an art student as part of a course, vidoes of other punk gigs in Brighton existed from the time, I remember watching the Damned & Adverts soon after their gig there." - D (2005)
"I just got a Dvd off someone who said he had some footage of The Damned from University of Sussex Brighton in 1977.
Thought he got the wrong year but it was correct and it also has one track by The Slits one by Subway Sect two tracks by The Adverts and The Damned Fan Club, Sick Of Being Sick, Stretcher Case, New Rose then The Clash; Capitol Radio, Protex Blue, Cheat, Remote Control, White Riot, Police And Thieves.
Joe says White Riot in Sussex University before they start the song also the back ground is the same for The Slits,Subway Sect and The Buzzcocks (Buzzcocks I was given 2 Songs on Dvd).
The Damned and Adverts footage is totaly different background and the drum kit is on a round riser". M (2008)
from email
"Shots from video"
"If its from the one i have been given its a two track preproduction copy (Capital Radio and White Riot), basically i was sent a copy and asked to pass it on to Mick, Tops etc, (Tops loved it BTW and Mick was very interetsed to know it existed plus Robin loved it as he's in most of it behind Micks amp) to probe the possibility of a commercial release as its the complete Clash show plus most of the Slits,Buzzcocks and Subway sect, a three camera shoot by the students all shot in glorious black and white , the sound is very good as well.
As far as i know had this turned up before they decided to release the Shea cd things could have been very different ,so don't expect an official release any time soon although there was talk of like Rat Patrol says a grey area release of some kind unless they have done it already ..........perhaps Klam can tell us , in any case its a fantastic piece of film and one that must see the light of day soon." Steve (2008)
Campus footage of The Clash to feature in new box set
2013-05-23 University of Sussex
Campus footage of The Clash to feature in new box set
Apologies. Broadcast images pre 2021 do not have alt-text
Punk band The Clash perform in Mandela Hall on the University of Sussex campus on 25 May 1977.
Apologies. Broadcast images pre 2021 do not have alt-text
Paul Cecil during his punk days as a student at the University of Sussex in the late 1970s.
Previously unreleased film footage from a 1977 gig by punk pioneers The Clash at the University of Sussex is to be released in September as part of a 12-disc box set.
The band – famous for chart-toppers such as London Calling, Rock the Casbah and Should I Stay or Should I Go — have compiled Sound System, which includes a DVD that couples all of their videos with unseen archive footage.
The box set also collects for the first time all of the band's seminal studio albums, plus three CDs of demos, non-album singles, B-sides and rarities.
The University of Sussex footage is from 25 May 1977, when The Clash played in Mandela Hall as part of their White Riot tour and the gig was displayed live on screens around the venue.
Paul Cecil, who was studying American Studies at Sussex at the time, was among those who attended the gig.
He remembers: A lot of students bought tickets. On the day of the gig itself, large numbers of London punks turned up without tickets and began piling into Mandela Hall. Students took one look at them and started to sell their tickets to them. They thought it was scary. It wasn’t.
Inside the gig it was a really friendly atmosphere. There was lots of pogo-ing and jumping around, getting very bruised bashing into people. It was mayhem but controlled mayhem for about 35 minutes.
The Clash played an outstandingly good set — very short, very loud, very fast.
The new DVD release features four songs from the gig: I’m So Bored With the U.S.A., Hate & War, Career Opportunities, and Remote Control.
It comes from the archives of Julien Temple, a film and video director who had befriended the band and went on to make The Sex Pistols movie The Great Rock and Roll Swindle.
But if you can’t wait until September to buy the box set, you can see footage of the show on YouTube. In part one The Clash are performing Capital Radio, Protex Blue, Cheat and Remote Control; and in part two they play Remote Control, White Riot, and Police and Thieves.
Other big names to perform at Sussex in the 1970s included The Who and The Damned.
The Clash broke up in the early 1980s and front man Joe Strummer died in 2002.
Watch The Clash perform at Sussex University in 1977
Watch The Clash perform at Sussex University in 1977
Jack Whatley February 21, 2018
The only band that matters once said CBS employee Gary Lucas of The Clash. This statement came shortly after the band had signed a somewhat lucrative deal with the big-timeCBS Records and in the eyes of many had sold out.
Editor of the ultimate punk fanzine Sniffin’ Glue said Punk died the day The Clash signed for CBS and although that may be true with regards to the grassroots anarchic movement, the deal actually put punk on the map, spread the word and got kids from all walks of life dyeing their hair and piercing their nose, almost overnight.
In 1977 punk was at its fervent height, propelled by bands pushing the boundaries. The Clash were touring across the country with their debut LP The Clash in tow. Alongside this they had balls, brattiness and a keen sense of what was to come.
