This land was ours. This land belonged to Aboriginal people.

July 16, 2020 6:41 AM

Gary Foley was sitting in his home in the Sydney suburb of Redfern one Summer afternoon when ‘some Pommie bloke rings up and says he’s Joe Strummer from the Clash’.

In 1982, iconic punk originators The Clash toured Australia. In addition to having indigenous trailblazers No Fixed Address open for them at one gig, there was one epic moment in which Uncle Gary Foley commanded the stage. Actor, activist, and respected elder, Gary Foley is a towering figure in Australia.

posted by prismatic7 (5 comments total)

The The Monthly link requires free registration. Another article which enters into the differing narratives about how Gary Foley ended up speaking at the concert: Getting the young punks to join in: Gary Foley and the Clash.
posted by zamboni at 6:59 AM on July 16, 2020 [1 favorite]

Gary Foley: 'Educate YOURSELF, then educate the people'
posted by flabdablet at 7:51 AM on July 16, 2020 [2 favorites]

Very cool story, especially given the time period. I spent a summer working in Redfern a decade ago, it's one of those places where you can practically smell the racial disharmony in the air. "Hostile gentrification" is the phrase that comes to mind.
posted by misterdaniel at 11:11 AM on July 16, 2020 [1 favorite]

zamboni argh! I can't believe I forgot to include that link! The first line of my post is a quote from that article! That'll teach me to post last thing at night after Zoom night with the lads...
posted by prismatic7 at 5:56 PM on July 16, 2020

The comments on that article:

From Gary Foley on 18 July 2020 at 6.23 am
There are numerous inaccuracies in this account. amonmg them mention pf me speaking at the Clash’s Brisbane concert which I never did. Bob Weatherall spoke and danced at the Brisbane concert.
posted by Lanark at 3:49 PM on July 17, 2020 [1 favorite]