It’s probably the only library in the world with multiple TVs simultaneously showing music videos and boxing matches, while ‘This Is The Day’ by The The plays and people gasp in delight, “have you seen this?!”. There’s certainly no stereotypical librarian imploring for “hush!”. It can only be the Rock ‘N’ Roll Public Library, with its entire contents being a cleverly curated sampling from the archive of Mick Jones (The Clash, Big Audio Dynamite, Carbon/Silicon), which not only includes invaluable artefacts from his own storied career in music, but an incredible collection of music and pop culture ephemera from Jones’ childhood to the present.
The Rock ‘N’ Roll Public Library opened for a couple of weeks in March at the Farsight Gallery just off Denmark St, London WC2. First opening at the Chelsea Space Gallery in 2009, and travelling throughout various locations in different configurations from Norwich to Venice throughout the 2010s, it was last seen in 2019 in Mexico City. Now it makes its long-awaited temporary return to London, celebrating the first issue of the new RRPL magazine.
In an interview with Reuters in 2009 about the first RRPL opening, Jones said:
“I started collecting things when I was very young and I did not really know why… then at the millennium, the change of the century, it started to become clear. I realised I wanted to share it… I have kept everything, if it exists it’s probably there somewhere”.
You realise this as soon as you go through the black wooden door on Flitcroft Street and turn your head left - at least 13 televisions from across the ages are playing various VHS tapes. Hundreds (of thousands) of Mick’s home-recorded tapes off the telly are stuffed into cubby holes around them, alongside records, CDs, tapes, super-8 reels and cameras. Facing this impressive display of home media in its various forms is a central obelisk of slide and film projectors, casting a collection of slide photographs and film reels on to the walls and tape library. The VHS is now an unloved format, with most people gladly taking their bulky tape collections down the charity shops or throwing their recorded tapes in the skip. Long-surpassed in technological capabilities by the DVD and then Blu-ray, now the majority of people have surrendered their physical collections entirely to the lottery of availability and retrospective editing of streaming platforms. Seeing this huge personal archive of recorded TV reminds me of the story of Marion Stokes, who privately recorded 70,000+ VHS tapes of television, continuously recording from 1979 to 2012, inadvertently capturing lost moments as TV companies wipe or lose their broadcast archives, or invasively edit original programs post-broadcast found on home media and streaming services. Who knows what rare gems may be on these tapes?
Installation by Mauricio Vincenzi
A large sign in Clash-pink at the entrance informs you that you are invited to interact with the exhibition and browse through it all. This is undoubtedly one of the main strengths of the RRPL, with the vast majority of items being out in the open and only a selection of artefacts (thankfully) kept behind glass. Accepting this invitation and flicking through the tapes, I can see that Mick was loyal to VHS until at least the late-2000s, with some Glastonbury 2007 tapes, ‘Dexter’ and ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm’ recorded. The home-recorded and hand-labelled ‘Pop Tape’ series is a real curiosity; you will spot several numbered Pop Tapes dating back to the ‘80s within the Library. A clear interest in progressive home-cinema technology is evident in this section of the library, from bulky CRT TVs to early LED flatscreens, film projectors and reels, to VHS players and tapes. It is a wonder if Mick Jones was ever a fan of the LaserDisc or the short lived CED. You won’t find any DVDs or Blu-ray here, either. The units of records dwarf the CD collection housed above some of the TVs too, where you will find a curious selection of compact disc titles, many unopened and many CD-R demo discs. I can only assume that Mick wasn’t much of a CD user and most of these were given to him, but still kept of course.
