RIP Johnny Green

[Kory]

RIP Johnny.
Thinking of the family and wishing them well during this sad time.

Johnny's stories put a lot of meat on the bone, to some of the Clash's legendary tales.

If you think that was something, imagine hearing him tell these stories as I'm talking to him! His wide-ranging anecdotal style really added a lot my original articles that I wrote, so long ago, as I was chasing that original dream of writing the Clash book to end all Clash books. His train of thought made all the stops, but you were never bored -- and I have the tapes to prove it! I'd agree with Marcus Gray, that in some ways, it was difficult to do that style justice in cold print. But we did our best!

We never actually met, which was a shame, but I was stuck in 9-to-5 land -- which, in journalism then, was more like, 3-to-11-pm-sville -- so it was the usual. I only had a week off, and there's nothing like arriving in London, in the dead of winter. But it was the only way to keep the air fares really cheap, so I could spend my money on the essentials, like bootleg tapes, and rock books!

But he agreed to talk, before I went -- which meant, every day, commandeering a public phone at the corner of Goodge Street and Charing Cross Road, where we'd talk for an hour, hour and a half at a time, going over all things Clash.

One thought that his passing brings to mind is that music scenes -- or, for that matter, any scenes, cultural or political, you name it -- would never function (or barely function) without the Johnny Greens of the world. They don't always get the plaudits, and they aren't always in the spotlight, but it's hard to imagine anything being the same without him. Hopefully, if there is an afterlife, he's reunited with his beloved Lindy, whose own passing affected him so deeply, so long ago.

But he was generous with his time, gave me a lot of leads, and a lot of encouragement, at a time when that train wasn't leaving my station (so to speak). One thing I remember him saying about that was, whatever do you do, do it 100%, whether anyone sees it right away or not, because that's how he saw himself approaching his own writing, basically. For those who don't know, he was really keen on cycling, and wrote a book about that passion, as well -- Push Yourself Just A Little Bit More, which deals with the Tour De France (and also sounds like a fitting motto for the Clash, doesn't it?).

So that was my final week in January '94, which turned out to be a momentous year -- complete chaos, financially, but personally rewarding, for the reasons I've enumerated above, and also, because roughly a mere three months later, I met the woman to whom I'm married today (four years of boyfriend/girlfriend, then 27 years of marriage) -- and I can remember entertaining her with all these tales of commandeering that phone booth, and what Johnny had to say about it all, which she found massively amusing, then and now.

So RIP, Johnny, and it's funny to think of him passing the same week as Brian James, another pioneer who played a huge role in letting a hundred flowers bloom, launching those thousand ships, or whatever metaphor du jour you care to fill in there. Just think if there'd never been a Damned, or a New Rose, to kick it all off -- we might have been stuck with the likes of Andy Gibb and Leo Sayer forever, and we would have inhabited a way more pallid landscape than we were forced to endure at the time, thanks to the likes of him. And Johnny.

I really enjoyed reading that, Ralph, thank you.

[JohnS]

Nice stuff, Ralph.

Thanks, Heston, thanks, everyone -- here's an example of Johnny's storytelling style (below), as I'm rendering it for my YouTube channel, straight from the old archives:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37HxHWp ... Jy&index=4

And I may be wiling to type out one more example, or two -- I just have to dig out my transcript with him, which is close to 100 pages, or something like that. Single-spaced pages, that is. Anyway, you'll get the idea -- enjoy.

Thanks Ralph, I enjoyed this and your other three Clash Bedtime Stories which are linked.
I love the bit about how Bernie was such a skinflint he never got a proper landline phone installed at Rehearsals... just left them with a payphone (as seen in Rude Boy, I think?)
The fact you interviewed Johnny via a payphone seems particularly apt!

[Sparky]

Nice stuff, Ralph.

Thanks, Heston, thanks, everyone -- here's an example of Johnny's storytelling style (below), as I'm rendering it for my YouTube channel, straight from the old archives:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37HxHWp ... Jy&index=4

And I may be wiling to type out one more example, or two -- I just have to dig out my transcript with him, which is close to 100 pages, or something like that. Single-spaced pages, that is. Anyway, you'll get the idea -- enjoy.

Great stories, thank you for sharing them with us.

