Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

Post by yetaca »

River wrote:
11 Dec 2020, 10:29pm
Fantastic seeing all the new footage, the shots at the end of the June 13th stage invasion were amazing! I was also impressed at just how well filmed the shows were, seems like there's a ton of side stage shots as well as front of house. Based on the footage, the main Bonds shots were from the last night. I'm basing this off the footage we have from Clash on Broadway (Charlie Don't Surf and Guns of Brixton), where Mick's got the bandanna around his neck. The audio for those match with the bootleg of the last night, so that would most likely make the footage in the new vid from that night as well, just based off appearance alone. Obviously there's June 8th and 9th with the multitracks so those are most likely filmed completely as well. I think it's almost fair to say at this point that every show was filmed in some capacity. My best guess is that there's 3 or 4 fully filmed shows, and then partial filming for the rest. Probably a fair enough estimate.

Hopefully one day we can get all of it, of course for the live footage but also for a really cool historical look at New York City in the summer of 81. That alone is honestly worth however much they would charge for it.
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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

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River wrote:
11 Dec 2020, 10:29pm
Fantastic seeing all the new footage, the shots at the end of the June 13th stage invasion were amazing! I was also impressed at just how well filmed the shows were, seems like there's a ton of side stage shots as well as front of house. Based on the footage, the main Bonds shots were from the last night. I'm basing this off the footage we have from Clash on Broadway (Charlie Don't Surf and Guns of Brixton), where Mick's got the bandanna around his neck. The audio for those match with the bootleg of the last night, so that would most likely make the footage in the new vid from that night as well, just based off appearance alone. Obviously there's June 8th and 9th with the multitracks so those are most likely filmed completely as well. I think it's almost fair to say at this point that every show was filmed in some capacity. My best guess is that there's 3 or 4 fully filmed shows, and then partial filming for the rest. Probably a fair enough estimate.

Hopefully one day we can get all of it, of course for the live footage but also for a really cool historical look at New York City in the summer of 81. That alone is honestly worth however much they would charge for it.
Sadly, I think the time is rapidly approaching where the footage will be almost worthless. If it doesn't appear for the 40th anniversary, I don't think it ever will. Most die-hard Clash fans are over 50 with a sizable proportion over 60 and life and its world events have taken over. The footage is at the least 20 years too late as of now.
If a HD bluray of a full gig was released now I would probably buy it, watch it once, then be happy with occasional clips popping up on Facebook and YT feeds. Such is life

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

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white man wrote:
12 Dec 2020, 4:30am
Sadly, I think the time is rapidly approaching where the footage will be almost worthless. If it doesn't appear for the 40th anniversary, I don't think it ever will. Most die-hard Clash fans are over 50 with a sizable proportion over 60 and life and its world events have taken over. The footage is at the least 20 years too late as of now.
Yeah, I know what you mean. If a concert DVD was released when the remasters and From Here To Eternity appeared in 1999, or The Essential Clash DVD, it would have sold like hot cakes, but now...
Mind you, they didn't have this footage back then and it seems stuff is still surfacing.
The other option, to maximise the returns, is to do the expensive deluxe box set, which only us 50 and 60-somethings would have the inclination and money to buy. (Eg. the Stones, Dylan or even Costello of late) As the artists get older, you can't complain if they want to cash in on their stock while they can - cos it'll certainly get exhumed repeatedly after they're gone. This whole genre of reissues just didn't exist 20 years ago. (Although you can imagine the uproar if they produced a Clash super deluxe Bonds release)
Anyway, I'm happy to see these new nuggets now and then. The stage invasion is fantastic. And there's a lot more of shots from within the audience - I noticed Ray Jordan is there briefly, presumably keeping an eye on Don Letts.
And I'm surprised how well lit and bright the venue seems to be for a gig. Maybe they threw the house lights on cos of some trouble? I doubt Don would have requested it.
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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

