Monday, June 23, 2008

the clash



white man in hammersmith palais.


My favourite Strumer/Jones 45 ever. Full stop. And I bought quite a few.

I bought this in Clydebank - the ship building hub of Greater Glasgow - the day it hit the shops. Clydebank was flattened by a series of Luftwaffe carpet bombing raids during the second world war. Like Dresden, it was the civillian population which suffered from the wholesale decimation. The poured concrete structures which rose out of the rubble were scarcely an improvement.

THE CLASH: WHITE MAN IN HAMMERSMITH PALAIS from "White Man In Hammersmith Palais b/w The Prisoner" 45 (CBS) 1978 (UK)

THE CLASH: THE PRISONER from "White Man In Hammersmith Palais b/w The Prisoner" 45 (CBS) 1978 (UK)

ESSENTIAL CLASH

2 comments:

Your driver said...

If I could be said to have a favorite song, it would have to be 'White Man In Hammersmith Palais'. I keep trying to work up a version for the ukulele. I know the chords, but I'm not satisfied with the way it sounds.

ib said...

Keep practicing. I know you will. By the way, I think this 45 contains the greatest "hah!" ever put on vinyl : the exhaled sarcasm right after "They got Burton suits..."