The Clash played 17 shows at the then famous Bonds Casino in Times Square, NYC in late spring 1981 (from 28 May to 13 June). The epic Bonds residency is remembered not only for the riots on Broadway, the celebrities ridden backstage, the frantic media coverage, but mainly because it happened to be a cultural turning point in the history of popular music in the 20th century. The London band felt the melting pot of NYC as their home turf of election, since they have discovered the upbringing hip hop culture the year before, while recording at the Electric Ladyland Studios the groundbreaking “Sandinista!”. During this residency, for the first time a white audience was exposed to supporting acts like Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, Bad Brains and Lee Scratch Perry. 

The shows at Bonds clearly showed The Clash at its peak, cleverly merging their r’n’r and reggae roots with dub, funk and rap. Unbeknownst to them, The Clash were forging the sound of the following thirty years in a set of history-making, life changing shows.

The Clash could be easily classified as one of the best live band ever. But their live legacy still lacks of one definitive statement. “From Here to Eternity” is a brilliant compilation, but it has not the pace nor coherence of a complete set, culling  songs from different eras. “Live at the Shea Stadium” is a good show, but hardly their finest hour, once the perfect team (Joe, Mick, Paul, Topper) had been broken with the ousting of the drummer in spring 1982. 

Two Bonds shows in good soundboard sources have illegally already circulated in the last 20 years. They could be easily transformed in killer material once sonically treated by Mr. Bill Price, who did a tremendous job with the other live releases. 

All the Bonds shows are rumored to have been recorded. Some footage shot by Don Letts for the aborted documentary “The Clash on Broadway” has apparently been discovered some years ago, after been declared lost for decades.

So it seems that a lot of stuff is actually sitting in band’s vault, enough to cut a whopping cd set collecting the best performances of the Bonds residency and/or a box of all the shows in the wake of the recent, equally historical, “The 1966 Live Recordings” by Bob Dylan and The Band.

So, for the fore mentioned artistical, cultural and historical reasons, we ASK Mr. Nicky “Topper” Headon, Mr. Mick Jones, Mrs. Lucinda Mellor (on behalf of Mr. Joe “Strummer” Mellor), Mr. Paul Simonon; Sony Music Ltd., Legacy Recordings to RELEASE The Clash Live at Bonds set.