[ecco l'uomo cattivo, negri di merda]
[BM sta per bianchi di merda]
[<-- ufficio sussidi di disoccupazione]
Vota John Chase, candidato di Unità Socialista
per le elezioni in Lambeth Central questo giovedì.
Hei, giovani laggiù!
O dovrei chiamarvi, spazzatura, lordume.
Non siete altro che lurida spazzatura che cerca attirare i nostri bambini,
Una società multi razziale.
Beh, noi vogliamo i nostri figli
come Kent Gordon, mezzo italiano e mezzo ebreo!
Non site altro che merda, e non potete stare immezzo a noi.
Con voi, manterremo il potere.
Tornatevene al vostro "problema dei neri",
perché non vi vogliamo nelle nostre scuole,
non vi vogliamo neanche a tirare i buoi.
Non site i benvenuti. Siete spazzatura.
Fate schifo, siete un insulto.
Da parte della segreteria dell'YNS mi scuso con i cittadini
per gli inconvenienti causati, e con la polizia,
scesa in strada al freddo, e vorrei anzi ringraziare la polizia per la loro presenza.
Il Fronte Nazionale è il Fronte Nazista.
Distruggi il Fronte Nazionale.
Cerchi qualcosa di speciale, ragazzo?
Sì, mi puoi dire cosa c'è qua?
Bondage e donne dominanti.
- Non male. - Posso dare un'occhiata?
Non le possiamo aprire. Dobbiamo tenerle sigillate. Per la polizia.
Altrimenti ci arrestano. Comunque c'è del buon bondage.
Hai qualcosa di più pesante?
- Sì, ho un po' di riviste forti. - Nere? Donne nere.
Nere. Forse. Aspetti un attimo.
Sì, questa.
Guardi se le piace.
- Quanto viene? - 5 pounds ciascuna.
Quanto se le prendo tutt'e due?
Posso fare 7 pounds. Certo.
- Okay. - Sì?
Vuole un sacchetto?
No, va bene così. Le metto nella mia valigetta.
Ecco qua. Grazie mille.
73, Hereford Towers, Loughborogh Road, Brixton, SW9.
- Età? - 20.
- Data di nascita? - 17/5/58.
- Dove sei stato? - A fare un giro.
- Un giro dove? - In un pub.
- Un locale per frocetti? - No, tesoro.
- Fai lo sbruffone? - Non faccio lo sbruffone.
Non fare lo sbruffone con me.
Ma che cazzo di sbruffone, mi fate ridere.
Io ti fermo quando voglio, capito?
Avete un distintivo,
e vi credete i capi.
Abbassa la voce, chiaro?
Lasciami in pace, sto tornando a casa e siete qua a rompermi le palle.
Io ti rompo le palle quanto mi pare, chiaro?
Non farmi ridere, pallone gonfiato.
Sei ubriaco. Sali in macchina.
Non sono ubriaco, cazzo!
Allora? Cosa t'hanno detto?
- Ubriachezza molesta, 5 sterline. - Dove vai?
Al pub. Ci facciamo un cicchetto?
- Perché no? - Te ne offro uno.
Dobbiamo festeggiare no? Libertà.
Non ci vediamo dall'ultimo concerto dei Clash credo.
Ci siamo divertiti, cazzo.
Sì, bello.
- Hai tagliato un po' i capelli eh? - Sì, lascia stare. Ora comandano gli skin.
- Skinheads si chiamano no? - Sì.
- Non hai freddo alla testa. - Non fare lo spiritoso, piscialetto.
Ti fai la riga?
- Cosa dici? - Molto divertente...
Hai votato stamattina?
Stanno lanciando mattoni, fa attenzione.
Police and thieves in the streets,
Scaring the nation with their guns and ammunition
Police and thieves in the street,
Scaring the nation with their guns and ammunition
From genesis to revelation
The next generation will be, hear me
From genesis to revelation
The next generation will be, hear me
And all the crowd walk in in, day by day
No one stop it in anyway
All the peacekeeper, turn war officer
Hear what I say
Police, police, police and thieves,
From genesis to revelation
I'm scaring, oh yeah
Now, all the crowd walk in, day by day
You still trying to stop it in anyway
All the peacemaker, turn war officer
Hear what I say
Find your way now, take the pledge
You have come around, whatever you said
But did you try to argue the only way to be?
I am your commanding officer
"It's you, Sir"
Sniffin around
Here I go.
Here goes the love!
Look out. Look out
Can you pull the trigger like you can widen your fingers?
Say, a trigger, you know, any day.
Cold, cold, steel
Cold, cold, cold, steel
It's a cold, cold, cold, cold, cold steel
Cold, cold steel
Cold steel
Police and thieves in the streets
Fighting the nation with their guns and ammunition
Police and thieves in the streets
They offered me the office, offered me the shop
They said I'd better take anything they'd got
Do you wanna make tea at the BBC?
Do you wanna be, do you really wanna be a cop?
Career opportunities are the ones that never knock
Every job they offer you is to keep you out the dock
Career opportunities, the ones that never knock
I hate the army an' I hate the RAF
I don't wanna go fighting in the tropical heat
Non so. Non credo che i Clash debbano mischiarsi con la politica.
Molti politici di sinistra sono ipocrisia pura.
Il Partito Socialista Operaio ha detto: La sinistra è la verità.
Seguite i politici di sinistra.
Ma la sinistra ci fotterà tutti.
Specialmente i socialisti, come i comunisti nei fatti, sono come tutti gli altri.
So come ti senti, perché in Russia, era una novità...
Dopo la rivoluzione non è cambiato nulla.
Nuovi gruppetti di gente girano in macchine scure,
e tutti gli altri a piedi. Come prima
Voglio dire, so cosa dici ma...
È come qua no?
Ma per me la sinistra è meglio
della destra perché almeno non pensa solo ai pochi.
La massa schiava di quei pochi.
La mia idea è di essere sicuro di essere uno di quei pochi.
Che senso ha essere uno dei pocchi?
Al momento non è, ma cosa succede se diventiamo tutti uguali?
Qualcuno deve avere il controllo.
Allora chi avrà il controllo sarà quello nella macchina scura.
Quindi io voglio essere in macchina, non camminare, cazzo.
Quando ho letto il programma del Partito Socialista Operaio,
mi sono convinto di essere un capitalista.
Voglio soldi a palate, una Rolls Royce,
una villa in campagna, e una casa a Beverly Hills,
camerieri che corrono quando li chiamo.
Ci ho pensato molto, ma non c'è niente li.
Puoi avere Rolls Royce, soldi, ville,
e tutti i camerieri che vuoi.
Ma non c'è nulla alla fine di quella strada, nessuna umanità, niente.
Per questo non voglio fare quella fine.
Per questo penso che sia
o noi tutti, o nessuno.
Non ci vedo nessun senso a diventare ricchi e chiuderti in una villa in campagna
perché prima o poi arriva uno stronzo armato,
e ti fa saltare il cerebro.
Non c'è nulla la. Ne sono sicuro.
Non so. Io non so cosa fare di me stesso.
Vorrei avere un lavoro che mi piaccia, che sappia fare veramente.
Non sarebbe male lavorare con voi.
Potrei fare l'elettricista, o cose così.
Potrei seguirvi in tour.
Non lo so, Ray.
Al momento, come faccio ad offrirti un lavoro?
Dobbiamo pagare Johnny, dobbiamo pagare Baker,
e al momento non siamo in tour, stiamo provando.
Come posso offrirti un lavoro?
Cosa ti metti a fare?
Capisci cosa voglio dire?
Sì, certo. Non c'è problema.
Succede che non paghiamo neanche loro.
Sei in ritardo, gli altri ti stanno aspettando di la.
- Tutto bene? - Fai con comodo.
Iniziamo, allora.
…e siamo messi male. Un ampli delle chitarre è andato.
E non abbiamo ricambi, per cui puoi darmi a credito un 8x10?
Back in the garage with my bullshit detector
Carbon Monoxide makin' sure it's effective
People ringin' up makin' offers for my life
But I just wanna stay in the garage all night
We're a garage band
We come from garageland
Meanwhile things are hottin' up in the West End alright
Contracts in the offices, groups in the night
My bummin' slummin' friends have all got new boots
Someone just asked me if the group would wear suits
Ok, ma puoi mettercelo in conto?
Possiamo darteli domani dopo il concerto, quando ci arriva qualcosa.
Perché abbiamo le facce come il culo.
Lo so ma non ti abbiamo mai dato problemi, no?
Beh, dai…pochi.
I don't wanna go to where, where the rich are going
I don't wanna know about what the rich are doing
They think they're so clever
They think they're so right
But the truth is only known
By guttersnipes
Ok se becco il coglione che ha tirato quella bottiglia, mi pregherà di morire.
La band inizierà tra circa mezzora.
Dal 1969, le Soul Sisters con "Wreck a Buddy".
Permesso.
- Hai qualche soldo? - Non ho niente.
Allora provo a cambiare questo.
- Possiamo tornare a casa tua? - Penso di sì.
- Vado a cambiarlo. - Ti aspetto qua, amore.
- Non chiamarmi "amore". - Perché no?
Perché non ci credo.
Ah, merda.
Cazzo ci hanno portato a Brixton.
Ci hanno chiuso li dentro. Bagno, doccia, visita medica...
Ci hanno dato le divise marroni, a tutti e 5. Come ai Beatles.
Poi è sceso Jonesy e ha pagato la cauzione.
Ray renditi utile, reggi il sacco.
Ora il casino è che io e Paul dobbiamo andare a firmare tutti i giorni.
Questo non aiuta molto il gruppo, eh?
Comunque perché vi hanno preso?
Fantastico, hai presente la terrazza, no?
Stavamo la con le nostre pistole, e abbiamo preso tre piccioni.
Piume ovunque eccetera.
Poi passa un elicottero e Paul fa, "È la polizia!"
Io faccio, "ma va è impossibile". E lui, "Sì, sono loro"...
Allora ci siamo messi a guardare, affacciati e lo hanno detto "Non muovetevi",
allora abbiamo provato a scappare, ma siamo finiti in un vicolo cieco.
Quindi ci hanno preso.
C'erano tre volanti, due speciali.
Macchine nere, tutto. Sono fenduti giù in forze.
Hanno detto che cercavamo di sparare ai treni.
Comunque...
La porta è chiusa ma non bene.
Andiamo, ragazzo.
Quelle checche bastarde continuano a rompere i coglioni, ne ho preso uno a calci.
Hai visto i nuovi anti-nazi, Tom?
Sì che merde, non dicono che sono socialisti del cazzo, eh?
Anti-Nazi, "F No!", ma cercano solo di farci il lavaggio del cervello.
Perché sono dei vigliacchi, no?
Sì, mi fanno incazzare. Li ammazzerei tutti.
- Bastardi. - Vabé, non è poi così male no?
Certo che lo è, sono dei bastardi!
Ok, dai giochiamo però.
Grazie.
Ah, fanculo.
Grazie, ragazzo.
Hai visto i Clash ultimamente?
Hai visto Joe? Ho sentito che lo vedi,
ci giri intorno, e cerchi un lavoro.
Grazie, Tom. Non so…beh non sarebbe male, no?
La prossima volta che vedo Joe o uno di loro, ci riprovo.
Se fai sul serio, potrei metterci una buona parola.
Joe è mio cugino.
- Davvero? - Sì.
Invece Mick, si fa tutto il giorno.
