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I will not be placing a bid for the original artwork of the Clash LP 'London Calling'. I seem to have mislaid the seventy thousand pounds that the drawings are expected to cost at a London auction house later this month. Of course, if I had been smart I would have asked Mr Lowry himself for a spare sheet, when he was working on the artwork in the autumn of 1979. He accompanied The Clash on their tour of America that September, when the support band were those loveable urchins The Undertones, whose runny noses (caused by prolonged exposure to CS gas, no doubt) were often wiped on the ragged sleeves of their Dunnes Stores jumpers, according to the press release.

I only saw Ray Lowry once outside a dressing room. I presume he was waiting to consult with Joe Strummer and his chums once the crowd of hangers on, record company people and assorted revolutionaries had finished with them. We knew of his reputation, of course, as one of the great cartoonists for the NME, who knew how to puncture the egos of both musicians and critics in one frame. He's not around anymore to enjoy - or be embarrassed - by the prospect of his work being sold for many times more than he would have earned for it the first time round. I'm grateful that I saw him even once - I wouldn't even pretend that I actually met him - and , for what it's worth (£70,000 !!) can I say I'm glad he's getting a bit of recognition in the proper papers at long last. All we need now is for the photographer Pennie Smith to get an appreciation or two as well for her part in the ever growing legend that is London Calling.