From the 18 July - 23 August there was a unique exhibition on in London. Called 'The Rock 'n' Roll public library' it is the personal vision and personal archive of Mick Jones, the lead guitarist and singer with The Clash, and later of Big Audio Dynamite. Since he was a young teenager Jones had been a collector and acquirer of 'things'.
"Suddenly people who've been given a hard time all their lives by their partners for never throwing anything out are feeling justified, " laughed Mick Jones. "Now they realise that they were curating social history."
The range of materials in the collection is huge - the subjects covered include music, film, art, drugs, crime, sport, war. There was one room just filled with music and film magazines form the 1960s on. There are almost 10,000 books, lots of records, films recorded on VHS, music memorabilia, film posters and some wonderful photographs. For seventeen years this personal archive had been stored in a lock-up and it was great to see so much of it out on display. I'm sure part of the enjoyment is in the feelings Mick Jones identifies when he says that it can justify the need/compulsion to collect, it certainly did for me! I've included a few photos, and yes, there are some Lindsay Anderson related ones, as ever!
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