Sì è fuorissimo. Ma è simpatico.
Senti se vuoi che glie ne parli non è un problema, dimmi tu.
- Se puoi, ok! Perché no? - Ma dove li vedi,
- dove lo trovo? - Non lo so.
È da un po' che non li vedo.
Cosa ci fai nel backstage? Hai un pass?
- Hai il pass? - Sì.
Entra allora.
Perché tutti odiano i fascisti. Per questo siamo qui.
I prossimi sul palco sono i Clash.
Ma poi quando sono sul palco, mi sento spaesato.
Mi sento tipo, "E ora che faccio?"
Mi sembra che dovrei avere qualcosa in mano, iniziare una rissa, farmi un goccetto.
Divento nervoso, tutti mi guardano "Ecco quel coglione di Strummer".
"Perché fa la star, cos'ha da dirci?"
Ma è così, quando sei a un concerto devi guardare il palco.
Perché non ti puoi sbronzare, per cui guardi il gruppo.
- Sì. - Devi guardare il gruppo e pensi ma vaffanculo va.
Beh cazzo, te l'ho detto, sai cosa voglio dire?
Ho degli amici laggiù, posso andarci anch'io.
Voglio solo tre settimane per levarmi da sto buco di merda. Ne ho le palle piene.
Mi piacerebbe venire con voi, ma so che non è possibile...
Hai preparato la lista? Perfetto.
- Vabé vaffanculo. - Joe mi presta il suo asciugamano.
Sei contento di suonare?
- Sono una massa di stronzi. - Eh?
Anti-Fronte Nazionale communist del cazzo.
Una massa di stronzi no?
Cazzo ci saranno 50,000 persone la fuori, andrà tutto bene.
Comunque è pieno di stronzi.
Oh, Anti-Nazi, che due coglioni.
Sono studenti.
All'università non mettono mai il muso fuori.
Poi all'improvviso, "Oh siamo anti-fascisi, gliela facciamo vedere".
Il prezzo della libertà è la vigilanza eterna!
Dedicato a chi è appena arrivato a Londra!
London's burning
All across the town, all across the night, everybody's drivin' with full headlight
Black or white you turn it on or face the new religion, everybody's sittin' 'round watchin' television
London's burnin' With boredom now
London's burnin' Dial nine nine nine
London's burnin' With boredom now
London's burnin' Dial nine nine nine
I'm up and down the West way, in an' out the light, what a great traffic system it's so bright
I can't think of a better way to spend the night than speedin' around in the yellow lights
London's burnin' With boredom now
London's burnin' Dial nine nine nine
London's burnin' With boredom now
Dial nine nine nine
Anti-Nazi League.
Raccolta fondi ufficiale per la Lega Antinazista.
Dateci quello che potete
Ci serve un aiuto dalle 58,000 persone presenti al raduno.
Non levare la fottuta spina, bello!
Oi Joe, hanno staccato la spina, andiamo fuori tempo.
Qualcuno ha staccato la spina.
Riattacca, Joe.
Va bene, voglio sentirvi cantare.
Faranno un altro pezzo, e io canterò con loro, ok?
White Riot!
Riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
Black people gotta lot a problems
But they don't mind throwing a brick
White people go to school
Where they teach you how to be thick
An' everybody's doing
Just what they're told to
An' nobody wants
To go to jail!
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
All the power's in the hands
Of people rich enough to buy it
While we walk the street
Too chicken to even try it
Everybody's doing
Just what they're told to
Nobody wants to go to jail!
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
People just wanna sell records!!
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
Bellissimo, cazzo. Anche da quei palazzoni hanno sentito!
Un applauso ai Clash!
Ancora!
Volete ancora Clash?
Ancora!
Clash.
Fanculo lui!
- Che figlio di puttana! - Lo so. Capellone del cazzo.
Fate scendere dal palco questo coglione!
Come m'hai chiamato, pezzo di merda?
Guarda chi c'è, Ray.
Come stai, razza di casinista?
Ciao John, guarda come mi hanno ridotto l'occhio al Victoria Park
mentre ci sbattevano giù dal palco?
Sì, vedo.
Meno male che c'eri, quando hanno staccato la spina.
Sì, sono il tipo di gente delle università...
Secondo me all'università,
ti fanno il lavaggio del cervello.
Sì, beh. Però facevano una campagna contro i nazisti, no?
Segaioli di sinistra.
Sì, forse.
Hey, ascolta, Ray.
Cosa fai settimana prossima?
Niente di ché, perché?
Abbiamo un paio di concerti su al nord.
E uno dei ragazzi ci ha mollato.
Ci serve qualcuno per montare il palco.
- T'interessa? - Sì.
Ok, ci sono un po' di cose che devi imparare
devi venire in studio.
Devo mostrarti un po' di cose prima di partire, ci stai?
Sì, certo John.
Ti chiamo io.
Ok, hai il mio numero. Ma sei libero settimana prossima?
Sì. Non mi frega nulla di stare qui.
Immagino.
Cosa manca?
Una vite, per fissarlo.
Per questo è quella dura. Baker ne fa due con quella.
Perché Bobby suona lì.
E Topper qui.
Gli piacerebbe eh? Alzarlo e spostarlo così.
Non so se ho il segno giusto.
Hai fatto una cazzata.
È meglio così. Perché vengo giù dritto di qua.
È Ok.
Midnight to six man
For the first time from Jamaica
Dillinger and Leroy Smart
Delroy Wilson, your cool operator
Ken Boothe for UK pop reggae
With backing bands sound systems
And if they've got anything to say
There's many black ears here to listen
But it was Four Tops all night with encores from stage right
Charging from the bass knives to the treble
But onstage they ain't got no roots rock rebel
Onstage they ain't got no roots rock rebel
'Cos it won't get you anywhere
Fooling with your guns
The British Army is waiting out there
An' it weighs fifteen hundred tons
White youth, black youth
Better find another solution
Why not phone up Robin Hood
Let me say revolution
…e la voglio ora!
Punk rockers in the UK
They won't notice anyway
They're all too busy fighting
For a good place under the lighting
The new groups are not concerned
Not with what is to learn
Burton suits
You think it's funny
Turning rebellion into money
All over people changing their votes
Along with their overcoats
If Adolf Hitler flew in today
They'd send a limousine anyway
Veni qua, marmocchio.
Fuori!
Just lookin' for fun
I'm looking for fun
Baby, just give me some fun
Hey man, put away your gun
Questa canzone è stata resa possibile da Freddie Laker.
Yankee
Say it now
Yankee detective
Vaffanculo!
I'm so bored with the USA
But what can I do?
Yankee, stars and stripes
Let's make the Watergate Tapes
I'll salute the New Wave
And I hope nobody escapes
Yankee stars and stripes
I don't know
All about the Blue Wave
No, I say
I'm so bored with the U...S...A
So what you got?
I'm so bored with the U...S...A
So what you gonna do?
What you gonna do?
Baby
Scendi dal palco porcodio!
I'm so bored with the U...S...A
But what can I do?
Hey, stronzo! Lascialo stare!
He's in love with rock'n'roll, whoa
He's in love with gettin' stoned, whoa
He's in love with Janie Jones, whoa
But he don't like his boring job, no
No
Let them go!
Lasciaci stare!
Via via via!
Lasciateli stare! Stanno ballando, cazzo!
Stanno ballando, non è una rissa.
Lasciateli stare.
Forza, piantatela.
Abbiamo un altro pezzo da fare.
Va bene. Calma.
Calmatevi. Cercate di controllarvi.
Abbiamo ancora una cazzo di canzone.
Questa si intitola, "I wanna riot, a riot of my own."
Bastardi, lasciatemi!
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
Black people gotta lot a problems
But they don't mind throwing a brick
Everybody's doing
What they're told to
Nobody wants
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
An' everybody's doing
What they're told to
Nobody wants to go to jail
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
Ecco gli eroi dopo il loro concertone!
Assassini bastardi!
- Tutto bene? - Hanno arrestato Joe.
L'hanno portato via con la camionetta.
Hanno beccato Paul e l'hanno preso a manganellate.
È un casino la fuori.
- Sta bene? - Non lo so.
L'hanno portato via in camionetta.
Andiamo alla stazione di polizia a vedere.
Dovevano finirci i buttafuori non i fans in tribunale.
Tutti quanti.
Volevamo testimoniare, ma non abbiamo fatto in tempo.
Hanno detto un sacco di menzogne.
Io no ho mandato affanculo il poliziotto. Ho mandato affanculo quel coglione che mi dava dello stronzo.
E non gliel'hai detto?
Gliel'abbiamo detto eccome.
Non ci serve questa baracconata.
Abbiamo fatto bene.
Al dipartimento, la gente del concerto era lì in fila.
Mentre ci portavano dentro.
Erano tutti lì che "Hey, guarda chi c'è."
E gli sbirri: "Zitti".
E tutti i punkettoni in fila.
Poi si sono messi a cantare, "I don't want to be the prisoner."
- Prendevano a pugni la porta. - Uno l'ha quasi buttata giù, no?
Incredibile cazzo. È stato pazzesco alla prigione.
Andiamocene da questa città del cazzo.
Bernie decide chi va con chi
Ci vediamo giù
And I look to my left
And I look to my right
And I'm looking for a man
I'm looking for a sign
I don't wanna be the prisoner
Smettiamo di suonare. Smettetela di fare a cazzoti o smettiamo di suonare.
Siamo qua per il rock & Roll non per pestarci.
Okay, facciamo White Riot.
Vedi che pestano a sangue un amico, reagisci,
Allora mi sono buttato su Joe
e quello stronzo m'ha preso da dietro.
Mi ha trascinato per strada e mi ha preso a manganellate.
E poi in macchina, mi si è avvicinato,
e mi fa "di dove sei?"
Gli dico, "Londra".
E lui, "Oh, questa è Glasgow, bello."
Dopo di ché mi hanno tirato fuori dalla macchina alla stazione di polizia.
Manette ai polsi. Mi spingono in avanti.
Mi portano dentro e immezzo al corridoio,
mi buttano a terra.
Ho provato a tirarmi su ma avevo le manette.
Nel frattempo due sbirri mi tenevano fermo.
E un altro di fianco mi pigliava a calci.
Non riuscivo ad alzarmi con le manette.
Assurdo. Ora ti faccio ridere.
Appena arrivati vedo il vecchio Joe.
Lo vedo lì, con gli occhi rossi...
Era fuori di sé, eh?
Allora ci siamo venuti incontro...
ci siamo fatti cenno con la testa per salutarci, perché avevamo le manette
ci siamo avvicinati, col casino che c'era, no?
E quelli fanno, "sono due checche.
non mettiamoli nella stessa stanza" perché pensavano ci baciassimo.
Walking down the road with your pistol in your waist
Johnny you're too bad
Walking down the road with your ratchet in your waist
Johnny you're too bad
- Chi è? - Sono Ray.
Ero qua fuori che gironzolavo.
Entra, dai.
Chiudi la porta.
Stai bene?
Sono distrutto.
Cioé?
Mi sono rotto di queste minchiate.
Non so se ridere o piangere.
Questa turné è l'ultima.
Non preoccuparti. Tra poco sarà tutto finito.
Quei punk sono dei babbei, sempre a fare a cazzotti.
Sono animali.
Anch'io lo ero.
Cosa c'è scritto sulla maglietta?
Brigate Rosse.
Brigate che?
- Rosse. - Cos'è?
È il nome di una pizzeria.