[Chairman Ralph]

Thanks Ralph, I enjoyed this and your other three Clash Bedtime Stories which are linked.
I love the bit about how Bernie was such a skinflint he never got a proper landline phone installed at Rehearsals... just left them with a payphone (as seen in Rude Boy, I think?)
The fact you interviewed Johnny via a payphone seems particularly apt!

Yeah, true enough! Though I do recall him telling me that if you knew to jiggle the wires this way and that, you could actually make calls for free! Imagine the almighty fit that would have ensued, since Bernie never found out about this particular workaround.

But it's become part and parcel of my own lore, as well, since I've periodically entertained the idea of writing about my search for these guys -- that's in a story in itself, though certain bits would presumably would have to be blacked out, to keep me out of the High Court!

[The Baker]

“Here comes Johnny with the gaffa tape - you’re always late Johnny” RIP you Clash legend.

[Stefano1972]

“Here comes Johnny with the gaffa tape - you’re always late Johnny” RIP you Clash legend.

a big hug to all those who loved him

[Chairman Ralph]

a big hug to all those who loved him

Indeed. Here's an example of that epic anecdotal style, (slightly boiled down) from these sprawling pages of transcript, as our chat in the phone booth (1/24/94) kicked off in earnest:

RALPH HEIBUTZKI (RH): When did you begin working with the Clash, and what was your musical background, prior to your arrival on the scene?

JOHNNY GREEN (JG): When did I arrive? I arrived on the scene by complete accident, right to the very beginning of the Complete Control tour, autumn of that year. I'd just graduated from the University of Lancaster, and I'd just done a degree, so I happened to be in London at the time, looking for a job -- in my own area, nothing to do with music. I wasn't looking for a job in music.

RH: What was your degree in, then?

JG: Arabic and Islamic studies -- so I was just looking for a job in that area. I happened to bump into a guy I hadn't seen for a long time, at a mutual friend's house. His name is John Holloway, but he's dead now. He informed me, among other things, that he'd got his own trucks, and was driving bands' equipment around. And it was natural that I ask him, "Well, what band?", the things people ask, when you work in music. So he told me a couple of bands, and then, he said, "The next one I'm doing starts this week, and it's the Clash."

Now, to tie in to the second part of your question -- while I was at the University, I didn't like the kind of student music that was played, and I was very into punk music when it was first coming out. And I'd tried to see the Anarchy tour in Manchester, but I got beaten up by the police, put in hospital by them, so I missed the show. I was dancing outside the hall, and there were loads of police, there was a riot goin' on, and they picked me up for drunk and disorderly, cracked two ribs, and broke my jaw, y'know?

RH: Christ, they didn't waste any time, did they?

JG: No, they were looking for a fight. I then tried to book the same groups into university, but the Students' Union wouldn't have punk rock at the time. I used also help run, with some friends, a discotheque thing in Lancaster Town for reggae, soul, and punk rock -- not for money, but for fun, y'know? So that was my musical background, immediately prior to that.

And I said to him (Holloway), "Well, I've tried to see the Clash twice, and failed, but I got their music -- would you give me a lift, so I could see the show?" And he said, "Sure, no problem. The first show is in Belfast." So I said, "OK, if I pay my way over on the ferry, can I come in your truck?" And he said, "Yeah." So we went and picked up the Clash's equipment, and drove to Belfast; I slept in the cab. The next day, all the equipment was being put up: I just helped out, y'know, pushing boxes, and stuff like that.

RH: Moving things about.

JG: Sure, humping, yeah. And at the last minute, the show was pulled out -- the insurance company wouldn't insure the show, being the first punk rock group to play in Northern Ireland -- and the kids went wild, and the police came in, and the whole thing was cancelled.

And then we moved on to Dublin, the next day, and played a show at the university there: I remember, the support band were the Count Bishops. And a guy said to me, "Well, d'you wanna work the follow spots?" And I said, "Sure, I can do that," although I'd never done it in my life.

So I stood at the back of the hall, and worked the follow spots, and at the end of it, they said, "Thanks very much, that's it, OK," and I was gonna come back home and carry on with my life. But a guy then said, "D'you want a job for the tour?" And I said, "Sure, I'll do that." He said, "Can you handle a backline?" "I said, Yeah, I can handle a backline." I'd never done that before, either.

And so, the Clash's roadies, Roadent -- and Baker -- helped me out, and for five, six dates round Scotland, I looked after Richard Hell's equipment. At that point, Roadent left. He had an argument with the band, who I didn't know. I didn't talk to them at this point.

