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Joe Strummer : Biography

Biography Joe Strummer

John Graham Mellor (August 21, 1952 ? December 22, 2002), better known as Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead singer of the English punk rock band The Clash. He was also a member of the The Mescaleros and (temporarily) The Pogues.

The early years 1952-1976

Joe Strummer was born as John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey on August 21, 1952. His mother, a crofter's daughter and one of nine children born and raised in the Scottish Highlands, was a nurse.His father was a British foreign-service diplomat who had been born in Lucknow, India.The family spent much time moving from place to place, and Strummer spent his childhood in places such as Cairo, Mexico City, and Bonn. At the age of 9, Strummer and his older brother David, 10, began boarding at the City of London Freemen's School in Surrey. Strummer rarely saw his parents during this time. He developed a love of rock music listening to records by Little Richard and The Beach Boys as well as American folk-singer Woody Guthrie. (Strummer would even go by the name "Woody" for a few years, following his brother's suicide in July 1970, until changing his name to "Joe Strummer" a year and a half before the Clash was formed.) After finishing his time at City of London Freemen's School, Ashstead Park, Surrey, in 1970, Strummer moved on to London's Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, where he briefly flirted with the idea of becoming a professional cartoonist, but ultimately completed a foundations course. During this time, Strummer shared a flat in the north London suburb of Palmers Green with friends Clive Timperley and Tymon Dogg.

In 1973 Strummer moved to Newport, Wales to attend the Newport College of Art, but soon dropped out. While there, he joined up with some friends to form a band called The Vultures. For the next year he was the band's part-time singer and rhythm guitarist. During this time Strummer also worked as a gravedigger. In 1974, the band fell apart and he moved back to London where he met up again with Tymon Dogg. He busked on the streets for a while and then decided to form another band with his West London roommates. The band was called The 101'ers, named for the address of their squat (101 Walterton Road, in Maida Vale). The band played many gigs in London pubs, playing covers of popular American R&B and blues songs. In 1975 he changed his name from "Woody" Mellor to Joe Strummer, and insisted that his friends call him by that name. The name "Strummer" apparently refers to his role as rhythm guitarist, in a rather self-deprecating way. Though left-handed, he was taught to play right-handed by his friend Tymon Dogg; this hampered his abilities somewhat and confined him to strumming chords. Strummer was the lead singer of the 101'ers and began to write original songs for the group. One song he wrote was inspired by his girlfriend at the time, Slits drummer Palmolive. The group liked the song "Keys to Your Heart", and picked it as their first single.

The Clash 1976-1986

On April 3, 1976, a then-unknown band called the Sex Pistols opened for The 101'ers at a venue called "The Nashville Rooms" in London, and Strummer was impressed by them. Sometime after this show, Strummer was approached by Bernie Rhodes and Mick Jones. Jones was from the band London SS and wanted Strummer to join as lead singer. Strummer agreed to join just as the group was breaking up, but he formed a new band with Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, drummer Terry Chimes and guitarist Keith Levene. The band was named The Clash by Simonon and made their debut on July 4, 1976, opening for the Sex Pistols at The Black Swan (a.k.a. The Mucky Duck, now known as the Boardwalk Sheffield, England). On January 25, 1977 the band signed with CBS Records and was now a three-piece after Levene was fired from the band and Chimes quit. Drummer Topper Headon later became the band's full-time drummer.

The Clash were one of the most overtly political, explosive and exciting bands in rock and roll history. Their songs tackled social decay, unemployment, racism, police brutality, political and social repression, militarism and, occasionally, sex. Strummer was involved with the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism campaigns. He later also gave his support to the Rock Against the Rich series of concerts organised by the anarchist organisation Class War. The Clash's London Calling album was voted best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine (although it was released in late 1979 in the UK, it was released in 1980 in the USA). The Clash's influence can be clearly heard in countless subsequent rock bands.