Pensavo fosse Martini o Cinzano o robe così.
Sono i terroristi.
Le brigate rosse, italiane.
Ho letto qualcosa da qualche parte.
E quella cosa immezzo?
- RAF? - Sì.
Read Army Fashion.
Un'altra roba comunista, eh?
Non so.
Non credo. Loro gli sparano, ai comunisti.
Strano che usino il rosso.
Immagino siano di sinistra.
Per me non c'è differenza tra la sinistra e il comunismo.
Tommy gun
You ain't happy less you got one
Tommy gun
Waiting for the grave carrying one
Do you want to die for your money?
Maybe he wants to kill for his country
Whatever he wants, he's gonna get it!
Tommy gun
You'll be dead when your war is won
Tommy gun
Heading for the grave carrying one
An' we can watch you make it on the nine o'clock news
Standing there in Palestine lighting the fuse
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it
Tommy gun
You'll be dead when your war is won
Tommy gun
But did you have to gun down everyone?
I can see it's kill or be killed
A nation of destiny has got to be fulfilled
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it!
Tommy gun
You can be a hero in an age of none
Tommy gun
I'm cutting out your picture from page one
I'm gonna get a jacket just like yours
An' give my false support to your cause
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it!
Boats an' tanks and planes
Your game
Kings an' queens an' generals
Learn your name
I see all the innocents
They lie
And if death comes so cheap
Then the same goes for life!
Wouldn't it be nice, wouldn't it be lovely?
Risparmiaci, Bill.
Ti sei sbronzato di nuovo, Baker?
Cazzo, non riesco diobestia!
Meglio di casa mia comunque.
Come non volevi un piccolo b&b?
Speriamo ci sia il servizio in camera.
Johnny?
- Chi è? - Sono Ray.
Cosa vuoi?
Vengo a letto, Johnny.
Va bene, sì, okay.
Guarda qua, due bocce di brandy.
Non c'è da sorprendersi.
Aspetta un secondo.
Johnny, ci fai un favore?
Vai da qualche altra parte.
Dove?
Fatti una passeggiata.
Non posso fare niente con qualcun altro in stanza.
Fammi questo favore, ok?
- Cosa, ora?
Sì, e torna tardi.
Okay, allora.
Dove sono i miei cazzo di occhiali?
Va bene?
Mm. Domani torno a Londra
London, Dio. Lo odio quel posto.
Mi sono rotto.
Io la amo.
Io non credo nell'amore in ogni caso.
È una parola troppo grande.
Allora ti piace stare in turné?
Si certo, mi diverto.
Ci vuole un po' ad abituarsi, ma è okay.
Mi piace stare via.
Quando sono lontano da Londra mi diverto molto di più.
È più facile trovare lavoro.
Anche se è dura.
Sì beh, una cosa è lavorare, un'altra è andare in turné...
4 o5 ore di sonno.. Ma ti ci abitui.
Sempre meglio che starsene chiusi in casa tutto il giorno.
Uscire la sera, sbronzarsi, tornare a casa.
Qui non hai neanche il tempo di sbronzarti.
Si risparmia, no?
Non muoverti. Rimani sul bus.
Non ha molto senso creare benessere
se una volta fatto,
abbiamo paura di essere aggrediti per la strada,
o che vengano violate le nostre case.
Ed io credo, signora presidentessa,
che la gente voglia soprattutto sentirsi protetta dalla violenza,
furti ed intimidazioni.
Ora, credo che l'intera nazione sia stata scioccata
dalla notizia di due aggressioni a donne anziane.
Una delle quali è morta, e l'altra umiliata e derubata.
Ma credo che questi oltraggi illustrino un più grande scandalo
diffuso in tutto il paese,
in particolare nelle nostre aree urbane,
gli anziani hanno paura e timore
come mai prima d'ora dall'epoca dei loro predecessori.
È doveroso chiedersi cosa stia succedendo al nostro paese
dove nessuno è più al sicuro.
Il deterrente più efficace contro il crimine, ovviamente, è la possibilità di essere arrestati.
Ma negli ultimi 4 anni, questa probabilità è diminuita.
A Londra, solo 21 criminali su 100
vengono arrestati e condannati.
Non diamo sufficiente priorità al dispiegamento delle forze dell'ordine.
- Quanto ti hanno dato? - Niente.
Non mi hanno processato, devo tornare.
- Cosa faranno? - Non lo so.
Speriamo che la polizia chiuda il caso
invece di farci sprecare tempo e soldi.
La polizia non sa nulla.
Non hanno prove, eh?
Come andrà secondo te, Paul?
Non so, magari ci impiccano.
Con un po' di fortuna. La morte dei Clash.
Okay. Stai andando al pub?
Non lo so.
Va bene, ci vediamo in giro.
Tre di loro, Paul, Peter and Topper
si sono dichiarati colpevoli di atti criminali.
Devono pagare,
ciascuno 30 pounds.
Sì.
Paul deve pagare 20 pounds per le spese legali.
E, Pete e Nicky
10 pounds per le spese legali.
E devono risarcire Mr George Walter Dole,
il proprietario dei piccioni,
la somma di 700 pounds.
E ci è andata bene visto che all'inizio ne aveva chiesti 1,500.
Tramite lo studio di David Miller, QC.
No one pays to ride
On the rock'n'rollercoaster
And we went out and got our name
In small print on the poster
Of course we got a manager
And though he ain't the mafia
A contract is a contract
When they get 'em out of you
Taglia!
Baker.
- Ti ricordi Ray l'imbranato? - Ray l'imbranato!
Come potrei dimenticarlo?
Era ubriaco fradicio, a momenti ti butta per terra.
In turné è stato veramente un danno.
Non faceva che girare intorno,
metteva gli strumenti nel posto sbagliato, e...
Ogni volta dovevamo sistemare tutto da capo. Era sempre al bar a rimorchiare.
Ti ricordi Dunstable, quando hai messo via gli strumenti
e io ho detto al gruppo che eravamo pronti per partire.
E lui che faceva? Se ne stava seduto con una in braccio. Ti ricordi?
Non mi ricordo!
Non è fatto per la turné.
Si incasina la sua vita privata.
- Lo abbiamo lasciato a piedi. - Gli abbiamo detto di prendersi un taxi!
Non sa stare senza un vita privata.
Io accompagnavo il gruppo,
lui doveva solo mettere gli strumenti sul palco.
Io poi li avrei messi al posto giusto.
Arrivo li ed era ancora tutto da sistemare
lui stava li così...
Stava impalato con una birra in mano
e mi fa, "John, ci ho provato."
Era una perdita di tempo, pensava solo a scopare.
Secondo me è solo un buffone.
- Vaceva il gradasso old Ray, eh? - Un buffone.
All the young punks
Face front you got the future
Shining like a piece of gold
But I swear as we get closer
I look more like a lump of coal
But it's better than some factory
Now that's no place to waste your youth
I worked there for a week once, I luckily got the boot
All the young punks
Laugh your life 'cos there ain't much to cry for
All the young cunts
Live it now 'cos there ain't much to die for
- Cosa fai ora? - Lavoro in una libreria.
- Libreria? - Sì, una rottura di palle,
tutti quei pervertiti che si comprano quelle minchiate.
Allora cosa vuoi fare?
Voglio andare in turné con qualcuno.
Negli stati uniti magari...
È bello ma è pesante a volte.
Beh il lavoro paga, e almeno è divertente.
Meglio della libreria.
Infatti. Voglio andare negli State, magari lavorando.
Got me in bad fights
Play me pool all night
Smokin' menthol
I practised daily in my room
You were down the crown planning your next move
Go on a nicking spree
Hit the wrong guy
Each of you get three years in Brixton
I did my very best to write
How was butlins? Were the screws too tight?
When you lot get out we're gonna hit the town
We'll burn it fuckin down... to a cinder
Cos years have passed and things have changed and I move anyway I wanna go
I'll never forget the feeling I got when I heard that you'd got home
An' I'll never forget the smile on my face cos I knew where you would be
An' if you're in the crown tonight, have a drink on me
But go easy...step lightly
Stay free
Canzone pesante, lo sai eh.
C'è South London, Brixton...
Da mozzare il fiato.
Brixton e Streatham, dai 12 ai 17 anni.
La tua vita in una canzone.
Sembra che...
ti arriva dritta alle budella.
Bevi un goccio.
La farete dal vivo?
Non credo proprio.
Lo so, è molto sentimentale?
È la cosa più emotiva che avete fatto.
Solo che tu sei di Brixton, io sono di Brixton, per cui...
Mi colpisce molto, ma chi non viene,
da Streatham e Brixton...
Per loro non significa niente, ma quando la canti tu...
- Non so, non so. - Dici che capiscono?
Lo spero, ma quella è la nostra vita, racchiusa in un pezzo.
Gli altri si chiederanno di che parla.
Il bus per Streatham?
Non sanno nulla del Locarno, e tutto il resto.
Non lo so.
Spero che gli arrivi dentro.
Beccato.
- Che succede? - Spalle al muro.
Bei vestiti, Byron.
Dove hai trovato i soldi?
Zitto. Giù i pantaloni.
Eccolo.
Ferma.
Serve qualcosa li, Joe?
No? Okay.
I don't trust you, so why trust me?
All over the town, spread fast
They're dirty, they're filthy
They ain't gonna last
Teach us control
C-o-n control
Control
C-o-n control
Well, alright!
This is Joe Public speaking
I'm controlled in the body Controlled in the mind
C-o-n control
Ma che cazzo hai che non va?
Pensi di essere figol.
Ma che cazzo hai che non va? Pensi di essere
Vaffanculo!
Aberdeen, Manchester, Perthshire.
Newcastle. Scusa.
Well, I just got back an' I wish I never leave now Where'd you go?
Went to a place that's black and stale now Where'd you go?
How many local dollars for a local anaesthetic? Where'd you go?
The Johnny on the corner wasn't very sympathetic
I went to the place where every white face is an invitation to robbery
Sitting here in my safe European home Don't wanna go back there again
Who dat martian arrival at the airport yeah? Where'd you go?
What'd I say, wouldn't it be loverly? Where'd you go?
How many local dollars for a local anaesthetic? Where'd you go?
The Johnny on the corner wasn't very sympathetic Where'd you go?
I went to the place where every white face is an invitation to robbery
Sitting here in my safe European home Don't wanna go back there again
Now they got the weed, an' they got the palm trees Where'd you go?
They got the tree, an' they got the smoker Where'd you go?
How many local dollars for a local anaesthetic? Where'd you go?
Send us all cards, an' have a laying in on a Sunday Where'd you go?
I went to the place where every white face is an invitation to robbery
Sitting here in my safe European home Don't wanna go back there again
Again
Rudy come from Jamaica, Rudy can't fail!
Rudy come from Jamaica, big man can fail!
Rudy come, Rudy goes, noone knows, rudeboy know
Rudy come from Jamaica, big man can fail!
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Roo
Rudeboy, Rudeboy
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy Rudy, Roo
Noone knows what Rudeboy knows
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Roo
Noone knows what Rudeboy knows
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Roo
Noone knows what Rudeboy knows
Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Rudy, Roo
Rudy!
Rudy! Yeah, fuck, fuck, fuck.
Rispondetemi ora.
Rispondetemi. La verità.
What the hell is wrong with you?
You're just doing what you're supposed to do
What's my name
I tried to join a ping-pong club
Sign on the door said all full up!
