MICK JONES PART 2-POLITICS

Rip It Up, Issue 56, 1 March 1982, Page 11

MICK JONES PART 2-POLITICS

Duncan Campbell

The Clash are political animals, and they make no apologies. Why should they? They grew up political victims, 'no future' was reality, not a cliche, and all had been on the dole by the time they reached their late teens. Austerity was a way of life, and such an existence breeds strong feelings. Hurt, anger, resentment.

With all that smouldering inside, you look for reasons, or at least symbols, of the forces that are working against you. In the Clash's case it was partly the police, but especially politicians, global warmongers. They wrote 'l'm So Bored With The USA' before they'd even been there. Why? Because America was right on their own doorstep, in most ominous forms.

"That song is about the Americanisation of Europe," says Mick Jones. "It's about all the McDonalds and Burger Kings that we've got. It's about the American deployment of nuclear missiles on our island, all these things that we don't want. "It's about the way America pushes around small countries, like ours or any Central American country. It's not about being bored with the USA because America is a very exciting place to be. We weren't saying 'we're not going to go', we were talking about the American imperialist attitude. "I couldn't wait to go to America. I first landed in San Francisco, and thought it was tremendous. It just opened my head up, totally. I was aware of the vastness of the place. Really, to see where you've come from, you have to go someplace else. Otherwise you wouldn't understand that the world didn't finish at the end of your street." That broadening of outlook manifested itself in Sandinista! the album where Clash politics took on a more global view. The title was the name given to the underground resistance movement in Nicaragua, which overthrew the oppressive Somoza regime. Jones admits the gesture was misinterpreted by Clash fans.

"A lot of people didn't like Sandinista! because they didn't know what Sandinista was, and they were embarrassed because they had to ask their friends, or they had to find out, which was the idea. There was a media blanket covering the whole bloody thing, and people didn't even know there was a revolution there. We really wanted to have a title that was useful, for once. It was something that would draw people's attention to something that was going on at the time." Well-meant sentiments, but misunderstood by some, nevertheless. A backlash, lead naturally by the NME, thought the Clash had become pompous and had turned their backs on what was happening in their own country. But Jones says this didn't last once the Clash returned to tour Britain last year. "The people in Europe like to see us successful, because it

shows that there is a way out for some, especially in England. They'd like to see us more successful, because it shows you ve got a chance. You've got three ways: you can be a boxer, a pop musician, or a footballer. Or you could be in the army, I suppose. "You get stuck, and it can be very bleak in some places, especially up north. When we went back there and toured, I was thinking 'God, I'm from this place, I'm part of this'. They were so keen to see us, and I couldn t say there was any resentment, or anything like that. It touched us all. Was Jones surprised at the riots in Britain last year? "No, I wasn't surprised. Were you? I was surprised to see you had riots here. I think it's a fair indication of New Zealanders' attitude to fair play; I think it's very commendable. "The difference is, it wasn't about apartheid in England. It was about the poor being up to their necks in shit, and it s just beginning to come up to their mouths, they re about to drown in it. And it was not only black people who were rioting. The media have tried to make it into a racist thing, because the English media is basically racist, the Tory press is incredibly so. They talk about sending people home if they're not English, and things like that. "It's important to say that it wasn't just the black people who were doing the rioting, there were a lot of white people as well. In Liverpool, on the Royal wedding day, the police started charging the rioters in their jeeps. They killed this young kid who couldn't get out of the way, because he was a cripple. He was a white kid, and he just couldn t get out of the way. So if the feeling was there back in 76, when you started out, why did it take so long to erupt? "I think it needed a catalyst, like Mrs Thatcher. The raging cow.

"In New Zealand, as far as I can gather, people seem to have some kind of harmony, they're able to co-exist. That seems to have been the good thing about the anti-apartheid demonstrations here. It shows that there are a lot of people that care about peaceful co-existence, and were prepared to use love, backed by force." Those last few words describe well the Clash’s attitude towards their audience. They love their fans, but they also want to shock them, to force them into thinking about what's going on around them, and also about their own potential. "We really feel our songs, and to sing them is a piece of guts, not just a marketing ploy. It's life, it's an experience, and if we can just reach a handful of them, maybe some really creative people will come out of that. And even those who aren't reached in that way might be reached in another manner, like they'll have had a great time, and there's nothing wrong with that."

Mick Jones is serious. He really believes he has something to offer. Others believe this too. Does he resent hero worship?

"People need a leader, but I don't want to be it. I'm still looking for someone who's got enough grey matter. By the way, for those of you who were interested, the organ music played when the Clash first came on stage was a piece called '6O Seconds To Watch'. It was written by Ennio Morricone for the Clint Eastwood film For A Few Dollars More.