During his time with The Clash, Strummer, along with his bandmates, became notorious for getting in trouble with the law. On June 10, 1977, he and Topper were arrested for spray-painting "The Clash" on a wall in a hotel. On May 20, 1980, he was arrested for hitting a violent member of the audience with his guitar during a show in Hamburg, Germany. This incident shocked Strummer, and had a lasting personal impact on him.

Before the album Combat Rock was released in 1982, Strummer disappeared from the group and "dicked around" in France for a short while on the advice of Bernie Rhodes, because ticket sales were not doing so well for their international tour. Joe later said this was a huge mistake and you "have to have some regrets". This was in spite of the popular success of the single "Rock the Casbah". During this time band members began to argue a lot, and with tensions high, the group began to fall apart. In September 1983, Strummer issued the infamous "Clash Communique", and fired Mick Jones. Topper Headon had earlier been kicked out of the band because of his heroin addiction, which now left the band with only two of its original members. Strummer decided to carry on and added new members. "The Clash Mark Two" released the album Cut The Crap in 1985. The album was panned by fans and critics alike and Strummer disbanded The Clash.

The wilderness years 1986-1999

A year later, Strummer worked on several songs for the 1986 film Sid and Nancy, including "Love Kills" and "Dum Dum Club". Strummer also later worked with Mick Jones and his band Big Audio Dynamite, contributing to the band's second album by co-writing most of the songs. In 1987 he starred in the film Walker, directed by Alex Cox, as a character named "Faucet" and wrote and performed on the film's soundtrack. He starred in another Cox film that same year called Straight to Hell, as the character Simms. In 1989 Strummer played a small role in Jim Jarmusch's film Mystery Train, as a man called Elvis with a drunken temper. He also made a brief appearance in Aki Kaurismäki's 1990 film I Hired a Contract Killer as a guitarist in a pub, performing two songs ("Burning Lights" and "Afro-Cuban Bebop"). These were released as a promotional 7" single limited to a few hundred copies, credited to "Joe Strummer & the Astro Physicians". During this time Strummer continued to act, write and produce soundtracks for various films, most notably the soundtrack for Grosse Pointe Blank (1997).

In 1989 Strummer began producing solo records with a band called The Latino Rockabilly War. The album Earthquake Weather was a critical and commercial flop, and resulted in the loss of his contract with Sony Records. He also did the soundtrack to the movie Permanent Record with this band. In 1991 he replaced Shane MacGowan as singer of The Pogues for a tour after MacGowan's departure from the band. Strummer also produced the Pogues album Hell's Ditch. On April 16 1994, Strummer joined Czech-American band Dirty Pictures on stage in Prague at the Repre Club in Obecni Dum at ?Rock for Refugees?, a benefit concert for people left displaced by the war in Bosnia. Backed up by the Pictures, Strummer played a blistering set of Clash songs that he said he had not played in more than ten years. Although the set appeared impromptu, Joe and the band had spent the days leading up to the event rehearsing and ?hanging out? in Prague. After these self-described "wilderness years," Strummer began working with other bands; he played piano on the 1995 UK hit of The Levellers, "Just the One" and appeared on the Black Grape single "England's Irie" in 1996. In 1997 while in New York City, he had worked with noted producer and engineers Lee Perry & Marty Munsch on a significant amount of remixed Clash and 101'ers reissue dub material.

Also during this time, Strummer was in dispute with The Clash's record label, Epic Records. The disagreement lasted nearly eight years and ended with the label agreeing to let him record solo records with another label. If The Clash were to reunite though, they would have to record for Sony.

During the nineties Strummer was a DJ on the BBC World Service with his half-hour programme London Calling. Samples from the series provide the vocals for "Midnight Jam" on Joe and the Mescaleros' final album Streetcore.

The Mescaleros and other work 1999-2002

In the mid-to-late 1990s, Strummer gathered top-flight musicians into a backing band he called The Mescaleros. Strummer and the band signed with Mercury Records, and issued their first album in 1999, which was co-written with Antony Genn, called Rock Art and the X-Ray Style. A tour of England, Europe, and North America soon followed; sets included several Clash fan favourites.

