There has been a bit of a gap in my posts here. Mostly this is due to my trip to London that started last Wednesday. In spite of almost having the entire thing sabotaged by American Airlines who cancelled our flights at 6 pm the night before we were supposed to leave at 8 am, everything went splendidly. I actually was able to learn a lot about the UK publishing world from some fellow colleagues who were more than gracious with their time. There are some very intelligent folks over there who believe in publishing and they are coming up with really creative ideas.

London is one of those cities I always feel at home in, perhaps because the Brits are such conversational people. They do have a knack for making one feel welcome. It was also a chance to catch up with several old friends who always go out of their way to come out and have a grand ol’ boozer. I miss them all already.

One of the things I love about London is that like New York City, there are always new things to discover, new parts to explore. This time around, I was lucky enough to discover a slew of new record shops. Unlike New York City, the London shops don’t overcharge for their LPs or 45′s. New York City has become ridiculous in this regard. Thank god for street vendors (usually ex-DJs) who are willing to be a bit more reasonable (and in most cases have a better selection). But I struck gold in London. It’s always painful to make that difficult “I really want these singles, but I suppose I can put these ones back in the rack” decision. There were so many gems in the bins, many going for £1 to £3 each, that I couldn’t resist. So without further ado, a quick rundown of the score (click on the images to enlarge them):

An original “Radio Clash” single (from the Clash of course). It came out in ’81 but was never on any of the LPs. It still is one of my favorite Clash songs and the B-side includes a longer, more Dub-esque version recorded live for Radio Five. Continue reading →