The Clash The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the wa ...

played a series of 17 concerts at

Bonds International Casino Bond International Casino (sometimes called "Bond's") was a nightclub and music venue located on the east side of Broadway between 44th Street (Manhattan), 44th and 45th Streets near Times Square, New York City. The venue operated as the Internat ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

in May and June 1981 in support of their album ''

Sandinista! ''Sandinista!'' is the fourth studio album by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released on 12 December 1980 as a triple album containing 36 tracks, with 6 songs on each side. It crosses various genres including funk, reggae, jazz, g ...

''. Due to their wide publicity, the concerts became an important moment in the history of the band. Some of the nights were professionally recorded either for CBS records or for FM broadcast. The 9 June performance appears on countless bootleg records and several songs have appeared on '' From Here to Eternity: Live'' or other official Clash releases. The site of the concerts was formerly Bonds department store which had been converted into a large second-floor hall. Promoters kept the name because there was a large Bonds sign on the outside of the building. As

had not yet broken out into mass popularity, eight shows were originally scheduled: 28, 29, 30, 31 May and 1, 2, 3 and 5 June 1981. However, given the venue's legal capacity limit of 1750, the series was blatantly oversold (3500) right from the first night, leading the

New York City Fire Department The New York City Fire Department, officially the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY), is an American department of the government of New York City that provides fire protection services, technical rescue/special operations services, ...

to cancel the Saturday, 30 May performance. In response, the band condemned the brazen greed of the promoters while demonstrating unprecedented integrity to each and every ticketholder by doubling the original booking with a total of 17 dates extending through June. Strict interpretation of the fire laws meant that audiences were relatively small, resulting in a sense of intimacy between the band and the audience. Audience members clambered onto the stage to join in singalongs. New York musicians, including

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...

, assisted and overseen by Andy Dunkley, provided

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...

services as the audience entered and gathered. The concert captures

on the verge of their major American market breakthrough with the release of ''

Combat Rock ''Combat Rock'' is the fifth studio album by the English rock band the Clash. It was released on 14 May 1982 through CBS Records. In the United Kingdom, the album charted at number 2, spending 23 weeks in the UK charts and peaked at number 7 in ...

'' a year later. The concert also displayed the band on the cusp between being a cult band and their major market penetration. As always with The Clash, ticket and merchandise prices were set relatively low. Prices were $10 per ticket and $5 per ticket for matinee shows. The band had a new opening act every night, including The Fall,

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Kidd Creole (not to be confused with Kid Creole), Keef Cowboy, Sc ...

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

Bad Brains Bad Brains are an American rock band formed in Washington, D.C. in 1976. Originally a jazz fusion band under the name Mind Power, they are widely regarded as pioneers of hardcore punk, though the band's members have objected to the use of this ...

, KRAUT,

Lee "Scratch" Perry Lee "Scratch" Perry (born Rainford Hugh Perry; 20 March 1936 – 29 August 2021) was a Jamaican record producer, composer and singer noted for his innovative studio techniques and production style. Perry was a pioneer in the 1970s development o ...

and many more. Many of the hip-hop groups that opened were either picketed or booed off the stage, which prompted Joe to chide the audience as soon as The Clash came on stage afterwards.

Melle Mel Melvin Glover (born May 15, 1961 in The Bronx), better known by his stage name Grandmaster Melle Mel (or simply Melle Mel) () is an American hip hop recording artist who was the lead vocalist and songwriter of Grandmaster Flash and the Furiou ...

later said that when they tried to perform the section of "Beat Street" with the, "Say Ho!", the audience members would yell, "Fuck you!".

Setlist

London Calling ''London Calling'' is the third studio album by English rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a double album in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 by CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 by Epic Records. The C ...

" #"Safe European Home" #"The Leader" #"

Train in Vain "Train in Vain" is a song by the British punk rock band the Clash. It was released as the third and final single from their third studio album, ''London Calling'' (1979). The song was not originally listed on the album's track listing, appearing ...

" #"

(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was originally released as a 7-inch single, with the b-side "The Prisoner", on 16 June 1978 through CBS Records. Produced by The Clash and engineered by ...

" #"

This Is Radio Clash "This Is Radio Clash" is a song by the English punk rock band the Clash. It was released as a single in 1981 on various formats. The song was performed months before its release, beginning with the Impossible Mission Tour of April and May 1981. ...

" #"Corner Soul" #"

Guns of Brixton A gun is a ranged weapon designed to use a shooting tube (gun barrel) to launch projectiles. The projectiles are typically solid, but can also be pressurized liquid (e.g. in water guns/cannons, spray guns for painting or pressure washing, ...

" #"

The Call Up "The Call Up" is a song by English punk rock group the Clash. It was released as the first single from the band's fourth album, ''Sandinista!''. The single was released in November 1980, in advance of the release of ''Sandinista!'', with "Stop ...

" #"

Bankrobber "Bankrobber" is a song by English punk rock band The Clash. The song was not released on any of their studio albums, instead appearing on their compilation ''Black Market Clash''. Upon its 1980 release as a single (initially available in the UK ...

" #"

Complete Control "Complete Control" is a song by The Clash, released as a 7" single and featured on the U.S. release of their debut album. Background The song is often cited as one of punk's greatest singles and is a fiery polemic on record companies, manager ...

" #"Lightning Strikes (Not Once But Twice)" #"Ivan Meets GI Joe" #"Charlie Don't Surf" #"

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself initially relea ...

" #"Broadway" #"Somebody Got Murdered" #"

Police & Thieves "Police and Thieves" ( "Police and Thief") is a reggae song first recorded by the falsetto singer Junior Murvin in 1976. It was covered by the punk band The Clash and included on their self-titled debut album released in 1977. Junior Murvin ver ...

" #"

Clampdown "Clampdown" is a song by the English rock band the Clash from their 1979 album ''London Calling''. The song began as an instrumental track called "Working and Waiting". It is sometimes called "Working for the Clampdown" which is the main lyric ...

" #"One More Time" #"

Brand New Cadillac "Brand New Cadillac" (also recorded as "Cadillac") is a 1959 song by Vince Taylor, and was originally released as a B-side. Featured musicians on the released recording were: Joe Moretti (guitars), Lou Brian (piano), Brian Locking (bass) and Br ...

" #"The Street Parade" #"

Janie Jones Marion Mitchell (born 1941 in Seaham, County Durham), better known by her stage name Janie Jones, is a former English singer. She became renowned for holding sex parties at her home during the 1970s, and was jailed for her involvement in 'contro ...

" #"

Washington Bullets The Washington Wizards are an American professional basketball team based in Washington, D.C. The Wizards compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clash At Bond's International Casino, The The Clash live albums Bootleg recordings 1981 live albums