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JohnS wrote:
12 Dec 2020, 8:38am
white man wrote:
12 Dec 2020, 4:30am
Sadly, I think the time is rapidly approaching where the footage will be almost worthless. If it doesn't appear for the 40th anniversary, I don't think it ever will. Most die-hard Clash fans are over 50 with a sizable proportion over 60 and life and its world events have taken over. The footage is at the least 20 years too late as of now.
Yeah, I know what you mean. If a concert DVD was released when the remasters and From Here To Eternity appeared in 1999, or The Essential Clash DVD, it would have sold like hot cakes, but now...
Mind you, they didn't have this footage back then and it seems stuff is still surfacing.
The other option, to maximise the returns, is to do the expensive deluxe box set, which only us 50 and 60-somethings would have the inclination and money to buy. (Eg. the Stones, Dylan or even Costello of late) As the artists get older, you can't complain if they want to cash in on their stock while they can - cos it'll certainly get exhumed repeatedly after they're gone. This whole genre of reissues just didn't exist 20 years ago. (Although you can imagine the uproar if they produced a Clash super deluxe Bonds release)
Anyway, I'm happy to see these new nuggets now and then. The stage invasion is fantastic. And there's a lot more of shots from within the audience - I noticed Ray Jordan is there briefly, presumably keeping an eye on Don Letts.
And I'm surprised how well lit and bright the venue seems to be for a gig. Maybe they threw the house lights on cos of some trouble? I doubt Don would have requested it.
Very little of Topper in the video. Mind you, NYC@1981 was not his most lucid of times

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

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I agree that the whole re-issue repackage thing wasn't as prevalent back then, but for a band that was supposedly so forward thinking, it seems they started looking inward after the demise. Drawbridges pulled up. Mind you the legal complications around Sony won't have helped

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

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white man wrote:
12 Dec 2020, 9:47am
JohnS wrote:
12 Dec 2020, 8:38am
white man wrote:
12 Dec 2020, 4:30am
Sadly, I think the time is rapidly approaching where the footage will be almost worthless. If it doesn't appear for the 40th anniversary, I don't think it ever will. Most die-hard Clash fans are over 50 with a sizable proportion over 60 and life and its world events have taken over. The footage is at the least 20 years too late as of now.
Yeah, I know what you mean. If a concert DVD was released when the remasters and From Here To Eternity appeared in 1999, or The Essential Clash DVD, it would have sold like hot cakes, but now...
Mind you, they didn't have this footage back then and it seems stuff is still surfacing.
The other option, to maximise the returns, is to do the expensive deluxe box set, which only us 50 and 60-somethings would have the inclination and money to buy. (Eg. the Stones, Dylan or even Costello of late) As the artists get older, you can't complain if they want to cash in on their stock while they can - cos it'll certainly get exhumed repeatedly after they're gone. This whole genre of reissues just didn't exist 20 years ago. (Although you can imagine the uproar if they produced a Clash super deluxe Bonds release)
Anyway, I'm happy to see these new nuggets now and then. The stage invasion is fantastic. And there's a lot more of shots from within the audience - I noticed Ray Jordan is there briefly, presumably keeping an eye on Don Letts.
And I'm surprised how well lit and bright the venue seems to be for a gig. Maybe they threw the house lights on cos of some trouble? I doubt Don would have requested it.
Very little of Topper in the video. Mind you, NYC@1981 was not his most lucid of times
There is that long interview of him in a car or something from the COB minifilm. He seems a bit out of it and even discusses how people give him drugs. But At least his playing is fine throughout those gigs.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

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Any new content is always appreciated. I do dream of a proper Bonds set of some kind and maybe one day we’ll get something. I’m not getting my hopes up, but hope to be pleasantly surprised. I did enjoy the new Mag 7 video. All new footage to me.
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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

Post by daredevil »

WestwayKid wrote:
12 Dec 2020, 2:36pm
Any new content is always appreciated. I do dream of a proper Bonds set of some kind and maybe one day we’ll get something. I’m not getting my hopes up, but hope to be pleasantly surprised. I did enjoy the new Mag 7 video. All new footage to me.
Yeah, great video,

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

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Presume this is from the Bonds reels.

