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Background to the The Clash's 17 gig residency at New York's Bonds Casino
Italy to New York When The Clash landed at JFK airport in New York on the night of the 25th May 1981 they had no idea that their residency at a Broadway nightclub would create such a furore and nationwide media coverage that it became a pivotal event in their assault on America, helping to propel them into the major league Stateside. As Kosmo Vinyl has succinctly put it, "People who didn't have straight trousers and short hair suddenly knew who we were. It got out - it was big!". The Bonds concerts became one of the most enduring aspects of the Clash legend. As the band made their way through JFK airport though, the prospect of the band playing 8 concerts (including an under 18 matinee) in the city had generated only limited media interest; only 12 reporters turned up despite Bonds laying on a bus for the event. Photos were duly taken of the band (with their ghetto blasters) and before they and their entourage set off for the Gramercy Hotel, the Clash prophetically promised New York "something special".
The Clash at JFK
It would be wrong to think that there was no excitement amongst the press at the bands visit (the New York Times had run a background piece a week before but it in no way compared to the excitement amongst the New York public. When tickets went on sale in early May, fans jammed the ticket office phones from the early hours. Queues waited outside for 7 hours only to be told there were no tickets and to come back the next day! Bob Gruen's book includes a photo of fans camping out overnight at Bonds in order to get tickets. For each of the 8 planned concerts 3,500 tickets were immediately sold.
Wall of Posters - Bonds ©1981 Bob Gruen -
Mountain to Mohammed On Bernie's return in February 81 the plan had been to tour European cities, then the USA and then the UK in autumn, Epic though refused to finance a US tour. Bernie came up with the idea of playing residencies in New York, Paris and London. Instead of the usual band travelling to the fans, it would be reversed or as Joe put it "It's the mountain coming to Muhammad"
picture copyright www.Corbis.com
Culture Clash The Clash's knowledge and growing interest in the emerging new black rap music was way ahead of the vast majority of their white fans. Their choice of support acts was typically daring; at Bernie's insistence they had to be "culturally interesting and progressive". The seven-night stand at Bonds International Casino at Times Square (now the Virgin Megastore, if you're curious) figured a varied support. In one of those acts of passionately awkward idealism which characterized the Clash's career, they booked opening acts against punk type: rappers Grandmaster Flash and the Treacherous Three, The Sugerhill Gang, Funkapolitan, Lee Perry, Texan bard Joe Ely, and a forgotten horn-section-and-skinny-tie band called the Nitecaps. And, plucked fresh off the stage of CBGB's, Miller Miller Miller & Sloane and a KRAUT who had formed 3 weeks earlier with only 3 demo songs and who never played live. Plus bands that showed The Clash's continuing identification and admiration for punk; The Dead Kennedys, The Fall, The Slits, and The Bloods (not to mention The Brattles!)
Futura 2000 Futura 2000, real name Lenny, a graffiti artist from Brooklyn was among the Bonds crowd (also including Gerb, Kiley Jenkins, Josh Cheuse) that befriended the Clash and introduced them to Fab Five Freddie and the local hip-hop world. Futura collaborated with the Clash first by spraying graffiti behind them (notably on the Tom Snyder show) and then by performing a rap on tour later in 81, which they later recorded together. The Clash deserve greater recognition as the first white band to intertwine the new Black culture of hip hop, break dancing and graffiti into the group and their live shows. The Clash's "musical distillery" was a catalyst for change. White rock fans at Bonds got their first taste of what was happening in the Bronx and Harlem. Magnificent Dance, much to the band's pleasure was getting repeated plays on black station WBLS. Pearl Harbour, now with Paul was DJ for the Bonds shows and got plenty of stick for playing a diverse range of music that reflected the band's (if not the audiences) tastes. Maybe not surprisingly many of those watching Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five on this opening night at Bonds found this new culture clash too much to accept. TV news reports from this opening night show missiles being thrown at the stage and fans booing and shouting abuse. The Clash were embarrassed and angry at the reaction of their fans, and on the second night Mick dedicated Magnificent Seven to Grandmaster Flash "without them this song may not have existed".
Deadline Advertising and Design that designed the attached poster Hello, For history's sake, it was Deadline Advertising and Design that designed the attached poster (above) for the Clash. How do I know? My name is John A. Czajkowski and I designed it with the groups manager in our studio on Madison Avenue. I wish I still had the mechanical, but I still have a few of these posters in my art archives.
Inside Bonds
Facebook page: I saw the Clash at Bonds I saw the Clash at Bonds' - Facebook page Popular Facebook group that recounts memories for the Bonds residency. Well worth a read.
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Bonds Disco & New York residency Here is a list of known articles around the time of the tour. If you know of anything that is missing please do let us know. Some display images are low res, the link goes to high-resolution version. Some of the links especially PDFs are *big* so please hold on!. The Clash played a series of 17 concerts at Bonds International Casino in New York City in May and June 1981 in support of their album Sandinista!. The site of the concerts was formerly Bonds department store which had been converted into a large second-floor hall. Promoters kept the name because there was a large Bonds sign on the outside of the building. As The Clash had not yet broken out into mass popularity, eight shows were originally scheduled: 28, 29, 30, 31 May and 1, 2, 3 and 5 June 1981. However, given the venue's legal capacity limit of 1750, the series was blatantly oversold (3500) right from the first night, leading the New York City Fire Department to cancel the Saturday, 30 May performance. In response, the band condemned the brazen greed of the promoters while demonstrating unprecedented integrity to each and every ticketholder by doubling the original booking with a total of 17 dates extending through June. Strict interpretation of the fire laws meant that audiences were relatively small, resulting in a sense of intimacy between the band and the audience. Audience members clambered onto the stage to join in singalongs. New York musicians, including Pearl Harbor, assisted and overseen by Andy Dunkley, provided disc jockey services as the audience entered and gathered. The band had a new opening act every night, including The Fall, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Dead Kennedys, Bad Brains, Lee "Scratch" Perry and many more. Many of the hip-hop groups that opened were either picketed or booed off the stage, which prompted Joe to chide the audience as soon as The Clash came on stage afterwards. Melle Mel later said that when they tried to perform the section of "Beat Street" with the, "Say Ho!", the audience members would yell, "Fuck you!".
