Start of the Pearl Harbour Tour - apparently a warm up gig in Vancover.
Supported by Bo Diddley and the Dishrags (local all-girl punk band).
There is no known sound recording of this gig.
If you know of any recording,
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Interview - Radio Vancover interview with 4 band members - Time 15mins
great interview with band as they embark on their first tour
Vancover Interview with Topper and Paul
Bo Diddley talks about his experiences opening for the Clash on their 1979 US Tour. This interview took place in November 2002 at the Rock Nightclub in Maplewood, Minnesota.
David Spanner used to manage a band called The Rabid, later The Subhumans. Dave was talking about the few days before the Clash 1st show of the 1979 tour. They were at the Commodore playing, getting ready for the tour, before the Vancouver show, and he drove with Joe Strummer to the Quadra Club, a local punk club at the time. The Rabid were playing.
The Clash rock the Commodore
That Time the Clash Played Soccer with a Bunch of Vancouver Punks 1979:
Did you go? What do you remember?
Info, articles, reviews, comments or photos welcome.
Please
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In articles I have read about the Pearl Harbor Tour, including the Q Magazine spread, they say that the Clash played at the Agora Ballroom in Vancouver. But in fact, the venue the Clash played was called the Commodore Ballroom. It's located on Granville Street in downtown Vancouver and was built in the early 1930's. See advert above for the show from a Vancouver paper.
Someone at the gig distinctly remembers seeing a guy at that show who was standing off to the left of the Commodore stage holding up a portable mono tape recorder recording the show.
The Clash, Vancouver, 1978
The Clash played Vancouver for the first time in 1978 at the Commodore Ballroom. The place was packed with punks revved up at the prospect of slam-dancing on the spring-loaded dance floor. A local act, the Dishrags, got things going with a punishing, sneer-filled set, then Bo Diddley took the stage with his odd rectangular-shaped guitar and let rip with his epic riff “Hey, Bo Diddley.”
The punks were polite for a few songs, but clearly failed to grasp why Clash lead singer Joe Strummer would invite this old guy along for the tour. The beer and joints were starting to kick in, along with the catcalls, so Bo cut his set short. When the Clash took the stage, pandemonium hit.
The punks paid tribute to their heroes by slamming into each other, jumping onstage, throwing drinks and beer bottles at the band, and spitting at them. The Clash withstood the controlled riot for four songs, ducking and dodging the fusillade, then Strummer interrupted the music to mock them: “If anybody had any balls they’d be throwing wine bottles!”
At the end of the shortened set, Strummer, clearly peeved at the lack of respect shown one of the greats of rock and roll, pulled Bo Diddley out onstage for the encore to jam with them on “I Fought the Law.”
Excerpted from The Book of Lists: The Original Compendium of Curious Information by David Wallechinsky, Amy Wallace, Ira Basen & Jane Farrow. Copyright © 2005 Ira Basen and Jane Farrow. Reprinted by permission of Knopf Canada.
Incredible Tomatoes: I was fortunate enough to see this show in Vancouver at the Commodore Ballroom about two weeks before. Bo Diddley and a local band called the Dishrags opened. Without question the best rock n' roll show I ever saw.
No known audio or video
If you know of any recording,
email blackmarketclash
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
If you know of any articles or references for this particular gig, anything that is missing, please do let us know.
The Clash make North American debut in Vancouver
Vancouver Courier
Clash: a New Rock Import
The Los Angeles Times
Fri Feb 2 979
How 3 teenage girls opened for The Clash 40 years ago The Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver
This Week in History 1979
The Clash rock the Commodore
Vancouver Sun
A Riot of Our Own pg127
A collection of articles, interviews, reviews, posters, tour dates from the Clash's first US Tour covering the period of the Pearl Harbour Tour.
Toronto Interview 2-20-79 Paul Topper Canada
part 1 - (5mins)
part 20 - (5mins)
Candian Radio Interview (20mins)
Toronto - 20 February 1979
The Clash 1979 Canadian TV backstage interview
Complete interview segment of the Clash backstage at the O'Keefe Centre in Toronto, Canada with the Undertones which was originally broadcast on CITY TV's New Music Program in 1979.
The New Music was hosted by J.D. Roberts (aka CNN's John Roberts) and Jeanne Bekker (later host of Fashion Television). This clip includes the infamous concert aftermath with Cosmo Vinyl counting the ripped out seats at the venue.
This rare interview was shown/re-broadcast during the Joe Strummer death coverage.
Bo Diddley talks about his experiences opening for the Clash on their 1979 US Tour. This interview took place in November 2002 at the Rock Nightclub in Maplewood, Minnesota.
Bo Diddley opening for the Clash At Ontario Theatre, Washington DC
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