The Clash embarked on their Out Of Control tour in the UK in autumn 1977 determined to demonstrate that the punk movement was still going strong and that the band’s spirit hadn’t been diluted by signing to major label CBS. “The situation is far too serious for enjoyment,” Joe Strummer told punk zine Sniffin’ Glue.
As if to show how sternly they were taking this, the band had opted to begin the tour at Belfast’s Ulster Hall. As recounted in Stuart Bailie’s book Trouble Songs: Music And Conflict In Northern Ireland, Belfast and the surrounding region were still in the middle of deeply difficult period. At the time of The Clash’s visit, Bailie reminds that the death toll during the Troubles stood at 2,062 people. The punk quartet made the front of the Belfast Telegraph the day that they arrived in October, 1977, but the following day’s headline was back to more pressing matters, running a warning to business owners about the threat of incendiary devices.