RIOT ON TIMES SQUARE- THE CLASH ON BROADWAY! From the Dangerous Minds archives: 06.10.2016 In May/June of 1981, The Clash were booked to play at the curiously named “Bond International Casino”—a discotheque that was previously a swanky supper club in the 1940s, and then a low-rent clothing store called Bonds until 1977 and they just kept the sign—in New York City in support of the sprawling three record set Sandinista! album. They were meant to play just eight gigs in the smallish Times Square space—capacity 1800 people—but the performances were dangerously oversold by greedy promoters. Fire marshals and the NYC Building Department closed down both of the May 30th concerts, but the band vowed to honor each and every last ticket and so the number of shows was extended to seventeen, with matinee and evening performances added. The Clash’s Bond Casino shows became an integral part of the rebel band’s legend and featured hand-picked opening acts like The Fall, Dead Kennedys, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, The Treacherous Three, KRAUT, Funkapolitan (who opened for The Clash when I saw them the following year), The Slits, ESG, Bad Brains, The Bloods, The Sugarhill Gang, their pal from Texas Joe Ely and others. Many of the groups were openly booed by the rowdy crowds. One of the shows, on June 9th, was professionally recorded for an FM radio broadcast and widely bootlegged. You can easily find it and every other of the Clash’s Bond shows—all of them were bootlegged—on audio blogs. But not a lot of footage has been seen from the Clash’s Bond residency. There were some tantalizing clips that were seen in Don Letts’ excellent Grammy-winning Westway to the World rock doc (released in 2000), as well as in the abandoned short “The Clash on Broadway” (on Westway DVD as an extra), but sadly the docs didn’t give you an entire song. However, Letts’ Bond footage was apparently shot on the same day as the FM recording was made and an enterprising Clash fan has restriped the stereo audio from that source and synced up some other angles found in various other places (mostly Letts’ docs). The results are probably the best glimpse we have at what went on at these shows. Ain’t the Internet great? At least three contributors to this blog were there and saw one, or more, of the Bond shows. Dozens of personal accounts of the shows can be found in several places, just Google it. One of the things that comes up is from a camera operator who claims that most, if not all of the Bonds shows were documented. From the now defunct Facebook page “I saw the Clash at Bonds” “My partner John Hazard and I were fortunate enough to be hired by Don Letts and The Clash to produce and shoot the documentary of Bonds and beyond that is the Clash on Broadway film featured at the end of Westway to the World. What started out as a one week shoot to get six songs live in the can became a year of our lives. The video for “This Is Radio Clash” was a lift from the 10 minute trailer for the unfinished film that we shot on 16mm and went all the way to a 35mm blowup to show potential distributors. Needless to say - the project was never completed as the band disassembled after Combat Rock. Clash on Broadway is the rough cut we had finished by the time to project was wrapped and went back to the UK.” “We shot one complete show with multiple cameras and a 24 track mobile recorder. We also shot most of every show with one camera and in house 8 track recording. The band wore the same gear every night and Topper was such a consistent drummer - and the band well rehearsed - that we were able to build edits from different nights with no trouble at all.” “Sadly - we never shot the opening acts. We started the gig with the intention of doing a six song DVD EP - not a full scale documentary. Shooting expanded as the story expanded and the shows stretched on.” “We were not making a concert movie per se - and my part in the post production ended when the material left the US after doing the Combat Rock video which John shot in Texas.” Additionally, over 50 reels of Letts’ NYC Clash footage, including their day as extras on the set of Martin Scorsese’s King of Comedy and a shitton of live Bond Casino footage was found in a South London basement in 2007 when Julien Temple was making his Joe Strummer doc and nearly ALL of it was in good shape. Hopefully we’ll see more from these shows in the future. Based on what you can see below, it must be blistering! First up, “Safe European Home.” I love how “the only band that matters” walk onstage like a street gang to the spaghetti-western sounds of Ennio Morricone’s “6 Seconds To Watch” (from the soundtrack to For A Few Dollars More). What band today could pull off swagger like that and not look like complete dickheads? None of them, that’s who…
Win a week in New York with the Clash
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FOR THE CLASH, MUSIC IS PART OF THE MESSAGE May 24, 1981 - The New York Times Archives
By Debra Rae Cohen The Clash - who will be at the Bond International Casino in Times Square for eight performances starting Thursday - emerged along with the Sex Pistols in the British punk rock explosion of 1976. Both bands played music that was fast and furious, brash and bitter, in response to the seeming hopelessness of the British economy. But while the Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten turned each song into an apocalypse -proclaiming ''no future'' for himself, for society, and for rock and roll - the Clash made each song a battle that might, conceivably, be won. Above the guitarist Mick Jones's insistent power chords, Joe Strummer used his raspy vocals like a rallying-cry. One of the group's early singles, ''Complete Control,'' even found them taking a heroic stance in response to an argument with their record company. That lack of ''complete control'' became, for the Clash, ever more irksome, especially with the top 20 success of last year's ''London Calling.'' For their most recent release, ''Sandinista!,'' they produced a three-record set, hoping that CBS Records would accept it as the equivalent of three albums, thus fulfilling the band's contract with the label. The gambit failed; the Clash still owe CBS two more albums. But Strummer and Jones, who are astonishingly prolific songwriters, were unwilling to face the backlog of material that would have resulted from cutting down the project. So ''Sandinista!'' was issued intact, its bulk representing, to the hostile British critics, directionless self-indulgence, and, to many in the record industry, a perverse commercial gamble. Priced at a low $14.98 at the band's insistence, ''Sandinista!'' has sold respectably, but not nearly as well as ''London Calling,'' the consistently powerful tworecord set that established the Clash commercially in the United States. Artistically, however, ''Sandinista!'' is a near-total success. The album's initially daunting two-hour sprawl turns out to be structured with both passion and purpose, skillfully paced to provide - like a live performance - breathing-spaces, humor, and moments for reflection, as well as high-energy barrages. While much of the music is a far cry from the Clash's original two-minute skirmishes, the record fulfills the promise of those early songs, extending their struggle by universalizing it.
