Highlights - Musicians
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Combat
Rocker!
As
one of the key members of the seminal British punk rock band
the Clash, Joe Strummer, along with bandmate and fellow songwriter
Mick Jones, helped influence a generation of musicians with
his mix of crashing guitars and political rhetoric.
Born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey on August 21, 1952,
Strummer grew up in a middle-class family, the son of a British
diplomat. Fascinated by music and the guitar, he was accepted
into the Center School of Art as a young man, but was unhappy
with the experience. During the early 1970s, Strummer spent
time busking in the London Underground before forming the
pub-rock band the 101'ers. |
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| In
1976, while achieving a small measure of success with the group,
Strummer attended a Sex Pistols concert and decided that the pub-rock
scene was dead. He immediately left the 101'ers and soon met Mick
Jones who led a band called the London SS. Strummer joined the band
and they re-christened themselves the Clash. |
The Clash soon became hugely successful in England, blending
punk with tones of reggae, dub and rockabilly and maintaining
a straight-faced leftist political ideology. Albums like The
Clash (1977), Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978), and London Calling
(1979) became instant punk classics and their influence even
extended into mainstream rock. With the release of Sandinista!
in 1980, the Clash finally became a hit in America, and continued
with 1982's Combat Rock, which contained the mainstream hit
"Rock the Casbah." |
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1983, Jones left the Clash. Strummer continued on, releasing Cut
the Crap in 1985, but the album was a failure and the Clash officially
disbanded the following year. Since then, Strummer has worked on
a variety of projects including acting (Straight to Hell, Mystery
Train), movie scoring (Permanent Record, Grosse Pointe Blank) and
a solo record (1989's Earthquake Weather). In addition, he briefly
joined the Pogues in 1990 as a rhythm guitarist and vocalist. Most
recently, Strummer recorded a song with Electric Dog House for the
punk compilation Generations I: A Punk Look at Human Rights (1997).
He has also appeared on the animated television show "South Park"
in 1998 and recorded vocals for a song on the show's forthcoming
soundtrack, Chef's Aid. |
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The
following year Strummer debuted his new group, dubbed The
Mescaleros, on his first solo album in 10 years, Rock Art
and the X-Ray Style. In 2001, he released his latest album,
Global A Go-Go, perhaps his most eclectic effort to date. |
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Joe
Strummer and The Clash
Worlds Greatest Rock band !! Arguable. Formed after seeing the
Pistols with Joe Strummer ( ex 101ers) and Mick Jones ( London
SS) on Guitars, Paul Simenon bass and Topper Headon ( originally
Terry Chimes) on Drums. Another early member included Keith Levine
who resurfaced with Jonny Rotten in Public Image. Like the Sex
Pistols their manager, Bernie Rhodes, was influential and like
the Pistols the Clash's integrated look and sound were integral
to their powerful appeal.
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strong with either their paint spattered togs a la Jackson
Pollock or their sloganned clothes they matched it with live
performances.Unlike the Pistols they were a cohesive unit
with a mixture of experienced musicians - Strummer and Headon
with enthusiastic amateurs Jones and Simenon ( used to have
the notes painted on his bass frets for reference !!). Superb
live noone was allowed to stand still !!The Clash were always
a force to be reckoned with and produced the goods all through
their career .From singing Career Opprtunities in Camden 1976
to singing it in the Shea Stadium USA 83 the Clash were the
greatest punk band ever mixing rockabilly, ska,reggae and
punk for our enjoyment before internal dissension and drugs
split the band. |
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Joe
Strummer And The Mescaleros
Ten years without an album and then, like waiting for the proverbial
bloody bus, along come two within 18 months. “I know” says Joe
Strummer. “It wasn’t a deliberate decision to take an eleven year
breather, but in the long run it’s turned out well. Sometimes
you save the best for last!”
That’s some claim, considering Strummer’s back pages. From the
101’ers to The Clash to Global A Go-Go, it’s a long way down Rock
‘n’ Roll.
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After
The Clash split in the mid ‘80s, Strummer did a couple of
film soundtracks, as well as acted in a few movies, played
on Bob Dylan’s Down In The Groove and made the solo album
Earthquake Weather. Yet there’s little point in regurgitating
Joe Strummer’s entire history. All you really need to know
is that not only is he back, but he’s looking forward with
renewed optimism and vigor. |
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| Two
years ago he re-emerged with a new band, The Mescaleros-a superbly
crazed collection of London based musicians--and the album Rock
Art and The X-Ray Style. Fired up by being on the road again, enthused
by being part of a band once more and inspired by the multi-cultural
society in which we now live, Global A Go-Go follows hard and hot
on its heels and it’s probably the most diverse and eclectic album
he’s ever made. |
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fans will be relieved to know that Strummer’s lyrics still
burn with the political radicalism, which once fired The Clash.
Yet the new lyrics are also full of subversive wit and humor.
"I’ve tried to avoid preaching, but I’m definitely out to
nudge people," he says. "The message of the album is that
we’re all going to have to learn to live together and develop
a greater tolerance and get rid off whatever our fathers gave
us in the way of hatred between nations." |
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Marcio Faveri
Art - Paulo Vinicius and Rodrigo Duarte
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