What's my name
Now I'm round the back of your house at night
Can I ask you a question, are you sleeping tight?
What's my name
Ciao, John.
Porca troia, Ray. Cosa ci fai qui?
Sono venuto ad aiutare. Non ho di meglio da fare.
Cosa c'è li? Dischi?
No, ci ho messo i vestiti.
Non ti pare eccessivo?
Va bene, per quello che devo farci...
John, posso stare nella tua stanza stasera?
Non ho un letto in più,
ed è un po' stretta.
No, in questa turné le regole sono più rigide.
È una cosa seria, non come ai vecchi tempi.
Sembrate un po' irascibili...
Non puoi entrare con la bottiglia.
Devi berla prima di entrare.
- Allora tieni. - Non posso.
La lascio qua, devo entrare. Ho fretta.
Oy, ti va un goccio? Okay.
Con chi sei?
Ho il pass, Sono col gruppo.
Okay, buona fortuna.
Stasera si esibiranno i Clash
Hai visto quel nero che cantava White Riot?
Era divertente.
Cosa c'è di divertente? Ti tengo d'occhio.
Sì, l'ho notato.
Vorrei che più neri venissero a sentirci.
Sì ma vedere un nero che canta White Riot...
Ne dovrebbero venire di più.
È bello che vengano i neri, ma
vedere un nero che canta White Riot è come vedere un bianco che canta rastafari.
- Lo sai come la penso, vero? - Sì, credo di sì.
Allora basta. Veramente. Ti tengo d'occhio.
- Lo terrò a mente. - Bravo.
I ain't got no reason to drag around
I'm the right kind of colour in the white part of town
But all the people down in Brixton town
Say "Hey white boy, won't you lend me a pound"
I ain't got no pound nor any dollar or a quid
I'd pick my own pocket, well if I did
I got the same chances that any black man do
Well they say "White boy, your new job is through"
well a black man got a rhythm an' a white man got the law
An' I know which one I'd be lookin' for
Don't care about the country, goin' to wreck and ruin
The whole world will follow an' they'll be singin' this tune
No grazie. Ho smesso. Mi sta rovinando.
Cosa pensi di fare ora?
Non lo so.
Meglio se lascio stare.
Forse dovrei essere nero.
Visto che mi trattano tutti come un negro.
Sì, ne abbiamo bisogno. Dovresti farti pagare.
Ho deciso di iscrivermi al collocamento.
Perché molli?
Mi piace la musica.
Siete grandi, veramente.
Ma non credo dovreste mescolarla con la politica.
So che è pieno di gruppetti qualunque in giro.
Ma non dovreste essere così politicizzati.
Lo so che quella è la vita. ma non mi piace, mi annoia
quando la musica si mescola a queste cosa.
Ti ricordi Sam Philips?
Ha detto che un bianco capace di cantare come un nero può diventare miliardario.
Poi ha scoperto Elvis.
E se l'è venduto per 35,000 dollari.
Come on my baby, let the good time roll
Come on my baby, let me fill your soul
Come on my baby, let the good time roll
Roll all night long
Come on my baby, let the good time roll
Come on my baby, let me fill your soul
Come on my baby, let the good time roll
Roll all night long
Gonna feel so good
And come on baby
Brought me all I know
Come on my baby, let the good time roll
Come on my baby, let me fill your soul
Come on my baby, let the good time roll
Roll all night long
- Cosa fate? - Mettiamo via gli strumenti.
- Fate anche altro? - Ieri eravamo alle luci.
- Anch'io facevo queste cose. - Oh, davvero?
Con i Clash, un po' di tempo fa.
- Chi altro? Qualche altro gruppo? - No.
- Tu sei sempre ubriaco. - Sono sempre ubriaco?
Ma fottetevi. - Fottiti tu!
Mi fate sentire un vecchio.
- Lo sei. - Sì, sembri proprio un vecchio.
Forse sto invecchiando, non so.
Non si può mai dire.
Non so dove cazzo dormire, Johnny.
Dammi il tuo letto.
Dammi il tuo, non voglio dormire ancora per terra, cazzo.
- Voglio un letto. - Ah, piantala, Ray!
Vaffanculo, John. Voglio dormire.
Ascolta, voglio andare a letto.
Ficchiamolo al cesso.
Stronzi!
Bastardi!
Stronzi fottuti.
Non fa ridere, bastardi.
Avete rotto i coglioni. Me ne vado a casa.
Vaffanculo bastardi, non venitemi dietro.
Stronzi, non seguitemi.
Vaffanculo, ok?
Non toccarmi, stronzo.
Cosa ti prende, Ray?
Credi mi tratteranno diversamente?
Beh, non esattamente,
ma sei giovane, quindi...
ne terranno conto quando decideranno la pena.
Non finirai nello stesso istituto con gli altri.
Ma comunque finirò al fresco?
Sì, probabile.
Non so dirti nulla di preciso.
L'accusa è di cospirazione, ma per provarlo
devono avere qualcosa contro di voi.
Cercheranno di dimostrare che siete tutti coinvolti.
Breakin' rocks in the hot sun
I fought the law and the law won
I needed money 'cause I had none
I fought the law and the law won
I killed my baby and it feels so bad
Guess my race is run
She's the best woman that I ever had
I fought the law and the law won
Robbin' people with a six-gun
I fought the law and the law won
I left my girl and all her fun
I fought the law and the law won
I killed my baby and it feels so bad
Guss my race is run
Sweetest little woman that I ever had
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law but the law won
I fought the law but...
Quando mi incriminerete?
Douglas: dopo che avrai risposto ad alcune domande.
Dove vivi, Drum?
Drum: vivo nei bassifondi. prendo 14.60 sterline dai servizi sociali.
Ho cercato lavoro, ma non l'ho trovato.
Ho a casa le lettere che lo provano.
Douglas: conosci Byron Thwaites, Tony Peters, Colin Myers?
Drum: Sì, ci vedevamo ogni tanto al club.
Douglas: perché hai ingaggiato dei ragazzini?
Drum: in che senso?
Douglas: avete fatto insieme dei furti? Drum: No.
Questa è un'altra dichiarazione che lei ha lasciato alle 3.
Sempre all'ispettore Douglas.
Drum: voglio rilasciare una dichiarazione.
Douglas: va bene.
Ma ricorda che ti abbiamo spiato il 5, 7, 11, 12, 17 e 22 Aprile.
Ti abbiamo visto rubare sul bus davanti alla posta.
Drum: sì l'abbiamo fatto.
Douglas: giovedì 11 Aprile alle 2 del pomeriggio, con Miles, Twaites e Peters.
Rubavate alla fermata del bus.
Drum: non ho preso il portafogli. Douglas: e la red rover?
Drum: No, le rapine non fruttano così tanto.
Douglas: tu sei più che sospettato.
I soldi dei servizi sociali non bastano per il tuo tenore di vita.
Drum: mi aiutano gli amici.
Amici che non potete toccare.
Douglas: siete fissi alla fermata del bus.
Eravate lì anche il 12.
Drum: non ricordo.
State cercando di farmi cantare, bastardi.
Non ho mai detto quelle coset.
In calce c'è scritto, "Questa dichiarazione è autentica, l'ho scritta di mia iniziativa."
C'è la tua firma. Se non è vera perché l'hai firmata?
Se qualcuno la gonfiasse di botte, la firmerebbe?
sottotitoli italiani a cura di Francesco Vecchi
Sing, Michael, sing on the route of the 19 Bus
Hear them sayin'
How you get a rude and a reckless?
Don't you be so crude and a feckless
You been drinking brew for breakfast
Rudie can't fail
We reply I know that my life make you nervous
But I tell you that I can't live in service
Like the doctor who was born for a purpose
Rudie can't fail
I went to the market to realize my soul
'Cause what I want I just don't have
First they curse
Then they press me till I hurt
Rudie can't fail
First you must cure your temper
Then you find a job in the paper
You need someone for a saviour
Rudie can't fail
We reply, now we get a rude and a reckless
We been seen lookin' cool an' a speckless
We been drinking brew for breakfast
Rudie can't fail
I went to the market to realize my soul
'Cause what I need I just don't have
First they curse
Then they press me till I hurt
Rudie can't fail
When Johnny comes marching home again
He's coming by bus or underground
A woman's eye will shed a tear, to see his face so beaten in fear
And it was just around the corner in the English civil war
It was still at the stage of clubs and fists
When that well-known face got beaten to bits
Your face was blue in the light of the screen
As we watched the speech of an animal scream
The new party army was marching right over our heads
All right
Well, all right
All the girls go, oh
There you are, ha ha, I told you so
Says everybody that we know
Who hid a radio under the stairs
Who got caught out on their unawares?
When new party army came marching right over the stairs
When Johnny comes marching home again
Coming by bus or underground
The sun is shining an' the kids are shouting loud
But you gotta know it's shining through a crack in the cloud
The shadows keep falling when Johnny comes marching home
All right
Johnny
Johnny comes home
Getting caught by
When Johnny coming home
Well, come up here.
Mind your hand on that PA, right?
If it falls over, it'll kill everybody.
Listen up, few people can come forward, all right?
This is about a child.
Well, my boy, you just moved a little bit.
We ain't going anywhere, alright?
Alright, alright.
White Riot.
Alright, let's talk about White Riot, then.
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
Black people gotta lot a problems, but they don't mind throwing a brick
White people go to school where they teach you how to be thick
And everybody's doing just what they're told to
And nobody wants to go to jail
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
White riot, I wanna riot
White riot, a riot of my own
All the powers in the hands of people rich enough to buy it
While we walk the street too chicken to even try it
Everybody's doing just what they're told to
Nobody wants to go to jail
White riot, I wanna riot, white riot, a riot of my own
Oye, fuck off get off the stage.
Where's the badge? I don't like the badge.
Alright, stay.
He's fucking dying, let's get him out.
Oh, fuck.
Oh, shit.
Yeah, how I came to get the part in this film?
In my memory anyway, I think, David's memory be slightly different but,
I used to work in a record shop in Soho and David used to come in there and we used to chat.
And we'd talk about punk and stuff like that.
And then he mentioned that he was gonna be making a movie about The Clash.
And I told him I was a friend of Joe Strummer.
And then a week or so later he asked me if I wanted to be in the film.
And there was no way, I did wanna be in it so, and...
You know, he come in later on, I think I was the only person he'd met that knew Joe Strummer, or knew The Clash so,
he kept asking to be in it and I wasn't interested.
Mentioned it to Joe a couple of times, and Joe thought it would be a good idea,
and at that time, I had a lot of respect for Joe's opinions,
so well if he thinks it will be cool,
it probably will be. So I said, okay, I'll have a go.
My reluctance to get involved with the film was, you know, my own suspicion about these guys.
A, they were older than me and I didn't really have it with older people.
And the fact they were film-makers, I didn't understand that world.
The whole thing with the character being my own name, Ray Gange, was kind of,
was a bit strange really because I was asked to do things that the film crew wanted me to do,
that were very unreal situations but they weren't scripted either,
they were very, very rudamentary little ideas written down on paper.
They'd pick me up, we'd drive somewhere, they'd set up,
and then we'd be siting there and I'd just get handed a sheet of paper,
with about six lines of Biro scribbled on it,
and told, "Okay, work that into the scene."
And everytime I said, "Well, what for?" "Oh, don't worry, it will all make sense."
It was very, very chaotic, very disjointed.
When I watch it now, it's like watching me but watching me I don't know.