The Clash Official | Facebook 40 years ago Joe and The Clash were on the eve of playing a series of 17 concerts at Bonds International Casino in New York City in May and June 1981 in support of ‘Sandinista!’.
Arrival WNEW Bonds week Prior to The Clash's arrival WNEW FM ran a Bonds Week with Meg Griffin. It includes an intro to the Clash at Bonds week with a montage of old interviews and Clash tracks Listen again here:
BBC Radio 6 Music Episode guide Episode 1 The Clash in New York and Shea Stadium Episode 1 of 3 Don Letts celebrates the Clash's strong bond with New York City and the way it influenced their music. He also remembers the show they played at the city's Shea Stadium. Including contributions from bandmembers Mick Jones and Terry Chimes and New York photographer Bob Gruen. Episode 2 The Clash in New York and Shea Stadium Episode 2 of 3 Don Letts celebrates the Clash's strong bond with New York City and the way it influenced their music. He also remembers the show they played at the city's Shea Stadium. Including contributions from bandmembers Mick Jones and Terry Chimes and New York photographer Bob Gruen. Episode 3 The Clash in New York and Shea Stadium Episode 3 of 3 Don Letts celebrates the Clash's strong bond with New York City and the way it influenced their music. He also remembers the show they played at the city's Shea Stadium. Including contributions from bandmembers Mick Jones and Terry Chimes and New York photographer Bob Gruen.
81 03 NEW YORK POST New York Calling The Clash
1981 05 NME Win a week with the Clash
81 04 Bonds sold out
Passport impasse crimps Clash's style
Charlie Martin, was the promoter that brought The Clash to Bonds Copyright 1981 The New York Times Company BOND'S CASINO, NEW ROCK CLUB, OPENS New York City's younger rock-and-roll bands will have a new showcase for their talents beginning tonight, when Bond's Casino, at 45th Street and Broadway, formerly a lavish disco, begins presenting live rock four nights a week, Wednesdays through Saturdays. The new series, which will feature adventurous New York bands such as the Bush Tetras, the Lounge Lizards and the Nitecaps, is being coordinated by Charlie Martin, whose familiarity with the breadth and depth of the city's rock subculture is a result of his experience as a talent booker and sound engineer at C.B.G.B. Doors Open at 10 P.M. ... more ...
81 05 24 NYC airport arrival bonds
1981 05 Clint Roswell The Clash Promise something Special Bonds
Daily News Sun May 31 1981
Daily News Sun May 10 1981
Rocky Mount Telegram Sun May 17 1981
The Gazette Fri May 22 1981
The Gazette Sat May 23 1981
Green Bay Press Gazette Sun May 24 1981
Daily News Sun May 24 1981
The New York Times 24 May 81
The New York Times By DEBRA RAE COHEN
Daily News Wed May 27 1981
Daily News Thu May 28 1981
1981 04 24 (Cover only) BLISTER NJ Fanzine 1981
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Bonds News Reports
WNEW Bonds week Prior to The Clash's arrival WNEW FM ran a Bonds Week with Meg Griffin. It includes an intro to the Clash at Bonds week with a montage of old interviews and Clash tracks Listen again here:
Bonds News Reports 28 May - 30 May 81 - updated 5 Jan 2009 When the probelms started on the 29th at the venue the news media decsended and there s both audio and video circulating that captures those few hectic days. Video: The Clash - News Reports about Bond's Casino Shows - June 1981
Audio: 30 mins of TV and Radio interviews, news and commentary.
