Concerts for the Peoples of Kampuchea.
Updated 12 Feb 2012 added punters comments
updated 24 May 2015 - added two offical tracks
Audio 1 - 16 Tracks LP -
Sound 4.5 - 52min - 16 tracks
Audio 2 - White Men In Hammersmith Palais CD
Tommy Gunn label - sound 4.5 - 56mins - 16 tracks
Extended time Bary Myers outro, has fuller Bob bugle at the start
Audio 3 - Dispatches From The Clash Zone LP
Omits Clash City Rockers & Brand New Cadillac and has inferior sound
Audio 4 - Concerts for the People of Kampuchea 2LP’s -
Official release - Sound 5 -
Armagideon Time only
Audio 5 - Concerts for the People of Kampuchea Bonus CD (2014) -
Official release - Sound 5
London Calling, Bankrobber
Audio 6 - soundboard - remastered version
Sound 4.5 - 57mins - 16 tracks -
full and Barry myers outro with a bit of an interview
Brand New Cadilac
Audio 7 -
Official release - Sound 5
London Calling, Bankrobber
Audio 8 - Video: Official film of Concerts - Shown in early 80’s on ITV, and VH1 in early 90’s - Armagideon Time & Mick playing on Sweet Gene Vincent with Ian Dury & The Blockheads
Kampuchea 90's re-broadcast 8mins
Pro recordings
Although a professional mobile recording crew were there to both film and record the concerts only Armagideon Time from The Clash set has ever surfaced.
Audience recordings
Thankfully though a superb audience recording of the whole set was quick to circulate widely from the early 80’s onwards in the shape of the 16 Tracks LP.
The sound quality for an audience recording was excellent, capturing all the instrumentation and vocals very well. The only down side being the usual vinyl imperfections and the lack of soundboard “in your face” quality vocals and stereo mixing.
The Despatches from the Clash Zone, is a bit rarer but has inferior sound to 16 Tracks and omits Clash City Rockers and Brand New Cadillac.
White Man In Hammersmith CD
In 2002 Tommy Gunn in Japan released the CD White Men In Hammersmith Palais, which is sourced from the master audience recording and is a noticeable upgrade on the 16 Tracks sound.
The remastered sound is crisper, has more detail and width, with the bass in particular more focused. Greater stereo separation too makes for a more enjoyable listening. It’s sound is now so good that the difference between it and the official Armagideon Time sound whilst still there, is not significant.
The White Men CD release includes an Outroduction track, which sheds some light on the taper(s) of this excellent recording.
Bob Gruen blew his bugle intro as The Clash hit the stage (as he had done at Acklam Hall) and an American voice is heard asking the taper “How was that? Marvellous Complete Control, did you hear my bugle?..when I played that trumpet”. Bob, as it must have been, talks to the taper about their band, touring and when they will release their third LP.
They also confirm they will be there the next night for Wings. The tapers were not Clash fans as they say Complete Control was the only decent song performed. It is very likely that Bob would have been backstage and therefore it makes it even more likely that the tapers were backstage or how else would they have captured such an excellent sound? But who were they, does anyone know?
Certainly the tapers deserve a vote of thanks from the thousands of Clash fans who over the years have enjoyed listening to this excellent Clash performance which while lacking the mania and frequent chaos of the earlier punk years makes up for it with professional, pace, precision and controlled power.
Visit these websites for a comprehensive catalogue of unofficially released CD's and Vinyl (forever changing) or If Music Could Talk for all audio recordings
Discogs 
Punky Gibbon Jeff Dove Ace Bootlegs
For all recordings go to If Music Could Talk / Sound of Sinners
The Concerts for the People of Kampuchea
The Concerts for the People of Kampuchea were a sequence of benefits to raise money for the plight of the people of the former Cambodia, held over four consecutive nights from the 26th to the 29th December. The Clash appeared on the 27th following two secret gigs at Acklam Hall.
Joe was uneasy about supporting Ian Dury & The Blockheads, because he thought it showed where Blackhill’s priorities lay. He was uneasy too about being part of this music biz event, which on other nights included Wings, Queen & The Who. The all seated Hammersmith Odeon did not improve his mood.
Further tensions arose when Mick wanted to play guest guitar on Sweet Gene Vincent during the Blockheads set. Mick was reportedly in tears after being criticised by Joe & Johnny for rock star behaviour, but played anyway. Photographer Bob Gruen blew the bugle to start The Clash set and then took some great photos included in his recent book.
Bob Gruen’s bugle opens the Clash set and this recording. Clash City Rockers then blasts out with Mick’s guitar to the fore, the guitar effects that marred many a Take The Fifth recording thankfully abandoned. Mick’s guitar playing is excellent throughout, inventive, controlling the power when needed then cutting like a knife. Mick and Joe share the vocals on the song, trading lines. Mick’s vocals are higher in the mix than Joe’s bringing his “Beatle-like harmonies” to the fore.
