Introductions not needed…

This next song isn’t actually about the addicted (but recovered), dated Caprice, dropped Steve Morrow, legged it from Wycombe before being sacked and now taking Pompey into a downward spiral, ex-Arsenal and England defender. This one is more like the Denis Law and Ali Mc Graw song where the donkey Arsenal Number 6 was used as pop reference in the song. But there is a donkey stoppit! nod to him in the last verse…

I always thought Joe Strummer was Chelsea, but on evidence of this one maybe not.

Sadly I didn’t follow his career after the breakup of The Clash which is a pity on my part, because rediscovering his stuff now I see that I missed out.

So I am using this post as an excuse to pay tribute to one of my favourite bands as well as to the man himself.

Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros » Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros – Tony Adams

->

Late news breakin’, this just in
Tonight there was a power cut in the city of madness
And all conversations died in the burst of a solar flare
In the darkness an angel won the beauty pagent
Stroboscopic snowflakes fell from the stratosphere
And all the neon blew down funky Broadway
And shorted out the eastern shore
Only saxophones and beach trombones
Were left to shout out, “We all need a little more.”

I’m waiting for the rays of the morning sun
Somebody tell me clearly, has the new world begun
Let all the wailing wail, let the drummer drum
We’re waiting for the rays of the morning sun, hey, the morning sun
Whoa, oh, the morning sun, hey, hey, the morning sun
Has anybody seen the morning sun

I’m lost in a world beyond the lost city
I’m looking for a phone and I cant find one
Gotta Tony Bennett eight track in the hotel pity
The moon turned around and shot someone
I’m lost in a mack truck, Jack, in the city of words
Only dead men stomp on the brake pedals in the city of nerves
Sow me some reaps, Jack, I’m dead on the heap
Show me some glycerine, Mac, downhill is so steep

I’m waiting for the rays of the morning sun
Somebody tell me clearly, has the new world begun
Let all the wailing wail, let the drummer drum
We’re waiting for the rays of the morning sun, hey, the morning sun
Whoa, oh, the morning sun, hey, hey, the morning sun
Has anybody seen the morning sun

Late news breakin’, this just in
Late news breakin’, this just in

The whole city is a debris of broken heels and party hats
I’m standing on the corner that’s on a fold on the map
I lost my friends at the deportee station
I’ll take immigration into any nation

I’m waiting for the rays of the morning sun
Somebody tell me clearly, has the new world begun
Let all the wailing wail, let the drummer drum
Waiting for the rays of the morning sun, hey, the morning sun
Whoa, oh, the morning sun, hey, hey, the morning sun
Has anybody seen the morning sun
Has the new world begun

Who is that screaming in Lunar Park
If they make Tony Adams captain
We could all go screaming in Lunar Park
I say yes, oh, yes – you should check it out
Check it out, yeah, check it out
Check it out, check it out

Another one – solo this time and a track from the Sid & Nancy fillum:

» Joe Strummer – Love Kills

Next two are from the band –
This one was chosen by another notable ex-player, now manager in an Observer article I found via I Am Fuel, You Are Friends :

Stuart Pearce, England football hero & manager of Manchester City FC: “Complete Control”
Stuart Pearce
“When I was 14, I was living with my mum and dad in Kingsbury, north west London. After school, I’d be straight up to the bedroom to get the records on. The walls had posters of all the bands I liked: the Clash, Stranglers, Stiff Little Fingers, Bowie. I had a Lurkers set list and a massive ‘Holidays in the Sun’ Pistols poster. I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to do back then – I still don’t now – I was just into music.

Back then, I didn’t want to hear any slow songs or ballads; I just wanted something fast and loud that I could sing along to and jump up and down on the bed with a baseball bat like an idiot. ‘Complete Control’ was the rawest song I had; everything I wanted was on it. I can still remember my old girl coming in and telling me to turn it down.

I’d play ‘White Riot’ before I went out to play, mainly at Forest; that was my musical peak, because I was captain. Brian Clough sort of turned a blind eye to it, really. “

» The Clash – Complete Control

Also in the article was Ian Brown (ex-Stone Roses) who chose the next song because of his stumbling upon the group as they were recording it at the time:

» The Clash – Bankrobber

– –

I’ve wandered very off from the original subject of this post (that would be Mr T Adams) – I’ve got something else, another song with his name attached to it which I’ll post further on down the line. The track is also linked to the current boss and… I’ve said to much already.

Want to save that punchline for later.

3 Replies to “The Adams Family”

  1. Some quality selections there. Nice one.

    I think Strummer was a Chelsea supporter and what I think he was refering to in the song was Adams being made England captain.

  2. No wonder Pearce got called Psycho if he listened to White Riot just before a game…

    I think Chippy’s right. I half-remember reading somewhere that Joe admired Adams for the way he fought through his problems.

    Anyway, excellent stuff. And a particularly fine choice in ‘Complete Control’, my personal Clash favourite.

    If I may plug my own little piece of the web, I wrote a piece a few months back on the influence of football on the making of London Calling, if anyone’s interested.

  3. Glad you got round to the Strummer/Mescaleroes canon. In my humble opinion, Globab-a-go-go is up there with anything the Clash did, just didn’t get the credit it deserved.

    Incidentally, in one of his live shows Strummer mentioned that Tony Adams was about a “catastrophe hitting New York”, an obvious reference to 9/11. A lot of his songs can be quite oblique, though, interpretation can be tough. 10 years on am still tryin to figure out Yalla Yalla from the first Meskies album. The best songwriters should be difficult but inspiring, and Joe fits that bill admirably.

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