It's all very strange and I would kind of,
had I known that it would work out like that, I would've insisted on getting a different name.
But I didn't know about the tricks of film-making at that time.
I found doing stuff for camera really difficult.
At that time especially I was just into running around and having a good time.
So then suddenly, being asked to do things that were unnatural for me to be doing,
I found, you know, I found it weird.
But I wouldn't say I found it difficult, I just found it weird seeing, it was a very weird thing to do.
How much that character is like me?
I was into the Clash, so it was like me in that respect.
We both used to like a beer, I like the beer, the character liked the beer.
Beyond that, I probably would say not very much, really.
And other than those punk rock characteristics.
Tour in the UK was brilliant.
I had just gone on tour with Clash was great. They were my favourite band,
it meant I didn't actually have to go and do a job, I was getting paid.
So, that was fantastic, just going to towns that I was never ever go to,
you know, that aspect of it was great.
As for roadie-ing, roadie-ing would be the last job that I would ever want to do.
For start, it's a hard work for which I have never been a fan of,
and, um, you know, if you are watching your favourite band,
but you've got to be roadie-ing as well, you can't really pay attention to watching the band.
So, that's like another reason I wouldn't be in it at all.
No, I never did any roadie-ing for Clash, uh, as I say, I was too much into having a good time.
So, I would've thrown in, pretty much thrown spanner in works,
just for their operation, you know.
I did a little tour with the Subway Sect for Bernie.
Which was just an idea to, uh, give me an idea of what;s going on.
So, when it came to filming, maybe it will work.
Being in between, having the band on one side of me and the film crew on the other,
was kind of like a first but as there was growing a divide between the band and the film-makers,
then I kind of got caught up in the middle of it,
where the band would get suspicious of me because I was involved with the film-making,
and the film-makers I think found me difficult because I wanted to hang out with the band,
and have a good time with them.
So, it started off okay and then it just deteriorated into everybody being quite distant.
My own allegiance would always be towards the band
although I had to do certain amount of things that the film crew wanted, only because I was getting paid.
And you know, I quite like them, they were okay guys, as it went on, I started to be less suspicious of them,
The film makers' ideas didn't seem very clear to anybody else except themselves.
And I don't think the band really knew what the film makers were trying to get out,
and I certainly didn't.
My own view is that they were trying to make a punk rock version of A Hard Day's Night,
but without the comedy, you know, they were trying to be really worthy.
And then everybody else found it confusing. I think the people that watched it found it confusing because
it's all these real people's names,
but there's this weird vibe going on that doesn't really make any cinematic sense,
in terms of a normal kind of film. You know, like beginning, middle and end.
It's like where it is going.
There was lot of political problems going on between the Clash camp and the film-makers.
As you know, I think probably like the Clash management either wanted more money,
or I think they even wanted to go and do their own project.
So, everyone became very uncooperative.
I think in a way, in their defence, the film makers just found themselves like,
a lot of footage on their hands,
and then the people that were supposed to be taking part in that story refusing to do it.
So they had to try to grab something from somewhere else.
So, I think they're just like, "Okay, what's the serious issue? What's going around us? What makes sense to do?"
And they tried to like, follow their nose and get that down.
I think it got bit mish-mashed in the process so,
I think rather than a rockumentary, a fakumentary would've been much better.
Been a mate of Joe's before I met the rest of the Clash, I kind of,
I was hanging with him quite a bit, and then I'd go up to their rehearsal studios,
get to know them a little bit, because they didn't know me, they were like, "Who's this guy?"
But when they came to know, they realised I was into the band,
you know Joe liked me, then they started to come around, then I got on alright with all of them really.
Victoria Park and Rock Against Racism,
I don't really remember much of the actual carnival,
about the whole show, I realise I got there really early with David.
I wasn't even supposed to be doing anything, David rang me, asked me if I wanted to go along with him.
So, I went there, hanging out, it was really a hot day,
we were drinking all day along, popping in few pills,
and then, uh, just standing on the side of the stage, watching the band,
and then as the set was coming to an end, you know, there was this chaos going on,
the organisers were trying to get Clash off-stage,
and David was standing next to me watching Jack doing his filming,
and when all that stuff was going on as you see on the film,
David leaned over to me and said, "Ray, go and do something to spice things up a bit."
So, I just saw the microphone on the front of the stage
and grabbed it, trying to incite the crowd into doing something.
You know, I thought it would be fun and a bit of mischief to do that,
you know, I was just, I thought I'd create something.
And then suddenly, it all went a bit mad again.
Next thing I know I was being shoved down the stairs on the side of the stage.
The black eye in the film was due to the wonders of make-up and editing.
And it was something that Jack and David, David I think more than Jack,
thought would add a touch of spice or a bit of glamour or something,
if it looked like I got punched in the face for the troubles.
The Clash were fucking great band, you know, there's no two way around it.
So, I think anyone that was around that time and watched them,
knew the potential they had to become a mega,
but, you know, the only mega bands before that I know were,
Pink Floyd and all that kind of crap, you know what I mean.
So, I don't think it was in anybody's thinking, you know, the Sex Pistols has already imploded.
I don't think it was in anybody's thinking that any punk band was gonna get to mega star status.
Did it reflect life on road?
Yes and no, really. It shows you exactly what The Clash were like at life,
for sure, probably better than film has shown anybody.
But as for the rest of the stuff that was going on,
I think it reflected the film maker's idea of what was going on around them.
I think, uh, because the film makers weren't from that background,
I think they tried to create too many situations that weren't totally true.
They probably were a foot in the truth, you know what I mean.
And when David asked me to be in this film, "We're gonna make a film about the Clash, do you want to be in it?"
So, as far as I knew, I was just going to be some little peripheral character floating around The Clash.
And then suddenly all this other stuff started coming into it, you know, like,
black guys pick pocketing, you know, robbing the buses,
all this stuff, you know, and, being down in Brixton filming various things, and,
it didn't really make sense to me what was that all about.
Because the film was supposed to be about Clash.
You know, I wasn't given any awareness that it was going to be about anything else,
it was supposed to be an indictment of Britain, you know,
whatever it was like pre-Thatcter Britan, you know. So, I think, um,
I think it kind of reflects that there wasn't much going on apart from the punk at that time.
But in terms of any political tone to it, I think,
that the French liked it and the English didn't give it a toss.
It's kind of weird that the stuff I read, that the stuff I heard about,
was my political stance was supposed to be in that movie,
and the realities are, it's still true today, I don't really give a fuck about politics.
I don't trust any politician that there is.
England was a very grey place at that time, you know,
so I think it reflected that the punk rock was only the exciting thing going on.
You know, the conversations that takes place between me and Joe,
where Joe had this stuff that he was going to say,
and they wanted me to sit next to him and just like try and take up contrary position,
and that time, I was like, "Okay, it's a film, what the fuck, I'll do it."
You know, I was bit naive, the fact that the character had my own name,
that people are going to believe this is my own stuff, you know, and, uh,
and I think the film makers stitched me up as well because they gave me a writing credit.
And they gave me writing credit to make it seem like the political stuff is my views.
And also there was a lot of swearing in the film,
I think if they were pulled up on why were they making a film with so much swearing,
you know, to them, "He wrote all that stuff."
I didn't write shit in that film, but there you go.
What did I think of the film when I first saw it?
What the fuck is going on?
You know because I am watching myself up on the screen, I was never into being an actor, or any of the stuff,
so there I was up in the screen, and this thing, with all this mad stuff going around me?
I am watching The Clash and then I am watching guys on the bus,
uh, you know, I'm watching a dog, I've got a dog in the film, I don't know where the fuck the dog came from.
But, you know, it was good, it was a fun thing to do and it was a fun thing to watch,
but it wouldn't be in my top ten films.
You may not want to put it in.
Joe dying last year was quite really, you know, very sad event and,
quite shocking, you know, he's still a young guy.
And it made me reflect quite a bit really and my fondest memory of him,
is me and Joe going to a gig at the Imperial College to see Wayne County.
And queuing up at the bar, and we didn't have much cash,
there was a big queue waiting to get drinks,
and we look around and there was four pints of beer siting around on an empty table,
and we just clugged the beer.
So, we jumped on the table and knocked back these pints,
and these four rugby type guys came up and demanded to know what the fuck is going on.
And they made a grab for us and we just jumped over the seats and legged there,
and these guys chased through the building till we got away.
And we just kept running and running, and then we just collapsed in hysterics,
laughing probably for like 20 minutes or something.
You know that the kind of memory I live of him.
My favourite gig on those tours was probably,
before the first tour, really, I think it was the first time I went anywhere with the film makers,
And we went up to Berbanum, because Clash was doing a gig at this really small club called Barbalas,
which probably held 500 people or something like that.
It was a really small gig, unannounced, there was this really, really great energy, really small venue.
And it was like a landmark gig, really.
City of the Dead is my favourite Clash song.
The reason?
Um, the lyrics, the insensitivity on the tune and the lyrics.
And also the fact, it's like, when you listen to radio and they talk about great Clash songs,
White Man in Hammersmith Palais or fucking London calling,
or Should I Stay or Should I Go, whatever.
So, City of the Dead is kind of an obscure song although not that obscure.
But just the lyrics are great.
"Though we get beat up, we don't care, at least it livens up the air."
"What we wear is danger gear, it'll get you picked on anywhere."
Great lyrics. Great lyrics, great for the time especially.
Which happened to me few times, I got beat up for what I was wearing, so it's quite resonant.
Making that film changed my life, as much as it gave me money to get out of the country
which I don't know if I'd able to do it any other way.
It opened my eyes to lot of stuff, you know.
Opened my eyes to the perils of film-making.
I didn't have time to think about who's my favourite actor,
who shall I try and copy, to do the stuff they want me to try and do,
and I was like, I've never been in front of the camera before,
any kind of acting so it was like, "Okay, so what do you want me to say?
How do you want me to say it? What do you want me to do while I say it?"
And then just try to interpret that in the best way I could in that time and try and deliver that.
No, I couldn't tell you where anybody came from.
They found this little skinhead kid,
who kept maintaining that he was Joe Strummer's cousin,
so they believed him, they shoved him in it.
Then they found some girl who was willing to do a scene in the toilet on her knees, you know.
Um, I think they just grabbed people from here, there and everywhere.
I think the scene in the sex shop,
there's like some guy, some middle aged guy comes in and buys a magazine from me
and I think he was friend of David's.
They just said, put this mic on and go in the shop and buy something.
So, it was all very like, it was all very ad-hoc, you know,
you know, it was like guerrilla film making without intention.
I can't think that any other live footage of any band that I've seen,
even comes close to the live stuff of the Clash in that film.
Even other films of musicians
Don't Look Back, the one about Bob Dylan was a really great film,
but what's great about that is all the off-stage stuff.
What's really great about Rude Boy is that the live stuff is just fucking phenomenal.
And it really does pick out why at the time people who were in that scene,
your blood would just pump in your body when Clash would play.
Your hair on your fucking back would stand up and the whole thing.
So, for that, they were the best thing ever.
It was fucking magnificent to be Clash's road manager.
I stumbled in, it was a pure chance and enthusiasm,
I guess that's what got me the job,
it was obviously enthusiastic, anyone of you Euro, you are watching this,
I was as a fan.
Every night was a bonus night for me.
I loved watching them, I never looked at my watch.
It was a joy standing there at the side of the stage,
drinking about few drinks, having a fag and,
some hit and it never demolished for me, it didn't.
