Notes

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Paris, France

French TV channel Antennae 2

Topper had recovered sufficiently from the injury which cut short the 16 Tons UK tour to play this one off gig in front of French TV cameras. Baker and Johnny Green were honoured guests at the Rude Boy premiere at the Berlin Film Festival the night before. The rest of the band boycotting the event.

Although they would be on French television The Clash made no concessions to the cameras. Johnny Green’s book details how the TV crews wired off an artificial orchestra pit at the front of Le Palace. They built a big rig that was to glide across the floor, raising or lowering the cameraman.



Clash ticket courtesy Dave Ridley

But the TV broadcasters obviously were not aware of the nature of Clash gigs and as the band hit the stage, the crowd surged forward, trampling the wire and knocking the cameraman off his seat! The rest of the crew struggled to dismantle the equipment at speed passing it over the heads of the crowd much to the amusement of the band (especially Paul) who kept on playing regardless

Photographer Laurens Van Houten was at the gig and one of his shots captures the mayhem at the start of the gig
From the French TV programme ‘Chorus’

We can be grateful though now that the cameras were there as The Clash were in top form, rested and fired-up. This is the soundtrack from a 40-minute video that circulates from the French TV programme ‘Chorus’, an Antoine De Caunes production broadcast on French TV channel Antennae 2.

The venue

Le Palace was an old music hall opened in 1923 but closed finally in 1996. Between 1978 and 1983 it was a popular nightclub.

A recent upgrade directly from the video has gone into circulation and is superior to older copies. The sound is very enjoyable and more 'in your face' than the old recording. It has more detail but the sound has moved toward the bottom end more.

The source being a professional board recording means the vocals and instrumentation are very good indeed. Guitar sound is excellent and undistorted. Mickey’s organ is low in the mix.
As far as is known it has never since been re-broadcasted and so the sound limitations stem from the mono non nicam-type quality VCR used.

The video itself is hugely enjoyable too with some great close ups and camera angles. It is usually available to download on If Music Could Talk (with a lesser sound). Other generations of the video also circulate some in black and white.

The TV programme begins at Jimmy Jazz presumably because it took 3 songs to recover from the initial surge of the audience. The Clash appear to have played a normal set, the TV Director deciding which songs to edit out of the 40 minute programme. The Paris audience are very lively and enthusiastic and The Clash, now rejuvenated respond with a terrific performance.

Jimmy Jazz kicks off the programme in superb style with Joe prowling the stage, dropping to his knees and then singing on his back lying on the stage at one point. Mick chokes back the guitar, only coming in a jamming funky way giving it a real laid back feel. You can hear Mickey Gallagher's keyboards carry the tune along. Joe’s pigeon French intros and ad-libs are a delight here and throughout often switching back amusingly into English when it gets too hard.

London Calling next followed by the usually lightweight Protex Blue but which here really rocks. An edit into another Mick vocal on Train In Vain featuring some great lead guitar. It cuts off immediately after the last chord with Koka Kola edited in with the opening chords. Joe puts in another energetic vocal and then the song segues into I Fought the Law.

Joe gets carried away with his linguistics and starts talking in French introducing Spanish Bombs. Its quite funny when he continues his pigeon French at the next break, but in a linguistic rut, he pauses, and in rough cockney bleats out, "“Very good, tres bien mes amis, fuckin’ tres bien! Maintenant, it’s the wrong ‘em boyo mate!”

The sound fluctuates near the end of an excellent Wrong ‘Em Boyo and the band are obviously enjoying themselves. Joe clearly is knackered at this stage. Mick comes in on the vocals to rescue Joe and carry the song forward. Mick performs a strong Stay Free explaining mid song “its Brixton, a penal colony”

There is little or no chatter here on as the gig really cranks up into Janie Jones, Paul and Mick joining Joe on the vocals. Then Topper’s bass drum and drum rolls sound out before Mick’s guitar crashes into a superb Complete Control. Mick was getting lots of stick in the press at the time for being a detached guitar hero but his playing here is terrific building the tension to the song as Joe rants his adlibs over an extended ending.

There is a probable edit next before Joe calls for Tommy Gun but Topper proceeds into a passionate Garageland and then the band finish with a rousing finale of Tommy Gun with Joe really fired up “Don’t wanna go to war”.