BBC Clash Project
Re: BBC Clash Project
The BBC certainly didn't blacklist the Clash in 1982/83. Combat Rock got some airplay on Radio 1, and not just the hit singles - I remember, to my amazement, hearing Peter Powell (cheesy MOR ultra-safe DJ) playing Overpowered By Funk on his show. He raved about it when it finished and urged the band to release it as a single!
Ignore Alien Hors d'oeuvres
- Heston
- God of Thunder...and Rock 'n Roll
- Posts: 38370
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
- Location: North of Watford Junction
Re: BBC Clash Project
Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:22pmIt begs the question given the unprecedented success of RtC why they never followed up with a promo video for SIS and milked it for all it was worth. Unless there was one and I missed it, all i can think of is the Shea stadium one and not sure that was in existence back then.Wolter wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:03pmIn the US circa 1993-4, it was the only Clash song 90% of the people I met knew.Heston wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 2:58pmThough Casbah only got the number 30 in the UK, it had quite a long run in the charts. These were the days when a song could hang around for a long time and sell lots of copies without breaking the top 20.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 2:54pmStill a bit surprised RtC didn't have a better run in the charts, its not my favourite song by far but it always sounded like a song that could have done much better than it did. Funny that SISOSIG significantly outperformed it in the UK while it was the opposite in the US. I assume perhaps the MTV factor may explain the latter.
I never saw the Shea video until 1983 on The Tube.
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board
- Heston
- God of Thunder...and Rock 'n Roll
- Posts: 38370
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
- Location: North of Watford Junction
Re: BBC Clash Project
Plus, the Clash were always about wasted opportunities and bad management decisions. To think they never followed the London Calling single with Rudie Can't Fail or Train In Vain is just basically insane. Instead they just had 9 long months of total chart inactivity until Bankrobber came out. Then who decided to release the Call Up as the lead single from Sandinista? Insanity!Heston wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:40pmLow Down Low wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:22pmIt begs the question given the unprecedented success of RtC why they never followed up with a promo video for SIS and milked it for all it was worth. Unless there was one and I missed it, all i can think of is the Shea stadium one and not sure that was in existence back then.Wolter wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:03pmIn the US circa 1993-4, it was the only Clash song 90% of the people I met knew.Heston wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 2:58pmThough Casbah only got the number 30 in the UK, it had quite a long run in the charts. These were the days when a song could hang around for a long time and sell lots of copies without breaking the top 20.Low Down Low wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 2:54pmStill a bit surprised RtC didn't have a better run in the charts, its not my favourite song by far but it always sounded like a song that could have done much better than it did. Funny that SISOSIG significantly outperformed it in the UK while it was the opposite in the US. I assume perhaps the MTV factor may explain the latter.
I never saw the Shea video until 1983 on The Tube.
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board
- Dr. Medulla
- Atheistic Epileptic
- Posts: 116680
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
- Location: Straight Banana, Idaho
Re: BBC Clash Project
But that's the punk (and folk) trap—commercial success means betrayal of ideals. You can't see the mass production/distribution/consumption system as corrupt and unholy while also courting it (except under the belief of destroying it from within). The Clash were plagued by the contrary principles of ambition and punk hostility to the system. So it's no surprise they just bounced from idea to idea, never fully committing to either becoming a Huge Band or staying a more militant niche band.Heston wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:44pmPlus, the Clash were always about wasted opportunities and bad management decisions. To think they never followed the London Calling single with Rudie Can't Fail or Train In Vain is just basically insane. Instead they just had 9 long months of total chart inactivity until Bankrobber came out. Then who decided to release the Call Up as the lead single from Sandinista? Insanity!
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
- Heston
- God of Thunder...and Rock 'n Roll
- Posts: 38370
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 4:07pm
- Location: North of Watford Junction
Re: BBC Clash Project
They were committed to releasing singles in general though, Sandinista and Combat Rock had three each, the other albums two each. Why LC was neglected is a bit of a mystery.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:49pmBut that's the punk (and folk) trap—commercial success means betrayal of ideals. You can't see the mass production/distribution/consumption system as corrupt and unholy while also courting it (except under the belief of destroying it from within). The Clash were plagued by the contrary principles of ambition and punk hostility to the system. So it's no surprise they just bounced from idea to idea, never fully committing to either becoming a Huge Band or staying a more militant niche band.Heston wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:44pmPlus, the Clash were always about wasted opportunities and bad management decisions. To think they never followed the London Calling single with Rudie Can't Fail or Train In Vain is just basically insane. Instead they just had 9 long months of total chart inactivity until Bankrobber came out. Then who decided to release the Call Up as the lead single from Sandinista? Insanity!