****** News Reports TRACK 1 00:00 - 26th May - News4 - 02:25 - 28th May - News4 - 02:44 - 28th May - WNEW FM - 05:24 30th May - WNEW FM - 08:13 - 30th May - WNEW FM 09:15 - 30th May - WNEW FM - 12:08 - 30th May - UNKNOWN - 14:40 - 30th May - WNEW FM - 20:00 - 30th May - UNKNOWN - 21:09 - 31th May - WNEW FM - 23:08 - 31th May - WNEW FM - 29:33 - 31th May - UNKNOWN - 30:34 - 31th May - CHANNEL 2 NEWS - Lifetimes (audio from video)... March 1980 .. New York
The Clash at a press conference for their performances at Bond's, June 1981 Photo ©2002 Allan Tannenbaum
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Ticket Fiasco Even before the end of The Clash’s first concert at Bonds on the Thursday night the Fire trucks and Fire Marshall’s were waiting outside. The Fire Marshall interviewed for Channel 2 said “Last night there were 3649” people in Bonds and imposed a closure order on the venue. The Plasmatics had recently played Bonds with 4000 people inside and blew up a car onstage. The truth as to why there was a problem when The Clash played has never been exposed but the widely held view was that it was a result of inter-club rivalry and a residency by the high profile Clash was too much for one or more of Bonds competitors. As Joe said, “…somebody paid somebody, who paid somebody, who paid somebody to come in and shut the building down” Mojo 96. After a meeting though with Fire chiefs and Bernie and Kosmo a compromise was agreed which allowed the scheduled show to go ahead on Friday night. There was a limit set of 1725 people and Ticketron tickets would be honoured first, as it was believed that most of these would have been bought by non New Yorkers, and thus would have had the furthest to travel and be inconvenienced the most. Those who had bought tickets direct from Bonds would have to wait for additional Clash shows slotted in at the expense of Gary Glitter and Stranglers concerts. This again all changed the following morning when the Building Commissioner stepped in and closed Bonds indefinitely - but that’s a later story. Tonight’s concert went off without a hitch although touts (scalpers) were charging $40 for the $10 Ticketron tickets. Boston Rock No.9 (link) gives a review of the concert. A hostile reaction to the support acts continued over from the first night with opening acts The Modettes and an unspecified group of rappers booed off. Mick dedicated Magnificent Seven to Grandmaster Flash tonight and perhaps spurred on by the hostile reaction by at least part of their audience to the new music they were now embracing, The Clash deliver tonight one of the best performances of the Bonds residency. If the conspiracy theory of inter-club rivalry and corrupt municipal practices is to be believed (and it was then and is still now widely accepted) then the agreement reached with the Fire Department on Friday 29th May which allowed that night’s concert (and future ones) to go ahead, was presumably not damaging enough for those behind the action. Certainly we do know that just hours before the Saturday matinee for under 18’s was to go ahead, the Building Department stepped in and effectively closed Bonds indefinitely stating the club was a potential death trap because of unsatisfactory fire exit arrangements. As TV news reports put it “2000 fans were turned away [from the Matinee] with the help of mounted Police” and “hundreds poured into the street shouting obscenities and blocking traffic”. Some protesters were hit by billy clubs and one girl was arrested. This mini-riot (Don Letts filmed scenes) provoked extensive TV and radio coverage, the front page of the New York Post declared ““Clash” in Times Square” (which the band proudly had made up as T-shirts) and was the basis for the band members oft since repeated boast that it was the first riot in Times Square since Frank Sinatra’s bobbysoxers in the late 40’s. Kosmo writes in Bob Gruen’s book; “What happened to The Clash at Bonds was that they got phenomenal media coverage… Up to this time the coverage of punk was safety pins and Sid & Nancy. So this was a very positive thing. I think the riot in Times Square did it..The record company were banned from the gig, because they’d done nothing to support Sandinista. So you’ve got the biggest media event going on and CBS have to say, “We can’t help you, contact Kosmo at the Gramercy”. They learned a lesson there. It put The Clash on the map for real, big-time brand recognition. We clawed our way into the Premier Division with that one” Although these events are covered in some depth by the various books on The Clash and magazine articles at the time, they do contain factual errors. The Clash could have (like many bands would have done) just walked away and refunded the ticket holders but that would have been contrary to The Clash’s long established and proven track record of commitment to its fans. So The Clash instructed lawyers to seek court orders to overturn the ban and Kosmo and Bernie laboured to negotiate with the authorities. Both Saturday’s planned performances though had to be cancelled as a solution proved hard to achieve. The persuasive power that achieved the breakthrough according to a number of accounts (and its such a great story it has to be true!) came ironically from the Building Commissioner’s own daughters who were Clash fans and badgered their father into submission!
WNEW FM Sunday’s events are well documented on the circulating audio dubs from WNEW FM (who had a reporter at Bonds to provide updates on developments) and from TV news reports. The WNEW FM reports begin with confirmation that the Saturday shows were cancelled because the Building Department said there had been “previous infractions of safety rules”. The Clash though had “no plans to leave town” and every effort was being made to get the shows back on. Everyone agreed the problems came from “rock club rivalry”. On Sunday 31st May at 2pm The Clash called a press conference and Building Commissioner Irwin Fruckman confirmed all inspections had been completed (improved security and reworked fire exit systems now in place) and shows could go ahead safely provided no more than 1725 people were let in.
Bernie statement At 3pm the press conference was over and the reporter spoke to Bernard Rhodes. Bernie in a rare recorded interview explained that agreement had been reached after talks with the Fire and Building Departments and the Mayors Office. The dates had now been rescheduled with 8 new shows added so that everyone who bought original tickets would get to see The Clash. Refunds or exchanges would be available to those who could not make the rescheduled dates. As on the Friday night it was Ticketron ticket holders who would be serviced first, they are the “people that the did most travelling, New Yorkers will a get special show as they have been so patient”. Bernie then made this statement; “Bearing in mind we’ve been up for the last 3 days and nights trying to sort this out we feel that the policy of The Clash has been upheld - that is giving you the news behind the news to music, and if we can present a show no matter how tired we are that you people out there enjoy then we hope that it has been worthwhile …we think you are more informed than any other audience.”
WNEW FM announcer then said Sunday night’s concert is going ahead with a 10pm start, The Clash on at 12 who have been “doing an amazing job of straightening out this whole thing - WNEW FM in New York - Clash on tonight!” Channel 2 TV news report (audio only circulating) has Mick saying, “we’re playing tonight”, and Paul “We like it here” and Building Commissioner, Irwin Fruckman interviewed confirming it was now safe for the concerts to continue.
'The Clash face the unruly mobs' Michael Barnard 1981 05 28
News Reports about Bond's Casino Shows June 1981
City Shuts Bonds Disco; - 29 May 1981 A performance of the punk-rock group the Clash was canceled yesterday following an order to close the crowded Bonds Disco on Times Square, where it was to have taken place. Hundreds of angry fans were cleared off 45th Street by mounted police officers after it was announced that the London-based group would not perform its scheduled 1 P.M. show. ''Hell, no! We won't go!'' chanted the fans, some of whom had waited in line since 3 A.M. It took about 20 minutes to disperse the angry group of 800 fans. No arrests were reported. The show was canceled after the city Buildings Department issued an order requiring the disco to shut down because of a problem over exits. Joel Heller, the disco's manager, said two June matinees had been arranged for the fans who were to have attended the afternoon show yesterday.O-A performance of the punk-rock group the Clash was canceled yesterday following an order to close the crowded Bonds Disco on Times Square, where it was to have taken place. Hundreds of angry fans were cleared off 45th Street by mounted police officers after it was announced that the London-based group would not perform its scheduled 1 P.M. show. ''Hell, no! We won't go!'' chanted the fans, some of whom had waited in line since 3 A.M. It took about 20 minutes to disperse the angry group of 800 fans. No arrests were reported. The show was canceled after the city Buildings Department issued an order requiring the disco to shut down because of a problem over exits. 
