Taken from Ska-face 4.
The Clash - Rude Boy. Re-released on 4-Front video £5.99 Certificate 18.
Rude boy is an excellent and very funny (due to poor acting / one liners)
Clash video.
Pete Shovlin reviewed it in the much missed Deny zine, so here it is
again :
The Film that the Clash tried to stop from being released has been re-released on budget price video. Now I’m not saying that it has never been available, but it was bloody hard to get hard of and now its easily obtained in most big name music/video shops for a measly £5.99 or thereabouts. Before the only Clash video widely available was This Is Video Clash which is a bit suspect really considering there is no 1977 material/footage present. However it does have a few moments including the Tommy Gun promo and Train in vain (live). Oh I’ve just remembered-there are only 8 tracks which is a bit of a joke at full price.
However Rude Boy is a classic of its genre and beats the socks off ....Video
Clash.
Rude boy stars Ray Gange ( a mate of Strummers) who plays er.. Ray,
actually, who works in a dodgy Soho Dirty Book store but then gets a job
as a roadie thanks to his friendship with Joe’s skinhead cousin, but I
think there’s an element of family friction in that family relationship.
Ray is lazy, incompetent and generally a real slob in the words of Johnny Greenwood. Constantly drunk, he falls asleep on the job (in both senses of the phrase), sets equipment up in the wrong place and more often than not manages to get in some kind of scuffle. Initially he is dead keen but his disillusioned political view literally clash with the bands own views. Paul just says nothing on the matter, Joe tries to change him by giving him a brilliant speech down the boozer, Mick takes an instant dislike towards him hence the hilarious “I’ve been watching you” scene, as does Topper who gives poor Ray a right good kicking for no apparent reason.
Disgusted with his loutish behaviour, Ray is eventually left behind in some motel and only Joe expresses any concern. However, getting rid of Ray is never easy as the band soon discover. It becomes obvious that Ray is a pure cling-on, no more, no less.
Soon Ray is back on the scrap heap with millions of other unemployed
Brits. And this point is made clearly in the film along with a few other
political and social comments.
When you are watching it, it is almost as if the Clash had predicted
what was in store for Britain during the Eighties.
Inter cut with real documentary footage and mind blowing live material, this is a must for all Clash fans. As the notes on the back of the box suggest, some live versions of songs (What’s my Name, (White Man) in Hammersmith Palais to name but a few) are far superior to the original recorded versions.
Some legendary moments are captured such as the Glasgow Apollo gig where the bouncers were beating up the audience and the band pleaded with them to stop to no avail. Apparently, Joe was in tears afterwards because they couldn’t do anything to stop the violence. To make matters worse, Joe was arrested for lashing out an angry fan outside and Paul was arrested for jumping to Strummers assistance. Here, we see the actual concert footage and next day outside the courts after Joe and Paul were charged. We do see and hear the actual incident but it is a blatant recreation and you only have to check out Micks hair for proof.
There are some hysterical moments / one liners and some almost tarantino-esque scenes. (the before mentioned “I’ve been watching you” scene for example) Another legendary moment captured is the Anti-Nazi league Carnival 1978 in London and this time there are definitely no recreated moments. Jimmy Pursey joins the lads on stage for White Riot and Ray actually gets into a scuffle back stage apparently with one of the Tom Robinsons management (“facking long-haired cant”-Ray)
A visual highlight included Mick recording the vocal track fro stay free, probably the only time he and Ray find common ground and get on together, and also the powerful live version of Safe European Home, which Joe Claims “nobody knows what the rude boy knows”.
As I mentioned before, Whats my name is a definite crowd pleaser, whilst
I fought the law is definitely from the Lyceum after Sid Vicious’ death
with the immortal line “I killed my baby all for punk”
For me, Rude Boy is massively important as it captures the band in
my favourite phase: Mick with long curly hair and flash suits, Joe with
his Brigade Rosse T-shirt; Paul with his dyed blonde hair and Jackson Pollock
influenced bass and Topper.. well Topper never changes.
A bargain buy and a classic.. buy it now.