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Combat rock

Ex-Clash guitarist Vince White visits Prague with a dark, bitter memoir

By James Scanlon
For The Prague Post
October 17th, 2007 issue

KURT VINION/THE PRAGUE POST
Bad breakups are common in rock 'n' roll, but even by those standards White's book is shockingly vitriolic.
Out of Control: The Last Days of The Clash

Limited edition published by Moving Target books
290 pgs., 749 Kč (at the Globe)
For more information, check
www.vincewhite.com

When self-confessed Clash obsessive Michael Cella, co-owner of the Globe bookstore and café, heard the news that ex-latter day Clash guitarist Vince White had written a book about his favorite band, there was no hesitation inviting him over from London for a book-reading session.
A faithful throng gathered at the Globe the night of Oct. 10 to listen to an intoxicated yet strangely coherent White recite various pages from Out Of Control: The Last Days Of The Clash. His disturbingly vivid and gripping account of the tumultuous two years he spent as Mick Jones’ replacement on guitar between 1983 and 1985 caused some laughter. But it was mostly gasps, as the integrity and reputation of one of the finest rock bands ever was literally torn to shreds.
“I’ve come to destroy the church of Joe Strummer,” White barked when the book first appeared on the shelves a few months ago. But mostly, it’s left devoted Clash fans puzzled.
The Clash was more than just a band. Vehemently opposed to the establishment, bearers of a strong political and social conscience, they represented the great unwashed, the downtrodden, the underdog. Unlike The Sex Pistols, who offered no hope at all, the public could relate to The Clash and felt empowered by albums such as The Clash (1977), Give ’Em Enough Rope (1978), London Calling (1979) and half of Sandinista! (1980). Their high-octane live performances made them a hot ticket wherever they went.
In his book, White tells of how he became isolated and paranoid, regretting the day he ever joined the band. Indeed, it was almost as if he was being constantly tormented by manager Bernie Rhodes and singer Joe Strummer in an attempt to find if he was true to The Clash cause.
“When I joined in 1983, it was a long time after punk had actually started,” White said in an interview with The Prague Post. “Bernie thought he had discovered a new Johnny Rotten in me because I was irreverent. I think [Rotten and I] had a lot in common, but at the same time, you’ve got to understand that after The Clash had sold more than a million records, there were lots of forces conflicting. I think Bernie wanted to relive the past or replicate what had worked in the past.”
White gives the impression that he and the other new recruits — Nick Shepperd (also on guitar) and Pete Howard (drums) — were merely pawns in Rhodes’ wider game plan. Even Strummer seemed out of it.
Relationships within the band couldn’t have been any worse, yet ironically when they took to the road for their global Out Of Control tour in 1984–85, there was still a power and energy that made it all work. New songs like “This Is England,” “Three Card Trick,” “The Dictator,” “Glue Zombie” and “In The Pouring Rain” all gave a clear indication that the band’s new back-to-basics approach was going somewhere.
Another idea Rhodes had was to send the band out busking around the UK. “It was a fantastic idea to send us out on the road with busking guitars,” recalled White. “We were each given a tenner [10 pounds]. It’s just a shame he didn’t stick to his ideas and leave us to play the music.”
Rhodes destroyed The Clash’s final album, Cut The Crap by replacing Pete Howard with an incredibly irritating drum machine, absurd synth sounds and anthemic chants. It was the end, and even more bitterness sunk in.
“I blame Strummer more than Rhodes,” says White. “He only wanted me in the band because I was an alcoholic, just like him. He just basically handed over control of the band to Bernie.”
White claims that Strummer had promised to pay him 30,000 pounds [$60,000/120,000 Kč] when the band finished, but all he got was 1,000. “He would just say what was convenient at the time,” White said.  “That’s one of my big contentions with him — that he would say one thing and do the other. You’ve got this guy writing songs about ‘rocking against the rich’ and he’s drinking champagne with Damien Hirst. The man had no integrity and no character. He was a hypocrite.”
Strummer died from an undiagnosed congenital heart defect in December 2002, but White remains unforgiving. “I couldn’t give a shit when he died, I was quite happy actually. I tried to stay in contact with him and he blanked me out. I felt I’d been used and dumped.”
The night after the book reading, White performed a set of old Clash numbers at Retro Music Hall with Phil Shoenfelt as support. Shoenfelt was chosen because his previous band, Khmer Rouge, had once played with the original Clash back in 1982 in the United States.
“Joe always seemed troubled,” is how Shoenfelt remembers Strummer. “‘Am I genuine? Am I doing the right thing?’ It played on his mind all the time.”
Barry “Scratchy” Myers was also part of Khmer Rouge, but more importantly was the original Clash’s DJ for three U.S. tours. He says, “The history of The Clash once Mick and Topper [Headon] had gone is not one I’m particularly au fait with, or that interested in. I don’t know Vince at all. I imagine that applies to the lion’s share of the world, too, though clearly he is trying to remedy that by now publishing a book about his association with Strummer.
“The Joe I was privileged to know was complex. He was incredibly human, which meant he didn’t always get it right, not without ruffling a few feathers anyway. Look at Julien Temple’s film. [Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten, showing Oct. 20 at Lucerna.] It’s a pretty faithful, honest and loving depiction of the guy. It’s not scared to show that there were some people he upset, but most people were utterly devoted to him. At the end of the day, I remember Strummer with immense and undying affection. He was, in my book, a gent.”
Sadly, in White’s book, he’s not.

James Scanlon can be reached at tempo@praguepost.com


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