Clash archivist dusts off rare concert footage

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - These are tough times for the grizzled music veterans of the pop culture wars.

The revolutions they instigated during the past five decades -- from the birth of rock ’n’ roll and the hippie movement, to the rise of punk and hip-hop -- merely paved the way for the cult of celebrity and bling.

Vietnam, Watergate and England’s industrial decay were a gold mine for songwriters in the 1960s and ’70s; the Iraq war, not so much.

"The culture’s got pretty soft and conservative these days, I think," said British filmmaker Don Letts, a tastemaker on London’s punk rock scene in the 1970s. "To me, it feels like punk rock never happened, man.

"In the punk rock days we used to say, ’Never trust anybody over 30.’ And sometimes when I look around I think maybe I shouldn’t trust anybody under 30!"

Letts, 52, among other pursuits, is the archivist for the Clash, one of many punk rock groups he befriended back in the day. Inspired by the movement’s anti-establishment, do-it-yourself ethos, he picked up a Super 8 camera and started documenting his favourite bands.

It was a mutually beneficial arrangement. Born in London to Jamaican parents, he introduced scenesters to reggae during his DJ stints at the Roxy nightclub. His musician pals co-opted reggae’s .....continued below

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"And they didn’t mind the marijuana either. It has to be said," Letts recalled.

UNCOMFORTABLE VIEWING

Letts has dusted off some rare Clash concert footage for a new DVD, "The Clash Live: Revolution Rock" (Epic/Legacy), the latest in a long line of documentaries celebrating the Clash and its late frontman, Joe Strummer.

Among the 22 tracks are "Know Your Rights," from the band’s final performance, at California’s US Festival in 1983; and bass player Paul Simonon’s rare turn at the microphone for "Guns of Brixton," on ABC’s "Fridays" comedy show in 1980.

Letts himself directed a half-dozen clips, including "Should I Stay or Should I Go" and "Career Opportunities," both from the Clash’s 1982 performance at New York’s Shea Stadium, when they opened for the Who.

Also included are two NBC television interviews from 1981, "The Tomorrow Show" with Tom Snyder, and "Live at Five" with Sue Simmons. The stilted banter between the clueless inquisitors and the laconic Londoners makes for occasionally uncomfortable viewing.

"They were pretty alien to what was going on in America. It was part of the attraction to the younger people, but to the old established guard it must have been quite shocking," Letts explained.

Just as Elvis Presley ignited a revolution 25 years earlier by shaking his hips, it’s a reminder that things move in cycles. Letts is not totally depressed about the state of punk rock. He was particularly impressed with California trio Green Day’s recent Grammy-winning concept album "American Idiot."

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