Why it's nostalgic or important: The first time I ever saw The Clash/Joe Strummer.
Admittedly, that's not a huge matter of significance. Although when someone has a profound impact on you (as Joe Strummer has had on me), the first time you lay eyes on them does become a vivid memory in time I think. I can remember watching this for the first time clear as the day - about a year ago, as part of a TV programme called Punk At The BBC. The video I've included in this post is from that broadcast actually. This was when my interest of punk was at its infancy and when the info bar said it was The Clash who had just started playing I thought "oh great, heard plenty of great things about these guys". At that point I had only heard around about five Clash songs and loved them all. As for Clash City Rockers.... not quite as positive. To be fair - this song did take a long time to grow on me even when I did become a fan. I just thought it was too tuneless and punk by numbers. I hated the song - and I clearly remember thinking "Wow I could punch that lead singer quite easily". Yes, you did read that right. My first impression of Joe Strummer was that I wanted to deck him. Ha, like I'd ever think such a thought again. I think it was because of his appearance - the sunglasses and hairstyle really annoyed me for whatever reason. I think the whole thing was just too raw and gritty for my decidedly more polished brain to comprehend really. At the time of watching this performance I thought he was a stereotypical punk. Oh, how so very wrong I was. It's what I get for having a bad habit of having strong first impressions too quickly about someone. It's amazing remembering this actually - if you told me at the time this man would change my life for the better only months later I would have told you to stop talking rubbish. I'm deadly serious. Come the end of October though he'd reappear again rather unexpectedly and win me over for good..........
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