Joe Strummer interacting with Clash fans who attended the bandâs historic gig at Piazza Maggiore, Bologna, Italy, on June 1st, 1980.
That gig was attended by a crowd several thousand, many of which were actually Crass fans who were there to challenge the Clash as sell-outs after their sealing a major record deal with CBS. The band seemed to take longer than usual to take to the stage and this delay was interpreted as a rock star whim and further proof that they had become divas, though the truth was that Topper Headon, who was last seen in Nice, France -where they had played the night before- and had decided to take a car trip to Italy along with Ray Jordan, security manager of the Clash, seemed to have gone AWOL.
The band had no choice but to go on stage eventually with George Butler, drummer of the support band Whirlwind, filling in for Topper, in hope that the 3 remaining members could win the audience over with their chaotic energy. When Topper finally appeared halfway through the show, Joe Strummer ran and dragged him into the action before the audience could even realize what had happened -George Butler even recalls that the changing of the guard took place in the middle of âSpanish Bombsâ!
The concert lasted for more than one and a ½ hour and was intense and rewarding. Quite unexpectedly, the Clash even returned for a second encore in front of the few hundred who had remained in Piazza Maggiore, as if to make up for the bumpy start.
[photo and info via the book âBologna 1980 - Il concerto dei Clash in Piazza Maggiore nellâanno che cambiò lâItalia (The Clash concert in Piazza Maggiore in the year that changed Italy)].
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