London

Black Market Clash

September 25, 2013

Black Market Clash is a pop up store that opened in London, more specifically on Berwick Street, in the Soho area. The store is dedicated to the legendary punk band The Clash and features amazing memorabilia, some installations by the band members and great merchandise you can buy and take home. It closed on the 22nd of September (the next day) so unfortunately the report comes in a bit too late. At least I hope it is useful for those who couldn’t make it as I took a fair bit of photos that I am sharing.

Last Saturday when I got to London and met up with Suzanne of Idee Fixe who was visiting from NYC, the Black Market Clash pop up store was the obvious choice of what we were going to do for our afternoon together. Suzanne and I have conversations on Skype every now and then and it was lovely to spend a couple of hours in the flesh.

What we found at the pop up store was even better than I imagined:

I’m all lost on the supermarket…

The records hanging from the ceiling belong to the band members and are influential records to them.

 Some posters, instruments and their cases and stage clothes were on display.

The legendary cover photo by Pennie Smith and the bass guitar being broken in it by Paul Simonon. I was flabbergasted at this point.

The original sheet with the lyrics to London Calling.

The event was sponsored by Fender and some lads were playing along with the songs. I thought that was a nice touch.

Here’s Suzanne….

…. and here’s me!

There was a lot of merchandise on sale – T-shirts, cds, vinyl records, totebags, posters, postcards, all sorts. I decided on the Complete Control tee (the only one sized for ladies, I’m afraid) and a tote bag for my growing collection.

And just in case there are doubts that we were there, we took some photos at the door:

After we saw the exhibition and bought a couple of bits and bobs there we proceeded on our exploration of the area. We ended up stopping for lunch at Soho diner and had some nice food and a bit of a sit down.

Classy! Ron de Jeremy is now available to be purchased in liquor stores near you.

I didn’t take a full outfit photo but I can tell you what I wore, you can see bits and bobs of it on the photos. The head bow is my usual one from H&M, the grey jacket is H&M but I got it from Ebay. The embroidered sweater I bought it on sale at Primark and I think it is lovely, I really like embroidered textiles. The dress is vintage handmade and I got it from the flea market in Lisbon. Unfortunately I won’t be keeping it as it doesn’t fit properly- the waist size is perfect but it was made for someone with some more boobage than me. If you have an 8/10 size waist and like orange drop me a line and I’ll gladly send it to you. The orange tights are from Calzedonia and the Green shoes from Office, via Ebay.

Is that doll head creepy or what?

Unfortunately we didn’t get to take a photo with the both of us in it. We were just walking around and talking and having fun so it kind of slipped my mind. Suzanne really is a special lady and it was a privilege to have met her in person. I hope that we can meet again some time in the future! Make sure you have a look at her blog here.

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12 Comments

  • Reply Vix September 25, 2013 at 10:13

    So jealous I didn’t get to see this or that we missed seeing each other..one day we’ll make it! Love the Clash and everyone’s been raving about this pop-up shop and I can see why.
    That jewellery head is freaky! xxx

  • Reply PinkCheetahVintage September 25, 2013 at 12:30

    What an awesome day 🙂

  • Reply pastcaring September 25, 2013 at 20:12

    Looks like a fabulous day with Suzanne!
    Love your frock, what a shame it doesn’t fit you properly (and that it wouldn’t fit me either!) xxxx

  • Reply ollieotson September 26, 2013 at 21:36

    such a cool store, damn it, why did it close?

  • Reply jane at the flight platform September 29, 2013 at 18:46

    looks fab! your shoes..i want your shoes! xx

  • Reply Hollie September 30, 2013 at 01:48

    I’m not a fan of the Clash but I think I still would have enjoyed going into that store. It looks amazing! And yes, the model head is pretty freakish.

  • Reply Dora September 30, 2013 at 15:52

    Amor,
    What a fabulous day out with Suzanita! I instantly fell in love with feistyness and kindness her when we met. love your embroided top.that mona head is a bit scary.

    Besos

  • Reply Señora Allnut October 3, 2013 at 08:11

    I would love to be there and enjoy all that stuff!, The Clash is one of Mr.A.’s favorite bands, (mine too!), and Lady Idèe Fixe is so fabulous!!
    besos

  • Reply Jet aka Punk Glam Queen October 4, 2013 at 22:58

    Hello gorgeous! It was such a treat getting to spend “real” time with you! Thanks for the compliments, I feel the same way about you! Hey I totally forgot, when we were at the exhibition it came to me, but I didn’t want to say anything while in there to seem pretentious, and of course our fun afterwards (as well as my exhaustion, sorry!) it slipped my mind. But back in the 80s I had lunch with the Clash! Well, I spent my lunch hour watching them do a soundcheck etc for their appearance on Saturday Night Live (I worked for the NBC, the TV network). I had the highest security clearance as I worked in the communications department, so would sometimes pop onto the set to watch bands. They all said hello to me after & invited me to have some of their catered lunch! This was during the “Combat Rock” stage of their career, and I recall one song they did was “Should I Stay or Should I Go”, with Mick Jones getting pissed off at I think Joe Strummer (maybe it was Paul?) whoever it was I just recall him throwing a hissy fit. Oh gods, how my brain works, not until I see something or someone mentions something will I recall. You got some great shots! Now that I’m finally feeling better & have found all my photos (I think) I will be writing a post, I might have a full outfit shot of you — you got great shots, I love that my HTM bag peeks out! Love & miss you XXX

  • Reply Don October 8, 2013 at 21:52

    Great visual shop…..

    Don

  • Reply Wilson I. Peters October 14, 2013 at 23:01

    The show samples the collection of New York resident Andrew Krivine, who started accumulating records, posters, flyers and ephemera during family visits to the UK in the late 70s.

  • Reply Art – Punk’s Not Dead at the British Library | Hello the Mushroom May 25, 2016 at 08:00

    […] -A very big photo of The Clash. (Remember I went to their pop-up shop a couple of years ago?)- […]

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