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Joe Strummer , of his true name John Graham Mellor , was a Musicien English leader of the group of music The Clash, one of the groups emblématiques of the current Punk. He was also singer (by chronological order) of The Vultures , The 101ers , The Mescaleros and The Pogues .

Biography

Joe Strummer is born the August 21st 1952 with Ankara in Turkey where his/her father, employee of the British Ministry of the Foreign affairs is in station. In 1976, Strummer discovers the pioneer group of the Punk the Sex Pistols in concert. It gives up at once the group of Pub rock'n'roll, The 101 ' ers , with which it played to form the Clash with Mick Jones, a rocker prole , like with Paul Simonon, both originating in Brixton, a district of the south of London.

He was the singer and political leader of the group until in 1985. He continued then various musical projects, in particular by replacing Shane MacGowan as singer of the group The Pogues then with the group The Mescaleros until his death.

He marked a whole generation by his radical political standpoint: the support for the Sandinistas, many social struggles (concerts antifascists, support for the refugees, etc). He dies of the continuations of a congenital cardiac malformation not detected, the December 22nd 2002. A resumption of the Clash is recorded in October 2006 in its honor and that of its association " Strummerville" , with inter alia Pete Doherty, Carl Barat or The Rakes.

The period The Clash: 1976-1985

See also: The Clash

The April 3rd 1976, Joe Strummer is impressed by a group then unknown, named the Sex Pistols, which makes the first part of The 101 ' ers with the The Nashville Rooms of London. Days after the spectacle, Strummer is approached by Bernie Rhodos and Mick Jones. Jones forms then part of the group London S and wants that Strummer joins them to be the singer about it. At the time when Strummer accepts, the group separates. It then decides to form new with Jones, the bass player Paul Simonon, the beater Terry Chimes and the guitarist Keith Levene. Simonon finds a name to them: it will be The Clash.

They make their beginnings the July 4th 1976 in opening of the Sex Pistols with the White Swan , also called The Mucky Duck . The January 25th 1977, the group signs with CBS Records and is made up only of 3 members since Levene was transfered and that Chimes left the group. Topper Headon becomes a little later the appointed beater of the group.

The Clash dissociates first English groups of Punk by the political commitment and musical eclecticism. Their songs speak about social forfeiture, unemployment, racism, police brutality, political and social repression, of militarism and sometimes, of sex. Strummer takes part in the campaigns carried out by the league anti-nazi ( Anti-Nazi League ) and by the collective Rock Against Racism . Later, it gives also its support for the series in concerts Rock Against the Rich organized by association Anarchiste Class War .

At the time of the Clash, Strummer, just like the other members of the group, is made known for its many troubles with justice. The June 10th 1977, Topper and are stopped to him to have tagué “The Clash” on a wall in a hotel. With the beginning of the year 1980, it also has legal contentions, after having violently struck a spectator with his guitar during a concert with Hamburg, in Germany. Before the exit of the album Combat Rock'n'roll in 1982, one thinks that Joe Strummer disappeared but, seems it, actually it acts of an advertizing blow assembled by the manager of the group, Bernie Rhodos.

At this same time, the members of the group start to dispute enormously, and the tension going up, the group starts to disintegrate. In September 1983, Strummer creates Clash Communicates and transfers Mick Jones. Topper Headon having him also already put outside by the group because of its dependence at heroin, only two members of the beginnings remain within the group. Joe Strummer decides to continue and engages of new musicians. The Clash leave the album Cut The Crap in 1985, but this one is very badly accommodated by the fans and the critics. Joe Strummer then decides to dissolve the group.

The album London Calling of the Clash, left in 1979 with the the United Kingdom and 1980 with the the United States, has had for summer elected “better album of the years 1980” by the American magazine Rolling Stone . Moreover, the influence of the Clash and their type-setter Joe Strummer is found clearly in groups such as U2, The Levellers, No Doubt, Billy Idol and Generation X, Manic Street Preachers, Rancid, Green Day, Rage Against The Machine, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Strokes, The Libertines, Radio 4, Red Hot Chili Peppers (especially John Frusciante and Flea). Even Public Enemy, which revolutionized the Hip-hop, quotes the Clash like their principal influence. The Clash are also partly responsible for the explosion of the groups garage in years 1980 and 90.

