A retro television clip of young Clash fans waiting to catch a glimpse of their heroes in Edinburgh has resurfaced online.
The fascinating footage, which was filmed in January 1980 for the BBC’s Nationwide current affairs programme, has appeared on social media courtesy of the BBC Archive online archival service.
At the time the 12-minute feature was broadcast, The Clash were in the middle of a huge UK tour and the hottest ticket in town.
READ MORE: Nine of Edinburgh's most legendary gigs - as chosen by locals
As the late reporter Duncan Gibbins explains, the legendary punk quartet are en route to “foggy” Edinburgh, where throngs of eager young fans are waiting to greet them.
The London Calling rockers had just played two nights at Dundee’s Caird Hall and were about to repeat the trick to a packed out Odeon theatre in the capital’s Southside.
The Clash’s gigs of the time were under increasing scrutiny, with fans regularly having run-ins with police before, during and after the performances.
The documentary shows Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon emerging from a beat up and filthy-looking tour van outside Edinburgh’s Caledonian Hotel and is interspersed with clips of their show preparations - including Strummer drinking honey and lemon and listening to Martin Luther King - as well as chats with expectant fans outside the venue.
From a purely Edinburgh perspective, the unfiltered nature of the dialogue with the local lads is absolute TV gold.
“They’re great tae the kids,” exclaims one Edinburgh fan.
“They [The Clash] stood ootside their hotel for aboot 10 minutes last night. It wis freezin’, and they signed autographs and everything! It was great.”
“And no’ a rip-off!” shouts another fan, as the first male stops speaking.
Sign up to our Edinburgh Live nostalgia newsletters for more local history and heritage content straight to your inbox
Winning over the youth with their politically-charged music and adoption of a strict, non-commercial approach, that included the bold refusal to play on the likes of Top of the Pops, The Clash developed an unbreakable bond with their fans that few other groups of the time could match.
The Nationwide team interviewed a second group of boys who had also been waiting patiently out in the cold to meet their heroes.
“How long have you been waiting?” the interviewer asks.
“Since aboot two o’cloack,” one young fan answers.
“We’ve no’ goat tickets either!” says another.
Following further interviews with the band, Nationwide treats viewers to excerpts from the band’s two shows at the Odeon, before the documentary cuts to explaining how they are soon to ‘break’ America.
The Clash played Edinburgh on eight occasions, with their last visit being in May 1985 when they performed at Coaster’s nightclub in Tollcross during their famous busking tour of the UK.
The late Joe Strummer, who was captured on camera before the Coaster's show busking with an acoustic guitar outside the St James Centre, would later label the tour “the best tour we ever did”.
