Mick Jones Rock & Roll Public Library - Exhibition of The Clash & Big Audio Dynamite Legend's Memorabilia

It was great to visit the Rock & Roll Public Library which is just part of Mick Jones' collection of memorabilia and 20th century pop culture now on display courtesy of former Subway Sect and JoBoxers drummer Sean McLusky and his team at the excellent Farsight Gallery. We'd been to the two previous Rock & Roll Public Library exhibitions at the Chelsea Space and Subway Gallery and it's always a huge pleasure to marvel at the hundreds of nostalgic and evocative items on display that include books, comics, fanzines, games, posters, clothes, electrical equipment along with tons of music, movie and football memorabilia. Of course there are many items that will be familiar to fans of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite including handwritten lyrics, posters, guitar cases, T-shirts and clothing, record covers and even a ticket and poster from The Clash's very first London show. Here's a walk-through of the exhibition...

 

The exhibition is being held at the Farsight Gallery at 4 Flitcroft Street WC2H 8DJ (just off London's legendary Denmark Street) and has just been extended to March 22nd due to popular demand. Don't be surprised if you bump into some famous faces if you visit, Bobby Gillespie, Ian Brown, Clare Grogan, Phil Jupitus, Glen Matlock, Neal X and Steve Diggle are just some of the celebrities to have popped in. There's a fantastic magazine/programme to go with the exhibition too and issue 1 is available to buy at the gallery or via mail-order after the closing date. The magazine is beautifully produced on high-quality paper with some stunning photographs by one of Retro Man Blog's favourite photographers Jeff Pitcher, and there are plans to publish more issues which will hopefully be available at Rough Trade Records and other outlets in the future. Here's a few words from the organisers.

"The Rock & Roll Public Library (RRPL) is a large, material archive of 20th century pop culture, collected over a lifetime by British musician and songwriter Mick Jones. An archive encompassing many varied items, including books, comics, magazines, musical equipment, literature, art, clothing, ephemera, as well as music and film in every format, revealing a wide network of influences. The most comprehensive and in-depth exhibition of the RRPL to date, showcasing previously unseen material and artefacts and featuring new installations created from the unique collection and personal items from Mick’s life and times as an art student, to The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite. The show celebrates the physical pop culture history of the 20th century and beyond - the aim being to inspire others to create, make connections and remember. Visitors are invited to interact with the exhibition: relax in the recreation of a living room and use items from the archive including Mick’s home recorded VHS tapes, books, comics and newspapers from another time; browse through and listen to a selection of his record collection in the recreation of a 1970’s listening booth; or visit the RRPL Kiosk to shop for new merch. The exhibition marks the launch of Issue #1 of the RRPL Magazine. A portable exhibition in itself, it invites the reader to find their own connections and inspirations from the Library’s wide-ranging artefacts. Edited by the RRPL team and featuring three different covers, the first issue focuses on DIY culture - from punk rock fanzines to fashion, art school to dole queues, four-track home cassette demos to high-tech studios - a ragged map to aid further exploration and, hopefully, to inspire yet more creation. The exhibition and magazine are made up entirely of items sourced from the Rock & Roll Public Library that have been selected by Mick Jones & The RRPL Team."

"The magazine to me is like a record, with each article a separate track and it tells a story - my story and by extension through our shared culture, all of our stories. I hope that anyone who reads it will enjoy it." - Mick Jones

 

 

The Rock & Roll Public Library exhibition has been extended due to popular demand. The show is open every day including weekends from 12 noon-7pm. Now ending at 7pm on 22nd March 2025, it's free to enter and no pre-booking required. Farsight Gallery, 4 Flitcroft Street, London WC2H 8DJ

 

 

 

Check out the RRPL site here for further details. You can also see our features on the previous exhibitions at Chelsea Space here and Subway Gallery here.

Brian James - R.I.P. The Damned and Lords of The New Church Guitarist 18th February 1955-6th March 2025

Brian at the Retro Bar (with TexasTerri & Rat Scabies)

Such sad news about the passing of Brian James, I was too young to have seen him when he was first in The Damned, I was from the "Machine Gun Etiquette" and "Black Album" era but of course loved the first two LPs, particularly the raw power of the debut "Damned Damned Damned" and classic singles "New Rose" and "Neat Neat Neat". His visceral guitar sound was like nothing else, instantly recognisable and unique. Like many young bands starting out, we had a bash at a cover version of "New Rose" at our first ever gig back in 1981 and I still have the TDK D-90 cassette recording of the show to this day - however, it's better to be looked at and reminisced about rather than listened too! Lords of The New Church were more of my time and their debut album is a classic, they were a great live band too, Brian happily blasting away at the guitar while frontman Stiv Bators took the limelight. I also saw Brian play at various small gigs over the years, such as the Lenny Kaye Nuggets show at the 100 Club last year, the Retro Bar with Rat and TexasTerri (one of the loudest shows I've ever been too) in 2012 and the fantastic night at the Troubadour to celebrate the launch of his official biography by John Wombat, in 2019, which you can read about in our feature here. I was also chuffed to have caught him at the Hammersmith Apollo for The Damned's reunion in 2022, he did a sterling job despite not being in the best of health and it was a joy to hear all those early songs with Brian's trademark guitar sound. R.I.P. Brian James. Here are a few photographic and video memories...