[MORE] Never Mind the Bollocks Here’s the Sex Pistols hasn’t aged a bit
In the videos below the band performs at Sussex University Brighton on May 25, 1977. This show, part of the White Riot Tour, marks the beginning of their time with CBS, shortly after the release of debut album The Clash. It also saw the integration of new band member Topper Headon on drums following Terry Chimes’ departure.
The footage is grainy as all hell and the audio doesn’t hold much water either, but one thing is clear as day in these clips. The Clash were always at the top of their game when they were in front of the crowd.
As Strummer gets the crowd ready and highlights the need to matter he unleashes Okay, Capital Radio... with words that mean something and plows, along with the rest of the band, into the track and the set. A set which features White Riot, Police and Thieves as well as Cheat and Remote Control.
Despite the poor audio and editing choices the footage is a keen piece of archival film, not only documenting The Clash and the start of their whirlwind journey, but also a cultural, social and political sea-change in late-seventies Britain. They’re still the only band that matters.
Josh Jones, Open Culture, in Music | March 13th, 2013 2 Comments
Rare Live Footage Documents The Clash From Their Raw Debut to the Career-Defining London Calling (1977-1980)
For all their leftist political fervor, musical richness, and fiercely uncompromised delivery, The Clash still suffered accusations that they sold out when they signed what looked like a relatively lucrative deal with CBS records in 1977.
Josh Jones Open Culture, in Music | March 13th, 2013 2 Comments
Rare live footage documents The Clash from their raw debut to the career-defining London Calling (1977–1980)
For all their leftist political fervor, musical richness, and fiercely uncompromised delivery, The Clash still suffered accusations that they sold out when they signed what looked like a relatively lucrative deal with CBS Records in 1977. Those charges came from grassroots fans and critics like Mark Perry, who wrote in his seminal British punk fanzine Sniffin' Glue that Punk died the day The Clash signed to CBS. A couple years later, they were grandiosely billed as the only band that matters, a quote then CBS employee and NYC-based guitarist Gary Lucastakes credit for. While they would come to regret the CBS deal, even after their breakup in 1986, it’s also undoubtedly true that their uncomfortable tenure with the corporate giant helped their early, career-defining work reach a much wider public — and, as one writer argues, may even have broken barriers for the rise of independent punk labels.
But enough about commerce — I'll let the music speak. In video above, the band performs at Sussex University Brighton on May 25, 1977. This show, part of the White Riot Tour, marks the beginning of their time with CBS, shortly after the release of debut album The Clash. In very washed-out, grainy black and white, watch them play Capital Radio, Protex Blue, Cheat, and Remote Control. Joe Strummer begins the set with a nod to the band’s own sense of how much they mattered, mumbling Okay, Capital Radio… with words that mean something before they tear into the track.
In the second part of this footage (above) the band bangs out White Riot and Police and Thieves. It’s hardly a quality editing job, and the audio is mostly boomy reverb (despite the major label deal), but it’s still some pretty amazing archival footage. One thing to note is that this 1977 film documents the band after a crucial line-up change. While drummer Terry Chimes played on recorded versions of these songs (credited as Tory Crimes on record), he left the band soon after, to be replaced by the excellent Topper Headon (Chimes returned in 1982 when Headon was overcome by his heroin addiction). Their headlining White Riot Tour included supporting bands The Jam, The Buzzcocks, and The Slits.
If debut album The Clash was mostly raw, gritty punk rock with sprinklings of reggae, and the follow-up Give ’Em Enough Rope a little too polished for some fans (at CBS’s insistence), the double album London Calling surely marks the band’s writing and recording apex. It tops so many critics’ top lists that I hardly need say more about it to introduce the high-quality film above of a February 27, 1980 Paris show. The contrast between the White Riot tour footage and this is stark: we get full-color, well-lit video and fairly decent live sound, and the band is much tighter, having worked a full three years at this point with drummer Headon. The above set includes London Calling classics like the title track, Wrong ’Em Boyo, Jimmy Jazz, and Train in Vain. Part of what the contrast between these two sets of footage signifies is the increasing confidence and polish of The Clash as they made their way from their first gig at the Black Swan opening for The Sex Pistols in ’76 to the worldwide punk phenomenon they became by 1980. If it’s true The Clash sold out, they mostly did it with more style and integrity than pretty much anyone before or since.
I was at that gig and somewhere in my mother’s attic I think.
I have my own reel-to-reel videotape of the show. I’m not sure if it was a contemporaneous copy of this one.
I seem to recall it was shot from another camera at the other end of the balcony from where this was shot. The sound is just from a single live mike up on the balcony so a record deal is nothing to do with the sound and the acoustics in that venue were always awful the entire wall behind the stage is a huge glass window. I have a feeling that the Buzzcocks and the Slits are on my tape too not at all sure about The Jam thought.
