LONDON CALLING – ST. PETER’S CHURCH, BRIGHTON 13.8.22
I’m always a tad wary regarding tribute bands. Some of them are no better than average pub bands, whilst others are bordering on the sublime. I’m glad to report that London Calling are one of the latter.
They take the stage to the strains of ‘The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly’ theme tune, underlining their (and The Clash’s) outlaw credentials. The guy ‘being’ Joe Strummer immediately starts ranting about how this isn’t nostalgia and the issues dealt with in The Clash’s songs are every bit as relevant now under the current Tory Government as they were forty plus years ago. Well yes – sad but true.
The first part of London Calling’s set takes in the entirety of the first Clash album, with the exception of ‘White Riot’, which is obviously being kept back for later. I was never lucky enough to see The Clash, but I did see Joe Strummer quite a few times, and I have to say that London Calling’s ‘Joe Strummer’ is very convincing indeed! He captures Joe’s mannerisms perfectly. The band are obviously fans of the original Clash, and more than do their songs justice.
Once they’ve got through the first Clash album, the set becomes rather more wide-ranging. ‘Tommy Gun’, ‘Safe European Home’ and ‘Pressure Drop’ are rattled out in quick succession. ‘City Of The Dead’ sorts out the fans from the casual observers. It was originally the B-side of ‘Complete Control’, although it was later released on the compilation ‘Black Market Clash’. London Calling have all of the musical versatility of the original Clash. This is especially evident on the more reggae-inspired material: ‘Bank Robber’ and ‘White Man In Hammersmith Palais’ being particularly impressive.
‘White Man In Hammersmith Palais’, along with ‘Clash City Rockers’, ‘Complete Control’ and ‘I Fought The Law’ constitute the end of the main set. After a few minutes the drummer returns and starts up a drum intro, which when the rest of the band return proves to be the intro to a short version of ‘Rock The Casbah’, which then leads into ‘London Calling’, itself being followed by what else but ‘White Riot’?
This has been an incredibly exciting couple of hours. The band have been superb, and the crowd have lapped it up as if it were the real thing. I have been crushed up against the barrier at the front, and the crowd has been very bouncy indeed! London Calling clearly realise that it’s not just about the music, it’s about The Clash’s ideals too, and this is a concept that they have grabbed with both hands. London Calling are not The Clash, but they’re the next best thing. If you want to know what it would have been like to see The Clash forty years ago, see London Calling.
What, no 1977!
No Billy clearly not.