A Voice From The Wings: From Dingwalls To The Clash by Barry 'DJ Scratchy' Myers

Scratchy at Clerkenwell Festival August 2026 - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

Back in September 2024 I interviewed DJ Scratchy (Barry Myers) for a special Retrosonic Podcast episode to coincide with the publication of his limited-edition photobook “Road-Eyes 20-20 Double Vision: Photo Tales with The Clash & The Mescaleros”. This was released mainly for his DJ tour of Japan and appearance at the Fuji Rock Festival and featured Japanese translations of the various comments and annotations accompanying the photos. During our chat, he mentioned he was working on his memoirs, and the good news is that finally the first volume has just been published by TangentBooks under the title “A Voice from the Wings: From Dingwalls to The Clash”. We saw Scratchy at the recent Clerkenwell Festival, where he gave an interesting talk and Q&A session about the book and it was good timing as I had just finished reading it the day before. What I must say from the start is this is not just another biography of The Clash, it’s very much Scratchy’s own unique story that takes us on a fascinating musical journey from his time in Ents and radio at Warwick University to his first professional work as a DJ at legendary London venues such as the Speakeasy, Lyceum and Dingwalls and his time on the road with The Clash.

Scratchy at The 100 Club, London - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

His superb descriptions of the music scene at the time, the various promoters and of course, those legendary and sadly often long-since gone concert halls, are highly evocative, putting you right bang in the heart of the action. Scratchy was there at the centre of London’s Punk Rock explosion and he discusses the impact of first seeing the Ramones and his part in the band’s iconic 1977 New Years Eve show at the Rainbow in London, which resulted in the classic “It’s Alive” live album. When he DJ’d for The Clash at their 1978 Music Machine gigs, his selection caught the ear of Joe Strummer, and this resulted in the band inviting him along as their Tour DJ. Joe dubbed him ‘Scratchy’ and it’s a name that's stuck to this day. The Clash's Roadie, The Baker, called him a “sonic alchemist” which is apt, as to this day, Scratchy specialises in creating a vibe and building an atmosphere at a show rather than just playing a load of records to a room (or field) full of people or pressing the play button on a random playlist, there’s a big difference. 

Scratchy at Clerkenwell Festival - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

I think Scratchy's selection of roots music such as Rockabilly, Reggae, Soul and raw R&B, along with the best Punk sounds of the times, surely must have had some sort of influence on the eclectic sound of The Clash’s “London Calling” album, it can’t have been a coincidence. It was this prime position as a trusted member of the Clash team that enabled him to capture so many superb candid photos, stories and memories that include his brief appearance in the Clash’s “Rude Boy” movie in the scenes filmed at the 1978 Rock Against Racism carnival in Victoria Park. Throughout the book, Scratchy keeps a discreet distance from the band, there’s no salacious gossip about the various members, and he doesn’t really go into depth about their personalities or his personal relationship with each of them. However, he doesn’t shy away from the on-the-road shenanigans, usually involving Topper, but generally speaking he is hanging out with the Baker and Clash Tour Manager, Johnny Green along with various roadies, van drivers and local promoters and often getting stuck in on the frontlines. It’s like a tour diary just from another perspective, as he discusses life on the road, the travelling, hotels and pranks that are played to alleviate the inevitable bouts of boredom. Scratchy captures this perfectly, as good as any band member or music biographer ever has. 

What also shines through is Scratchy’s enthusiasm and passion for music of all genres, he’s always seeking out what’s new and interesting in the cities he visits and he talks with glowing praise of some of the great support acts he saw along the way with The Clash, including those on his favourite bill, Bo Diddley and The Cramps. And there’s more, he touches on his own musical endeavours as bassist with The Snivelling Shits and the pages positively glow with energy and passion when he describes his travels around America and his love affair with New York. The book is dedicated to Johnny Green who of course wrote perhaps the definite Clash on the road book “A Riot of Our Own” and who inspired Scratchy to write his memoirs. He starts and closes the book with affectionate and touching eulogies to his great friend and mentor, who sadly passed away before the book was finished. I must also mention just how beautifully presented the book is and what a great job Tangent have done. There are full colour inner sleeves, a cord book-marker and it’s packed full of photos and various pages of Scratchy’s memorabilia including backstage passes, postcards, badges and reproductions of posters from various gigs that he has DJ’d at. In the back pages you can find various playlists and recommended songs to listen to while you enjoy the book. 

Scratchy at What's Cookin' London - Photo copyright Retro Man Blog

Scratchy will be releasing part two of his memoirs concentrating on his time with Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros and I’m sure the story will not end there. He is still very active with his Scratchy Sounds radio show on Totally Wired Radio and DJing for various Retro Man Blog favourites such as Oh! Gunquit, The Courettes and King Salami & The Cumberland 3. Not to mention his appearances at London’s premiere local community festivals in Somerstown and Clerkenwell every summer and regular tours of his beloved Japan. I’m sure it won’t be too long before we get news of a volume 3 of the Scratchy memoirs and I certainly look forward to that. You can order the book from all the usual retailers but can also contact Scratchy via his Scratchy Sounds website here for signed copies which come with a free postcard while stocks last.

Retrosonic Podcast · DJ Scratchy Sounds: Photo Tales with The Clash & Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros

Don’t forget to check out our thoroughly entertaining Retrosonic Podcast special episode where I chat to Scratchy about his fascinating life in music and photography – you can subscribe for free at Soundcloud, iTunes/Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube. All photos copyright Retroman Blog except CD cover.