If there was a load of money floating around, I never fucking saw it.
And nor did I knock around with people, yet you thought I might've been in the position I was.
Road manager of a happening band.
You'd thought, limos, cocaine, and all that stuff,
must have missed me. Maybe I was looking in the wrong direction.
You know, you're listening in 1977 and Joe is singing,
"What we wear is a dangerous gear, it'll get you picked up anywhere"
Don't be silly, these are just clothes. It was true.
We used to get lot of flat wherever we went, we were seen as,
as, uh, forces of, uh, of evil really.
What is that contemporary word?
Something that's undermining the process of society.
Not just something you tapped your toe to and had a nice time.
So, there was a meaning to punk rock, it was feared.
And it might surprise me now to see the extent of it,
of people's affection for The Clash,
and saying one of the greatest bands of all time.
I fucking knew that the moment I set eyes on them.
As I suspect every spotty kid did in that moment as well.
But there was a serious point to it always.
Serious point which was trying to, uh, just cause trouble.
Rattle somebody's cage, really, in terms of motivating change for the better of people.
Rude Boy as a film is pretty spot on, because,
the moment that you got used to having a very small film crew, at first, it seems huge,
to have four-five people around you,
yanking around lights, better sounds, better camera,
it seemed like a huge intrusion because we were a small, tight knit outfit.
At that point, we didn't employ many people, it was me and the Baker,
and the four members of the band.
Suddenly, in your dressing room, to have four-five people come in
seemed like a massive intrusion,
and made us also very uncomfortable for about two-three days.
And after that, we just got used to them.
It was always so hectic, so badly planned,
so little money, so little luxury,
there was no preciousness, no space of time, in which to take notice,
except odd moments where perhaps Dave might ask us,
to repeat something they didn't spotted, and we'd stop and redo it.
I think that was quite odd because it was not that common.
Uh, life went on on the road. And it was relentless, it was full of action and full of incidents.
It's hard to remember those times sometimes.
I've just, I've walled them, violent,
trouble strewing all at once.
It wasn't smooth and nor did anybody tried making it smooth. In fact, we loved all that.
The Clash were all over the front pages of the NME, Melody Micro Sounds,
and people assumed, that you're doing well in all the areas.
In fact, what had happened was, we had splat up with Bernie Rose, the manager,
and all the money was frozen, we didn't have any money.
I mean, cash flow, serious cash flow problems.
And, Rude Boy, saved the day because they bunked us.
You know, you could tap 'em for a few quid.
What just sound stupid, get you down on the cafe,
get you few beers in a pub, few packets of cigarettes, it was that desperate at times.
Bernie said to me, "Work with them, work with them."
And I took that seriously because I thought,
"Ain't that nice, get me picture on the screen."
Actually what I thought was, this band's a fucking magnificent
and somebody should be recording it.
And I was glad somebody was doing it with proper equipment.
So I did always tell them what we were doing, where we would be at which time,
and Dave would asked me so preparation would be laid down for that.
There was no keeping us waiting and that's what makes the film vital,
we're not doing take after take after take, it's just we're living our life, and they're filming it.
Rude Boy is an accurate reflection of our life because it sums up rehearsal,
recording and giging.
And the thing about The Clash is, they almost never had a day off,
so what you see is what you get, really.
UK tours are best summed up in Rude Boy.
The first one in the summer of '78 was chaos indeed
and delightful and splendid chaos.
Let them go, they're fucking dancing.
They're dancing, not fighting. Let them go.
Leave them alone.
Come on, knock it off.
We still got another song to do, yeah.
It's a hard work to deal with, getting crowded by the coppers, getting busted,
kids smashing up the place, promoters getting upset,
cheap, crappy equipment breaking down, one, because it's cheap,
two, because they hammer it,
they give no quarter, you know, they're standing and playing,
all of these things are going wrong, We arriving at our hotels,
the guards take one look at us and he says, ''I don't want, fuck me, it's the Clash, we don't want them here.''
So, we are taking a booking in under things like The Tottenham Leather Workers' Association,
and we get, "Fuck me, it's the Clash, don't want us."
But we loved it, we loved it, nobody was after the quiet life there.
But it start to come in, so I think what you're seeing is
the contrast between these two tours is,
is one, everything is up in the air, yipee,
to the balls settling a bit but they're bouncing around.
Uh, but it's growing and it's getting bigger.
And you could see the venues, we're selling out day after day, and you see them,
and you see them holding a flag, sighing, "I fought the law",
and the crowd singing along with it.
It didn't happen so much in the earlier days. That's the growth thing.
If you are the agent of change,
or the messenger of change perhaps, it's a really nice feeling.
And we were watching it growing and swelling in exuberance.
Lovely thing, lovely thing.
We were used to doing with some pretty rough diamonds out in the provinces,
because they were the only people that would take punk rock at that point.
These weren't the accepted promoters and agents.
So, definite cowboys out there, and suddenly we got a nice, considerate, well spoken man,
organising something very well worthwhile,
that The Clash were deadly keen to do.
I don't think anyone really thought this one out
until the date till we arrive there,
"Fuck me, that's a lot of people."
This is very moving, I remember coming back down, and trying to relay that,
as the band were getting ready and getting changed to go on.
And I don't think I could, I don't think I did prepare them for the shock of seeing that.
Because they never played them, there weren't festivals on that size as we are used to today.
We are all siting backstage with other performers in the changing rooms,
they could lie down there,
swimming pools, dressing rooms,
and it was very Spartan, few beers,
Robinson's orange barley water,
no fancy canapes, you know, and spiral tap.
No one minded and it was very egalitarian.
And it was a very nice feeling of everyone doing this, something we believe in.
The place is filling up and we're just trying to sort out,
but you know, you always get into this,
no matter how egalitarian and how much largess or good will you've got,
you are always going to be actually fight for your fucking band.
And you're just going to be bit better than everybody else.
So, you're back in to that frame or maybe a little bit milder than an ordinary gig.
Here we are supporting Tom Robinson, well, no.
It ain't support 'cause we are all in this together.
But you know, road crews are sneaky people.
And we were up there, they got a Scottish guy,
and Kenny and he's, uh,
he's pulling strokes on me, I'm pulling strokes on him, and suddenly,
the Clash are up there running and there's old Jack and he's filming away,
and there's Mingay standing and suddenly there's Ray.
He had this immaculate, quiffed barnet.
And I'm thinking, "Who the fuck is this?"
Good hair though, good hair.
So, yeah, he could stay, so let him stay.
And Mingay's going, "He's all right, he's with me." And I'm thinking,
I got better things to think about, my band's up there and there's people going,
"Come on, Rony, come on now, come on. Oh, fuck off."
People are loving it, they're loving it.
and it's getting argy bargy and so, I think,
I know what you see there, it's the real thing,
Barry, fucking punter, hang on.
Oi, Joe, they're pulling the fucking plug since we're running out.
I dived down and go through the guy's legs,
and whack the mains' plug back in and back comes the back line and on they go.
There's lot of argy bargy and it nearly came to blows on it.
And then, dare we say, not I,
that somebody pushes Ray Gange out and says, "Whoa, you love the Clash."
Don't you think they all love The Clash, go and ask him.
And Ray, dear Ray, with his totemic kind of special burn in his hand,
out he goes to the mic.
Now, it takes a tough ball to say, to walk up to the mic facing that many people as far as you can see.
But Ray does it and I suppose if you look back,
Ray Gange, what does Ray Gange doing here?
The "Michael Aspel" question.
What I would say is that Ray proved his worth in that moment.
And I was like, it was lot of front, good for you, Ray.
And I think everybody liked him for doing that,
as for him getting the black eye...
Yeah, well.
I'm not a natural, I did find it difficult
to act to camera.
I'd say it was in favour of, Jack and Dave,
in making the film that I and others weren't asked to do it straight away,
and that they just filmed around us, getting on with those things that we had to go on with.
And it was only after quite a long time,
of familiarity and understanding,
that I would be asked to repeat something quiet possibly that they might have missed
that had just happened spontaneously and the cameras weren't there and they weren't rolling,
and yet they understood the significance of an event,
like getting beaten up at the site in Glasgow by the bouncers.
Joe getting arrested,
Paul jumping into his, uh, to his help.
We spirited Mick and Topper away from that scene.
It happened so fast and so violently.
Ah, that naturally no cameras were there, who could've seen that coming, nobody? We didn't.
We wouldn't have been there, I mean, yanking a stick around there to get beaten up by the fucking Glaswegian cops.
So that have to be recreated, no script.
So, always you're thrown back on yourself, which, uh, is always, uh,
is a bit daunting but actually is quite nice because you're talking how you'd normally talk,
nothing I said was scripted.
Well, there's two ways, uh, of answering whether,
Ray would have cut the mustard as a Clash roadie.
I think he had the attitude, you know, he is a punk rocker,
and he had the surliness and that snarl.
He was no one's puppy dog, he was certainly not the film crew's puppy dog,
even though they were naturally they were manipulating him to some degree.
He wouldn't just comply always, he'd had his say, and all credit to him for that, I think we liked him for that.
He's an enthusiastic man, with both of his legs pumping at the side of the stage.
But, me too, always,
focused on what were the needs of the band, and watching like a hawk,
all the way through, not just the performance,
getting them there, getting them back to the hotel, moving them on,
and I think I never really saw,
whether Ray could apply himself in that way.
But in terms of commitment, I tell you he'd be excellent.
Because he cared about that band, and you can ask no more than that.
It's not just, can they do that job? But can they do the job with style and attitude?
And on the style and attitude, sure, Ray's got it. Of course he's got it.
I've very many favourite moments of Joe.
He was a very tactile man.
You know, he touched people a lot.
And it's not always what you'd expect from a man and a man.
His means of communication would be to put his arm on my shoulder, lean in,
and whisper into my ear.
It's a fond memory of just that movement of closeness if you like.
I also kind of just like, a cameo, you'll see in the film,
of where he back off the mic for the instrumental bit, just plays rhythm guitar.
and his legs just bouncing, the electric leg as we called it,
and it's just a nice thing to see a man with his back
held straight, his head held high, half looking down at his hands on the fret,
and giving it 20 to the dozen.
It's a nice picture I kind of carry around in my mind.
Very nice.
My favourite Clash song changes day by day.
I am don't play them everyday, but I do now and again.
Other people play 'em, my son plays them and...
Oh, ho. You bastard.
It's got to be White Man in Hammersmith Palais.
Well done to Rude Boy.
Because it did cop it, it copped it bang on.
This film, Rude Boy, is an attempt
to go along the path we'd already started with the previous film, A Bigger Splash,
when we were filming with David Hockney and his friends.
And we'd always, we had a big pedigree in documentary film making,
but this was something else, we wanted to take a step further.
And fictionalise a story with real people and have them act out their lives.
David's, uh, assistant at that time,
was an avid music fan and David turned to him
because he thought it should be about music and probably about punk.
It was around 1977 and punk was in the air and it was quite an advanced force.
It was almost a political force. An alternative political force.
And, so, uh, Peter 'cause that was his name said,
you should make a film about The Clash, they're the foremost band.
And more serious than the Sex Pistols, so that's really how it started.
I had done quite a lot of rock concerts,
and I had done them with a Frenchman,
uh, who,
I didn't quite believe it when he said, "Look, I'm just going to get you to film,
and there's a particular way you should film."
This guy's name was Claude Von Tourrer and I became very friendly with him.
