Janie Jones was a sixties pop celebrity who went from the clubs of swinging London to a jail cell in 1973. Janie had fleeting success as a singer, releasing several singles, including a novelty hit called ‘Witches Brew”, and performing in nightclubs on bills with David Frost and Peter Cook. But she was mostly known for her uninhibited sexuality and ‘fuck you’ attitude toward the stodgy and hypocritical British establishment. She hung out with actors, politicians and rock stars, including Marc Bolan, Tom Jones and Dusty Springfield. But her biggest claim to fame was when she was arrested and imprisoned for running a prostitution ring. Her high rolling friends were shocked at what was considered a harsh sentence for something as benign as arranging “dates’ for some of London’s most famous hipsters. This was the sixties after all, the era of free love. It was as if she were being punished for the behavior of an entire generation. Janie’s bust made her an instant cause celebre and the fodder for countless tabloid headlines.

When sentencing Janie Jones to seven years in prison in 1973 after she’d faced charges for vice and corruption, Judge King-Hamilton called her one of the most evil women he’d ever sentenced. Janie first hit the headlines in August 1964 when she appeared topless at a premier. A friend of hers, film producer Michael Klinger, had his new production ‘London in The Raw’ opening at the Jacey Cinema in Piccadilly. Topless dresses had proven to be something of a sensation in Paris and Klinger asked her if she would turn up at the films premier in a topless dress. She was known by her real name Marion Mitchell then and was accompanied by one of her sisters, Valerie. The two arrived in a Rolls Royce, stepped out of the car and let their wraps fall to their elbows, putting up a bold front for the photographers. “One must keep abreast of the times,” she said.

After Janie was released from prison in 1977, she became a punk icon when The Clash immortalized her in the song “Janie Jones.” She developed a close friendship with Joe Strummer, who supposedly idolized her, and Joe wrote a song for her called “House Of The Ju-Ju Queen.”  Along with the rest of The Clash and members of Ian Dury’s band, Joe went into the studio and recorded the tune with Janie doing the vocals. Joe paid for the session. Due to contractual reasons, the record was released with the band credited as The Lash.

Punk stars like Joe Strummer had also known what it’s like to have been vilified by the press. But Jones has nothing but admiration for the man whom she now claims, gave me back my dignity as an artist. As a display of her continued affection for the ex-Clash frontman, in 1992 she asked her good friend (and songwriter of some repute) Tony Waddington to translate her feelings into song. Two days later, he’d written ‘A Letter To Joe’ for me. I just seem to inspire songwriters, she says.

In the video that follows, The Clash perform ‘Janie Jones” in 1977 and Janie sings “House Of The Ju Ju Queen” and “Letter To Joe.” While The Clash’s song is a classic, neither of Janie’s songs are particularly memorable, though “Letter To Joe” is heartfelt and tender, but as pop culture artifacts they’re rock history. Joe Strummer’s muse: Janie Jones… who, by the way, is still very much alive.
 

 
“Witches Brew” after the jump…

Yellow Magic Orchestra found here.

David Byrne by Mike Leavitt

Lemmy Kilmister found here.
 
See more action figures after the jump…

 
Fascinating! This short film by Ivan Kral of the Patti Smith Group takes a look around a New Year’s Eve party at CBGBs. Viewing this now, it’s striking how many of these people went on to become generational icons.

New Year CBGB party filled with local bandmates like Debbie Harry, Chris Stein, Lenny Kaye, JD Daugherty, Patti Smith manager Jane Friedman, Arista, Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Roberta Bayley, Lynette Bean, Tom Verlaine, Richard Robinson, Lisa Robinson, David Byrne, Television, Velvet Underground’s John Cale, many more—too many to mention. All us musicians were broke and dreamed of getting a record deal. Dreams came true.

I can’t embed it here, so you’ll have to click through to Ivan Kral’s YouTube channel to view it.

Via Planet Paul

 
Sorry folks, it looks like The Clash action figures from Locoape have been cancelled. They did retail for $59.95.

This Clash action figure set is part of Locoape’s Icon figure series and includes an action figure of Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Topper Headon. Each 6” Clash action figure features each band member, their respective instrument, accessories, action figure base with “The Clash” logo name plate and one of four randomly inserted “The Clash” action figure back drops

Locoape “The Clash” Music Action Figures Set

 
James Chance and The Contortions performing “Almost Black’’ at La Maroguinerie, Paris, February 2010. James has still got those funky white boy moves. This was one stop on a short European tour.

