18 in the head

I was doing that delving in dusty boxes thing at the weekend and came across some scary 1970s memorabilia. My younger self.

I'm dreaming of a White Riot

I never remember the date that Joe Strummer died. I have friends on Facebook who do that for me (it's a boy thing).

Apparently, it was yesterday. Eight years ago.

My Facebook homepage is full of Clash videos. And I know that for my generation, this was the day the music died.

Watch this and remember why.

Identity

I always hated the term ‘new wave’ (punk for people who don’t like punk). And I always hated those ‘women in rock’ articles you used to get. And still do. But I quite enjoyed a recent Radio 4 show called Women of the New Wave.

All I want for Christmas...

I don’t spend a lot of time or money doing Christmas shopping these days - the grown-ups in my family decided a few years ago to take a Buy Nothing Christmas approach - which leaves a lot more time for having fun. But I do still have to buy consumerist stuff for the younger generation, which is how I found myself recently in a large record shop. The first thing I saw was a book about the Clash, my favourite band of all time. It took a few seconds to realise what I was looking at. A coffee table book. Please don’t let anyone buy this for me for Christmas.

Clyde city rockers

Someone else has noticed that the lead singer in Glasvegas looks like Joe Strummer. Apart from the fact they make good music, this is another reason to like them. In 1977, the Clash were my joint-favourite band (along with the Ramones). Also, I always fancied Joe Strummer. Sadly, I feel I should avoid feeling the same about James Allan. I am old enough to be his mother.