Jude and Price, Pete and Rapid, Stephen. "Headon talks the Clash." Heat (fanzine), no. 4, Aug. 1977, pp. 8-10
Headon talks the Clash
— A multi-article feature including an interview with drummer Nicky Headon discussing the cancelled Belfast Ulster Hall gig and plans to record a second album.
— Two separate live reviews of The Clash's performance at Trinity College in Dublin on 21 October 1977 by Pete Price and Stephen Rapid.
— The concert setlist included Janie Jones, a song referred to as Dublin's Burning, Police & Thieves, White Riot, and new material like the presumed The Prisoner.
— The reports detail on-stage incidents, including Joe Strummer stopping the show to confront aggressive security and a fan who was spitting, and the band's intense rapport with the audience.
Heat Magazine | Aug ’77 | Cover
HEAT (fanzine) #4 30p
Headon talks the Clash
Heat Magazine | Aug ’77 | Page 8, 9 & 10
Headon ...
He doesn’t want to talk about Belfast Ulster Hall gig (October 20th) except to say that it was "just one of those things" but he promises "we’ll be back with no fuck-ups."
What about the future plans of The Clash?
"We want to be the biggest band in the world on our terms. We’re recording early next year for the second L.P.
Will Lee Perry produce it? I wonder.
"Not him, we don’t know who but it won’t be Scratch."
Will you stay with The Clash?
"The thing about The Clash is I don’t know how long it’ll last. We’re glaring up like a comet, but soon we could be in burning out. When that happens we will just pack it in, go out in a blaze of glory. None of this different line-ups, reforming crap.."
He pauses, looks at his meal, mentions he wants to buy a pair of white boots, asks "have we got enough?" Then he’s off some shopping.
Before the Nites gig in Liverpool Erics (October 22nd). By the way The Clash are a four-piece – the Fab Four!!
Jude.
21st October 1977
The Clash at Trinity College
Heat Magazine Page 8–9 (Aug ’77)
All pics (Heat)
I went down, no trouble.
The Clash were great, with the Dublin gig in cold wet starting with Janie Jones. Afterwards fares hoping.
"Let’s have some fun tonight," Joe Strummer’s first words as they went into "Dublin’s Burning", not to be confused with "London’s Burning". This is about Dublin, see.
They did everything from the album, I think, except "Jimmy Jones" which they did in the 2nd set, and some fine new one, couldn’t catch the names.
One could have been "The Prisoner" - forgot to ask them afterwards, damn.
The first set was the best, fans, Clashers, roadies all agreed on that. Roger Brooke-Sweatman said "Argos".
I missed the first you missed the best. Best if you caught them when you knew they’d got a bad line-up. Not that the second was bad mind, just that it was start-up time for Joe. He really gets wired up does Joe, especially during "Police & Thieves" which was amazing. Ehh… but watch out, I know the word, you had to be there. I’ve been there, I’ve seen it, that’s all.
The main reason, apart from the music, that I liked the first one, is that there seemed to be more genuine fans there, actually all genuine fans (huh!!!) went to both shows, and there was many, let me tell you, all the punks really get dressed up who we couldn’t catch the names, lurks, clouts, and the Bookhouse Boys secured their turf and final number that night.
For the first few numbers the Trinity bouncers – students with "Security" stamped on their arses – pushing the kids around at the front of the stage. Joe stopped the show and cool heads prevailed. Their bouncers were then replaced by little girls, good natured, friendly, face of the show, worth the price of admission alone to have seen that.
Paul and Mick still looking great.
Yeah the first show, with one encore (two), they had to let the Count Bishops back on, was the best, I think.
Yardstick by which I’m going to measure every other band! I only enjoyed the Radiators very best moments more.
I think The Clash have shown me something else, the "rapport" The Clash had with the crowd. At the end of songs Joe bent over into the crowd, pulling on all visible and tons of shout. One bloke quickly lifted up a cigarette and into his mouth and "you rotten bastard". The second later a hand with a lighted match attached to it appeared out of the crowd and lit the zig for him.
The second, though the third mean was good (correct that) had all these poseurs see all these studders the some punkedubs some just looking like "this is the way punks dress up, this is the way punks look, isn’t it?" Some were spitting at Joe at the start! "Stop spitting, I don’t like it," he roars at them, "don’t you know it’s old fashioned!" One bloke though kept at it and about mid-way through the set Joe leans out into the crowd of kids at the front and wallops him at the mush, "Gotcha!" Well done mate, and about time too. The would be equivalent of their speedy rebuild, you too be scared.
To The Clash, thanks for coming mates, pity you couldn’t do Belfast, that was rubbish. To you as well as for the kids. I wish they could’ve been one of the shows we saw and I hope you come again soon. Spread the word around London about Dublin, that were not a mob of criminal closes. Just ordinary run-of-the-mill rock ’n’ roll pinheads, ok?
— Pete Price
The Clash at Trinity
So much expectation, so much confusion, so much dressing-up for the night and so having the strangest night I know sounds funny. First sound to younger, the simplest. Clash, heroes.
The Clash zero in on our reason for being: contentment, but to what?
Energy, electric, the sound of the seventies, for any country, the message is the performance ’cos you can’t hear the words to recognise the songs ’cos they played them with few to be heard, the new ones – few but good.
They played and that’s important, they tried to play right. White Riot — why try it when you can spit on the band, when you can when to push each other around. Where to now and how? But there’s one thing certain without The Clash and few others we wouldn’t even be asking.
— Stephen Rapid
Comment:
If you want a reason for "Heard?" just look no further than Tom McParland’s report of the concert. The spelling may have been right but the names were wrong, and anyone who puts The Clash on the same level as the Boom Town Rats for instance — then forget it. To be accepted, listened to, right, but the aims and the motives are so far apart. And if you don’t know that...
O.K. having seen some of the English New Wave bands I will agree the Irish bands Rats, Raps, Revolver and Vipers can all play better but in at least one case, our bands have little in common with the stance of the English bands.
Pics: Heat fanzine
The Brain Police (student bouncers) storm the kids.
Heat Magazine Page 10–Oct/Aug ’77