“In Europe James performs with James Chance & Les Contorsions, French musicians who have been his backing band since 2006.”
 

 
The fine art of punk rock hairstyles. French documentary footage from the early 1980’s.
 

 
As if you needed it: PUNK NOSTALGIA ALERT.

In the early ‘80s, Black Flag were at the center of the controversy about punk rock violence that hung over the hardcore scenes in L.A. and nationwide.

Two elements seemed at work here. First were the media reports about punk violence fueled parental hysteria, and likely prompted parents of rebellious teens to call the cops on shows that would probably have turned out fine. Second was the actual risk of potential injury at L.A. punk shows. This typically led ad hoc scene spokespeople to defensively compare violence levels at punk shows with those at metal concerts or football games. It also caused plenty of serious internal hand-wringing (mostly in punk ‘zines) about “scene unity”—which now of course just seems like naïve tribalism. 

This Reagan-era concern over local teen and twenty-something violence seemed completely bemusing at a time of mutal assured nuclear destruction and adventurous foreign policy.

Obviously, Black Flag shows weren’t sedate affairs. Of my two encounters with the band in the early Rollins era, one featured a quick half-stampede away from the stage and towards the door, while the other comprised watching a riot unfold outside a sold-out Flag show with the Ramones. Black Flag would eventually settle into the proto-grunge route to self-destruction in 1986.

Looking at it from an era in which more severe and socially tangible violence happens routinely at hip-hop shows, and punk is now fodder for a Broadway musical, Black Flag’s problems seems like they occurred less at another time than on another planet.

Here’s a 1981 segment from the local L.A. news show 2 on the Town.
 

 
New Yorker Judy Linn’s photographs of Patti Smith are an indelible part of the collective consciousness of Patti’s fans and admirers. But, the Dylan one is new to me.

A book of around 100 black and white photographs Lynn took between the years of 1969-1977 of Patti, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sam Shepard, Gerard Malanga, among others, is being published next March by Abrams.
 

 
More of Linn’s photographs of Patti after the jump…

The women of Crass: Gee Vaucher, Joy DeVivre, Eve Libertine 1982
 
A couple of Crass things of note this week:  The first fruit of their long planned remastering/repackaging program aka The Crassical Collection emerges this week (although I can’t find anybody selling this in the states yet, unfortunately) with the first Crass LP The Feeding of the 5000.

After many years of being out of print, this legendary album has been been restored from the original analogue studio tapes, repackaged and bolstered by rare and unreleased tracks, and stunning new artwork from Gee Vaucher, who has lovingly created what could only be considered a real artefact. Included in this package is a 64-page booklet featuring all lyrics along with extensive liner notes from band members Penny Rimbaud and Steve Ignorant, which shed light on the making of the record. Also included is CD-sized recreation of the iconic original fold-out poster sleeve.
‘Five thousand’s a crowd (four thousand nine hundred and ninety nine more than I imagined were going to buy the record), but two’s company (I knew for certain that my Mum would want one), so it was on the plate, ready to serve, The Feeding of the Five Thousand’. ‘We were setting out as purists: hard, uncompromising and utterly bemused’. ‘On one thing we were very clear, in bringing a prosecution of Criminal Blasphemy against us the authorities would have been giving us the kind of publicity which overnight would have made us a household name. They were aware of this, and so were we. It was a situation that allowed us carte blanche to say pretty much whatever we wanted without any real fear of incrimination, a situation which over the next seven years we exploited to the hilt’.

Epic want ! The other epic thing is this lengthy new interview with Penny Rimbaud which reveals some surprisingly bitter battles between the players accompanied by some fantastic, never before seen photos (two of which I used in this post).
 

 
Below: a fan vid for one of the most striking tunes on Feeding of the 5000

 
ANARCHY AND PEACE, LITIGATED:A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IDEALISTIC PUNK ICONS CRASS, AND WHY IN 2010 THEY ARE GOING TO COURT OVER SOME TOTAL BULLSHIT (Vice Magazine)
 
THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND - REMASTERED EDITION (picadilly records)
 
Crass previously on Dangerous Minds here, here and here

 
In the first half of this video mix, Elvis sings the sultry tune “Crawfish” (written by Ben Weisman and Fred Wise) from the movie King Creole. Part two is Johnny Thunders and Snatch’s Patti Palladin doing their take on the song. Both versions are ultra-groovy and share a similarly soulful vibe. Elvis got out of New Orleans alive, Johnny did not.