In 2001 the band signed with Californian punk label Hellcat Records and released their second album, Global A Go-Go. The album was supported with a 21-date tour of North America, Britain, and Ireland. Once again, these concerts featured Clash material ("London's Burning", "Rudie Can't Fail", "White Man In Hammersmith Palais"), as well as covers of reggae and ska hits ("The Harder They Come", "A Message To You, Rudy") and the band regularly closed the show by playing The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop".On November 15, 2002, Strummer and The Mescaleros played a benefit show for striking fire fighters in London, at the Acton Town Hall. Mick Jones was in the crowd, and joined the band on stage during the Clash's "Bankrobber." An encore followed with Jones playing guitar and singing on "White Riot" and "London's Burning". This performance marked the first time since 1983 that Strummer and Jones had performed together on stage. Jones later remarked that it was totally unplanned and that he felt compelled to join Strummer on stage.

In 2001, somewhat out of character, Strummer and the Mescaleros performed the song Minstrel Boy for the movie Black Hawk Down, a haunting and emotive Celtic tune that is played during the evacuation of PFC Blackburn (Orlando Bloom) during the Battle of Mogadishu..

Strummer's final arena gig was at Liverpool Academy on November 22, 2002, yet his final performance, just two weeks before his death, was in a small club venue 'The Palace' in Bridgwater, Somerset near to his home. Shortly before his death Strummer and U2's Bono co-wrote a song, "46664", for Nelson Mandela as part of a campaign against AIDS in Africa. Strummer had been scheduled to play at Mandela's SOS fundraising concert in February 2003 on Robben Island. Mick Jones later recorded a version of the song in studio, performing both the vocals and guitar work, that has yet to be formally released.

Death and legacy 2002-present

Strummer died on December 22, 2002 in his home at Broomfield in Somerset, the victim of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. His estate was valued at just under £1 million, and he left all the money to his wife Lucinda.

At the Grammy Awards in February 2003, "London Calling" was performed by Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Dave Grohl, Pete Thomas, and Tony Kanal in tribute to Strummer. In March 2003, The Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

At the time of his death, Strummer was working on another album, which was released posthumously in October 2003 under the title Streetcore. The album features a tribute to American music icon Johnny Cash ("Long Shadow"), which was actually written for Cash to sing and recorded in Rick Rubin's garage, as well as a remembrance of the September 11, 2001 attacks ("Ramshackle Day Parade"), and a cover of Bob Marley's classic "Redemption Song", which Strummer had also recorded as a duet with Cash. (The Cash/Strummer duet version appears on the 2003 box set Unearthed).November 2003 saw the release of a video for Redemption Song, directed by Josh Cheuse. The video features the painting of a memorial mural on the wall of the Niagara Bar in the East Village of NYC.

On December 22, 2003, exactly a year after his death, a tribute show/benefit was held at Irving Plaza in NYC. Bands that played were Ari Up; Clem Snide; The Detachment Kit; Dirty Mary; Hammel on Trial; Jesse Malin; New Blood Revival; The Realistics; Eugene Hütz; Radio 4; Secret Army; Ted Leo; Vic Thrill + The Saturn Missile. The show was videotaped by punkcast.com but is as yet unreleased.

Strummer was instrumental in setting up Future Forests (recently rechristened The Carbon Neutral Company), an organization dedicated to planting trees in various parts of the world in order to combat global warming. Strummer was the first artist to make the recording, pressing and distribution of his records carbon neutral through the planting of trees. Many other artists such as Foo Fighters, Coldplay and Pink Floyd have followed suit and fans can visit the Carbon Neutral Company website to buy trees to be planted in their favourite artist's forest (Strummer's being christened "Rebel's Wood", a specially selected section in Orbost, on the Isle of Skye.) In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family have established the Strummerville Foundation for the promotion of new music. The Belfast punk rock group Stiff Little Fingers also recorded a tribute song "Strummerville" on their album, Guitar and Drum. On February 12 2005 the Class 47 locomotive 47828 was named "Joe Strummer". The nameplates were unveiled by his widow Lucinda Tait in a ceremony at Bristol Temple Meads railway station. On July 22 2005 Tait unveiled a plaque on the house in Pentonville, Newport where Strummer lived from 1973 to 1974 and where his first foray into recorded music, "Crummy Bum Blues" was recorded.