And it's the technique you use
by going on stage and getting intimate with the people.
They are not really aware with just one camera.
You just know it seems to work.
And Claude would tell me never film a guitar from the front,
don't ever film it from face on. Always along the neck,
or from the base to go towards the neck. Things like that.
And they worked. We were never sure what was going to happen,
it's almost like an existential film, never know if you're going to finish.
You never know where you're going.
You just know, you got an inertia,
and your emotion, but you're not quite sure what to capture.
You don't film very much footage, until you're sure,
that what you are going to film is going to be decent, useful.
The idea is to give the impression that everything is left to chance.
That this is a very dicey operation.
The Clash might get through their concert, they might not.
Fans might invade the stage, they might not.
You never know what's going to happen.
You are constantly, you never know where it' going to go.
Where's the film going to take you,
there may be moments of boredom almost.
And suddenly it picks up and goes into the direction we wouldn't be even dreamed it was going to go into.
But as they say, it, it's, uh,
it's ultimately very controlled.
But don't want to give the people, the audience,
the idea is controlled.
Oh, they say it's just a documentary but it ain't.
My point of entry to the band was playing the Bernie Rhodes,
and, uh, I think he heard of us and that helped.
And he knew we were utterly serious.
And he did commit to us somehow.
And he must have persuaded the band, so we didn't have any problems with them,
to begin with.
They behaved very badly during, over-dubbing.
Though they did the over-dubbing, don't forget, we got it.
And had they not participated in the over-dubbing, the film would have been a disaster.
Because the sound of the music is absolutely exceptional.
And I say as a person who is not committed to rock music at all.
So, they did participate, oh, it went on forever. The over-dubbing.
And as I say it cost a huge amount of money, double the cost of movie,
just being in the studios with the band.
They never behaved badly on tour.
Because they were, they had a commitment to their fans.
This is punk, it is for the fans and the dispossessed,
who were the fans,
and they were very charming and caring towards their fans.
And I suppose, uh, we benefited from there.
They were very nice to us.
It was, when they had nothing to do, I suppose, when they weren't performing, they were possibly a problem.
But when they were performing, they were good as gold.
Joe wouldn't say very much to us, he was, very much of an interior person.
Never really knew what he was thinking.
He knew he wanted to be a revolutionary, a political revolutionary.
The many slaving for the few.
He's always very sweet. We always thought that he liked us.
Whether he did or not, we never knew.
He never, we never really knew.
You'd never knew where you were with Joe.
The music was not my kind of music.
If it were, I'd never made the film.
Because I think if you make a film about something you really care about,
I think it's terribly difficult and becomes very sentimental.
And the film is sentimentalised.
Whereas here I could see objectively,
it was no doubt, it was hugely exciting,
to be with a live band on stage, inches away from them.
It was hugely exciting.
There was very often a threat in the air during the gigs, there's no doubt about it.
At the Glasgow Apollo, we were on stage most of the time during gigs,
there was just one camera on stage, that was me.
There was a threat at that time.
But because the bouncers were very heavy.
At one point, you could tell, the fans have it in mind to invade the stage,
and they're gonna, they're gonna smash everything inside.
So, it was a bit scary at that point and the performance
did nothing to mitigate the excitement of these fans.
I mean it would just jeep them up, I mean they were really,
hugely in a state of frenzy and excitement.
So, we were really quite scared.
I mean they had a quality, there's no doubt.
They were the best of their kind. You could see that.
You could see the passion with which they performed.
The cameraman has to be very cool in those situations,
when you're with real people, doesn't matter when you're doing a theatrical film
which is all rehearsed, there are lines and whatever.
Doesn't really matter.
But in this thing, you don't really want to affect them, well, not that much.
Yeah, you want the essence of them basically,
and you want their quirkiness and whatever to come out.
And I think the only time we really upset them,
was when we were at Glasgow Apollo,
I got possibly too close to Mick, although he wasn't aware of me until that time I don't think,
and he shouts into the camera and to me,
"Get off the fucking stage."
Get off the fucking stage!
And later on, we came along, we,
we put the response to that or the trigger to that.
We did a cut away shot of Ray, maybe a year later,
or year and half later.
Ray interfering. As though he's telling Ray to get off the stage, not me, the cameraman.
Yeah, it was very difficult at the end of it, the Rock Against Racism concert
because I didn't very well come to the front.
I mean, if I were in front of them, I'd be completely immobilized.
Definitely from say down, beneath them, off the stage
There's no more room on stage at the front.
So, you've got the choice of being on the sidelines.
On the, you know stage right, stage left.
Uh, at the front but there wasn't any room.
Or you could be at the back and take a kind of, um,
an objective look at them, which is basically what I did.
I think we did, I did swing left and right now and then, you know.
There was the opportunity to catch Ray as he kind of, lurched forward
towards the microphone. Nobody knew he was going to do that.
No one had an inkling he was going to do that.
Ray was picked out for the film by David Mingay.
Um... Ah,
because he had been going for some of these gigs and he had been watching the fans.
One of the foremost fans was Ray at the time.
Um, he had done some... He was told that he done a bit of roadie-ing
but not very successfully.
So really when I saw Ray, the first thing I thought was...
I said to David, "Oh God, he's too big."
And I thought, "Oh God, I'll be looking up at him all the time",
which I didn't really want to do because if you change the angle,
below or above the eye line of somebody, it suggests something dramatically.
The Audiences were a lot of them.
They were very cool on him.
They thought he was a big gosh.
They weren't sure about his opinions.
The couldn't accord with his opinions.
They thought as I say, they thought he was a fascist or stupid.
They just couldn't understand his point of view.
which is a very modern point of view if you think now.
People don't want-- The kids don't want to be political.
That's all he was saying. He was saying it doesn't do any good.
It was set up, I'm sorry to say.
But we never quite knew, um,
whether she gave him a blow job or not and he wouldn't say.
And I actually think he can't remember.
He can't remember.
He can't remember a lot of stuff, you know, he told me afterwards, you know.
He'd done so much this and that and he can't remember.
Only other actor is I had an actor friend called Tom Baker, not the English Tom Baker.
And he said, "Ray's performance was extraordinary."
He says, "It's really amazing."
But generally speaking, people were cool to his performance.
They just thought he was an oaf.
And that's not what he tried. I think he tried to behave a bit like...
He tried-- He took his lead from James Dean as I understand it.
I think Ray was not a good choice to be a roadie.
I think that's obvious.
But not for what's intimated in the film.
It wasn't because he was too cack-handed, although he was a bit.
He was not technical with the equipment.
That's absolutely true.
But he's a very, very bright boy. There's no doubt. He was a very bright boy.
Erm...
But he was too independent-minded.
He wasn't really crew-minded.
I think it does accurately reflect what took place.
I mean you see events that, um...
On the Scottish tour, where they got into trouble.
Joe got into trouble and ended up in jail.
Unfortunately extraordinary because he was trying to protect some of the fans.
Because police were arresting all the fans.
So there's an accurate reflection if you wish.
It captures the spirit of the time,
the political ethos and the social ethos at the time. There's absolutely no doubt.
It demonstrates how The Clash became more and more organized, how it almost...
Not the organization but the way they presented themselves
became... was no longer in their control.
It was very easy filming their live scene.
We had five film cameras, five different film cameras, I think.
The stuff that they wore was all coordinated, you know.
I told them you gotta wear black on stage now. Nothing else but black.
And they wore it like a uniform, like the Beatles.
They didn't wear uniforms before but now wanted to wear uniforms, you know.
You're really together now and organized.
You're a rock band and you wear a uniform. And that's what they did.
The band were not involved in any of the editorial
decisions or the way the film was put together.
We never asked them for advise for as to what you think the film should be.
It wasn't their film. It was our film.
There was a confusion as to what the film meant.
And to Mick, he thought that we showed all the black people as being thieves.
And that hurt his liberal sensibility.
There's nothing phony about it, it seems to me.
And it's not pretentious.
And it just generally tries to get the truth out of these people.
And out of the... Out of the events that were happening at the time.
Making a film about a group is extremely difficult because they have a career.
And they're on the up so...
They have a career to defend and they don't really want
necessarily to tell the whole truth about themselves.
It was through just going to gigs and looking at these different bands,
that I did meet Ray.
I asked him what band he thought was the best band.
And he said immediately, Joe Strummer and The Clash.
And all your crowd walking in
Day by day
You'll still try to stop it
In any way
Embassy people
Turn war officer
Hear what I say
At that time, The Clash didn't play very much.
So it was only possible to have heard some of their records but you never saw them play.
I think they played a bit on the Anarchy tour and then they kind of rested.
And they had the problem that they were replacing the drummer.
Um, Topper Headon wasn't at that point part of the band.
Mick Jones was a brilliant guitarist.
He could fill out the sound and he could organize the music in an amazing way.
Other people were just very one-dimensional compared to that even then.
Ray was, did work as a roadie.
And first I thought, maybe we would film a little sub plot,
whereby he worked his way up through the subway sect, and then he learnt roadie-ing.
And then he could offer himself to the band, which is roughly what happened actually.
And it was in that period that I was trying to persuade Ray.
Maybe he'll be interested in filming and he wasn't very keen at the time.
You can ask him yourself but uh,
he wasn't like that. I mean, nobody was.
It was just seen as a chore. It was seen as an activity, really.
"Oh God, yes! We have to do it now."
A friend of mine, John Pierce who's a tailor.
He's actually tailor to Mick Jagger and loads of other people,
And he'd been working in Mr. Freedom in the sixties on The King's Road.
Uh, he was a friend of Bernard Rhodes.
And he put me in touch with Bernard and I went to talk to him about
whether there could be some future in making a film about The Clash.
So I had to go around to see all of them. And I think I met Strummer.
Basically, he was very friendly when I went to his rehearsals in Camden Town.
Then I didn't get a chance.
And it wasn't the ideal thing to talk to all of them at once.
So I went around to see Mick Jones at his house
where he lived with Brian James of Generation X.
Um, which was another group I had seen at the Marquee and elsewhere in Soho.
And he shared a flat with him.
And I went there one evening and talked to him about it.
And he sort of was very dismissive. He said, "Ah, no! Oh!", you know.
And he was quite unpleasant and surly in talking to me.
And anyway, Brian James, when I went to the door to leave,
I said, "Oh, he doesn't seem very--"
He said, "Oh, he really likes you, you know."
So I took courage from this.
That they wouldn't always show that they liked you.
So they already had a lot of um, very...
A lot of attitude, massive attitude.
Paul Simonon, I met also.
I think mainly at, maybe with Johnny, Johnny Green, the roadie,
who was just starting work with them then.
I met him at Camden. And he was always very pleasant.
And I did then go around to see him in his place.
And talk to him a bit about making the film.
So in the end, uh, they all agreed, although it didn't sound like it.
And it seemed to be a viable project.
Ray at that time was hanging around The Clash.
'Cause he used to go every night to punk concerts of one kind or another.
And he used to hang around "about the scene", as it was then.
And one thing that he tried to do was to join the band.
To go on tour, to hitch a ride with the band.
He wanted to have a good time with the band. He wanted to follow them around.
And one idea was that he could become a roadie.
Unfortunately, Ray was not perhaps ideal as a roadie.
And another thing was, that he was
quite a heavy drinker of Special Brew beer.
So that it was a bit of... And Special Brew can make you a bit aggressive at times.
And also, you can fall asleep and generally be not particularly efficient.
