The Clash’s 1985 Busking Tour of Britain

Julian Cope directly referenced this little-remembered, hard-to-fathom episode in late Clash history—from the period after Mick Jones had disastrously been removed from the band—with his three-day “Joe Strummer Memorial Busking Tour” in October, 2008. (Check that tour’s impressive itinerary here — then search youtube to see video highlights — there are many).

I’d love to know more about The Clash’s tour (are there any videos? etc). For now, though, there’s this…

From Passion Is a Fashion: The Real Story of The Clash by Pat Gilbert (2004), p 352-3:

In May 1985, [Clash manager] Bernie Rhodes, [manager] Kosmo [Vinyl] and Joe [Strummer] devised the Clash’s last hurrah—a busking tour of Britain. The idea was that the group would assemble at [guitarist] Vince’s flat, leave their wallets on the table and hitch to Nottingham with a few acoustic guitars. They’d then see where the wind would take them. Over the next two-and-a-half weeks, Britain’s provincial towns and cities were thus treated to the extraordinary sight of The Clash popping up under railway bridges and in subways to entertain them with Monkees, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran and Cramps songs.

The group kipped on fans’ floors and in cheap B&Bs. They survived on the money thrown into their hats. It was a genuinely exiting and unpredictable experience. Joe described it as ‘the best tour we ever did.’

Paul [Simonon] agrees. ‘It was like starting out fresh again,’ he says. ‘It was great. “We’ll meet you in Glasgow in a week’s time,” and the idea was to leave everything behind other than the guitars. You couldn’t take any money with you. We survived by our wits. It was as exciting as the Anarchy tour, you never knew where you were going next. I remember we were in Leeds, it was 2 a.m., and it was outside this black club, and people were coming out and really digging us. There were two white guys and they were shocked it was us. They said, “Where you staying?” And we said, “We’re not staying anywhere,” so they invited us to stay at their mum’s. The money we made from busking meant we could go further, we didn’t have a plan of where to go next. There was no rules. You didn’t have to be on the so-and-so plane at twelve o’clock.’

DON’T THINK, GO: Today and tomorrow in New York, BRUCE CONNER’S wildly wonderful short films at Anthology, presented in 2 daily evening programs

From Anthology Film Archives:

Bruce Conner (1933-2008) was an artist whose astounding body of trailblazing work across numerous mediums – film, drawing, sculpture, and photography to name just a few – has long been celebrated in cinemas, galleries, classrooms, and museums around the world. A puckish iconoclast who adopted numerous styles and identities over the decades, Conner never worried about audience expectations or settled into one groove. He never stopped being completely unpredictable. To celebrate Anthology’s recently completed restorations of five of Conner’s most seminal films, we present two programs that feature brand-new and pristine prints of key works alongside lesser-screened gems.

10 SECOND FILM, REPORT, COSMIC RAY, MEA CULPA, and AMERICA IS WAITING have been preserved by Anthology Film Archives through the National Film Preservation Foundation’s Avant-Garde Masters Grant program funded by The Film Foundation. CROSSROADS was restored by UCLA Film & Television Archive, and funded by the Conner Family Trust and Michael Kohn Gallery.

Special thanks to Michelle Silva and The Conner Family Trust.

PROGRAM 1:

10 SECOND FILM (1965, 10 sec, 16mm)

COSMIC RAY (1962, 5 min, 16mm)

THE WHITE ROSE (1967, 7 min, 16mm)

BREAKAWAY (1966, 5 min, 16mm)

PAS DE TROIS (1964/2006, 8.5 min, 16mm-to-video. Edited by Bruce Conner.)
A rarely seen document photographed by Dean Stockwell of Conner shooting BREAKAWAY with Toni Basil.

LOOKING FOR MUSHROOMS (1959-67, 3 min, 16mm)

EASTER MORNING RAGA (1966, 10 min, 8mm)
While Conner produced a digital version of this work in 2008, we will be screening an original 8mm film print.

TAKE THE 5:10 TO DREAMLAND (1978, 5 min, 16mm)

VALSE TRISTE (1978, 5 min, 16mm)

HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW (2006, 4.5 min, digital video)

Total running time: ca. 60 min.

PROGRAM 2:

10 SECOND FILM (1965, 10 sec, 16mm)

MEA CULPA (1981, 5 min, 16mm)

MONGOLOID (1978, 3.5 min, 16mm)

AMERICA IS WAITING (1981, 3.5 min, 16mm)

REPORT (1963-67, 13 min, 16mm)

CROSSROADS (1976, 36 min, 35mm)

Total running time: ca. 65 min.

ZOROASTRIAN FIRE FESTIVAL!

(The Associated Press runs an article on this event, annually—as they should. Click here for the 2013 story, as posted at Huffington Post, which features 24 pictures and a video called “Learn About Zoroastrianism.” Following is the AP story from 2010…)

* * *

Iranians celebrate ancient Persian fire fest
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI
The Associated Press

Sunday, January 31, 2010; 12:17 PM

CHAM, Iran — Thousands of Iranians gathered at dusk against a snowy mountain backdrop to light giant bonfires in an ancient mid-winter festival dating back to Iran’s pre-Islamic past that is drawing new interest from Muslims.

Saturday’s celebration was the first in which the dwindling remnants of Iran’s once plentiful Zoroastrian religious minority were joined by thousands of Muslims, reflecting a growing interest in the strict Islamic society for the country’s ancient traditions.

The festival, known as Sadeh, celebrates the discovery of fire and its ability to banish the cold and dark, and it is held in the frigid depths of winter.

Sadeh was the national festival of ancient Persia when Zoroastrianism was the dominant religion, before the conquest of Islam in the 7th century. Now it is mostly celebrated just in the homes and temples of Iran’s 60,000 remaining Zoroastrians.

Recently, however, there has been an upsurge of interest among Iranian Muslims – more than 90 percent of the population – in their ancient heritage, when vast Persian empires held sway over much of central Asia and fought Greek warriors and Roman legions.

“I’m proud of Sadeh because it is part of Iran’s cultural heritage,” said Mohammed Saleh Khalili, a Muslim Iranian who traveled from Meibod, a town in central Iran, to join the celebrations. “Once it was a national festival and for centuries it has been restricted to Zoroastrians but there is no reason why Muslim Iranians shouldn’t celebrate the event.”

Zoroastrianism is a monotheistic religion predating Christianity and Islam and is believed to have influenced those faiths – and Judaism as well – being one of the first religions with a strong notion of good and evil.
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