So they said to me, "Well, could help out with the Clash's equipment? You seem to know what you're doing." And I said, "Sure, I'll do that." So each time, my money went up a little bit, and I was looking after the Clash's guitars and amplifiers -- the Baker did the drums, but he helped me.

After a couple of weeks, they had a minder with them, who was driving the band separately, in a minibus. He left -- he missed his wife, or something. And they said, "Can you drive a minibus?" I said, "Yeah, I can drive a minibus." So I started driving the band around, and getting to know them by that point.

So, by the end of the tour, something I'd just gone along to see, I was driving the band, lookin' after their equipment, lookin' after them in the dressing room, all that sort of stuff. It finished, and we all said goodbye; I went home to see my parents for Christmas. But I decided, "Hey, i really like this sort of stuff, I really miss this, I wanna do this."

RH: It almost sounds like what Raymond told me -- almost the same kind of answer. It wasn't something you were looking for.

JG: Absolutely. Pure chance; right time, right place, right attitude, y'know?

As it happens, I was slightly off in my count -- it's 86 pages, not 100. But it still leaves me a fair bit to work with, I think! At any rate, plenty more where that one came from.

[JohnS]

[As it happens, I was slightly off in my count -- it's 86 pages, not 100. But it still leaves me a fair bit to work with, I think! At any rate, plenty more where that one came from.

Please, keep this coming Ralph!

[Sparky]

a big hug to all those who loved him

Indeed. Here's an example of that epic anecdotal style, (slightly boiled down) from these sprawling pages of transcript, as our chat in the phone booth (1/24/94) kicked off in earnest:

I'll second that, I really enjoy the behind the scenes history, thank you.

[Stefano1972]

Thanks Ralph for this extraordinary testimony.

[Low Down Low]

Thanks for sharing all this ralph. I get the clear sense Johnny was a very fine writer but an even better storyteller. It just trips off the page. I imagine he was fantastic company.

[Telecaster]

Thank you Ralph for your generous work bringing the interview with Johnny to life. It's much appreciated

[Chairman Ralph]

Thanks for sharing all this ralph. I get the clear sense Johnny was a very fine writer but an even better storyteller. It just trips off the page. I imagine he was fantastic company.

Yes, it does, doesn't it? Captures a "certain something," as I like to say, though -- as I've mentioned earlier -- we didn't actually get to meet. It was all over the phone, via that public box that I took over, every afternoon, Monday through Friday, that week I was over there! Like I said, that's a story in and of itself."

Thanks Ralph for this extraordinary testimony.

I'll second that, I really enjoy the behind the scenes history, thank you.

Thank you Ralph for your generous work bringing the interview with Johnny to life. It's much appreciated

Please, keep this coming Ralph!

You're all quite welcome, and not to worry...

That is the plan, on a broader level -- I still would like to do a compilation of the various interviews and ephemera that I've collected over the years, plus go into my own efforts to search for the Clash, which I've partially done here:

https://www.amazon.com/My-Life-As-Vagra ... B08HJ491Z5

I'd probably try and get an actual deal first, and if not -- I can do it via my own imprint, as Marky already knows -- I've been putting my own publications, which are available here:
https://www.chairmanralph.com/store/

I also have an Etsy store (BudgieProductions), where my wife and I sell other things, including our art, where you'll see a bit of overlap, plus some variations:
https://www.etsy.com/shop/BudgieProductions

So -- if you've ever wondered, "What does the Chairman get up to, exactly, in his spare time?" -- now you all know.

There's a lot going on right now -- decided to do a chapbook in connection with the 40th anniversary of the Busking Tour, which would probably include additional nuggets from the archives, plus my own artwork. May or may not make the May date, but as long as it's within the year, I figure I'm OK.

More updates to come, but suffice to say, I could be persuaded to move up certain deadlines, depending on the degree -- and ubiquity -- of interest.

Doing my own stuff has been a big shot in the arm for me, in that I don't have to wait for somebody sitting behind a desk to catch up. I can do whatever what I want, which is (to me) the essence of '76-'77 idealism, as we know it. Of course, I've had a fair bit of success with it, which tends to help!

I'll put up one or two more excerpts from my conversations with Johnny, so you can get a glimpse of what other hidden gems might be in store. Onward and upward, as they say.

[motorsmell]

Johnny green on here

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0028v4g