Clerks, The
Live In London 1980
From their beginnings in late '76 The Clerks had been gigging the pubs, clubs and halls of Birmingham and London and places in between. By the start of 1980 they'd built a reputation for delivering a lean 45 minute set of their own three-minute songs with a 6o's sensibility and a pop punk energy. They had a loyal following and had supported the likes of Spizz and Tenpole Tudor. The Hope & Anchor in London had become a regular haunt where the small room would overflow with fans, pub rockers, punks and mods plus the odd record company A&R guy. The twelve songs on this LP were recorded by a friend and fan of The Clerks as they played a live set. Consequently, the recording is not of studio quality; it's been transferred, restored and edited but has no overdubs nor any other musical enhancements and is now available for the first time on Detour Records. All of the songs are written by The Clerks apart from 'I'm Down' written by a certain Lennon-McCartney. Lead guitarist Paul Day takes lead vocal on ten of the songs; rhythm guitarist Martin Booth sings lead on 'Cold About Love' and ' It Doesn't Mean That Much To Me'. Martin Poole is on bass and vocals and Paul Cuthbert plays drums.