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Posters
Bonds Police Line Tickets on Sale 81 05 28
Bonds news Ticket queues 81 05
May 29th Concert
Bonds - Lisa Allan The Clash Live Up to their Name 81 05 29?
The New York Times: Pop The Clash Quartet 81 05 30
Daily News City & disco clash, and Clash cools it Sun May 31 1981
NEWSP Bonds 'City & Disco clash' Larry Sutton 1981 05 29
Journal and Courier Sun May 31 1981
Clarion Ledger Sun May 31 1981
Sioux City Journal Sun May 31 1981
Star Gazette Sun May 31 1981
The Gazette Sun May 31 1981
Kraut Thanks to Phil at Sex-Pistols.net for this info. KRAUT: Donny Cowan - bass/vocals, Davey Gunner - vocals, Doug Holland - guitar/vocals (replaced by Chris Smith) , Johnny Feedback - drums/vocals.
FAX 7 RUMOURS Bonds Ticket Fiasco 81 06 15
Courier Post Sun May 31 1981
The Atlanta Constitution Sun May 31 1981
For Bonds it was double capacity or nothing 1981 05
The Central New Jersey Home News Sun May 31 1981
The Record Sun May 31 1981
The Herald News Sun May 31 1981
The Journal News Sun May 31 1981
IRA MAYER The Clash Rocks with raw energy 1981 05 31
FOR THE CLASH, MUSIC IS PART OF THE MESSAGE Debra Rae Cohen writes frequently about rock music. By DEBRA RAE COHEN The Clash - who will be at the Bond International Casino in Times Square for eight performances starting Thursday - emerged along with the Sex Pistols in the British punk rock explosion of 1976. Both bands played music that was fast and furious, brash and bitter, in response to the seeming hopelessness of the British economy. But while the Sex Pistols' Johnny Rotten turned each song into an apocalypse -proclaiming ''no future'' for himself, for society, and for rock and roll - the Clash made each song a battle that might, conceivably, be won. Above the guitarist Mick Jones's insistent power chords, Joe Strummer used his raspy vocals like a rallying-cry. One of the group's early singles, ''Complete Control,'' even found them taking a heroic stance in response to an argument with their record company. That lack of ''complete control'' became, for the Clash, ever more irksome, especially with the top 20 success of last year's ''London Calling.'' For their most recent release, ''Sandinista!,'' they produced a three-record set, hoping that CBS Records would accept it as the equivalent of three albums, thus fulfilling the band's contract with the label. The gambit failed; the Clash still owe CBS two more albums. But Strummer and Jones, who are astonishingly prolific songwriters, were unwilling to face the backlog of material that would have resulted from cutting down the project. So ''Sandinista!'' was issued intact, its bulk representing, to the hostile British critics, directionless self-indulgence, and, to many in the record industry, a perverse commercial gamble. Priced at a low $14.98 at the band's insistence, ''Sandinista!'' has sold respectably, but not nearly as well as ''London Calling,'' the consistently powerful tworecord set that established the Clash commercially in the United States. Artistically, however, ''Sandinista!'' is a near-total success. The album's initially daunting two-hour sprawl turns out to be structured with both passion and purpose, skillfully paced to provide - like a live performance - breathing-spaces, humor, and moments for reflection, as well as high-energy barrages. While much of the music is a far cry from the Clash's original two-minute skirmishes, the record fulfills the promise of those early songs, extending their struggle by universalizing it.
City calls a truce in Clash wars and the band plays on
NME Bonds Fiasco Under Fire in New York 81 06 01
Asbury Park Press Mon Jun 1 1981
Poughkeepsie Journal Mon Jun 1 1981
Quad City Times Mon Jun 1 1981
The Windsor Star Mon Jun 1 1981
The Ottawa Citizen Mon Jun 1 1981
Star Gazette Mon Jun 1 1981
The Boston Globe Mon Jun 1 1981
The Charlotte Observer Mon Jun 1 1981
Clash Melee Points Up Danger of Overselling by Robert Palmer The Clash concerts at the Bond's International Casino, West 45th Street and Broadway, have been causing quite a stir, and not because of the British rock band's political lyrics and incendiary performing style. Bond's was closed by the city Department of Buildings on Saturday after the Clash played to a crowd estimated at 3,640 people; the club's legal capacity is 1800. But after the club complied with building inspectors by installing fire-exit signs and making other minor alterations, it was allowed to reopen - on the condition that audiences not exceed the legal limit. The Clash agreed to play six extra performances to accomodate ticket-holders who were turned away from this week's performances. ... more ...
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Residency
Sandinista fliers were dropped from above in mid-show at Bonds.
The Boston Globe Tue Jun 2 1981
The Los Angeles Times Fri Jun 5 1981
The Los Angeles Times Sat Jun 6 1981
The Los Angeles Times Sat Jun 6 1981
The News Sat Jun 6 1981
Daily News Sun Jun 7 1981
Clash Contre Mafia French Mag Bonds 81 09
Melody Maker 6 June 81 Bonds
2nd week. page 2 missing but good read - text version
Blister Fanzine full 5mb
VOICE Bonds Clash 81 06 10
The Herald News Fri Jun 12 1981
The Ottawa Citizen Fri Jun 12 1981
Clash blasts new romantics
NME How the Clash Fed the Wonderbread (and cancelled US Tour)
How The Clash Fed The Wonderbread Generation, Made The Mountain Come to Mohammed - And Other Miracles Mick Farren, NME, 20 June 1981 The winner of NME's Flatter The Clash competition checks out the ramifications when an English band's world is at Bonds. KOSMO VINYL shoots both fists heavenward, for all the world like a man who had just scored for West Ham at Wembley. "I got the news on every channel! I got the news on every channel! I conned them all. I told them all that they were going to get an exclusive and then I stitched them all up!" ... more ...