The crossing of the desert: 1985-1999

The following year, Joe Strummer works on some songs ( Love Kills , Dum Dum Club ) for the film Sid and Nancy . He will also work with Mick Jones and its group Big Audio Dynamites, participant in their second album by Co-writing the majority of the songs.

In 1987, it is with the poster of the film Walker , carried out by Alex Cox, where it plays the character of “Faucet”. It benefits from it to write the Original soundtrack. The same year, he plays “Simms”, a character of another film of Cox, Straight To Hell . In 1989, Joe Strummer plays a small role in the film Mystery Train of Jim Jarmusch, where it is “Evis”, a man having weak for drink. In 1990 finally, it makes a short appearance as a guitarist in a pub , in the film I engaged a killer put in scene by Aki Kaurismäki, where it sings two titles Burning Lights and Afro-cuban Be-bop . Those leave into individual promotional to limited pulling, in the name of Joe Strummer & The Astro Physicians.

During this period, Joe Strummer continues to play the comedy, to write and produce original soundtracks for various films, in particular that of Hired killers .

In 1989, Joe Strummer begins the production of recordings solo with a group named The Latino Rockabilly War. Nevertheless, the album Earthquake Weather is a failure critical and commercial, which pushes Sony Records to be put an end to its contract. It is also with this group that it carries out the b-o film Permanent Record . In 1991, it replaces Shane MacGowan as singer of the Pogues for a round, after the departure of the famous Irish singer. It benefits from it to produce the album Pogues Hell' S Ditch .

The April 16th 1994, Strummer joined on scene the group américano-Czech Dirty Pictures for Rock for Refugees in Prague, a caritative concert for exiled war in Yugoslavia. Accompanied by Pictures, Strummer plays a furious set of songs of the Clash which he will acknowledge not to have taken again in addition to ten years. Although the set seemed impromptu, Joe Strummer and the group had actually spent the previous days to repeat and “défouler” on these titles in Prague.

After these years that it calls itself of “crossing of the desert”, Strummer starts to work with other groups. He plays of the piano on the tube of the Levellers Just The One (1995) and appears on England' S Irie , the title of 1996 of Black Grape.

Also during this time, Strummer has a conflict with Sony Records, the label of the Clash. The disagreement which has lasted for 8 years finishes by the agreement of the label to let Strummer record its clean album S solo with another label. On the other hand, if the Clash had suddenly met again, they should record with Sony.

The period The Mescaleros: 1999-2002

See also: The Mescaleros

Finally, in second half of the years 1990, Joe Strummer gathers musicians in a group which it names The Mescaleros. They sign then at Mercury Records and carry out their first album in 1999, Co-writing by Antony Genn and Strummer, named Rock Art and the X-Ray Style . A round in England and in the United States follows soon, of which concerts including several resumptions of the favorite tubes of the Clash. In 2001, they sign with the label Californian Punk Hellcat Records and lay new a opus that they entitle Global has Go-Go . The album is followed of a round of 21 dates through North America, the United Kingdom and Ireland. Once more, these concerts as well as contain titles of the Clash ( London Calling , Rudie Can' T Fail , (White Man) In Hammersmith Palais ) of the resumptions of standards Reggae and Ska ( The Harder They Like , has Message To You, Rudy ). Moreover, the group regularly finishes its spectacles by a homage to late the Joey Ramone by playing Blitzkrieg Bop of the Ramones.

The November 15th 2002, Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros play in a concert of support for the firemen in strike with London, in Acton Town Hall. At the general surprise, Mick Jones, present also this day, joined there the group on scene during Bankrobber , traditional of the Clash. With Jones with the guitar and the song, the group gives that for White Riot and London' S Burning . For the first time since 1983, is nearly twenty years, Strummer and Jones finds himself together on scene. Jones will affirm later that this was completely improvised and that it felt obliged to join Strummer on scene.

