The Clash

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Kate and I saw the Clash (the only band that really matters) on Friday May 4, 1984 at the University of Waterloo. We were punk fans and really liked the band. We drove over from London after work and returned that night. 

The sold out concert was held in the school gymnasium and we had seats high up and far from the stage. I took a few photos but they're pretty crappy -- too far away, too over exposed. But they're a record of where we were. You can, if you squint hard, make out Joe and Paul playing.

This tour was sort of the last hurrah of a great band that was disintegrating. Topper Headon (drums) was replaced years earlier and Mick Jones (guitar) had just left the band to form Big Audio Dynamite. Joe Strummer (guitar) and Paul Simonon (bass) remained. Mick was replaced with a couple of young punks on guitars -- Nick Sheppard and Vince White. The show was pretty frantic with lots of running around the stage. At one point, one of the new guys (I can't recall which), was running around stage right and ran right off the stage into the crowd. I'm pretty sure he didn't mean to do that. He couldn't have been hurt too badly as the show continued without any break or let up.

There's a web site which gives a set list for the concert. I can't speak to the accuracy.

This version of the Clash went on to record the often overlooked album "Cut the Crap". I have the LP and had ripped a version into my digital collection. For the longest time that album wasn't available and often denied in the Clash history (but see YouTube Playlist for the album). There are several tunes from that session that I really like -- "We Are The Clash" and "This is England" really stand out while "Three Card Trick" has a nice bass line and a great reggae beat. It's an album with some definite high spots.

I was sad when the Clash broke up shortly after. There's never been a band quite like them.

Ps. Photos in the album are scans of push processed B&W negatives taken at the time. I had never printed them. This note and the scans were prepared during the COVID-19 lockdown of February 2021.