The Clash write, right?

Right now you’re on a 31 bus with your mate, lighting up a fag. You notice some pink-and-black posters stuck on a wall in Kilburn.

You say, “Fuck me, The Clash are playing the Roundhouse Easter weekend.” Having sod all better to do, you wander down the Roundhouse, pay your two quid and, blimey, what’s this, The Clash and Subway Sect don’t turn up.

What happens? You get The Boys, Generation X and hippie John Cale, all on a duff PA. Being a bit of a flash sod yourself, you want to know who’s conning you, so here goes: 1) The Clash were never contacted to play the Roundhouse. 2) All posters and ads stating The Clash were to play were crap information.

Stay with us, wise up quick and keep fighting. See you soon, kids.
Joe Strummer, The Clash

Clash top new wave

The Clash, who recently opted out of supporting John Cale because the tour “wasn’t radical enough”, are instead headlining their own tour throughout March. The 27-venue itinerary – including a prestige date at the London Rainbow with four other new bands – is claimed as the first major tour by a new wave band, taking in leading concert halls and colleges.

Dates are: Guildford Civic Hall (May 1), Chester Rascals (2), Birmingham Barbarella’s (3), Swindon Affair (4), Liverpool Eric’s (5), Aberdeen University (6), Edinburgh Playhouse (7), Manchester Electric Circus (8), London Rainbow (9), Kidderminster Town Hall (10), Nottingham Palais (12), Leicester Polytechnic (13), Plymouth Fiesta (15), Swansea University (16), Leeds Polytechnic (17), Chelmsford Chancellor Hall (18), Middlesbrough Rock Garden (19), Newcastle University (20), St Alban’s City Hall (21), Maidenhead Skindles (22), Stafford Top Of The World (23), Cardiff Top Rank (24), Brighton Polytechnic (25), Bristol Colston Hall (26), Cromer West Runton Pavilion (27), Canterbury Odeon (28) and Dunstable California (30).

At Edinburgh (May 7) and on the last ten dates (20–30), The Clash head a package which also features The Jam, Buzzcocks, Subway Sect and The Slits. This package also plays the Rainbow (all tickets £2.20), except that The Prefects replace The Slits. All other dates are solo Clash, although one support act may be added later.

Clash drummer for the tour is Nicky Headon. Rest of line-up: Mick Jones (lead guitar, vocals), Joe Strummer (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Simonon (bass).

The much talked about European visit by Lou Reed is on for the spring. He is to start his European tour on March 22 in Stockholm, and London dates are being fixed for the first week of May, though no dates are finalised as yet. With him on the tour will be the musicians featured on his recent Rock ’n’ Roll Heart LP. These will be his first concert appearances in Europe for two years.

A package tour featuring John Cale and his new US band, The Clash and The Boys, hits the road in April. Cale’s band features four unknown New York musicians: Mike Visceglia on bass, Richie Fliegler on guitar, Bruce Brodie on keyboards, and Joe Stefko on drums.

The tour opens on April 5 at Ipswich Corn Exchange, then West Runton Pavilion (6), London Roundhouse (10/11), Cambridge Corn Exchange (15), Southend Kursaal (16), Maidenhead Skindles (17), Plymouth Top Rank (18), Bournemouth Winter Gardens (19), Liverpool Eric’s (21), Manchester Free Trade Hall (22), Birmingham Barbarellas (23), Leeds University (24), Stafford Top of the World (25). More dates are to be added up until May 3, the same week as Cale’s former Velvet Underground companion Lou Reed is expected to arrive in this country.

An Island compilation LP, Guts, is issued to coincide with the tour, as well as The Clash’s single, plus debut single I Don’t Care from The Boys, who have signed to NEMS.

The Clash will not, after all, be appearing as one of the support acts in John Cale’s British tour next month. Although the promoters announced last week that the band were confirmed for the tour, The Clash say they were never contracted, claiming they rejected the offer out of hand immediately it was made.

A spokesman for The Clash told NME: “It’s another case of someone taking something for granted. We wouldn’t do the Cale tour under any circumstances, because it’s not sufficiently radical for us. And in any case, we don’t want to be exploited.”

BTM agreed that The Clash would not now be involved in the tour. A spokesman commented: “We tried to overcome the social and economic problems raised by their projected inclusion in the package, but it didn’t work out.”

However, new NEMS Records signings The Boys have now been confirmed as one of the support acts for John Cale’s tour which, as reported last week, opens in Ipswich on April 5. A replacement for The Clash has still to be named.

The Clash have pulled out of the John Cale tour, details of which were announced last week. The Clash’s manager, Bernard Rhodes, told Sounds that the tour with Cale was “not radical enough.”

A spokesperson for the tour organisers said later that having Cale and The Clash on the same bill was “not economically viable.”

A replacement band for The Clash is currently being sought and meanwhile The Boys, who have just signed a recording deal with NEMS, have been added as the third group on the bill, for the 21-date tour. The Boys’ first single, I Don’t Care, will be released to coincide with the tour. Other Boys dates are at the Roxy on March 16 and 24.