Now the funny thing about bands is
that they may look as though they're taking drugs and lying around all the time.
And arriving late and doing this and that.
But they hate it in anybody else. They don't want to see that.
They're allowed to do that but nobody else is.
So in a way, the...
The story of the film looks into these kind of contradictions.
The basic idea behind the film in my mind was
to take this kind of filming, pesudo real filming, semi real or real filming,
and to put it into the most difficult circumstances, you could imagine.
So that was how it was.
Because spit was raining down on the cameraman.
There were all these kids, jumping up and down, pogoing.
Oh yeah
That was the whole thing of punk,
was this real workout and very hot and sweaty.
So you had to be down there, in the front, in this crowd of people filming.
And that's the last thing, in a way that you want.
It's a bit like combat photography.
When we went to Rock Against Racism, The Clash were on the bill.
And I did say to Ray
because I was there, went there with Ray
and we were going to try and film the event.
And we had great difficulty as you can see
because the electricity failed.
I said to Ray, "Well I think you--"
Because it was very near the beginning of his filming.
I said, "Well, maybe you should do something extraordinary today for us."
And so you can see the rest...
What happened in the film.
I didn't tell him what to do.
He improvised it.
Like Marlon Brando.
The way in which Joe cooperated with us was quite interesting.
If it was a musical, then in musicals they often have a scene
where somebody sits down by a piano and sings a song.
A kind of sentimental moment of...
A sympathetic moment for the heroes.
And uh...This...
I said to Joe, "Well, maybe we would like to have a scene
"whereby he would play at the piano with Ray,
in which they would make some kind of interchange.
And in that scene... This is kind of a transitional scene,
whereby Joe kind of explains something to him, maybe in music.
An uh, I said, "Well, we're gonna film in a week's time.
"Joe, are you ready? Have you got something to do?" And he said, "No."
You know, this was kind of his joke, "No."
And he would not... I mean, we didn't have brain storming sessions.
It was the opposite. It was minimal.
And it was a joke as though we couldn't...
Uh, we wouldn't get anything or we would be lucky to get something.
That they wouldn't cooperate. That they wouldn't show up and that nothing would happen.
But I would say that this was a way in which,
um, everbody kept real.
So you got something that was real. They weren't telling you what they were gonna do.
They weren't talking about it too much. They did their thing, you did your thing.
You came together but you didn't discuss it. It happened.
So I was really surprised when we got...
We picked up Joe in the film van.
And took him down to the studio by the tower bridge,
which we'd hired for the occasion.
There was this honky tonk piano there
and I saw Joe took out of his top pocket, a little notebook.
And I thought, I said, "Oh!"
He said, "I'm just finishing it. Yes, it's all ready."
So there he was, very efficient.
He prepared himself and he had this song,
which he played at the piano, which we know, No Reason.
I ain't got no reason
To drag around
I'm the right kind of color
In the white part of town
The only problem I think, with a group is it's a four headed monster.
So you go... You're running around trying to give biscuits to each head.
And also, you're trying to give them equal time in the film which is kind of a group thing.
And that is a problem. We had to try to get what we wanted out of them.
And they were doing up to their neck, trying to do what they had to do.
They were trying to get through the concerts, get through the night and so on.
Maybe their private life was also exploding around them.
So there was an antagonism and...
Joe had a bit of a sense of humor which was a bit like Paul's.
And Mick was at times, very, very diva-ish, very impossible.
At other times, very nice.
Topper was usually obstreperous.
And pseudo, psuedo-aggressive.
Having a sub plot in a movie is always a very dangerous thing.
And it was necessary in this movie because of the subject of the songs.
And the songs talk endlessly about black issues, Rudie.
Rudie, Rudie, Rudie, Rudie.
No one knows what the Rude boy knows.
The Rude boy, all these guys would come from the country in Jamaica to town,
who are kinda pseudo bad men and they are supposed to be...
As in the heart, they come rooting and shooting and so on in theory.
Ray Gange is a pale reflection of such a character.
He's not a gangster. He's nothing.
Neither are any of these fans but they want to be bad.
They would like to be a bit bad.
The real meaning, actually of the sub plot in Rude Boy
is in my opinion, if you set out to be an anarchistic group,
who tried to overthrow the state,
who try to mislead the youth,
who support drug taking
and who create anarchy,
you make a million,
if you are, um, white.
If you are black you will be arrested for stealing a pound.
And you will be put in jail and kept there for many years.
So that is really what the message was intended to be.
And I think that it does work that way.
The film was very successful in France.
The one reason was because they had subtitles translating all Joe's lyrics.
And I think if you actually follow the lyrics, it makes a lot more sense.
My favorite Clash song
probably is White Man In Hammersmith Palais.
Like Nick Hornby and other people.
I think Nick Hornby includes it inis top ten tunes of all time.
Uh, I think that's a lovable song.
I love, erm, Safe European Home.
So I love the reggae influenced, the reggae version.
I mean like The Clash music which is very punk reggae.
Which was one of their great achievements.
And I must say, Police and Thieves was presented in that way.
There was... I just saw a magazine, a French magazine about The Clash.
After Joe's death and you know, it puts all this into a context, really.
But they said that this, this shot,
which was the first concert we shot actually for the film,
was recently from Birmingham.
Nightclub in Birmingham.
Quite a small venue.
But this shot with just one camera which Jack took,
filming from down here, erm...
Filming all in one shot, really.
That number was... They call it amazing.
They have all these names for it. They call it uh...
What they mean is, they call it something,
which means a single shot, a moving developing shot.
Developing shot, I think we call it in cinema.
One developing shot.
And then you see this, this... The punk tremor,
the delirium, the mania of punk,
which, that's what punk is about.
And that's what really, I think you know,
is the great attraction of punk now if you watch.
For rock stars, it's not like that.
- Good idea. - Is that too much?
- Don't get to say how I see it. - Yeah.
How's the album going then, Joe?
- All right? - Yeah.
What did you think of what the American geezers do instead of footie?
- I think alright. - They're still improving.
Yeah, well. Footie was last.
All right, so it was a little bit. It's like the basic thing of it, right?
- The right principal. - Yeah.
Well, I don't know. Maybe it's gonna become too smooth and whatever.
Yeah, well we have to do something. We can't go on being like that.
- Sorry about that. - Joe what?
I've seen this before, yeah.
Yeah? You reckon it's gonna be better than the last one.
- Yeah, it fails. - Gonna be more rootsy.
- Or less. - More punk rock.
- You're right. - Yeah.
It's gonna be more polished at the same time, don't you think that?
- American Production. - No polish.
- No? - More punk rock.
All right. That's about it.
Do you think this new album is gonna be any different to the first one, Joe?
- No, it's gonna be better. - It's gonna be better.
You don't think the Americanization of it is gonna fuck it up at all.
- No, they don't count. - No, anyway.
Their production might make any difference.
They're technicians.
Yeah, but they make it more pure, won't they,
than Micky's last one, don't you think?
You'll be able to get more punk rock in it.
- You think so? As against the roughness. - Yes, David.
No, man. I don't know. I don't fucking like the idea of doing it.
I think that they should fuck off and let somebody else do it.
Maybe you ain't tried dancing to it.
I don't dance to anything anyway, is it?
Don't you reckon they'll make it a better album
than Micky could or anyone, any English producer?
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Don't you think they're doing it for the American market?
I don't know any English producers mind but...
- It ain't hard to find him now, is it? - Where's Mickey Foote?
- Yeah. See even the last one didn't last very long. - Best of the New Wave.
So it's the fucking best album of the last year, ain't it?
Pity he goes around pushing people out of his car and killing them.
- So shut up. - I don't want to fucking use him again, man.
He's a shitbag, so whatever.
So let's say if they're technicians, they're too pure, innit?
Get somebody that brings out the bsic sound rather than purify it.
He goes to sleep too much if you wanna know the truth.
Too lazy.
So you don't think the Americans are gonna fuck it up?
And that's all.
I don't know. I think so.
I feel like I'll make a bollock out of it but I don't know.
Well, what I've heard anyway sounds alright.
I don't know if it's all right, eh?
Yeah.
I only got mine and Mick's guitar.
Yeah.
Could do it with a bit of vocal, all right?
It's really far away.
One, Two, One, Two. Got nothing at all.
Nothing at all. Nothing at all. Nothing at all.
When do I come in?
I was hanging around that market street
Yeah.
- Just had a blank. Okay. One more.
Okay, go.
I was hanging around the market street
I had a lot of time in my hands
Till I saw some passing yabbos
And we did chance to speak
I knew how to sing
And they knew how to pose
And one of them had a Les Paul
Heart attack machine
- Okay, man. One more. - Yeah.
- All right. From the top. - I'm just coming in too early.
- All right. - Yeah. It's not good.
Yeah, I just gotta leave it.
Give it. Give it to me again. I just gotta leave it twice.
All right. From the top.
I was hanging around the market street
And I had a lot of time on my hands
I saw some passing yabbos
We did chance to speak
Well, I knew how to sing
And they knew how to pose
An' one of them had a Les Paul
Heart attack machine
An' I want to move the town to the Clash city rockers
You need a little jump of electrical shockers
You better leave town if you only want to knock us
Nothing stands the pressure of the Clash city rockers
You see the rate they come down the escalator
Now listen to the tube train accelerator
Then you realize that you got to have a purpose
Or this place is gonna knock you out sooner or later
So don't complain, oh
About your useless employment, oh
Jack it in forever tonight
Or shut your mouth, oh
An' I want to liquefy everybody gone dry
Think of all the money you've got
An' I want to liquefy everybody gone dry
Or plug into the aerials that poke up in the sky
Or burn down the suburbs with the half-closed eyes
You won't succeed unless you try
So don't complain, oh
About your useless employment, oh
Jack it in forever tonight
Or shut your mouth, oh
And pretend you enjoy it, oh
Think of all the money you've got
An' I want to move the town to the Clash city rockers
You need a little jump of electrical shockers
You better leave town if you only want to knock us
Nothing stands the pressure of the Clash city rockers
You owe me a move
Say the bells of St. Groove
When I am fitter say the bells of Gary Glitter
No one but you and I
Say the bells of Prince Far-I
No one but you and I
Say the bells of Prince Far-I
An' I want to move the town to the Clash city rockers
You need a little jump of electrical shockers
You better leave town if you only want to knock us
Nothing stands the pressure of the Clash city rockers
Rock rock Clash city rockers
Tommy gun
You ain't happy less he got one
Tommy gun
Ain't gonna shoot you up just for fun
But do you want to die for the money?
And do you want to kill for his country?
Whatever he wants, he's gonna get it!
Tommy gun
Waiting for the grave carrying one
Tommy gun
You'll be dead when your war is won
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it
Tommy gun
You have brush a trigger of the Thompson gun
Tommy gun
But did you have to gun down everyone?
I can see it's kill or be killed
A nation of destiny has got to be fulfilled
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it
Tommy gun
You can be a hero in an age of none
Tommy gun
I'm cutting out your picture from page one
I'm gonna get a jacket just like yours
An' give my false support to your cause
Whatever you want, you're gonna get it
So
Take your minds
Is our Road
Please don't judge somebody
Don't sound so excited
- No way. - Hit it!
Rude Boy!
Breakin' rocks in the hot sun
I fought the law and the law won
I needed money 'cause I have none
I fought the law and the law won
Killed my baby and it felt so bad
Guess my race is run
Sweetest little woman that I've ever had
I fought the law and the law won
I fought the law but the law won