The last service of Joe Strummer takes place the November 22nd 2002 in Liverpool Academy.

Little before its death, Joe Strummer and Bono of U2 Co-write the song 46664 for Nelson Mandela and its countryside against the AIDS in Africa. Strummer had even envisaged to play at the time of the concert of collection of funds organized by Mandela in February 2003 with Robben Island.

Joe Strummer dies the December 22nd 2002 in his house of Broomfield to Somerset, victim of a congenital Cardiopathie ever diagnosed. Its untimely death at the 50 years age shocked and saddened a generation of fans for which it was a emblematic personality.

At the time of its death, Strummer is working on another album, which will leave finally in a posthumous way in October 2003 under the title Streetcore . For criticisms, the songs Coma Girl and Arms Aloft largely support the comparison with the best titles of the Clash, whereas the resumption of Bobby Charles Before I Grow Too Old (fame in Silver and Gold ) closes the whole in a poignant way. This album contains also a homage to the icon of the American music Johnny Cash ( Long Shadow ), which was initially written for Cash and recorded in the garage of Rick Rubin. One finds there also a song in memory of the attacks of the September 11th, 2001, Ramshackle Day Parade , and a resumption of traditional of Bob Marley, Redemption Song .

Posthumous homages

At the time of the ceremony of the Grammy Awards of February 2003, London Calling was sung on scene by Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Steven van Zandt, Dave Grohl, Pete Thomas and Tony Kanal in homage to Joe Strummer. In March 2003, The Clash entered to the Rock-and-roll Hall off Famed.

In addition to its music, Strummer largely contributed to Future Forests (renamed The Carbon Neutral Company ), an association dedicated to the road repair of trees in various parts of the sphere with an aim of fighting the Climate warming. Many of other artists such as the Foo Fighters, Coldplay and Pink Floyd followed the movement and the fans can today visit the Web site of association to buy trees to be planted in the forest of their preferred artist. That of Joe Strummer was baptized “Rebels Wood”, an especially reserved piece with Orbost, on the island of Skye.

In its memory, the friends and the family of Strummer created the foundation Strummerville for the promotion of the new musics.

Stiff Little Fingers, the group of Punk Rock'n'roll originating in Belfast, also recorded a song homage Strummerville on their album Guitar and Drum .

The February 12th 2005, the Locomotive Classe 47 n°47828 was called “Joe Strummer”. The personal plate was inaugurated by its widow Lucinda TAIT during a ceremony at the station of Bristol Temple Meads.

The July 22nd 2005, TAIT inaugurated a plate on the house of Pentonville (Newport) where Strummer lived of 1973 with 1974 and where the song Crummy Bum Blues , its very first incursion into the world of the music, was recorded.

Throughout its career, its fans could notice devotion that it gave them. The legend says until Strummer left forever until each person who waited around had an autograph and could speak personally with him, a procedure which lasted sometimes of the hours. With the Mescaleros, it continued to play of the titles of the clash to give pleasure with its fans.

Documentary realized by Dick Hard and entitled Let' S Again Rock'n'roll! left in 2006. This film, finished after the death of Joe Strummer, is a chronicle of the life of the group at the time the round with the the United States with The Mescaleros for the album Global has Go-Go . In 2007, documentary the Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten of Julien Temple recalls the course of Joe Strummer.

Discography

With The Clash

See also: Amorce=Voir, Discography of The Clash

Solo

  • Walker (1987), Virgin
  • Earthquake Weather (1989), Epic

With Los Mescaleros

External bonds

  • Official site of Joe Strummer and Los Mescaleros
  • a site on Joe Strummer
  • Site of the foundation Strummerville
    • Video
  • of the realization of the fresco illustrating this article (with Jim Jarmusch, Matt Dillon, Steve Buscemi, Rancid)
  • Song " Johnny Appleseed" live @ Letterman October 3rd, 2001

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