It's 1982 in Austin and you're at the City Coliseum to see The Clash perform "Rock The Casbah" (44 years ago today)📽️🎸
AUSTIN, TX June 8 & 9, 1982 (
@fox7austin) -- On this day in Austin history, British punk legends The Clash rolled into town—not just to play two sets over consecutive nights at the old City Coliseum, but to spend those same two days filming the music video for what would become their biggest commercial hit, "Rock the Casbah." Directed by punk icon Don Letts, the video makes a commentary on Middle Eastern oil politics, censorship, and rebellion right onto a distinct, sun-baked 1980s Austin landscape across June 8th and 9th.
The storyline features shots of the downtown skyline, cooling off by a local hotel pool, grabbing a drink at a dive bar, and tracking down a scurrying armadillo near Congress and Oltorf.
If you look closely at the footage, you can spot local landmarks hidden in plain sight. The pool scenes were shot at the old Villa Capri Hotel, the characters grab food at a former Burger King on Guadalupe, and the convenience store stop was filmed at the old Rio Mart at 29th and Rio Grande.
This edited version has isolated all of those classic Austin backdrops from the original 1982 music video.