Will have to try to dig out out next time I am back in the UK
"Below is an original poster from the gig, kindly shared by Chris Stevens. Chris wrote....Here's my original poster of The Clash gig at Sussex Uni 25/5/77. I was a 1st Year student at the time and took this from the refectory wall at the end of the gig." courtesy of Clash City Collectors.
The Clash performed at the University of East Sussex in Brighton on Wednesday, May 25, 1977, as part of their White Riot Tour. The concert took place at the university's campus, which was designed by architect Sir Basil Spence. The building is known for its modernist style and was completed in 1965.
The University of Sussex was founded in 1961 and has since grown to become a leading research university. The campus was designed by Sir Basil Spence, who was known for his modernist architecture, and the buildings were completed in 1965. It is still standing today and serves as the main campus for the University of Sussex. The concert was filmed by students, and the footage has been preserved as a part of the band's history.
"The Clash show was booked as a Polytechnic show, but actually took place at Sussex University due to demand; that's why you don't see it listed as such in the White Riot tour ads & so on. I actually bought the last two tickets! The footage was screened live while the show was going on,on closed-circuit TV screens around the venue, in the bars and so on; at the age of 18 I'd never seen anything like that before & it was certainly a rarity in 1977.
The previous week I'd been to my first punk gig, The Ramones & Talking Heads at Eric's in Liverpool but I still didn't really know what to expect. The hall had big glass windows at the stage end which meant that being summer the Slits essentially went on in daylight, despite the backdrop screens; I seem to remember we had to wait a pretty long time for Clash stage time to make sure it was properly dark by the time they got on. The Jam had dropped off the tour a few dates before, so it was the Slits, the Subway Sect & the Buzzcocks before the Clash. You can see photos of The Slits set in Caroline Coon's 1988 book and some of them & The Clash (in colour!) in The Punk Rock Movie; it's been a long time since I've seen that, so I think it's the clips where Joe has the red shirt on. Or maybe green; getting old!
Unsurprisingly it was a fantastic night. I was already a big Clash fan & it was unbelieveably thrilling to see them in person, the first time of many. The song I especially remember is Garageland, Joe crouching down to sing it. They were loud, fast & just brilliant.
But we know that, don't we?
How fantastic to see those screengrabs; it really does bring it all back. This I have to see; I've been playing it in my head for 30 years..."
News Reports
Books
Page 35, Transnational Perspectives on The Only Band
Book: The Clash Takes on the World
Detailed memories of the gigs at;
Newcastle University May 1977
Middlesbrough Rock Garden, May 1977,
Sussex University May 1977,
Newcastle gig in both Oct 1977 and December 1978,
Newcastle Mayfair June 1980,
Newcastle City Hall July 1982..
Cut all my hair off next day and never looked back!
Gill Robinson - I was there! Great night! Got so pissed almost got put in the health centre for the night but escaped! Cut all my hair off next day and never looked back! w
I was involved in organising this gig and pirate video'd it
Tony Glaser - I was there but as the just-recently-ex-Social Secretary. I was involved with this gig, and somewhere I think I still have the original posters (supported by the Subway Sect I and The Damned, I believe . . . I remember Rat Scabies was so young his father was there with him to try to curb excessive excesses) and I think I have my own personal "pirate" video of the whole think too . . . in some reel-to-reel video format that probably can't be read any more.
Other gigs to remember . . . and before my day was The Who (Keith Moon fell through the stage, when the stage comprised a bunch of refectory tables gaffer-taped together), Bob Marley (I booked him for a return show for £400 in 1975 or '76 but he cancelled with a spurious-looking note from a doctor which said "This young Jamaican has a very bad sore throat and I recommend he return to his home country as soon as possible" . . . wish I had kept that piece of paper!)
Also before my day at Sussex was Jimi Hendrix, and I believe Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I also remember booking Supertramp just before their fame . . . believe we paid £14 for that gig (they were guaranteed to get 90% of our profits), Kevin Ayers (played most of his set with all the lights off as he was in a shy mood; I seem to remember his contract required chilled Dom Perignon and appropriate glassware), John Martyn (several times), Can (several times . . . have a bootleg tape of their gig too), Clive James, Gong (whose altered mental status involved them dismantling the weird ziggurat floor of the Falmer House debating chamber, which the Union had to pay some carpenters a tidy sum to figure out to put it back together).
Al Stewart (whose promoter said at the last minute that he wouldn't go on stage unless we gave him his whole fee up front in cash . . . I explained that as the gig was sold out in advance there was no cash around but I would be happy to go on stage and explain that he wouldn't play . . . the promoter offered me a job at the end of the evening; no, I turned it down). What about Amazorblades?
