Clash on Parole Tour
Supported by The Specials & Suicide
updated 1 Aug 2011 - ves2 recording / complete with Slits
updated Dec 2013 - possible master may exist
Music Machine - The Clash
Audio 1 - Sound 3.0 - 41min/edited - unknown - 14 tracks
misses Cheapskates, Jail Guitar Doors, Capital Radio, White Man, Stay Free - Whats My Name is edited
Audio 2 - Sound 3.0 - 41min/edited - unknown - 14 tracks
misses Cheapskates, Jail Guitar Doors, Capital Radio, White Man, Stay Free - Whats My Name is edited
Audio 2 - Safe European Home
Audio 3 - Sound 3.5 - 65min - unknown - 19 tracks
slightly clearer/more distant/complete/includes slits
Audio 3 - Safe European Home
A decent quality recording, quite low generation. As usual the taper is toward the back, the it is reasonable clear with good range and balence of sound. Joes vocals are reasonably clear and Pauls bass rumbles along.
Overall a decent enough audience recording, without distortion, but similarly without exceptional clarity.
However this is an edited version likely missing 20 minutes and 3 or 4 tracks.
Master soundboard tapes?
Another version may well exist (possibly the original) as well as a whole bunch of other Clash master recordngs .. Link here or here.
Box:5 - Media: ID: 213.0252 (Media)
The Clash with Steve Jones July 25, Music Machine/ SLITSGeneral note
Content:
Side A: Complete Control, Tommy Gun, Cheapskates, Jail Guitar Door, Drug Stabbing Time, Clash City Rockers, Capital Radio, White Man, Stay Free, Police & Thieves--> Blitzkrieg Bop
Side B: English Civil War, Safe Euro, Whatís My Name?, London's Burning, Garageland, Bored USA *, Janie Jones*, White Riot*, SLITS demos?
Container Annotation: *w/ Steve Jones
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements note
Format: 1/4 in. Audiocassette
Tape Length: 90 minutes
Clash residency
Clash On Parole Tour climaxes with their first residency, four nights at The Music Machine. The Music Machine (now Camden Palace) is actually about 20 seconds walk over the road from Mornington Crescent tube, and roughly 5 minutes walk away from Camden Town tube.
The 4 nights recendency were rapturously received in the press and by those in attendance. Rude Boy captures the drama: is there a more exciting moment in rock’n’roll cinema than when the film cuts dramatically into Complete Control at the Music Machine?
The Music Machine
The Music Machine (later renamed the Camden Palace) began in the 60’s and became famous for punk gigs, still in use today as a dance nightclub, it has staged gigs in recent years by Blur and the Oasis.
The Music Machine was a perfect type of Clash venue; sweaty, intimate, seat less, restrained security and within the part of London they lived and loved best. Enjoying greater critical acclaim and increasing commercial success, few other bands (if any) either then or now, would have opted to play four nights here rather than they take the money and play one or two nights at the larger Hammersmith Odeon or similar.
New heights of popularity within the UK music press, the Music Machine residency resulted in some ecstatic reviews (see link).
Londons Music Machine, Tuesday night, the second of a four consequetive night residency at this smaller, much sweatier, London venue. The Clash now installed at the apex of punk and music media darlings are fully charged, guitars at the ready, a drummer fully loaded.
Primed to play, Tuesday nights Clash gig is a turbo charged affair of missed guitar licks, absent vocals as the band try to keep pace with Toppers turbo paced back beats.
The recordings starts with the cheers and some mic fumbling, "Alright" says Joe, "this is an Eric Clapton number here" and the band ease into a laidback Complete Control.
"Alright Tommy Gun" says Joe, as the band pick up some speed performing a prescriptive version of the plastic release.
Some minor guitar tuning follows before Joe asks for "an A chord", introducing the song; "This one is entitled get off my back" and the band launch into Drug Stabbing Time.
"We wanna move this towwwnnnn." Joe drawls sarcastically before Clash City Rockers. The band are beginning to kick out at this point, joe stretching his vocal chords to the limit, mick coming in to help with some big backing vocals, which he does all night, Toppers constant engine drumming driving them on.
A cut is heard at the end of Clash City Rockers and before Police & Thieves begins, probably losing; White Man in Ham Palais, Capital Radio, Stay Free from the recording.
Police and Thieves jams in after the cut, Mick hitting some bum notes before dropping out, only to return with a slightly wayward guitar solo.
Mid song Joe's ad libs; "this is the holy town". There's obviously some stage activity at this point and the crowd respond with a loud spontaneous applause. The songs end, as usual, is a segue into a sluggish version of the Ramones Blitzkreig Bop.
"Now turn to page 29 and sing a long" joe repeats to audience before English Civil War. Micks still fiddling with his notes on guitar and there's some bum notes. Joes clearly exhausted, the vocals are stretched and patchy as Topper relentlessly keeps up the frenetic pace.
"Now we're all sitting here in our Safe European Home". Its a tired performance at this point with the band giving everything and some desperate backing vocals to fill out Joe's fatigue. It ends with an extended finish.
Whats My Name has Joe's usual introduction with the cynister voice; "you tell me yours and I'll tell you mine". Unfortunately there's an abrupt cut after 40 seconds and the tape resumes immediately with Joes shouting intro into Londons Burning as the band kick-in in sync. It is an ensemble of chaotic vocals, absent at times, all to the rythem of Toppers endless fast back beat.
