As a first generation punk rock fan who bought the first Clash album the year of its release (1977), I was really sad to hear about this. His recent work with the Mescaleros was also excellent. It's funny though, how every article I've read in praise of Joe Strummer and the Clash, also puts down the Sex Pistols, who were his initial inspiration to join the Clash.
Anyway, Merry Christmas. --- ian <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/news/story/0,11711,865018,00.html > > Punk's rebel with a cause dies at 50 > > Fiachra Gibbons, arts correspondent > Tuesday December 24, 2002 > The Guardian > > Joe Strummer > "Every cheap hood strikes a bargain with the world > And ends up making payments on a sofa or a girl > Love 'n' hate tattooed across the knuckles of his > hands > The hands that slap his kids around 'cause they > don't understand > How death or glory becomes just another story" > - From Death Or Glory by Joe Strummer and The Clash > > Joe Strummer, the political conscience of punk, and > one half of its > greatest songwriting partnership, is no more. He is > said to have died > peacefully in a chair in his kitchen after suffering > what appears to > have been heart attack while walking his dogs near > his remote farmhouse > in Broomfield, Somerset, on Sunday afternoon. His > wife Lucinda and > stepdaughter Elize were with him. > > His passing at the age of 50 leaves Shane MacGowan > as the last man > standing of the songwriting tyros who turned the > music industry upside > down in the late 1970s. > > Tributes poured in yesterday for the rebel with a > cause who wrote such > rousing and intelligent songs as Death Or Glory, > Should I Stay Or > Should I Go?, White Riot and Spanish Bombs. London > Calling, The Clash's > third and greatest album, was the US magazine > Rolling Stone's album of > the 1980s and was regularly voted one of the best of > all time. > > But a poor early record deal, and The Clash's > commitment to leftwing > causes, meant that neither Strummer nor the rest of > the band fully > reaped the rewards of their success. > > Bono, who was about to work with Strummer on a > tribute to Nelson > Mandela in South Africa, and who never made a secret > of how he modelled > his own band on The Clash, said: "It's such a shock. > The Clash was the > greatest rock band. They wrote the rule book for > U2." > > Unlike the Sex Pistols, with whom they were often > compared, Strummer > and The Clash were not the result of clever media > manipulation but the > authentic voice of protest and rebellion. His > leftwing credentials, > forged in the Elgin Avenue squatters' occupation in > west London in the > mid-70s, were heartfelt and real and never left him. > The music he > created with songwriting partner Mick Jones - the > "Sound of the > Westway", as he dubbed it - was equally > revolutionary, mixing dub, > rockabilly and ska into a multicultural roar of > anger against poverty > and racial discrimination. > > Notting Hill was then the home to ethnic tension, > incendiary > street-protest politics and reggae legend Bob > Marley, a powerful social > and political brew from which Strummer and The Clash > drank deeply. The > Clash followed up London Calling with Sandinista!, > which attacked > American attempts to undermine the Nicaraguan > revolution and berated > Mrs Thatcher the year after she walked into Downing > Street. > > Not that Strummer, born John Mellor in Ankara, > Turkey, the son of a > senior diplomat, was your textbook working-class > punk hero. While > Brixton boy Jones fitted the bill more, Strummer was > in many ways an > early prototype of a radical Notting Hill > trustafarian. He first > changed his name to Woody Mellor, in honour of Woody > Guthrie, the > American folk legend, before evolving into Joe > Strummer after forming a > pub band called the 101ers - named after their squat > at 101 Walterton > Road, Maida Vale - who ending up playing support to > the Sex Pistols. > > Protest singer Billy Bragg said last night that > Strummer fired his > youthful political imagination after seeing The > Clash at the first Rock > Against Racism concert in Victoria Park in London's > East End. > > "I have a great admiration for the man. Joe was the > political engine of > the band, and without Joe there's no political Clash > and without The > Clash the whole political edge of punk would have > been severely dulled. > > "His most recent records are as political and edgy > as anything he did > with The Clash. His take on multicultural Britain in > the 21st century > is far ahead of anybody else," he added. > > Unlike the Sex Pistols, The Clash never reformed > after splitting up in > 1986, three years after the band imploded when > Strummer sacked Jones - > a decision he later bitterly regretted. Until then > they were the Lennon > and McCartney of punk, sharing top billing and > duties as lead singer. > "I stabbed him in the back," Strummer later > admitted. > > Bob Geldof, another squatter-turned-rock star, said > yesterday that he > admired their refusal to sell out. "I know for a > fact they were offered > huge amounts of money [to reform]," he told the BBC. > "They just said > 'No, that isn't really what we stood for'. That's > truly admirable. They > were very important musically but as a person, he > was a very nice man." > > Despite Strummer's resistance to reforming, The > Clash were believed to > be considering a one-off reunion next year at their > induction ceremony > into the the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in > Cleveland, Ohio. They will > be only the second punk band, after the Ramones, > credited with founding > the movement in New York, to be honoured there. > > Strummer always resisted revisiting past glories and > insisted that he > would rather get on with his work with his new band > The Mescaleros, > where he continued to experiment with world music. > "I never look back. > There's no point," he said. > > He also carved a colourful niche for himself outside > his own bands, > fronting The Pogues for a time after MacGowan left, > as well as making > several memorable acting cameos in Martin Scorsese's > film The King Of > Comedy, Alex Cox's Walker and Straight To Hell, and > Jim Jarmusch's 1989 > Mystery Train, where he played an Elvis-quiffed > armed robber. > > ----------- > FoIB mailing list -- Bits, Analysis, Digital Group > Therapy > http://www.ianbell.com/foib.html ----------- FoIB mailing list -- Bits, Analysis, Digital Group Therapy http://www.ianbell.com/foib.html
