THE CLASH RARE PROMO POSTER COOL ORIGINAL 'NEW ALBUM' MANCHESTER '77 POSTER

$

218

THE CLASH ~ RARE ORIGINAL PROMO POSTER  'NEW ALBUM' ELECTRIC CIRCUS ~ MANCHESTER UK  
This week on eBay, we are offering up this very cool, rare, and collectible early vintage Clash poster.
This poster promotes a concert at the 'Electric Circus' in Manchester in the spring of 1977. The show was part of their "White Riot" tour, named after their debut single. The openers for this legendary show were the Slits and local favorites the Buzzcocks. 
The Electric Circus was a music venue in the Collyhurst district of Manchester, England.  The tiny club started out as a heavy rock club, but by 1977 it hosted a wide range of punk bands. Groups that have performed there include the Clash, the Sex Pistols, The Slits, the Fall, the Damned, and Manchester's Hometown favorites, the Buzzcocks.
The venue was a seminal and iconic club for punk rock bands to perform, get exposure, and let their music be heard.
In an 80's interview, Joe Strummer 'fondly' remembered the club; "...the Electric Circus? Yeah, a right shit hole" ~ Joe Strummer 1984. 
The Electric Circus was forced to close down in late 1977, briefly reopened in 1978 as 'The New Electric Circus', but by 1980 the old building was closed for good and eventually demolished. Today, that area of Manchester is occupied by apartments and row houses.
~~~~~~~~~~
THE FORMAT OF THIS ICONIC CLASH POSTER
The top of the poster reads "new album" in a band across the top. 
The bottom of the poster reads "Electric Circus Manchester, Sunday 8th May 8 PM, Tickets from Virgin records".
The poster has the band name in fantastic day-glow pink, and the overall design features bold black lettering.
It features the same iconic black-and-white image that the band used on the cover of their self titled debut album. 
That famous black and white photograph, taken by American photographer Kate Simon, shows Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, standing in what appears to be a back alley and looking very self-assured, very 'rude-boy' tough, and very Punk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let me be clear, upfront and honest. As you can see, this poster is a little 'distressed'.  There’s edge wear, corner wear, some small edge tears, 'rat bites', and handling marks, but No water damage, no musty smell, and no color loss or fading. It look very 'Punk'.
If you're familiar with that first Clash album cover, you know that the picture they used also has edgewear, tears, and damage very similar to this poster.
This poster is rather 'distressed', but I think that adds a cool, rough, "punk" quality, Punk 'charm', vibe, and authenticity to it. It still looks cool and displays fine. It's lived a long hard 'Rock'n'Roll' life.
I included many close-up photos and images of the edges, corners, and details of this poster so you can see what condition it is in.
I'll be honest, it's a little rough, but a fantastic early clash poster. Very cool and very collectible despite its distressed condition.
Despite its rather rough condition, I thought there was a Clash or punk rock fan out there that would still like this for their collection. It still looks great, displays fine, and is a rare iconic early clash poster that doesn't turn up very often. It would look great in a club, man-cave or music room. Perfect for a punk-rock display.
If I were going to to keep this poster, I would have the rough edges 'trimmed', and then frame it, to 'preserve' it and keep it from deteriorating any further than it already has.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
THE 'STORY' AND 'PROVENANCE' BEHIND THIS COOL OLD CLASH POSTER
I recently 're-discovered' this old poster than I've personally owned for many decades.
My elderly father, while cleaning out the basement, recently discovered an old cardboard storage tube containing some of my old vintage 'rock' posters that I had left behind, 40 years ago, in the old family home.
I had forgotten all about them, and was pleasantly surprised to find this Clash poster and several other cool old vintage rock posters (Bowie, Stones, Bruce, Fillmore's) carefully stashed away in that old tube. 
They bought back lots of memories, but I have no room to display them, so I’ll be listing some of them soon here on eBay. I'll start with this Clash poster.
To be honest, I'm not even sure if this is a UK or American poster. Although this poster clearly advertises the Clash‘s 'new' UK album, and a 1977 UK concert in Manchester, I believe this was a US released promo poster and was first released here in the States around July 1979, when their 1977 debut album was finally released here, and they went on a live tour to promote it.   I saw the band twice on that 1979 'Pearl Harbor' tour, and several times since. Fantastic!
I was a big fan of the Clash back in the early days and grabbed up everything I could find by them.  I had several of their early singles, EPs, a UK import of their first album, and a few posters, but I had never seen this poster before the release of their first album here in the States in July 1979. 