Opposite this display is a nice replica of a Great British Front Room circa ‘60s-’80s, complete with original furniture and paintings - whether this is a recreation of a real room or not, I am not sure, but everything in this area looks like it could have been from Mick and his Nan’s 18th floor flat on the Harrow Road, as seen in those classic 1979 Pennie Smith photos. Sitting on one of the old family chairs beneath a framed print of Tretchikoff’s ‘Chinese Girl’ painting (ubiquitous in ‘60s households, a common Woolworths purchase), the subject of BAD’s ‘The Green Lady’ and with a Pop Tape playing on a telly behind me, I rifle through a bookcase stuffed with Hunter S. Thompson, Pauline Kael, Lenny Bruce and biographies of Cassius Clay, The Stones, ‘The Man Who Gave The Beatles Away’ and of course, Ian Hunter’s ‘Diary of a Rock ‘N’ Roll Star’. These foundational texts, alongside curios like ‘Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice’ and ‘Cults In America’ give a solid insight into Mick’s influences and interests (I am not suggesting Mick Jones is a cannibal), but also the pop culture we all share and participate in. Clash trainspotters will be pleased to find a copy of Patricia Bosworth’s Montgomery Clift biography, the inspiration for the London Calling classic ‘The Right Profile’ after producer Guy Stevens gave Joe an edition (it is not the exact copy - the well-eared paperback was on display at the London Calling exhibit at the Museum of London in 2019).
L-R: The Clash at Mick & his Nan's flat (Pennie Smith, 1979), 'Montgomery Clift: A Biography' at RRPL (2025) & Museum of London (2019)
Walking to the centre of the room near the entrance, flanked by walls of fanzine-wallpaper and beautifully arranged colour-themed displays of memorabilia (tour passes, record sleeves, zines, plectrums), you will find a Fostex 350, an analogue mixer circa 1982 used by Mick for home demos, atop a clash-Pink wooden plinth with ‘Strummer’s Law’ typeset on it - “No Input = No Output”.
As well as being a loving tribute to the departed Joe, it is also the perfect four words to describe the Rock ‘N’ Roll Public Library: this amassed collection of music, film, literature and clothing greatly shaped the art that Jones created. In other words, without all of this ‘stuff’, we would have no Clash or BAD, no ‘Sandinista!’ or ‘Megatop Phoenix’. Into the Fostex are seven different coloured cables that go to the ceiling and onto the walls in the back area of the Farsight Gallery. These colours represent the sections, as written in Mick’s hand on the ‘console tape’ as if they were the tracks on the mixer: Kid, Teen, Fan, Conflict, D.I.Y., Stage, Fashion & N.Y.C.
The ‘Kid’ section will be sure to raise nostalgia from some of the RRPL’s visitors that grew up in the same era as Mick, with its Snoopy telephone, collection of annuals, and Esso service station toy set! For younger visitors such as myself, it is no less fascinating.
The ‘Teen’ section is a natural segue between ‘Kid’ and ‘Fan’, with Teenbeat annuals and favourite LPs surrounding framed original sketches by Mick from his school days, and a photo of his early-1970s band The Delinquents.
The ‘Fan’ section examines both Mick’s experiences as a fan, and the experience of being a subject of fandom. Posters of Billie Holiday, George Best and Keith Richards along with QPR programs, scrapbooks of cuttings of film stars and James Dean biographies sit alongside a scrapbook of Clash press cuttings from 1982 (an eventful year for the band to say the least), figurines of The Clash, a 1982 Bob Gruen snap of The Clash on stage in front of an enormous crowd, and a fan letter to the band from 1977 from none other than Patti Smith!
Kid/Teen, Fan, Conflict
The ‘Conflict’ section spans a wide range of artefacts, from toy tanks and kids’ war novels and comics, to independently published political manifestos. Neatly linking from the ‘fan’ section is a Rolling Stone clipping and original Dutch poster of the 1967 film ‘How I Won The War’, which starred John Lennon. You will also see an original poster for the 1978 Victoria Park ‘Rock Against Racism’ gig that The Clash played, Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional badges, frequent Clash collaborator and dub legend Mikey Dread’s ‘World War III’ LP from 1980, behind Mikey’s ‘Dread At The Controls’ combat helmet. A nice addition to close out the section is a 7” of Carbon/Silicon’s ‘Why Do Men Fight?’ from 2008, which reminds me of the sleeve to their 2007 album ‘The Last Post’, a proto-RRPL staging in which you see the band surrounded by memorabilia and artefacts, many of which can be seen at the Farsight Gallery exhibition. Other than a 2004 tour itinerary and a tour laminate, you won’t find much Carbon/Silicon memorabilia at the Farsight, though this could be due to the lack of much physical ephemera existing as a result of their ‘MPFree’ ethos.