There's a tiny, tiny hopeful part of me that says you guys are running a Kaufmanesque long con on the board
-
Chuck Mangione
- Spitting Image
- Posts: 6748
- Joined: 17 Jun 2009, 10:45pm
- Location: Up your boulevard.
Re: BBC Clash Project
Plus "do you wanna make tea for the BBC" must have teed them off101Walterton wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 2:38pmI don’t think anyone is denying that The Clash were given the cold shoulder by Radio 1 (BBC) for a long time. No doubt their TOTP stance didn’t help.
Things changed with RTC and SISOSIG both of which got airplay that summer.
Coincidence Combat Rock was their most successful album commercially? No the two go hand in hand.
- Dr. Medulla
- Atheistic Epileptic
- Posts: 116680
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 2:00pm
- Location: Straight Banana, Idaho
Re: BBC Clash Project
The singles thing was also part of a value-for-the-money campaign, no? So it wasn't about fully embracing commercial ambition but this ambiguous halfway nod to it, but also regarding it as kind of dirty, so there was the value-for-the-money angle to undercut it. The Sex Pistols navigated it so much better because McLaren demystified commercial ambition as naked greed and that they were ripping off a crooked system. The Clash were more sincere than cynical and got caught halfway, satisfying neither ambition and seeming like sell-outs.Heston wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:55pmThey were committed to releasing singles in general though, Sandinista and Combat Rock had three each, the other albums two each. Why LC was neglected is a bit of a mystery.Dr. Medulla wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:49pmBut that's the punk (and folk) trap—commercial success means betrayal of ideals. You can't see the mass production/distribution/consumption system as corrupt and unholy while also courting it (except under the belief of destroying it from within). The Clash were plagued by the contrary principles of ambition and punk hostility to the system. So it's no surprise they just bounced from idea to idea, never fully committing to either becoming a Huge Band or staying a more militant niche band.Heston wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:44pmPlus, the Clash were always about wasted opportunities and bad management decisions. To think they never followed the London Calling single with Rudie Can't Fail or Train In Vain is just basically insane. Instead they just had 9 long months of total chart inactivity until Bankrobber came out. Then who decided to release the Call Up as the lead single from Sandinista? Insanity!
"I used to bullseye womp rats in my T-16 back in Whittier, they're not much bigger than two meters.'" - Richard Nixon, Checkers Speech, abandoned early draft
- 101Walterton
- The Best
- Posts: 21973
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 5:36pm
- Location: Volcanic Rock In The Pacific
Re: BBC Clash Project
Funny how those that ‘were there’ remember it differently to Hammy.JohnS wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 3:39pmThe BBC certainly didn't blacklist the Clash in 1982/83. Combat Rock got some airplay on Radio 1, and not just the hit singles - I remember, to my amazement, hearing Peter Powell (cheesy MOR ultra-safe DJ) playing Overpowered By Funk on his show. He raved about it when it finished and urged the band to release it as a single!
Re: BBC Clash Project
"I am not British, I am English" versus "I am Scottish but consider myself British" deserves a more serious analysis!
Music is the only thing that matters
- Marky Dread
- Messiah of the Milk Bar
- Posts: 59031
- Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 11:26am
Re: BBC Clash Project
I was there I lived and fought the punk wars. Many of my friends didn't survive through drugs and racist attacks. I was at the Victoria Park RAR gig at 14 years old. As for the BBC so fucking what it's 2018 not 1977. As for keeping it real I'm the real fucking deal. And yes it's very small beans if The Clash were played on the BBC or not. The Clash stupidly walked out of Maida Vale from their Peel session. They chose not to appear on T.O.T.P's and cited not wanting to mine as their excuse yet still happily mimed in their promo videos.Hammy wrote: ↑20 Aug 2018, 12:57pmYeah well – I'm Scottish (but consider myself British)...so get it up ya!
Yup, least Lay Down Low's keeping it real – to some respect.
If it's 'no small beans' – why are we bothering with punk rock gigs from 77 etc?
