Magnificence on The Tom Snyder Show
Apr 24th, 2010 in Music
Back in the day, we didn’t have no stinkin’ YouTube, Vimeo, or even MTV (horrors!). So we desperately combed the air waves for good music. And of all places, folks like Dick Cavett, Johnny Carson and Tom Snyder would deliver the goods, and especially the latter.
We’ve recently encountered new Clash fans pining for recollections of the energy and power The Clash delivered live back in the day and wanting to know more about their live shows.
Combining the two, we give you (thanks YouTube!) The Clash killing it on The Tom Snyder Show in 1981 on their magnificent song The Magnificent Seven. The video quality ain’t perfect, but you get the picture. Joe Strummer’s left leg tells the story best. RIP Joe.
Wow! The level of intensity that Joe and the boys bring is awesome in the fullest sense of the word. To think they got “there” on a one off on a sterile TV set. The very best bands might reach that level 3/4 through a set in a smoky club, but the Clash just flip a switch.
They clearly don’t know any other way. Mediocrity is not an option. Do you have the rest of the show? The teaser at the end regarding the “outer fringe of sex” seemed intriguing.
[…] you haven’t seen it, check out the first U2 performance on American television in 1981 on the Tom Snyder’s Tomorrow Show. We watched it that night and were forever sold. Even then Bono was evincing his shamanistic […]