The D.I.Y. section is next, and a giant promotional display of BAD’s 1988 single ‘Just Play Music’ stands proudly behind a selection of instructional books about home tape recording, and a magazine article about electric guitar circuitry. The D.I.Y. aspect shines through with the spread of fanzine articles on The Clash, Generation X and Heartbreakers, and particularly a fabric promo for D.B.C. (Dread Broadcasting Corporation), a 1980s pirate station based in West London that played reggae, funk and soul music that was never heard on the BBC or commercial radio. In fact, The Clash hosted a show from the same pirate 103.8 MHZ FM wavelength in 1981 - DBC was a Friday broadcast on the Open Access Radio station.
Somewhat merged with the D.I.Y. section is the ‘Stage’ section - there’s a Clash-pink guitar flight case, and a rack unit with an AKAI MPC 60 atop it, one of the most important pieces of gear in music history! This 12 bit sampler, sequencer and drum machine from 1988 was the very first in the MPC line, responsible for countless landmark sample-based hip-hop records in the late ‘80s and ‘90s - and BAD records! Talk about D.I.Y., the MPC allowed some of the most talented producers, traditionally ‘non-musicians’, to create some of the greatest records ever made - just listen to DJ Shadow’s ‘Endtroducing…’ LP, which was recorded with just an MPC 60, a Technics 1200 and an ADAT machine. You will also see Mick’s Bond Electraglide guitar from BAD/BAD II, and speaking of ‘Bond’... how about an original poster for the legendary 1981 Clash residency at Bond’s in NYC (my # 1 time-travel destination, forget the crucifixion, that’s where I’d be!).
To the right is ‘Fashion’ - original stage-worn Clash and BAD shirts are surrounded by issues of Interview, The Face and iD featuring cover stars Aretha Franklin, Cyndi Lauper, Matt Dillon, Kate Moss and Madonna’s first ever magazine cover from 1984! A collection of three (red, white, black) BAD caps sit on a shelf above a rare 1976 unused photograph of then-art school students Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Viv Albertine and Lucy Fawcett, taken for a Laura Ashley clothing campaign. A 1977 original poster for Pollock’s Clothes in Brixton, a D.I.Y. punk clothing store set up as an antidote to the expensive designer clothes of Vivienne Westwood’s boutiques, hangs behind a mannequin clothed in Mick Jones Clash-era gear of red shirt, black leather jacket, black jeans and boots.
D.I.Y., Stage, Fashion
The final main section is ‘N.Y.C.’, arguably as important as London to the Clash and particularly Mick. One of Futura 2000’s earliest canvas pieces can be seen framed, surrounded by Keith Haring artwork, New York Rocker magazine (Patti Smith, Joe Strummer and Debbie Harry covers), a New York Dolls poster, Beastie Boys Creem cover, Lou Reed Trouser Press cover, and a ‘Beatles on Broadway’ magazine (may sound familiar to Clash fans).
One magazine cover, a May 1978 Observer - ‘the heat in Harlem’ shows an NYC cop brandishing a gun on a stylish Black citizen. Indeed, inside the magazine you will see photos of white cops straddling Black citizens with the Observer observing “police and public have a way of doing things in Harlem - pull a gun first and ask questions later”. This ever-present threat in NYC would find its way into The Clash’s lyrics, particularly Combat Rock’s ‘Red Angel Dragnet’, which details the killing of Black 27 year old Guardian Angel Frankie Melvin at the hands of the police in nearby New Jersey.
It is well known that the Clash and Mick were enamoured with NYC from their first visit in 1979, being particularly taken with the burgeoning hip hop scene, but it is clear that NYC always held an attraction for a young Mick in London, idolising NYC icons Lenny Bruce, Lou Reed and of course, the New York Dolls.
