White Riot Tour with the Buzzcocks, Slits and Subway Sect
cdr 1 – below average - popular/common version - sound 3 - 41min - low gen? - tracks 16 -
cdr 2 – average - slightly better than cdr 1 - sound 3 - 41min - low gen? - tracks 16
The night before The Clash had been playing in Amsterdam, in front of a largely disinterested audience of mystified record company staff and amazed fans.
At Plymouth Fiesta they are back on familiar turf in a front of a very lively appreciative audience in a small sweaty venue. As a result they put in a typical energy filled White Riot Tour performance with Joe in great manic form.
There could be a very good recording, possibly a soundboard lurking underneath layers of over amplification, distortion and loss in clarity on this particular copy. A lower generation upgrade from nearer the master would make this a very enjoyable bootleg indeed, though they have been elusive so far. As it stands it suffers a bit
As it is, it’s still an enjoyable and important bootleg from an exciting Clash period. The vocals come through well in the mix, as do guitars and bass, drums being somwhat distinct.
Amsterdam Brakke Grande from the night before, has more clarity and little distortion, but does not capture the energy and excitement as this recording does despite its faults.
Definitely one to crank up the volume on and enjoy.
The recording starts with a manic London’s Burning faded in at the first verse. Joe IDs the venue as "a Rugby Club ... for a kick off" before 1977. This copy is clipped here but settles down by the end. The track finishes with the ..1983..1984, leaping into I'm so bored with the USA, 'fascists giving orders'...
"Mr Mick Jones is gonna sing Hate and War..." as he tunes up lengthely, Joe keeping the talk going as hecklers down the front shout out Clash tunes, particularly White Riot. Speedily into "Cheat" and an energetic 48 Thrills and Deny, punctuated by some more Mick guitar tuning.
Some heckler down the front leads Joe to reply "take my teeth out, dummy" which the guy repeats prior to Police and Thieves which has a small edit early on. A great version with dub middle, it has some great playing from Mick and Joe improvising a finale involving “walking down Plymouth High Street …maybe in the navy.. Vietnam.. nothing going on in Plymouth”.
The speed and energy levels are maintained through to the encore but the sound deteriorates during Capital Radio and becomes very poor from Career Opportunities through to White Riot due to poor copying. An edit precedes Career Opportunities.
The lively audience are a little too lively and before White Riot, Joe asks for the house lights as he tries to stop fighting, memorably he shouts down that you’re like “chickens in a micro wave oven!”.
It improves somewhat again for the encore of Garageland and manic 1977, cut short after 1min 15secs. The first 8 songs are all memorable especially Police & Thieves.
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White Riot full page ad
with dates
The Jam quit White Riot Tour
Melody Maker Mid May 77
Oct 77 - Unknown Fanzine
page 1 page 2 page 3
Greatness from Garageland
Peter Silverton, Trouser Press, February 1978
UNANNOUNCED, TO SAY the least, a kid in boots, suspenders and short-cropped hair clambers through the photographers' pit and up onto the stage of London's Rainbow Theatre. Benignly ignored by band, stage crew and security alike...
Clash Landing
Search and Destroy Fanzine
Clash Interviewed by Annette Weatherman and Vermilion Sands
A lengthy interview with Joe, Mick & Paul in 1977. It was published in Search & Destroy mag out of San Francisco. It was the first word of the Clash in print in the U.S. Birmingham Rag Marktt & Sweden gigs referenced.
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Rascals, Chester |
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Barbarella, Birmingham |
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Affair, Swindon |
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Erics, Liverpool |
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University, Aberdeen |
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Playhouse, Edinburgh |
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Electric Circus, Manchester |
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Rainbow, London |
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| infamous riot gig - often mis-cited as the 7th. See 7th gig at Edinburgh with Edinburgh Ticket | ||
| Town Hall, Kidderminster |
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| Following an injury to his hand, Mick Jones of the Clash is forced to cancel the gig booked for Kidderminster Town Hall. | ||
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Palais, Nottingham |
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Polytechnic, Leicester |
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Brakke Grond Amsterdam |
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Fiesta, Plymouth |
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University, Swansea |
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Polytechnic, Leeds |
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Rock Garden, Middlesborough |
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University, Newcastle |
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City Hall, St. Albans |
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| Skindles, Maidenhead cancelled | ||
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Wolverhampton Civic Hall | |
| The Clash played a replacement gig at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on May 22 1977. This gig was played literally days after The Jam departed the tour. Rumour had it there was a dispute about the use of lighting on the tour. Buzzcocks, Slits and Subway Sect supported. The ticket stub did not have the bands name printed on, but had a "complimentary" stamp across it and the price written on. It was however an official Civic Hall ticket. | ||
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Top Of The World, Stafford |
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Top Rank, Cardiff, Wales |
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| White Riot 1977 was Clash at their superlative best – from Cardiff’s Top Rank balcony the front of stage appeared a pogoing and spitting frenzy. Against the Notting Hill Riot backdrop, Joe’s eye’s burning and neck pulsing, his lyrics spat out with such white heat intensity - I wondered if he could survive another year! Dave Smitham | ||
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University of Sussex, Brighton |
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| Video exists | ||
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Colston, Bristol |
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Pavilion, West Runton |
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Odeon, Canterbury |
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| probably didn't happen... | ||
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De Montfort Hall, Leicester |
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| date listed in NME...This is often listed as CARDIFF 77. It isn't. | ||
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Chancellor Hall, Chelmsford |
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California Ballroom, Dunstable |
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