The info we got from helping extensively (an extremely) ungrateful) Julian Temple / 'The Future is Unwritten' was that the reels found in London lock-up <degree of scepticism here> appeared in good condition but were very expensive to transfer. I was told only bits were transferred but that is hard to believe. Why guess which ones to do when the others could have great nuggets on unless you just wanted any old random clip was on. I have seen about 2 hours of it and it is silent stuff driving around, hanging about, talking stuff with some backstage doing nothing scenes.

We were approached by the filmmakers who basically picked their film together using www.blackmarketclash.co.uk as an easy chronology and then got me to dig out lots of email addresses for the previously unseen video which they then in some cases, and only they, got access to. Every week an email request. Didn't get an invite to the premiere or even thanks (not that I asked). London is faraway town.

Think the Clash have poorly judged the timing of the release of their material. We are reaching the moment where few care about 'Tier 2' and 'Tier 3' stuff. Bonds is Tier 2. Clash fans are now between the ages of 50 and 70. The Bonds reels are interesting to an avid fan with little beyond that.

Seems to me the owners of Clash material and I include official (Sony), as well as private collectors, think it will be all the more valuable when we are all 80 years old or even older. That the imperfections of Boston September 82 tape or Lewisham 80 tape will damage the bands' reputation – which I would class as Tier 3 material. My view is we are way beyond that. No-one gives a shit and its appeal is to a limited, more sympathetic and more appreciative audience of just avid but grateful (largely) Clash fans and that anything physical isn't actually worth manufacturing anymore. A new Bonds DVD might sell 10k copies. Better to sell it to Sky Arts as a much better and certainly multiple times wider distribution channel.

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

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Blackmarketclash wrote:
14 Dec 2020, 7:02am
Presume this is from the Bonds reels.

The info we got from helping extensively (an extremely) ungrateful) Julian Temple / 'The Future is Unwritten' was that the reels found in London lock-up <degree of scepticism here> appeared in good condition but were very expensive to transfer. I was told only bits were transferred but that is hard to believe. Why guess which ones to do when the others could have great nuggets on unless you just wanted any old random clip was on. I have seen about 2 hours of it and it is silent stuff driving around, hanging about, talking stuff with some backstage doing nothing scenes.

We were approached by the filmmakers who basically picked their film together using www.blackmarketclash.co.uk as an easy chronology and then got me to dig out lots of email addresses for the previously unseen video which they then in some cases, and only they, got access to. Every week an email request. Didn't get an invite to the premiere or even thanks (not that I asked). London is faraway town.

Think the Clash have poorly judged the timing of the release of their material. We are reaching the moment where few care about 'Tier 2' and 'Tier 3' stuff. Bonds is Tier 2. Clash fans are now between the ages of 50 and 70. The Bonds reels are interesting to an avid fan with little beyond that.

Seems to me the owners of Clash material and I include official (Sony), as well as private collectors, think it will be all the more valuable when we are all 80 years old or even older. That the imperfections of Boston September 82 tape or Lewisham 80 tape will damage the bands' reputation – which I would class as Tier 3 material. My view is we are way beyond that. No-one gives a shit and its appeal is to a limited, more sympathetic and more appreciative audience of just avid but grateful (largely) Clash fans and that anything physical isn't actually worth manufacturing anymore. A new Bonds DVD might sell 10k copies. Better to sell it to Sky Arts as a much better and certainly multiple times wider distribution channel.
Interesting info regarding TFIU. I had no idea you helped them out and that it sounds like it wasn't a pleasant experience.
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

Post by crashtheparty »

Blackmarketclash wrote:
14 Dec 2020, 7:02am
Presume this is from the Bonds reels.

The info we got from helping extensively (an extremely) ungrateful) Julian Temple / 'The Future is Unwritten' was that the reels found in London lock-up <degree of scepticism here> appeared in good condition but were very expensive to transfer. I was told only bits were transferred but that is hard to believe. Why guess which ones to do when the others could have great nuggets on unless you just wanted any old random clip was on. I have seen about 2 hours of it and it is silent stuff driving around, hanging about, talking stuff with some backstage doing nothing scenes.

We were approached by the filmmakers who basically picked their film together using www.blackmarketclash.co.uk as an easy chronology and then got me to dig out lots of email addresses for the previously unseen video which they then in some cases, and only they, got access to. Every week an email request. Didn't get an invite to the premiere or even thanks (not that I asked). London is faraway town.