A glass case holding a Futura-painted boombox, as seen throughout the Rock The Casbah video, holds assorted NYC artifacts - hotel matchbooks, Coney Island badge, business card for legendary photographer Ricky Powell, more Keith Haring artwork, Beastie Boys 1992 aftershow pass and a classic 1984 graffiti tag of ‘Mick’ by legendary artist Zephyr. The hip hop radio of 1980s NYC, particularly of WBLS, WKTU and KISS FM and its mastermixes by Kool DJ Red Alert, Afrika Bambaataa, Shep Pettibone and the like were of huge influence to Mick and many others, and tape recordings made of their broadcasts were a hot commodity back in London, from whoever had recently been over there. Long-time Clash associate and ZigZag editor (an issue of ZigZag can be seen in the DIY section) Kris Needs, writes about this in his biography of The Orb, another crew heavily influenced by the same tapes.
In this glass box are several recorded cassettes of Mick’s from his time in NYC in the 80s - you can see the spines reading ‘M.J. in N.Y. Dec 1982 (2)’ and ‘Micks Mix NYC 6 84’ for example. I would love for the RRPL to rip these NYC tapes and upload them to Mixcloud or similar, as these broadcasts were hugely influential to so much music and surviving tapes found online at the Hip Hop Radio Archive are amazing listens. Or better yet, get ‘em pumping throughout the Farsight!
A second glass case houses a unique ‘London Calling Mickey Mouse’ toy standing on a BAD ‘Just Play Music’ white label 7” and a collection of Mick’s Clash cassettes - you will see rough mixes, acoustic demos(!) and working titles (‘Gluggo’s Waltz’, ‘Porn to Die’ or ‘Death Is Porn’) here, surrounded by tour laminates, badges, and a tape of The Clash at the Roxy Theatre in Harlesden, 25th October 1978. This is first place I’d go to at a RRPL heist, it’s a good job that these tapes are in glass cabinets!
There are two large flat display cabinets, ‘East Side’ and ‘West Side’. East Side contains Clash memorabilia - photos, gig tickets and promotional materials. Some of the most interesting items are original handwritten lyrics for ‘I’m So Bored With You’, which would later become ‘I’m So Bored With The U.S.A.’, tape boxes for rough mixes of The Cost of Living EP and Stay Free and Guns On The Roof, and Mick’s notebook during the making of London Calling:
“the new album we’ve made - at the moment (unmixed) it sounds pretty good to me”.
West Side contains first issues of some of the most important UK Punk fanzines - Mark Perry’s ‘Sniffin’ Glue’, ‘London’s Outrage’ by Jon Savage, and ‘Bondage’ by Shane MacGowan, as well as typewritten lyrics for The Escapades of Futura 2000, the 1982 collaborative single by The Clash and Futura, complete with handwritten annotations in Futura’s distinctive handwriting. It is amazing to see the varied display of memorabilia in these cabinets, particularly seeing the original handwriting in notebooks and on tape boxes, the origins of the music that has become the soundtrack to so many of our lives.
Behind the East/West cabinets is the RRPL Kiosk, set up like a vintage newsstand, complete with old iconic newspaper covers - ‘Sinatra Dead’, surrounded by an eclectic selection of magazines and a spinning stand of books to flick through. The back of the kiosk is a shrine to Elvis Presley, with lots of memorabilia including Elvis’ debut LP, which the Clash took inspiration from for the London Calling sleeve. I also spotted a framed copy of Elvis’ ‘G.I. Blues’ LP, though there is not a copy of The Replacements’ ‘Pleased To Meet Me’ LP which took inspiration from that sleeve, much like the Clash - I don’t know if Mick is a fan of The Replacements!
Between the right side of the kiosk and ‘NYC’ wall is the listening booth, a vintage turntable with a wild selection of records for you to flick through and put on - look out for a Russian 2xLP gatefold bootleg of The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour & Yellow Submarine Soundtrack. The RRPL Kiosk, with specially-designed RRPL confectionery (alas, not for sale) sells a selection of nicely designed t-shirts, a limited edition screenprint, and the first issue of the new RRPL magazine - available to purchase in 3 covers.