And I recall the Slits - I suspect they were with The Clash too. And Billy Idol, who was a student at Sussex but never played anywhere more glamorous than Norfolk House (or was it Essex House) - there is a picture of him in normal student clothes in his pre-punk days somewhere on the web. Must be a whole lot more too but hard to remember it all, you know how the 70s were.
Capitol Radio (Youtube)
Protex Blue (Youtube)
Cheat (Youtube)
Remote Control (Youtube)
I'm So Bored with the USA (Official)
Hate & War (Official)
Career Opportunities (Official)
Remote Control (Official)
White Riot(Youtube)
Police And Thieves(Youtube)
London's Burning (unreleased)
1977 (unreleased)
48 Hours (unreleased)
Deny (unreleased)
tbc (unreleased)
There are several sights that provide setlists but most mirror www.blackmarketclash.co.uk. They are worth checking.
Brixton Academy 8 March 1984
ST. PAUL, MN - MAY 15
Other 1984 photos
Sacramento Oct 22 1982
Oct 13 1982 Shea
Oct 12 1982 Shea
San Francisco, Jun 22 1982
Hamburg, Germany May 12 1981
San Francisco, Mar 02 1980
Los Angeles, April 27 1980
Notre Dame Hall Jul 06 1979
New York Sep 20 1979
Southall Jul 14 1979
San Francisco, Feb 09 1979
San FranciscoFeb 08 1979
Berkeley, Feb 02 1979
Toronto, Feb 20 1979
RAR Apr 30 1978
Roxy Oct 25 1978
Rainbow May 9 1977
Us May 28 1983
Sep 11, 2013: THE CLASH (REUNION) - Paris France 2 IMAGES
Mar 16, 1984: THE CLASH - Out of Control UK Tour - Academy Brixton London 19 IMAGES
Jul 10, 1982: THE CLASH - Casbah Club UK Tour - Brixton Fair Deal London 16 IMAGES
1982: THE CLASH - Photosession in San Francisco CA USA 2 IMAGES
Jul 25, 1981: JOE STRUMMER - At an event at the Wimpy Bar Piccadilly Circus London 33 IMAGES
Jun 16, 1980: THE CLASH - Hammersmith Palais London 13 IMAGES
Feb 17, 1980: THE CLASH - Lyceum Ballroom London 8 IMAGES
Jul 06, 1979: THE CLASH - Notre Dame Hall London 54 IMAGES
Jan 03, 1979: THE CLASH - Lyceum Ballroom London 19 IMAGES
Dec 1978: THE CLASH - Lyceum Ballroom London 34 IMAGES
Jul 24, 1978: THE CLASH - Music Machine London 48 IMAGES Aug 05, 1977: THE CLASH - Mont-de-Marsan Punk Rock Festival France 33 IMAGES
1977: THE CLASH - London 18 IMAGES
Joe Strummer And there are two Joe Strummer sites, official and unnoffical here
Clash City Collectors - excellent
Facebook Page - for Clash Collectors to share unusual & interesting items like..Vinyl. Badges, Posters, etc anything by the Clash. Search Clash City Collectors & enter search in search box. Place, venue, etc
Clash on Parole- excellent Facebook page - The only page that matters Search Clash on Parole & enter search in the search box. Place, venue, etc
Clash City Snappers Anything to do with The Clash. Photos inspired by lyrics, song titles, music, artwork, members, attitude, rhetoric,haunts,locations etc, of the greatest and coolest rock 'n' roll band ever.Tributes to Joe especially wanted. Pictures of graffitti, murals, music collections, memorabilia all welcome. No limit to postings. Don't wait to be invited, just join and upload. Search Flickr / Clash City Snappers Search Flickr / 'The Clash'
Search Flickr / 'The Clash' ticket
I saw The Clash at Bonds - excellent Facebook page - The Clash played a series of 17 concerts at Bond's Casino in New York City in May and June of 1981 in support of their album Sandinista!. Due to their wide publicity, the concerts became an important moment in the history of the Clash. Search I Saw The Clash at Bonds & enter search in red box. Place, venue, etc
Loving the Clash Facebook page - The only Clash page that is totally dedicated to the last gang in town. Search Loving The Clash & enter search in the search box. Place, venue, etc
Blackmarketclash.co.uk Facebook page - Our very own Facebook page. Search Blackmarketclash.co.uk & enter search in red box. Place, venue, etc
Search all of Twitter Search Enter as below - Twitter All of these words eg Bonds and in this exact phrase, enter 'The Clash'
The Official Clash 
Clash City Snappers