Think the Clash have poorly judged the timing of the release of their material. We are reaching the moment where few care about 'Tier 2' and 'Tier 3' stuff. Bonds is Tier 2. Clash fans are now between the ages of 50 and 70. The Bonds reels are interesting to an avid fan with little beyond that.

Seems to me the owners of Clash material and I include official (Sony), as well as private collectors, think it will be all the more valuable when we are all 80 years old or even older. That the imperfections of Boston September 82 tape or Lewisham 80 tape will damage the bands' reputation – which I would class as Tier 3 material. My view is we are way beyond that. No-one gives a shit and its appeal is to a limited, more sympathetic and more appreciative audience of just avid but grateful (largely) Clash fans and that anything physical isn't actually worth manufacturing anymore. A new Bonds DVD might sell 10k copies. Better to sell it to Sky Arts as a much better and certainly multiple times wider distribution channel.
That's a real shame re TFIU, no bueno. You make good points, it does rather feel that if it's not been done by now, what is the point (from a business/label) POV. I live in hope but does seem less likely as time goes on and the number of missed opportunities. Have heard rumblings on Facebook re something happening next year. I await with interest.

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

Post by white man »

Blackmarketclash wrote:
14 Dec 2020, 7:02am
Presume this is from the Bonds reels.

The info we got from helping extensively (an extremely) ungrateful) Julian Temple / 'The Future is Unwritten' was that the reels found in London lock-up <degree of scepticism here> appeared in good condition but were very expensive to transfer. I was told only bits were transferred but that is hard to believe. Why guess which ones to do when the others could have great nuggets on unless you just wanted any old random clip was on. I have seen about 2 hours of it and it is silent stuff driving around, hanging about, talking stuff with some backstage doing nothing scenes.

We were approached by the filmmakers who basically picked their film together using www.blackmarketclash.co.uk as an easy chronology and then got me to dig out lots of email addresses for the previously unseen video which they then in some cases, and only they, got access to. Every week an email request. Didn't get an invite to the premiere or even thanks (not that I asked). London is faraway town.

Think the Clash have poorly judged the timing of the release of their material. We are reaching the moment where few care about 'Tier 2' and 'Tier 3' stuff. Bonds is Tier 2. Clash fans are now between the ages of 50 and 70. The Bonds reels are interesting to an avid fan with little beyond that.

Seems to me the owners of Clash material and I include official (Sony), as well as private collectors, think it will be all the more valuable when we are all 80 years old or even older. That the imperfections of Boston September 82 tape or Lewisham 80 tape will damage the bands' reputation – which I would class as Tier 3 material. My view is we are way beyond that. No-one gives a shit and its appeal is to a limited, more sympathetic and more appreciative audience of just avid but grateful (largely) Clash fans and that anything physical isn't actually worth manufacturing anymore. A new Bonds DVD might sell 10k copies. Better to sell it to Sky Arts as a much better and certainly multiple times wider distribution channel.
As above, my sentiments exactly. Limited audience that is slowly getting smaller

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

Post by TeddyB Not Logged In »

A few things:

All the 1981 footage has now been transferred. It was not before. There is a lot aside from what is described in Graham’s post.

I don’t expect a “concert DVD”.

Don and the Clash have little/nought to do with whatever Julien did with his Strummer doc, aside from licensing them music. Sorry for whatever misuse they made of you, Graham.

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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

Post by Marky Dread »

TeddyB Not Logged In wrote:
14 Dec 2020, 7:21pm
A few things:

All the 1981 footage has now been transferred. It was not before. There is a lot aside from what is described in Graham’s post.

I don’t expect a “concert DVD”.

Don and the Clash have little/nought to do with whatever Julien did with his Strummer doc, aside from licensing them music. Sorry for whatever misuse they made of you, Graham.
But a DVD release of some sorts?
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Re: Unseen Clash Footage From Don Letts

Post by TeddyB Not Logged In »

I don’t exactly know yet. Mick liked the Mag 7 video.

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