16 Tons Tour
Josef K & Mikey Dread
This tour featured local bands booked by the local promoter.
last updated 28 August 2004
updated xmas 2013 with Nationwide video comment
updated 22 January 2022 added photos, tickets and comments
Audio 1 -
unknown gen - sound 1.5 - 1hr 25mins - 25 tracks
Clash City Rockers
poor audience recording
Another poor audience recording but a notch better than some of the other recordings of this leg of the 16 Tons Tour. It’s not too many generations off the master and there is some clarity.
Its main faults are distance, lack of range, poor hard to decipher vocals and some distortion. It is though complete with no intrusive audience chat. Guitars come through and bass is quite good. It’s a flat thin sound but the performance is so strong that it is an enjoyable listen, just.
Video & audio BBC Nationwide documentary
- 12.39mins - 3 sound
I think the live footage in those two videos is from the two Edinburgh gigs from Jan 19/20th 1980, and not from the 18th Dundee gig. Last 30 secs Londons Burning in nationwide clip does sound a lot like the Londons burning from 20th.cheers
Forgot to mention that it looks like Joe's wearing the same clothes in the van ( nationwide interview) and the soundcheck pictures from the 20th.
Second night of two at the Edinburgh Odeon again without Mickey Gallagher on keyboards. Another great gig, Edinburgh has always been a “Clash city” with some unusual performances but again a poor recording.
Nationwide TV documentary
This excellent 12-minute documentary includes great live clips of Clampdown, Revolution Rock, London Calling and London’s Burning. It shows The Clash preparing for the gig with Joe drinking honey and lemon and listening to the speeches of Martin Luther King.
Mick talks about CBS and Joe about their run-ins with the Police. Fans are shown waiting outside praising the band “they’re noo a rip off!” (and later being let in through the window). The voiceover begins with “The Clash don’t sing soppy songs about teenage love or pick ups at the local disco, they tell of White Riots, they warn of Armagideon Time, they shout about the cost of living.
They say they have no allegiance to either the right or the left, and despite an almost contemptuous disregard for exposure on TV or radio, they are one of the most successful groups in Britain today”. There’s a great comment “They’re broke- rock’n’roll gypsies constantly on the move, frightened to stop”.
Reasonable video dubs and good audio dubs exist and short clips (sadly not the live ones) appear on Westway To The World and the rebroadcast of the Something Else, Tommy Gun in the early 90’s
As the 16 Tons intro fades a roar from the audience greets the opening chords of Clash City Rockers. Mick’s added guitar licks come through and like the rest tonight it’s a fine tight performance followed by Brand New Cadillac with Paul’s bass lines coming through.
“Well I just got back and I wish I’d never left” leads us into Safe European Home, there’s plenty of distortion but the strong performance comes through.
Joe appears to talk about the “cakewalk” about his words are almost undecipherable. It’s presumably an encouragement to the audience to get out of their seats and come up the aisle to the stage.
Mickey is again absent so Mick fills the gaps on Jimmy Jazz to interesting effect. There’s a false ending to the song and again Jimmy Jazz allows the band to stretch out and improvise musically.
“This is the City Of The Dead” is well received and the song gets another different ending.
Next highlight is Bankrobber, a song in transition in this part of the tour, with differences of arrangement, tempo with each performance. “That was the bank robber song and this is the gambling song” is Joe’s intro to Wrong ‘Em Boyo, another fine performance with some improves from him. Joe is now adding new improvised lines to the ending of Clampdown over Topper’s powerful drumming.
After Stay Free, Joe’s introduction is unclear but as Topper beats out a repeated pattern Joe sings a brief Hit The Road Jack, (the Ray Charles classic), before it segues seamlessly into Police and Thieves. The first recording in circulation of this new treatment of the song.
Capital Radio makes a welcome return to the set, Joe improves over Mick’s intro and in the song itself. Although his words are unclear the power of this great Clash song comes through. Indeed the run in from Police and Thieves through to Complete Control builds and builds the intensity leaving the audience screaming for an encore.
Armagideon Time has heavy echo on Joe’s vocals and again the song segues into English Civil War. Garageland whips up the excitement again leaving the audience shouting and stamping for more.
Second encore begins with the comparatively rare Revolution Rock, which goes straight into a fired up London’s and Edinburgh’s Burning.
Further evidence that The Clash were in great form on this leg of the tour but let’s hope better recordings will surface one day.
If that’s the case then I was there that night. Have two abiding memories of that night… one was that me and my friend Billy Kerr travelled through to Edinburgh for this (sold out) gig, hoping to maybe cop a guest list (we were 16yo blaggers!) but no luck. However, we were hanging about the back door of the theatre, along with a few more ragamuffins, and Joe Strummer “sneaked” us in - maybe a dozen of us, all piling in stage right. Second memory was this wee 13/14 yo punk on the front row spitting on Paul Simonon (spitting was pretty passé by this point).
Simonon clocked the wee dick, and waited until the end of the song and leaned in and spat a massive gob in the wee bastards face. Sweet revenge. And a GREAT gig. (We also tried to blag in the next night at Glasgow Apollo, but Joe didn’t sneak anyone in that night, as he had stated in to watch the support band after sound check. Glory days of all the young punks!
Photos from the afternoon soundcheck
Did you go? What do you remember?
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The Odeon cinema chain feature frequently in the 16 Tons itinerary. Existing cinemas used for gigs were seated and not ideal for Clash gigs, but in many of the towns played they would have been the only large enough venues available. See photo of the Edinburgh Odeon façade.
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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
A collection of articles, interviews, reviews, posters, tour dates January, February 1980 covering the period the 16 Tons tour of the UK.
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Unknown Interview with Joe followed by John Tobler 'Rock On' interview with Mick and Paul
John Tobler 'Rock On' interview with Mick and Paul
Radio Interview with Duncan-Gibbons
BBC Roundtable
The Clash on TISWAS (UK-ITV) on 5th January 1980, promoting London Calling
THE CLASH - RARE INTERVIEW - LONDON WEEKEND TV - 6 JANUARY 1979 - HD
Archive footage when - the clash - appeared on the saturday morning show on 6 january 1979. The official music video of tommy gun was played - this is now available on vevo - and cannot be uploaded here. Joe strummer - paul simonon - topper headon - were live in the studio and were interviewed by elvis payne. It was tx on lwt in london area only - rest of country watched tiswas.
Saturday morning show was introduced by steve jones and elvis payne. The saturday morning show - tx in london area only - ran for 16 shows eventually replaced by the itv networked show - tiswas - with chris tarrant from atv in the midlands
Punk & Its After Shocks
Aylesbury 5 Jan 1980
BBC Nationwide documentary
- 12.39mins - Sound 3
Dundee 18 Jan 1980
Edinburgh 19 Jan 1980
Edinburgh 20 Jan 1980
The live footage probably comes from the two Edinburgh gigs from Jan 19/20th 1980, and not from the 18th Dundee gig. Last 30 secs Londons Burning in nationwide clip does sound a lot like the Londons burning from 20th. It looks like Joe's wearing the same clothes in the van ( nationwide interview) and the soundcheck pictures from the 20th.
Essential Clash DVD
Lewisham 18 Feb 1980
8 mins - 5 sound -
Clampdown & Train In Vain
Source for various officlal single track video and audio sources - 2 videos plus 4 audio tracks. A good listing of the contents of the The Clash's Sound System box set can be found here.
Paris 27 Feb 1980
Quality /sound 5 - 41mins - 13 tracks - excellent
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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
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