At the Troubadour biography launch party

Our first gig 1981 with "New Rose" attempt (note Jeff's Damned T-shirt)

Some of my old Lords of The New Church gig tickets

With Rat and TexasTerri at the Retro Bar

The Damned original line-up reunion Hammersmith Apollo

Brian with TexasTerri and Rat at the Retro Bar

The Troubadour

Glen Matlock at the 100 Club with special guest Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go's, February 27th

The 100 Club played host to two of my favourite legendary bass players - Glen Matlock of Sex Pistols and Kathy Valentine of The Go-Go's. Headliner Glen Matlock takes to the familiar stage where he has trodden the boards on numerous occasions - from the Sex Pistols appearance at the Punk Festival in September 1976 to the location of the press conference to announce the Sex Pistols reunion in 1996 and regular solo appearances over the years. Forsaking his bass for guitar and lead vocals, Glen is backed by his excellent band comprising the super cool guitarist Neal X (formerly of Sigue Sigue Sputnik), drummer Chris Musto and bassist Jim Lowe and they ran through a great selection of Glen's solo songs and cover versions alongside The Rich Kids "Ghosts of Princes In Towers" and of course the classic he penned for the Sex Pistols, "Pretty Vacant". It was no-nonsense, good time singalong Rock 'n' Roll that left all of us with huge smiles on our faces. Opening the night was Kathy Valentine, bassist with The Go-Go's, who entertained us with a set comprising some of her favourite songs such as Nick Lowe's "Heart of The City" and Suzi Quatro's "48 Crash" alongside solo material, such as my personal highlight "In My Closet" and of course a few Go-Go's songs such as "Vacation", "Apology" and "We Don't Get Along". She was joined by Glen's band to play a raucous take on The Go-Go's "The Whole World Lost It's Head" and the new collaboration with Neal X, a superbly catchy 7" vinyl single "I Love You More" released under the name KVNX, which was available for sale on the night. Kathy was behind the merch desk to sign copies of the single and her searingly honest autobiography "All I Ever Wanted: A Rock 'n' Roll Memoir" and I also took along my gig ticket from The Go-Go's last U.K. show back in 1995 when they played a fantastic show at the Shepherds Bush Empire. Kathy glady signed the ticket and reminisced about the show. Here are some photos and videos from the night.

 

 

"I Love You More" is available to download at the KVNX Bandcamp site here. You can see some more videos of Kathy's set at our Retro Man Blog YouTube channel here.

Glen Matlock's excellent "Triggers" book is a must read, it's a musical journey through his life told through a selection of various songs that had a big influence on him as a songwriter. His latest solo album "Consequences Coming" is also well worth getting hold of. 

 Glen at the recording of the Word In Your Ear Podcast, promoting his book "Triggers".

The Limiñanas - "Faded" LP Launch at Rough Trade East, February 26th

The Limiñanas were back in London at Rough Trade East to promote their excellent new LP "Faded" with an hour long set followed by a signing session. The line-up has changed since their last visit with new vocalist Thomas Gorman from Kill The Young and bassist Clémence Lasme joining the familiar guitarist and keyboard player Alban Barate alongside of course, Marie and Lionel Limiñana. I must admit that personally, it was a shame that Mickael, Renaud and in particular, the unique Ivan Telefunken are no longer performing with the band, but rather like a football team, Marie and Lionel are constantly changing and evolving the line-up and Tom and Clémence fitted in very well. The band played a mixed selection of songs which surprisingly only included a few tracks from the new album, instead they treated us to a kind of 'greatest hits' including "Shadow People", "Down Underground", "The Gift" and "Istanbul Is Sleepy" and a searing cover of The Cramps "TV Set". New album "Faded" is a return to the more familiar trademark Limiñanas sound following their more dance-orientated collaboration with DJ Laurent Garnier on the "De Pelicula" album. So it's back to the fuzzed-up guitar chords, hypnotic motorik Krautrock drums, cinematic Ennio Morricone Spaghetti Western atmospheres all mixed up with 60's French Yé-yé Pop and grungey Garage Rock 'n' Roll. There's also an eclectic roll call of special guests including Keith Streng from The Fleshtones, Jon Spencer from the Blues Explosion, Anna Jean from Juniore, Pascal Comelade, David Menke, Bertrand Belin and Bobby Gillespie from Primal Scream on the brilliant single "Prisoner of Beauty". Here are some photos and videos from the Rough Trade event. 

The Limiñanas will play at the Electric Ballrom in Camden on Saturday April 12th, you can get tickets from the venue here. You can check out our features with photos and videos from their last two previous London shows at the Scala Kings Cross and The 100 Club in the archive. Our Retrosonic Podcast episode "Songs The Limiñanas Taught Us" in which I look at their some of their many and varied cover versions, influences, side projects and early bands and collaborations is available at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iTunes or direct from our Retrosonic Podcast Soundcloud site below.

Retrosonic Podcast · Episode 37 "Songs The Limiñanas Taught Us"