Londons Burning ends and it is straight into Garageland. Joe fired up and with something to add now; "...making offers for my life..yes you... and no-one's going to fuck it up.." in a sing-a-long-a-rant. Fired up, the adlibs are flowing.
"...i don't want to go to where the rich are going ... down the embassy.. they think they're [something muddled and completely different!]" in a last throw of joe vocal energy.
Mick comes in and sings Joes vocals temporarily at this point to try an keep some semblence of song, before a tired Joe comes back in and finishes the vocals. The band are clearly knackered and loud cheers greet the end of the set.
Back towelled down and seemingly a bit refreshed for the encores, Joe welcomes on stage Steve Jones. "Its very important, anyone got a safety pin?" he asks, as Steve Jones crunches his unique guitar sound, the one famously trade-marked on Bollocks.
From here on in Steve's guitar dwarfs the Clash sound somewhat. Bored with the USA a much heavier pounding guitar sound as expected with Steve involved. Topper accelerates into Janie Jones as Steve's excellent guitar playing adds to weight of the Clash sound. They're 'all in' for the chorus at the end, and the crowd respond enthusiastically at the end of it.
"Right one more song". Micks guitar on White Riot subdued by Steve's wall of sound. Topper playing even faster, Joes desperate vocals trying to keep time.
Its a manic gig in what are 4 manic nights. The Clash are not at their best musically and Joes tired vocals don't make distract, however it is certainly the Clash in full flow.
Did you go? What do you remember?
Info, articles, reviews, comments or photos welcome.
Please
email blackmarketclash
I saw all the clash gigs (4) there. Brilliant. I followed them a lot back then. We were punks from the neighbourhood and someone from the band..usually Joe or Baker or JG would let us in through the back door. Once we had to scale 30 feet up a drain pipe to the dressingroom window. The MM bouncers were animals and there were always a lot of fights in there.
backstage pass for all 4 nights at the Music Machine -
this one given away to a fan by Johnney Green
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There are several sights that provide setlists but most mirror www.blackmarketclash.co.uk. They are worth checking.
from Setlist FM (cannot be relied on)
from Songkick (cannot be relied on)
... both have lists of people who say they went
& from the newer Concert Database
Also useful: Ultimate Music datbase, All Music, Clash books at DISCOGS
Numerous articles, interviews, reviews, posters, tour dates from The Clash on Parole Tour, June & July 1978
If you know of any articles or references for this particular gig, anything that is missing, please do let us know.
Backstage pass, the 24th
Clash - Music Machine, Monday 24th July 78
MELODY MAKER 25th JULY 1978 EDITION
CLASH
NO two ways about it. All I can do is echo and re-emphasise Chris Brazier's sentiments in MM of two issues ago:
the Clash are THE punk rock group. On Monday at London's Music Machine (the first of a four-night stint there) they were superlative.
Sounds – Barry Myers - Staying Free
The Clash
Music Machine Monday 24 July 1978
THE SETTING was the Music Machine for the four-day event heralding The Clash's return to London, winding up their 'On Parole' tour. There was relatively little trouble. Although I witnessed the odd mindless swipe at over-enthusiastic punters, compared to the heavies up Seven Sisters Road the security was restrained.
PREVIOUS SIGHTINGS of the Clash in action have been disappointingly distant: the Anti - Nazi League Rally in April, where their music and their message were both scuttled by insoluble sound problems, and before that the Rainbow, always a cold, alien venue, where the band might as well have been on' film for all the contact there was with the audience.
The Clash
MUSIC MACHINE, 24th July
LONDON
"TIME HAS come today. Third of four Music Machine gigs and — surprise! — the ritual bottling of Suicide appears to have been omitted for the once. Alan Vega is up by the mike, moving jerkily from pose to like a series of still-photo slides vaguely synch with the music — pose CLICK pose CLICK pose — while Marty Rev stands solid and immobile beside his control post and the drum machine gets louder and LOUDER and LOUDER and LOUDER AND LOUDER AND LOUDER AND ...
A Riot of Our Own pg83
Johnny Green & Garry Barker
Flyer (large)
Poster
MM Music Machine dates & prices
Sounds - early July
Clash to be City rockers after all
The Clash giving it all onstage at The Music Machine (Camden Palace), London in 1978 Max Browne recalls, "This was the first time I'd seen the band and it was on their home ground at The Camden Palace in 1978. Their power was shattering - visually, aurally and socially of course. White lightning flashed on musical crescendos that seemed to singe the hair, crowd surfing, fans jumping up singing with the band until they were whisked offstage, only to be instantly replaced - all part of The Clash at their peak. Mick Jones glanced at me in the box and I pressed the shutter."
Time Out Magazine previews dates at Music Machine
14 Excellent Photos
probably form the 27th?
Granada region, Whats On - ITV
Manchester – Apollo – 2nd July
Rock Revolution Video - 2 tracks - 5 mins The "Rock revolution" vid is overdubbed with fake crowd noise. This is labeled often November 1978 inlcluding inthe video itself but with both audio recordings circulating – it is from this gig, the 2nd July.
Glasgow – Apollo 4 – July 4th
audio & video tracks from Rude Boy
Aberdeen – Music Hall – July 5th
2 audio & video tracks from Rude Boy
London – Music Machine – Jul 27
3 audio & video tracks from Rude Boy
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