How I called Joe Strummer 81 06 21
Boston Rock Summer 81 No 19 81 06
Face NO 16 August 81 Bonds & US Tour 81 06
MOJO CLASH SPECIAL BONDS
The Clash on Broadway Chris Salewicz, Mojo, August 1994 IF THERE WAS ONE PIVOTAL EVENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE Clash's assault on the USA it was the season of 17 shows they played at Bond's, a tacky former disco on Broadway and Times Square, New York, New York in May and June 1981. They had already achieved cult status; the London Calling album had made the US Top 30. But after these extraordinary shows, large-scale American stardom was theirs for the taking. The Top 5 chart placing of Combat Rock the following year can be traced back to this springboard. And therefore we might say it also marked the beginning of the end, the apex of The Clash, who in Manhattan in the summer of 1981, simply seemed like the most perfect rock and roll group in the world, and these two weeks the perfect rock and roll time. ... full text version ...
French Magazine The Clash in New York feature 81 06
BONDAGE AT BONDS! By Michael Barnard
RUDE BOYS - An Interview with Joe Strummer and Robert Fripp by Vic Garbarini The basic idea was fairly simple: you get the two foremost proponents of the idea of music as a force for personal and social change, sit 'em down together for a few beers, and see what happens. Now let's look at the potential problems: on the surface, polite, articulate Robert Fripp and acerbic, street-wise Joe Strummer don't appear to be the most compatible duo in rock history. I mean, you wouldn't expect them to bunk together at summer camp, would you? As musicians they seem to follow widely divergent paths, with the classically trained Fripp exploring the oceanic textures and laser-like solos of Frippertronics, or the fractured, geometric etudes of -The league of Gentlemen-, while Strummer the street poet and musical innocent bashes out three chord symphonies, or heads further up the river into the dark, sensual heartland of reggae and dub. more
Sounds Police & Fireman (unreadable - upgrade wanted)
JONATHAN LETHEM : WRITER http://www.jonathanlethem.com/index.html The Clash .... This you're likelier to remember: in 1981 the Clash played a seven-night stand at Bonds International Casino at Times Square (now the Virgin Megastore, if you're curious). In one of those acts of passionately awkward idealism which characterized the Clash's career, they booked opening acts against punk type: rappers Grandmaster Flash and the Treacherous Three, Texan bard Joe Ely, and a forgotten horn-section-and-skinny-tie band called the Nitecaps. And, plucked fresh off the stage of CBGB's, Miller Miller Miller & Sloane. ... more
Bonds It's The 40th Anniversary Of The Clash's Legendary Times Square Concerts
...The Clash, while anti-establishment, were still a very fan-focused group, and since all of the other shows were similarly oversold, the band decided to play a total of 17 shows, so anyone who bought tickets could potentially see them or they could opt for a refund. "Everybody who has a bonus ticket has got to wait a few days," their manager said on a 1981 news segment. For those who couldn't go, "they'll get their money back, that we promise."...
The Clash on Broadway - Revolution Rock
PUNK ROCK HEART - Joe Strummer 1952-2003 By Annie Toone
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A SHORT FILM ON THE LIFE AND TIMES OF FUTURA 2000 The Clash Futura 2000 12ozProphet, “the largest graffiti, street art and pop culture community online”, collaborated with film maker Justin Hogan in the creation of this short documentary on graffiti legend and pop culture icon Futura 2000. Leonard (Futura) talks about the early days of being a street art pioneer, his experiences with The Clash, Madonna, life in Brooklyn and his current projects.
THE CLASH MEET FUTURA 2000 AND A RIOT THEY DIDN’T OWN New York graffiti legend Futura 2000 is one of the immortals, a spray can slinging Jesse James. Starting out in the 70s thru the 80s and beyond, Futura’s subway and wall murals were distinctive for their tight clean lines and wild but precise abstract lettering. They jumped out with a stunning clarity. He and Dondi White were the kings of Krylon. When The Clash arrived in New York in 1981 to do their series of gigs at Bonds, they embraced the hip hop scene much in the same way they had absorbed reggae into their music. Joe, Mick, Paul and Topper hooked up with some of the major forces in rap and graffiti, including Futura. At the time Mr. 2000 knew nothing about The Clash but accepted their invitation to join them on stage and paint graffiti backdrops as the band played. He eventually joined them on tour. During their 2 1/2 week residency at Bonds, The Clash took some time off to go into Electric Lady Studio with Futura, Fab Five Freddy and Dondi. As The Clash layed down rhythm tracks for “The Escapades of Futura 2000,” Fab, Dondi and Strummer sang background while Futura did his best to compress the history of graffiti into a 6 minute rap. His rapping skills leave alot to be desired; off the rhythm and with lyrics that are rudimentary at best. However, his mission statement and celebration of street art makes up in solidarity what it lacks in dexterity. “Escapades Of Futura 2000” may not endure as a rap classic, but it was one vital element in the hybridization of punk and Black street culture. White/Black, we were all living in the ghetto, whether it be a council flat, the Lower East Side or the South Bronx. We were united by poverty, anger, music and art and looking for a riot of our own. The coming together of the uptown rap scene with the downtown punks was the beginning of a melding of musical movements that had previously just observed each other from a distance. Uptown and downtown innovators started collaborating in New York and on an international scale. Bands like The Beastie Boys, Gang Of Four, Rip Rig Panic, The Slits, Bush Tetras, Liquid Liquid and PIL fell under the influence of dub, reggae, funk and disco. Even college kids like Talking Heads got into the action. Suddenly The Clash were being played in the discos and white hipsters were dancing to Grandmaster Flash and Afrika Bambaataa at the Mudd Club. The quintessential and most seamless marriage of punk to reggae and funk to hardcore was by a former jazz band from Washington D.C.: Bad Brains. The Damned had turned The Clash onto the Brains and were invited by the band to be an opening act at Bonds. The Clash/Bad Brains double bill was one of those seminal moments when the music really came together, in theory and action, and for those in the audience who were open to it (sadly, not many were) there was the realization that punk was more than a fashion statement or hip stance. It was part of a struggle that reached way beyond white suburbia or the enclaves of pale-skinned rock and rollers in Alphabet City. The White Riot was Black as well. And the beat was everything, the common ground, the heart. And it belonged to everyone. A riot of your own might give you a momentary sense of empowerment, but it won’t win the big battles. When punk met rap, the seeds of a cultural revolution began. We just didn’t follow through. As the 80s and 90s rolled around, music became commodified once again along racial lines, urban or classic, hip hop or punk, rap or hardcore. And New York City has never been as musically segregated as it is today. Here’s a video mashup of “Escapades Of Futura 2000” with excerpts from Manfred Kirchheimer’s Stations Of The Elevated. The Clash are rocking it as Futura invokes the gods of Rustoleum in his mission to change the world.