The whole Don Letts 6 Music side of things...is just a sign of the band's appropriation in later years.
As far as being tipped off by my big brother – glad your doing your homework
...I DON'T GIVE A FUCK.
The BBC was not the only outlet for TV exposure at the time and The Clash played on So It Goes (live footage) and they played live (studio) on Alright Now.
11th March 1978 - The Clash played live on the BBC for the youth TV show "Something Else" they played two versions of Tommy Gun and Clash City Rockers so get that up ya!
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
"Without the common people you're nothing"
Nos Sumus Una Familia
- 101Walterton
- The Best
- Posts: 21973
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 5:36pm
- Location: Volcanic Rock In The Pacific
- Marky Dread
- Messiah of the Milk Bar
- Posts: 59031
- Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 11:26am
Re: BBC Clash Project
It ain't where you're from it's where you're at. I'm from England so I consider myself German. I'm non racist so I consider myself a nazi. It all makes sense you know.
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
"Without the common people you're nothing"
Nos Sumus Una Familia
-
BasingSt78
- Corner Soul
- Posts: 22
- Joined: 29 Jul 2013, 4:46pm
Re: BBC Clash Project
"Saw" them twice in the US. September 79 in Seattle, August 82 in Philadelphia. Both times so far away I could barely make out what was happening. The PA was cranked up so loud in Seattle my pant legs were flapping. I was basically deaf afterwards for several hours. I missed them by a few weeks when they played Vancouver in January of 79. I would have loved that. I have been to The Commodore Ballroom, its a wonderful venue, where audio taping is allowed, or at least was. I still wonder why there is no recording of this show.
A cool vinyl shop in Seattle had lots of imports, bootlegs, and this is how I latched onto the first LP. I saw some photos of them outside of Rehearsals in Creem or Trouser Press, and suspected I would like their music. I loved it, and snarfed up every crappy audience tape and bootleg I could find ever since.
Who has a nice crisp copy of Vancouver Jan 1979? The Force tells me it DOES exist...
As far as the BBC doing this, for a die hard collector like me, the more the merrier. Cheers, BasingSt
A cool vinyl shop in Seattle had lots of imports, bootlegs, and this is how I latched onto the first LP. I saw some photos of them outside of Rehearsals in Creem or Trouser Press, and suspected I would like their music. I loved it, and snarfed up every crappy audience tape and bootleg I could find ever since.
Who has a nice crisp copy of Vancouver Jan 1979? The Force tells me it DOES exist...
As far as the BBC doing this, for a die hard collector like me, the more the merrier. Cheers, BasingSt
- 101Walterton
- The Best
- Posts: 21973
- Joined: 15 Jun 2008, 5:36pm
- Location: Volcanic Rock In The Pacific
Re: BBC Clash Project
That will teach you for wearing flares to a Clash gig "like trousers like brain".BasingSt78 wrote: ↑22 Aug 2018, 4:17pm"Saw" them twice in the US. September 79 in Seattle, August 82 in Philadelphia. Both times so far away I could barely make out what was happening. The PA was cranked up so loud in Seattle my pant legs were flapping. I was basically deaf afterwards for several hours. I missed them by a few weeks when they played Vancouver in January of 79. I would have loved that. I have been to The Commodore Ballroom, its a wonderful venue, where audio taping is allowed, or at least was. I still wonder why there is no recording of this show.
A cool vinyl shop in Seattle had lots of imports, bootlegs, and this is how I latched onto the first LP. I saw some photos of them outside of Rehearsals in Creem or Trouser Press, and suspected I would like their music. I loved it, and snarfed up every crappy audience tape and bootleg I could find ever since.
Who has a nice crisp copy of Vancouver Jan 1979? The Force tells me it DOES exist...
As far as the BBC doing this, for a die hard collector like me, the more the merrier. Cheers, BasingSt
- Marky Dread
- Messiah of the Milk Bar
- Posts: 59031
- Joined: 17 Jun 2008, 11:26am
Re: BBC Clash Project
Shut the fuck up!
Nah we may talk some bullshit here but the key is to keep it tongue iin cheek and good natured. Don't take anything too seriously. Its only rock n roll.
Forces have been looting
My humanity
Curfews have been curbing
The end of liberty
We're the flowers in the dustbin...
No fuchsias for you.
"Without the common people you're nothing"
Nos Sumus Una Familia