"Stealing All Transmissions" is a love story. It's the story of how the Clash fe
ll in love with America and how America loved them back. The romance began in fu
ll in 1977, when select rock journalists and deejays aided the band's quest to d
epose the rock of indolence that dominated American airwaves. This history situa
tes the Clash amid the cultural skirmishes of the 1970s and culminates with thei
r September 1979 performance at the Palladium in New York City. This concert was
broadcast live on WNEW, and it concluded with Paul Simonon treating his Fender
bass like a woodcutter's ax. This performance produced one of the most exhilarat
ing Clash bootleg recordings, and the photo of Simonon's outburst that graced th
e cover of the "London Calling" LP was recently deemed the greatest rock 'n' rol
l photograph of all time. The book represents a distinctive take on the history
of punk, for no other book gives proper attention to the forces of free-form rad
io, long-form rock journalism, or Clash bootleg recordings, many of which are no
w widely available on the web. This story, which takes its title from the 1981 s
ingle "Radio Clash," includes original interviews with key figures from the New
York punk scene.