FDR statement
Joe Strummer in photos by Lisa Haun in New York in 1981 Joe Strummer in photos by Lisa Haun in New York in 1981, when the Clash played a series of gigs at Bonds International Casino. The Underestimator
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History of Bonds
BOND'S INTERNATIONAL CASINO 1530 Broadway, on the east side of Broadway between 44th and 45th Streets. (Often spelled without an apostrophe.) A short-lived discotheque most famous for hosting the "Clash on Broadway" residency in 1981, Bond's sat on one of the Times Square-iest spots of land in Times Square. Location 1530 Broadway (between 44th & 45th Street) New York City .... more ...
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The Clash Original 1981 Press Release Bonds New York City Concerts This is the original April 26, 1981 press release announcing the then-upcoming May 28 through June 3 Clash concerts at Bonds in New York City. Printed on 8.5 x 11 red paper, this one-sided release includes the following information: each night a British band will play at 10 p.m., an American band will play at 11 p.m., and the Clash will take the stage at midnight; a matinee is scheduled for young rockers under age 18; there will be a 7-night 2-ticket giveaway for "the clever fan" who best answers what he/she "expects from music in the '80s." Tickets for the matinee cost $5; tickets for all other shows cost $10. (Those were the days!) This is the original release as it was received from the publicist in 1981. The Clash Original 1981 Press Release Bonds New York City Concerts
Clash original Handbill
(Cover only) BLISTER NJ Fanzine 1981 1981 04 24
UK Magazine, The Face front cover February 1981
Record Mirror archive 1955-1981 Searchable, most editions
Great collection of scanned fanzines from the 1970s and 1980s |
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UPDATE 81 05 29 News Reports (Don Letts footage/handheld) Mick red top, white pants, Joe red top, black t-shirt, red pants 81 06 02 (Shot by Don Letts/handheld) Magnificent 7 (incomplete/partially dubbed) 81 06 03 (Rumoured to be full show) 81 06 13e Pro Shot Mick blue blazer, white t-shirt, Joe red top, black t-shirt Unknown (Don Letts footage/handheld) Live footage (No Audio) Mick white top red pants
Clash On Broadway Reels "all the original reels have been found and are now with Sony. UPDATE1 The footage the footage that was found is very expensive to transfer. Don hasn't yet ID'd the film boxes (03/2015). UPDATE2 On the Facebook page dedicated to the summer 1981 Nyc residence, from one Kevin Bud Jones that was hired by Don Letts to help shout ing The Clash on Broadway docufilm: "We shot one complete show with multiple cameras and a 24 track mobile recorder. We also shot most of every show with one camera and in house 8 track recording. The band wore the same gear every night and Topper was such a consistent drummer - and the band well rehearsed - that we were able to build edits from different nights with no trouble at all." (03/2015)" There are around 36 tapes in all, each of which would cost at least £500 per tape to transfer (the prohibitive cost is why the filmakers didn't have this material transferred at the time) - it's on a rare early video format called EIAJ. Sam
From a camerman Facebook The same guy who posted that also wrote this in the comments (bold emphasis mine):
Found in London garage 2006 handed to SonyThere are around 36 tapes in all, each of which would cost at least £500 per tape to transfer (the prohibitive cost is why we didn't have this material transferred at the time) - it's on a rare early video format called EIAJ.
We shot one complete show with multiple cameras and a 24 track mobile recorder From - I saw the Clash at Bonds play at Bonds - Facebook page My partner John Hazard and I were fortunate enough to be hired by Don Letts and The Clash to produce and shoot the documentary of Bonds and beyond that is the Clash on Broadway film featured at the end of Westway to the World. What started out as a one week shoot to get six songs live in the can became a year of our lives. The video for This Is Radio Clash was a lift from the 10 minute trailer for the unfinished film that we shot on 16mm and went all the way to a 35mm blowup to show potential distributors. Needless to say - the project was never completed as the band disassembled after Combat Rock. Clash on Broadway is the rough cut we had finished by the time to project was wrapped and went back to the UK. Sadly - we never shot the opening acts. We started the gig with the intention of doing a six song DVD EP - not a full scale documentary. Shooting expanded as the story expanded and the shows stretched on. Q. How come we've never seen the release of the entire show?
