Joe Strummer And Johnny Rotten At Dragonara Hotel, Neville Street, Leeds During The Days Of The Anarchy

Joe Strummer and Johnny Rotten at Dragonara Hotel, Neville Street, Leeds during the days of the Anarchy Tour in 1976, as documented by Ray Stevenson.

JOE STRUMMER: “We’re the Clash, man. And we’re gonna be bigger than the Sex Pistols!”

(Melody Maker)

CARY DARLING: “Joe Strummer has said …” JOHN LYDON: (boos and hissing noises) CARY DARLING: “… that he too is giving up ethnic music and going back to punk rock, which he feels is white man’s rebel music.” JOHN LYDON: “Oh yawn! Let’s face it, Joe’s lost, isn’t he? Go back, that’s always been his thing, you know. All their records reek of going back. Go forward, Joe, there’s a whole world out there! There’s nothing great about that at all, backward thinking - boo, that’s for losers.” (BAM magazine, 1984) JUDY MCGUIRE: “What did you think of Sex Pistols reunion?“ JOE STRUMMER: “I was for it, because I’m a Glenn Matlock fan. Remember nine-tenths of their career was with Glenn Matlock, and hey, he wrote the tune to “Anarchy in the UK”. You gotta have a tune, you can’t just shout gibberish…” (Punk Magazine) JOHN LYDON: “…Joe Strummer came from, like, wealthy parents. So don’t be playing my working class roots on me like that. I truly do come from that. And it bugs me when they’re trying to use that as some kind of edge to their career. And it became appalling with Joe. And God bless him, he’s dead, and I never speak ill of the dead. But to be running around screaming ‘class war’ and ‘kill the rich,’ while living in one of the wealthiest areas of London, struck me as a little odd. You know, and bragging about taking the bus home. Well, ‘that’s fine, Joe, but the eight million pounds mansion you live in. (laughs) You know, get a cab…” (Coldmine Magazine)

One can almost picture them as two cranky old geezers dissing each other in the same retirement home.

(via)