Throughout his career, Strummer was noted for his devotion to fans. It has been said that Strummer never left a venue until everyone who had waited around got an autograph and talked with him personally, a process which often lasted for hours. In fact, even after being hit in the leg with a cherry bomb in Asbury Park, when he was being driven to the hospital, he made the driver stop the car so he could talk to some fans first.

A documentary by Dick Rude titled Let's Rock Again! was released in 2006. The film, completed after Strummer's death, chronicles life on tour in the United States with the Mescaleros to support Global a Go-Go.

New Orleans-based rockers Cowboy Mouth released a song called "Joe Strummer" on their latest album Voodoo Shoppe. The song tells the story of a man who had to break up with his girlfriend because "...she didn't know who/Joe Strummer was." The popular track is a tongue-in-cheek salute to Strummer and the Clash that received significant radio play in 2006.

In addition, the Joe Pernice-penned "High As a Kite," included on The Pernice Brothers 2006 album Live a Little, was, in part a tribute to Joe Strummer. Lyrics included, "Heavy downbeat of one and the show began/London calling, strike up the contraband" and the memorable opening to the chorus, "We wore pictures of Strummer."

Al Barr, lead singer of the Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys, named his son Strummer in honor of Joe.

In 2007, in conjunction with the Strummer estate, Fender released the Joe Strummer Tribute Telecaster, combining elements of Joe's main guitars, namely the "road worn" finish of his 1966 Telecaster, which he used until his death. The first 1,500 guitars come with a Shepard Fairey designed "customization kit" with stickers and stencils, which resemble some of the designs Joe used on his guitars.

Marriages and relationships

In the early 1970s, after being offered £100, he married Pamela Moolman, a South African citizen, so she could obtain British citizenship. Strummer bought his signature Telecaster, later painted black, with the money. He had two daughters with Gaby Salter but they did not marry. They were together from 1979 until 1993. In 1995 he married Lucinda Tait. This final marriage lasted until Strummer's death. He was also godfather to singer Lily Allen.

Documentaries

Let's Rock Again! is a one-hour music documentary, directed by Dick Rude, that follows Joe Strummer as he tours across America and Japan with The Mescaleros. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, May of 2004.

The Future Is Unwritten is a documentary about Joe Strummer by Julien Temple. It comprises archive footage of him spanning his life, and interviews with friends, family, and other celebrities. It debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.

A documentary on Strummer's politics Let Fury Have The Hour, produced by Tim Robbins and based on the book of the same name by Antonino D'Ambrosio, is due out in 2008. NYC band Radio 4 are supplying soundtrack music.

Solo discography

For recordings made with the Clash, please see The Clash discography.

With The 101'ers

The 101'ers albums

Solo recordings

Solo albums

With The Latino Rockabilly War

The Latino Rockabilly War albums

With The Mescaleros

The Mescaleros albums

Selected filmography

In other media

The Bedroom Secrets of the Master Chefs, by Irvine Welsh, has a fictional Joe Strummer being implicated in a paternity scandal.
"Johnny Appleseed" is featured as the theme song to the HBO series John From Cincinnati.

Sound samples

Download sample of Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros performing Bob Marley's "Redemption Song"
The video of the Joe Strummer And The Mescaleros version of "Redemption Song" from Streetcore. A tribute to Strummer by his friends. The artwork being created in the video can be seen here in Google Maps Street View.

References

Links

http://www.sonorika.com/joestrummer
http://www.bioandlyrics.com/joestrummer