Clash on Broadway film UPDATE Update: March 2007. Researchers for the Julian Temple Strummer film, The Future is Unwrtten unearthed the full set of reels shot by Don Letts. Of which over 90% was recoverable. They had been kept in a garage lock in South London for over 25 years. They turned up purely by accident. The whole load of film reels that had been originally shot on 60 millimeter for a film called Clash on Broadway. The film, shot in New York in 1981, was principally going to be a clash movie. However it never actually got finished. The only version of the film that existed was a cutting copy as described above in the various releases, it wasn't great quality. The film researchers heard about a man who lived in South London, and he had a whole lot of film reels and he wasn't quite sure what they were. They visited him at his house and he told the story about he how he acquired these film reels, not neccessarily by straight forward means, he just had them. And for oer 25 years he sat on them. He kept them in his cellar, he did move house several times but always took them with him. There are 50 film reels from clash on Broadway. It includes amazing footage like The Clash visiting Martin Scorsese on the set of king of comedy. A real find. We at BMC just hope that all of it and we believe there may be about 20 hours worth, finds its way into some bonus DVD.
message posted recently on Clash City (Satch's - If Music Could Talk) "I was told by the film makers that all the reels had turned up but they didn't know what state they were in. They had been sat there in a lock in South East London for 25 years. When I got told they said they had possession of them and they were nervous as to whether they were preserved or not. A week later I got an email saying most of the reels where ok. About 5-10% may be lost. "Well, I collected 40 film reels and am planning to go and look at them next week. Some are pretty badly damaged and I don't know yet if they are repairable. It's certainly not all the rushes either but it looks like most of them are there. The Clash aren't aware yet that we have these - it seems premature to be telling them if the footage is in too bad a state to use, but it all looks hopeful. I'll keep you posted." "Not much is damaged. The garage film footage of CO Broadway is mostly fine, the only damaged stuff is not live footage. I watched everything but only had a limited amount transferred to tape as it was so expensive. There was quite a lot of Bonds stuff in the Clash on Broadway rushes that I found. " "Regarding the Clash on Broadway release, who knows - the rushes will probably be handed back to Sony as they are the joint rights holder along with the Clash so who knows? But it's going to need a lot of restoration before that - it's a big job."
Filming shelved? "I worked for the Clash during the Summer of 1981 Bond's shows. They filmed everything for the intended "Clash on Broadway" film...you couldn't take a leak without a camera in your face. As I understand it the project was trashed when the band split up (I think it was when Topper left) shortly after the tour, and they were never able to work out the legal details while everyone was feuding. Noam"
Video /Clash on Broadway/TV News Reports TV cameras from 2 channels covered the concert for the news channels on the opening night and good quality video dubs circulate on Clash On TV Vol.1. Channel News 4 has live clips of Armagideon Time, Bankrobber and I’m So Bored With The USA. Seperately there is footage that includes the press conference and nearly all of London Calling uncut with the band in the dressing room, running up the stairs and on stage, though this may be a mix of the opening press conference and Don Letts footage from the 9th June. Clash on TV [also booted identically as TV Calling]Clash on TV begins with a classic Joe interview clip - “Everywhere, everything is no good, everybody’s walking around going this is no good, everything is gone wrong” cuts to a live clip of Brand New Cadillac, then back to Joe “So there’s no time to stand around with some nice pair of velvet trousers on going on about what you’re gonna do to your women tonight!” Paul is also interviewed about their support of political issues. Channel 7 live has short clips of London Calling and Magnificent Seven, and includes an interview clip with Kosmo. It also shows missiles being thrown at Grandmaster Flash. These reports though broadcast on the 29th have live footage definitely from the 28th May, “last night” as it states on screen and then goes onto say “If you want to see them tonight you must have ticketron tickets” and talks about the situation prior to the City Building Department closing Bonds indefinitely on the Saturday 30th morning which resulted in the mini-riot when the matinee crowd were turned away.
Footage from the 9th [aka Don Letts CoB footage] The CoB Trailer found on Essential Clash, Clash on Broadway and most of Don Letts footage seems to be fropm the 9th. London Calling sound is dubbed from the 9th June master using the master [as opposed to remixed broadcast version] where Micks vocals are out of the mix almost. Essential Clash contain no other tracks. Clash on Broadway [Westway DVD Bonus] The Clash on Broadway found on Westway DVD extras is certainly the best. It contains London Calling, which seems to be dubbed again from the 9th but from the radio broadcast version with Micks vocals in the mix? Most of London Calling features. Interspersed with Dons New York footage CoB then includes most of Guns of Brixton which is part dubbed. Quite of lot of Safe European Home which is dubbed with the original studio version. Only when we get to nearly full versions of Charlie Don't Surf and Radio Clash is the original sound. There is footage of the press conference and nearly all of London Calling but this circulates seperately. This starts with press conference, backstage, 16 Tons play on, London Calling nearly full [probably the same length as Westway? but the sound plays on to a montage of NYC/Clash pictures]. The sound is remixed from [Trick or Treat bootleg] radio broadcast from the 9th June as Westway.
MTV Rockumentary MTV Rockumentary is same as Westway/Clash on TV/Essential DVD but with only very edited clips of the press conference and London Calling. Nothing new except a couple of comments form Mick and Paul. Photos taken from the 9th further corroborate the date of the TV footage classic rock concert photos. Paul’s in a turquoise vest and black leathers, Mick in white trousers and red shirt and Joe in all red.
Clash on Broadway never released The press conference was held on the 27th in Bonds foyer and shots from it including Mick’s “sell out” explanation are shown in Clash On Broadway on the Westway To The World and Essential Clash DVD’s. Sadly Topper’s sacking appears to be the reason this film was never released; in May 82 it was reported in the press that the film was almost complete and would shortly be released. But shortly after he was sacked, Topper took out an injunction preventing the release of the film and it went into storage and was later destroyed. What is left of the film though does capture the excitement, the chaos and the cultural changes of the Bonds residency very well.
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Video - Clash on Broadway Reels - 