When I first heard that the Mick Jones Rock and Roll Archive was coming to Norwich, I was gob smacked. I'd missed it last year when it had been first staged in London. What made it doubly sweet was that it was being hosted by Norwich University College of the Arts.
It's a unique collection of ephemera that Mick Jones of The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite has obsessed over for, well, since he was a kid. And it's not all music related - my favourite part of the show are some of his childhood toys, in particular the tin soldiers which recreate Rorke's Drift from the film Zulu. But the Clash memorabilia is inspiring – featuring stage outfits and guitars all placed next to graphics and fanzines from the punk era - as you can tell from the pictures featuring my son Billy, the organisers are not precious about this stuff being handled.
A few NUCA students helped to put the show together – apparently wherever the archive is staged, it is always bespoke to the space. So their judgement for display was crucial to how you enjoy and navigate the show.
Mick recently visited the art school to thank the students personally. It was a treat to meet him too. A very nice guy and very pleasing to see that he had 'english' teeth - you know what I mean - not the perfect X Factor ultra-white kind.
More pics over at the Studio Flickr site.
Now I must go and play the first B.A.D. LP very loud.
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