The set continues in the same order as it would throughout the 16 Tons tour.
Safe European Home gets a great driving performance followed by Brand New Cadillac where Paul’s bass lines drive the song. Mickey Gallagher is introduced before Jimmy Jazz, which allows the band to get into a groove, and really swings!
Joe “Well thank you, glad to see you all parted with your money and I hope maybe there’s someone in the audience who can see that it gets to where its supposed to go to and not into someone’s back pocket! Mick quickly intercedes “Not to cast doubt! A great Clampdown is next with Mick now singing the “men in the factory” section like the recorded version. It now has the new ending first heard at Acklam Hall of Topper’s drum pattern’s maintaining the momentum of the song through to its end. This ending would be retained here on but with the addition usually of an inspired ad-libbed rant from Joe making Clampdown one of The Clash’s greatest live songs.
Train In Vain is heard live here for the first time on a quality recording (first outing on the poor Acklam Hall recording). Wrong ‘Em Boyo next is superb with Mickey’s organ really adding to the song; “You could call it mixed up R’n’B”
As Koka Kola ends there is the same warm but hardly enthusiastic applause as previously. Maybe not surprising as they were playing largely to Ian Dury fans and playing 10 new songs out of the 16 song set (London Calling was released less than 2 weeks earlier and Bankrobber was not even recorded yet!)
But Joe is annoyed; “Ian will be on in a minute”. Then Mick “We’re only across the road you know” leads into another highlight, a brilliant White Man In Hammersmith Palais. The audience response is now noticeably greater.
Mick sings Stay Free and plays some great lead guitar on the ending coda. “Gluggo (Joe’s nickname for Mickey) Hit me! ” as his organ intro leads us into our first proper hearing of Joe’s new song; Bankrobber. It’s played much faster than its later reggae styled recording, a mixture of ska and fast R’n’B and another definite highlight.
Janie Jones and a brilliant Complete Control blazes the way to the end of the set, with Mick’s soloing on the latter as powerful as anything previously. The audience call them back for a well-deserved encore. Armagideon Time is now played in the same arrangement as it’s recently released recording. No doubt the song was chosen for the official album and film because of the appropriateness of its lyrical content to the Kampuchea crisis.
Finally an inspired London Calling ends the Clash set with Mick’s great guitar work to the fore, and Joe whooping and hollering to great effect. He still manages to change some the lyrics of the first verse (“…you should be more careful…) even though the song has now been released!
The White Men CD includes an “outroduction” of Barry “Scratchy” Myers reminding the audience of the upcoming 16 Tons Tour, an announcement about parking in the nearby Old Folk’s Home (!) and the afore mentioned dialogue with Bob Gruen and our esteemed taper.
Did you go? What do you remember?
Info, articles, reviews, comments or photos welcome.
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Can't remember the date now (it's listed on your site) but it was a lovely little hall with a bar at the side. I remember I was getting a round of beers in when they hit the stage with "Clash City Rockers" blasting out. Fabulous concert with them really adopting all those Clash poses, side by side and stage front. Mikey Dread came on to sing for "Bank Robber". Unforgettable. James
The Hammersmith Odeon, one of the most famous venues in London was always shunned by The Clash for their own concerts. It represented all they hated about the rock business; all seated, passive, bouncers stopped dancing in case some one couldn’t see, no chance for any real interaction between stage and audience and not least it’s long association with the rock dinosaurs they so loathed.
The old ballroom, The Hammersmith Palais, just up the road from the Odeon was much more in favour. Nevertheless Mick in particular would have been at least secretly pleased that he was playing in the Odeon and welcomed the opportunity for The Clash to reach a wider audience. Mick’s enthusiasm and Joe’s unease come through clearly on the recording.
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Clash City Rockers bold indicates on video or soundboard |
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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
If you know of any articles or references for this particular gig, anything that is missing, please do let us know.
Trouser Press March 1980
NME gig review
A Concert for the People of Kampuchea
Paul Rambali, NME, 5 January 1980
It could only be cold comfort to them, but this isn’t the first time rock ‘n’ roll has played a distant part in the lives of the people of Cambodia, as it was called then. Let’s hope it’s the last time it has to close ranks against such madness.
Chris Knowles
The Essential Clash Bootleg Bible
includes this gig
Review - Melody Maker
A Riot of Our Own pg 220
A collection of articles, interviews, reviews, posters, tour dates from the Clash's Take the Fifth US Tour covering the period of the Pearl Harbour Tour.
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