Walking back towards the door after purchasing my 3 copies of the magazine (I am a filthy completist), I saw six pages from newspapers - News of the World, Evening Standard, Essex Chronicle, framed in a violent red with only the relevant article unobscured by the red. The articles report stories with ‘wild punk rockers smash up theatre’ headlines and other seat-destroying antics of Clash fans. Past the fanzine wallpaper I am back at the door, framed on the inside with old pictures of London and the W11 street sign for Powis Terrace, where Mick lived in the 1980s (Powis Gardens?) and just off Powis Square, the location of the house featured in Nic Roeg’s influential 1970 film ‘Performance’ starring Mick Jagger and James Fox. Samples of dialogue from Performance are scattered throughout the BAD tune ‘E=MC2’, whose lyrics reference Roeg’s filmography… “Took a trip in Powis Square/Pop star dyed his hair…”
I left RRPL very satisfied from seeing cool artefacts expertly curated, and I enjoyed how the exhibition contextualised and re-contextualised its items, allowing me to see links between things I hadn’t previously considered. Also, having the open invitation to interact with most of the items was a masterstroke in immersion in the RRPL. I easily spent a couple of hours in there happily digging through the books, records, tapes and mags - I made a few notes of books and records I was unfamiliar with that I want to check out, too.
I went to see Kim Deal (great gig) and then got stuck into the RRPL magazine the following day. It is the first issue (on the cover: the birth of DIY culture, art school, dead media & the ultimate mixtape), and is brilliantly assembled, from pictures of the wider RRPL warehouse, pictures and scans of items that were available to view at the Farsight Gallery and even more. On the second (white) cover’s reverse, it notes “this is a curated journey through the collection. It is not a catalogue, more a maze of collage and contradiction”, and I am glad it is. It would have been easy for RRPL to publish a generic exhibition book with pictures and notes of everything displayed at the Farsight, and I am sure that would be great (I would certainly have bought it), but this unique approach is fresh and not only demonstrates the size of the RRPL’s archive but the RRPL team’s wonderfully unique and detailed exploration of it.
Of particular note in the mag is a scan of a 1977 fanzine interview with Mick about his experiences at Art School that I had personally never seen or read before. There are written articles from contributors Laurena Toledo & Lily Gutierrez, along with poetry from Mick Jones himself. The whole magazine is a pleasure to read and view from cover to cover - it is fantastically edited and designed, and a real highlight is the several vintage 1950s-60s full-page advertisements (Hammond Organ, eye shadow, perfume, to name a few) interspersed throughout the features, there’s even a classified ads section, presumably scans from the RRPL collection. On the reverse of the magazines it teases an Issue 2, ‘London Electric’, which I am excited to see whenever that comes out.
While the magazine and merchandise was initially available only at the exhibition, it will be available to buy online afterwards, along with future issues of RRPL and perhaps some more merch designs. Although I did not visit the 2015 Venice exhibit, there was a record released alongside it which I own - ‘The Rock ‘N’ Roll Public Library: Ex Libris’ which is beautifully packaged in its South Pacific cover, with photos of the RRPL archive. It’s a pleasant listen, I am not sure if it is still in-print all these years later - it was not available to buy at the Farsight - but perhaps a re-press (or a new record) will be available at the RRPL website in the future!
I visited the RRPL at the Farsight twice more, once before seeing Bob Mould just over the road on Denmark St., and another before seeing Mercury Rev at the Islington Assembly Hall. I was glad to have these gigs give me an excuse to go into London and see the RRPL again, to both dig deeper in discovery and see the invaluable artefacts on display just one more time. I look forward to whatever the future of RRPL brings - new issues of the magazine, further exhibits, and whatever else they may have planned. Keep an eye on it - it is a special thing. Even if you are not a Clash/BAD fanatic like myself, there is plenty there to capture your interest and imagination. We owe a collective appreciation to Mick for his esoteric collecting and furthermore, his realisation to share it.