The Clash, Westway To The World - Comment from Director Don Letts

"We didn't want to do the usual, standard South Bank Show-style film and let this director or that producer put their slant on the story of the Clash. In the true spirit of the band we decided to do it ourselves." Tricia Ronane, band manager and executive producer of Westway To The World is explaining how the film came into being. "We'd talked about it for some time, and over the years Joe or Paul or Mick had not thought that the time was right. For some reason, everyone agreed that the time was now right."

When the decision had been made to make a documentary of the band's story, which would see each member of The Clash sitting in front of a camera and going over their life, the decision as to who should direct was easy. There could only be one man; Don Letts, former DJ at the legendary Roxy club, ace video director responsible for all the band's promos (including the great London's Calling) and film director. "Don was the natural choice - the band and he had worked together for a long time," says Ronane, adding, "As with the live album we knew that we had a big hunt for film footage of the band, although Don had some from the Bonds residency, and he knew that Julien Temple had some unseen early footage.'

"I knew that there was a great story waiting to be told on film," says Letts, "And I knew that eventually I'd get the call because of our history. And the fact that I had a lot of tape in my attic of the band which was 'unseen'." Letts and the Clash had met at the beginning of their respective careers, and the two camps forged an immediate, sympatico bond. "We went through the punk era together," says Letts, "and we turned each other onto our respective cultures; their DIY ethic inspired me to pick up a Super 8mm camera and record what was going on at that time." He went on to become an award-winning video and film director, in the process accumulating hours of footage of the Clash in various states of play.

When he put his Clash tape collection together with a wealth of material from Great Rock n Roll Swindle director Julien Temples("Even the Clash didn't know this stuff existed" exclaims Letts), the director found that he had the makings of a film in which, "at least 50% of the material is genuinely unseen." Added to the original interview material for which each of the band members sat in front of the camera for over 11 hours, is footage from the Rude Boy film and various television programmes.

The project took the best part of a year to complete. And just when he thought that it was finished, Letts explains; "After the almost impossible task of putting the story of the Clash into a 90 minute programme, the BBC heard of the project, got in contact with Tricia and said that they wanted to screen a 60 minute version". It was duly cut and will be screened in the first week of October this year. Of course it's good, but the 'director's cut' 90-minute version of Westway To The World is the one to see.

Working with the band again didn't feel strange to Letts. "Doing this film with them made me think that they were all born to be in the Clash," he says. "Their roles in the making of this film reflected perfectly the roles each of them had in the band."

A lot has been written and said about the Clash since they called it a day in 1984. Very little of it came from the band themselves. Until now.

Westway To The World is the best film about the Clash that has, or will ever, be made. It is the story from the men themselves; they were there, they and only they know what went on. And soon you will, too.

"Each generation needs a soundtrack and the Clash provided mine." Don Letts