THAT TIME THE CLASH PLAYED ON OUR CAMPUS

The Clash onstage at SMU 1982.
Photo by Dave Warren

This is an amazing photo taken by my friend Dave Warren. We had the Clash play at our college (Southeastern Massachusetts University) in October 1982. Right after the program council booked them, Combat Rock was released. The day tickets went on sale, the campus center was overrun by fans who had traveled from across
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and even Connecticut to snag a coveted ticket (sales were limited to only 2 tickets per person). There were only 3,000 tickets available. At one point, someone in the ticket office took half the tickets and ran them down to the gymnasium. The idea worked. When the eager mob of fans, who were literally climbing the walls, discovered this, hundreds were seen stampeding across campus to try their luck at the other ticket sale location.

Mick Jones (center) in the dressing room backstage at the sold-out Clash concert at
SMU campus gymnasium. That's Eddie Grant on the right. He had started hanging out
with the band and had a big influence on Mick Jones who would go on to form
Big Audio Dynamite. Photo by Laura Sylvester (c) 1982

I don't think anyone, including the band, had any idea "Rock The Casbah" would catapult them to such superstardum. By the time they were to play at our school, they were already playing stadiums, opening for bands like the Who. I heard they tried to back out of the booking, but couldn't. They had fun and loved our school. We hung out with them - what an amazing time. Joe Strummer RIP. — with Mick Jones, Terry Chalmers,Joe Strummer and Paul Siminon.

Another amazing photo by Laura Sylvester. Joe Strummer backstage at
my university, SMU, October 1982. (c) 1982 Laura Sylvester