Although it advertises a 1977 UK show, this poster just appeared out of nowhere in the summer of 1979, making me think it was a 'new' American release, just using an earlier UK style.
I 'acquired' this poster shortly after, or possibly during, that 1979 American tour. It originally hung on the ceiling of a record store that I worked in, at the University of Iowa, in Iowa City, and I 'liberated' it off the ceiling one day and took it home. I've had it ever since. It was slightly 'distressed' even back then, and it's hung on many different walls and in many different music rooms over the decades.
If anyone out there knows the 'real' story behind this iconic Clash poster, and how it suddenly showed up in the States in 1979, I'd love to hear how that came to be. I suspect Epic records, the Clash's US record label, was somehow involved.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ From the limited research I’ve done, one way that you can tell an 'original' version of this poster is by the white 'splotch' or dot of paint off to the left of Paul Simonon's head, in the black area, on the top left side of the poster, under the 'E' in 'New'.
 Reproductions and re-prints don’t include that white 'splotch' or several other paint splotches that are seen on originals. The reproductions, although very similar, were 'cleaned up' slightly.
This classic poster has been copied and re-released many times over the years, but another way you can tell an 'original' is by the size. This was originally a very large poster.
This poster, as you can see from my photos, is just over 29 inches wide and approximately 39 inches long. Almost all of the copies and reprints of this poster are much smaller in size.
It’s printed on thick heavy paper stock, not flimsy paper or thick card stock like some of the reproductions.
I've looked closely and there seems to be no indication of who printed this poster. I can find no names, print marks or identification anywhere on the poster.
Although excellent condition versions of this original poster sell for many hundreds of dollars, I will list this "distressed" poster with a low opening bid, as I want it to go to a fan who truly appreciates it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A very cool original Clash promo poster from around 1979, with fantastic artwork, and bold neon lettering promoting the Clash's first debut album.
Despite its rather rough condition, I thought there was a Clash or punk rock fan somewhere out there that would appreciate this and want it for their collection.
This poster will be rolled carefully and sent in a sturdy mailing tube to assure it arrives safely and with no further damage.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Shipping cost within the lower 48 states is $5.00 for this vintage poster. It needs a sturdy mailing tube and careful handling and packaging.
If you would like insurance, or anything faster than Economy/Media Mail, please let me know and I can arrange it for you. I’ll work with you to make sure you’re happy! 
I'm a 0ne-man operation, this is a hobby, not my job. I do this for fun. I do this because I love collecting and want others to share in that same experience. I take my time researching, grading, listing and packaging. I will NOT sell any items that I personally would not want in my collection.
My descriptions and grading are fair and honest and I will ALWAYS refund you for anything you’re not happy with. I have had over 3,600 happy and satisfied EBay customers, with 100% positive feedback, over the years and I have been buying/selling on ebay for over 25 years, so please bid with confidence!
All orders are processed and shipped within 2 business days of receipt. We package and ship our items with the greatest care, using the proper packaging to ensure that your rare and collectible treasures arrive in pristine condition.
Payments can be made by any of the options EBay offers. 
I will be happy to exchange feedback with anyone I complete a transaction with. 
THANK YOU for looking and reading if you got this far.  -- JOHN

Want to make it clear; this is a 1979 printing of this poster, despite it's 1977 date. This is NOT a 1977 poster. It's a reprint from 1979 'reissued' when the fist Clash album was released in America in July 1979. An 'original' 1979 reprint, not a 1977 print.

The bidding on this Poster is getting faster and higher than I expected, so I want to make it clear, this is a Poster from circa 1979, NOT from 1977. This Poster came out around 1979 when the First Clash album was released here in the USA. This is an 'Original' poster from 1979, and over 40 years old, BUT, several people have mentioned and pointed out that it is an 'Unofficial' poster and NOT officially released  by the Band or Epic records. Likely a 'Gray market' poster released to cash in on the hype and tour back in the summer of 1979. Again, NOT officially released, NOT from 1977 like the poster wording says, and is in rough condition. Lots of edge and corner wear. Please look at the pictures carefully. They are of the actual poster up for auction. Please bid accordingly. Thanks for all your interest, comments and questions.  JOHN