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.

Mick Jones' Rock & Roll Public Library at Subway Gallery, Joe Strummer Subway, Edgware Road, London

Here are some photos from the recent Subway Gallery installation of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite's Mick Jones' Rock & Roll Public Library. Unfortunately, the exhibition only ran for about a month and has now finished, but it would be great if the collection could find a permanent home somewhere soon. 

The Subway Gallery web-site explains the idea behind the public showing of the collection: "The Rock & Roll Public Library, a testament to popular culture, springs directly from the enormous personal archive of Mick Jones, a collection that began well before The Clash were formed in 1976. As such it forms an invaluable guide to the collision of cultural influences that informed The Clash and Jones. The collection is also a testimony to the manner in which pop music came to its first full fruition at the same time as Pop Art. 

Envisaged as a permanent reference library for use by both the local and international community, it comprises, believes Jones, 'a personal, cultural and social history of our times, and through that it extends beyond the local to the global'. Popular culture is now established as part curriculum of many universities: it is intended that ultimately, the library will be an invaluable and essential aid to academic research and personal inquisitiveness. 

Great song-writing partnerships are hard to break up, and so it is apt that the Joe Strummer Subway on London's Edgware Road (in the shadow of the Westway) will lead you to the latest edition of the Rock & Roll Public Library at the Subway Gallery - a home for underground art."  Here are some of my photos taken on the Exhibition's last day.

All photos by Steve Worrall

You can see some of my photos of the original, and much larger, Exhibition at Chelsea Space back in 2009 HERE.

News: Mick Jones' Rock & Roll Public Library at Subway Gallery, Joe Strummer Subway, Edgware Road, London March 09th-31st

Clash memorabilia from the Chelsea Space exhibition 2009 - Photo by Steve Worrall

 Mick Jones' amazing collection of The Clash, B.A.D and cool Rock & Roll and Pop Culture memorabilia, is back on public display at Subway Gallery, Joe Strummer subway, Edgware Road, London March 09th-31st.

101'ers Poster from the Chelsea Space Exhibition 2009 - Photo by Steve Worrall

 Intended by Mick to be a permanent reference library for use by both the local and international community, it comprises, ‘a personal, cultural and social history of our times, and through that it extends beyond the local to the global.’ The collection features a huge array of rare and interesting memorabilia from The Clash days, including hand-written notes, stage clothes, flight cases and gig posters. There are also many pieces from Big Audio Dynamite alongside various movie posters, comic books and pop culture items.

"Hello Mick, It's Joe. Okay I give up, you win. Call me, Love, Joe" - Photo by Steve Worrall

I'd been along to see the collection when it was exhibited at the Chelsea Space Gallery back in 2009, here are some more of my photos of the items on display.

Catalogue of the Chelsea Space Exhibition 2009

 You can find more information on the excellent Strummerville site.

All photos by Steve Worrall