Stealing All Transmissions: A Secret History of The Clash

(Paperback)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

Stealing All Transmissions begins in 1977 when select rock journalists and DJs aided The Clash's quest to depose the rock that dominated American airwaves. This history situates The Clash amid the cultural skirmishes of the 1970s and culminates with their September 1979 performance in NYC, which concluded with Paul Simonon treating his bass like a woodcutter's axe. The book represents a distinctive take on the history of punk, for no other book gives proper attention to the forces of free-form radio, long-form rock journalism or Clash bootleg recordings.

Reviews

"Stealing is unlike anything else you've ever read about The Clash. The maneuvers by American radio DJs, music journalists, and record company execs are deftly woven into the band's own story."
--Barry "The Baker" Auguste, roadie for The Clash

"With Stealing All Transmissions, Randal Doane documents with wit and verve how The Clash leapt from the Westway to the USA in 1979 with the help of rock journalists and key deejays in the States. It was an honor to work with The Clash back in the day, and a pleasure revisiting those days through this book. It's a must have for Clashophiles on both sides of the Atlantic."
--Dan Beck, former senior vice president at Epic Records

"Stealing is a must-read for music fans of all varieties, for it's much more than a book about The Clash. With a captivating narrative and well-written prose, Stealing makes sense of what happened to free-form radio and the DIY ethic of punk, and deftly connects that history to the era of file-sharing and satellite radio. Don't miss this book. Steal it if you must!"
--Michael Roberts, author of Tell Tchaikovsky the News: Rock 'n' Roll, the Labor Question, and the Musicians' Union, 1942-1968

"Randal Doane's Stealing All Transmissions is not the story I was expecting from the title. Thankfully. We have all read those books about artists of all stripes (and zippers), from which we learn only about misery, malfeasance, and bad behavior. But this is not that book. The Clash is at the center of the story, but the heart of it belongs to other players. People drawn into the orbit who cared, who pushed both themselves and the band forward, who took risks because they felt and knew they were seeing and hearing a revolution. The people who were excited and inspired by the catalysts (The Clash), whose stories are integral to the core of the band's American journey, and fascinating to finally read about, all in one place.
--Hugo Burnham, founder and drummer, Gang of Four, associate professor, New England Institute of Art

Author Bio

Randal Doane is an assistant dean at Oberlin College. He has published essays and articles on music and aesthetics, illegal file-sharing, Ralph Ellison, Sigmund Freud, Brian Wilson, and Bruce Springsteen, and blogs about the post-punk era at stealingalltransmissions.wordpress.com. He lives in Oberlin, Ohio. Barry "the Baker" Auguste served as backline roadie and drum tech for the Clash from 1976 to 1983. He blogs periodically at thebaker77.wordpress.com. He lives in Philadelphia.