Tony Fletcher

How cool was Jamming back in the day? Cool enough that Porky the Poet - as Phil Jupitus went by in those days - delivered a full-page comic strip for which he was probably paid in back issues. Here's a highlight from the XMas 84 special, as found in Jamming! 24.

WHITE RIOT Watched this movie Sunday night, at home, for what I felt was quite a stiff $12 actually, a 'virtual ticket' price I hope does not become the norm, even as I was happy to support a local indie cinema in the process. Anyway, it brought back the best and worst of times. A reminder of the violence and racism with which my generation came of age in mid-late 70s England, but also that we took steps to confront it. Have to admit to getting emotional about the whole Ca...rnival Against the Nazis on April 20 1978, and the memory of 13-yr old me walking that whole distance from Trafalgar Square to Victoria Park and somehow getting home safely again at the end of it. I also recognize the struggle never ends. And that applies to the USA if Biden wins the election. Racists will be racists, fascists will be fascists, and not all of them are open to persuasion otherwise. It's up to us to fight back, peacefully when we can. All that said, I found the documentary mildly disappointing. Even as a fanzine editor, I didn't need the relentless focus on the Rock Against Racism 'zine Temporary Hoarding and would much have preferred more grass roots memories; for an organization that claimed to be all about decentralization there were precious few contributions from those outside the London HQ. Who else has seen it? Thoughts and opinions? https://www.rollingstone.com//white-riot-movie-review-roc/

A SPRINGSTEEN FAN CALLS NO MAN SIR AND ONE MAN BOSS. Quite possibly the greatest single essay we published in 36 issues of Jamming! And no less true today, upon release of Letter To You, than it was upon release of Born In The USA back in 1984. PS: Parsons was paid the same as everyone else for this exclusive essay. Not quite peanuts but certainly not what he was commanding elsewhere. ... The full essay will be included in the Best of Jamming! book, published some time next year by Omnibus Press.

We may not have put The Clash on the cover but I'd like to believe we made up for it later in 1984 with this Billy Bragg feature. Just re-read it and it's actually a cool piece, one that has absolutely stood the test of time. The cover itself is also one of my faves: we worked out a good deal with Paul Cox where we'd set up a session for him, get exclusive first choice and usage (at our rates) and then he could sell onwards at his usual rates from there. Anyone apart from me still got their copy?

Appropriately, as I share this 1984 cover shot in prepping the Best of Jamming! book, I believe there is a Style Council documentary out there somewhere.

More from the Jamming! Archives. A 4-page interview with Cut The Crap era Joe Strummer by Ross Fortune. Somehow, we put Frankie Goes To Hollywood on the cover instead! That was 1984 for you! On the subject of which, the documentary White Riot is on this week's MustWatch List.

HAPPY MONDAYS everyone. Actually, happy THE CHARLATANS Monday. To celebrate the 30th Anniversary of debut LP Some Friendly, Northwich's finest have released four early demos. They make me happy. Like really happy. Though I had moved to the States by the time Madchester hit, the soundtrack of that era is The Happiest Songs I know from what was probably The Happiest Time of My Life. Makes me almost cry with nostalgia when I hear them. https://www.discogs.com/The-Charlatans-Some-Frie//16029726

MUSIC TO VOTE BY! Got your personally curated (by me, that is) October playlist here: 50 songs strong, a true celebration of global empowerment. Music not just from the UK & USA, but from Niger, Jamaica, Colombia, Norway, South Africa, Argentina, Iceland via US, the Congo via Germany and more. Music from The Who & The Damned, Bruce Springsteen & Sinead O'Connor, Mdou Moctar & Maralina Bertoldi, Lake Turner & Lana Del Ray, Elvis Costello & Pixies & Fleet Foxes & Black Thought...... Plus: collaborations galore! Neil Young with Stray Gators, Alicia Keys with Jill Scott, The GDVO with The Chi-Lites, Stevie Wonder with Rapsody and BUsta Rhymes, Jonsi with Elizabeth Fraser, and MORE! Oh yeah, and Amy Rigby with Wreckless Eric and the song of the moment: VOTE THAT FUCKER OUT! https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3GU3TZLV5Usb6TxnyALZt3

I say word to this effect all the time but sometimes a photo with words speaks louder than words alone. Amazon is not your friend. It is certainly not the publishing industry's friend. It is absolutely not the author's friend. It has played havoc with our incomes. There is always an alternative. Peace.

NO PULSE. Oh dear. For Issue 18, circa Mar 84, Jamming! tried to broaden its horizons after that all-white all-male cover roster (see previous post), only for David Hinds of Steel Pulse to come up with the tired old Biblical homophobic bullshit. By coincidence, my friend Kurtis Powers, he of The Face Radio, stopped by these parts on Monday and did his best, in the face of current adversities, to put a positive spin on our world and remind me how far we have come in our acceptance of 'others' since we were all kids. Seeing this article on Tuesday reinforced as much. Peace! And Pride!

If you want to hear me talking in detail about three classic Eddie Floyd songs - and to hear the songs in question - this is ABSOLUTELY the show for you. If you don't want to hear me etc., this is absolutely NOT the show for you. Cheers to Jaffo, Blues and Grooves, The Face Radio and everyone in Redruth. https://thefaceradio.com//blues-and-grooves-with-jaf-jerv/

Jan 1984. The most painfully hip issue of Jamming! was SO painfully hip it even included 'The Billy Bragg Guide to Being Hip.' However, on scanning the interior of this issue for the forthcoming Best of Jamming! book, I realized that the magazine also included articles on Pauline Black and Joolz, and yet the cover only featured the names of white male artists. I have no logical explanation for this omission. I had included acts like Delta 5, The Raincoats, The Au Pairs, Gi...rls At Our Best! and even Pauline Black's former group The Selecter on the cover as far back as 1979 and 80. I was not being consciously white male patrician about it. And I don't recall anyone on the Jamming! team raising this discrepancy as we worked on the cover. But then all of us working on the cover were white males. And perhaps that's the only explanation needed for such casual discrimination in the 1980s. SO, 36 and a half years after the event, while retraining pride in the contents, I apologize for the exclusions. Unreservedly.

If Peter and Roger never record together again, I won't mind. WHO would make a perfect swan song. As for the Yaggerdang remix of 'Beads on One String,' here you go: https://youtu.be/bGWzrHJpbvQ