Joe Strummer

Strummer was born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey on 21 August 1952, the son of a Scottish mother and English father. His mother, Anna Mackenzie (1915–1986), was the daughter of a crofter and was born and raised in Bonar Bridge; she later became a nurse. His father, Ronald Ralph Mellor MBE (1916–1984), was born in the Indian city of Lucknow due to his own father's job as a railway official in India, and became a clerical officer who later attained the rank of second secretary in the foreign service.[2] Through his father, Strummer had an Armenian great-grandfather and a German-Jewish great-grandmother.[3] At the age of nine, Strummer and his 10-year-old brother David began boarding at the City of London Freemen's School in Surrey, and rarely saw their parents during the next seven years. He later said, "[A]t the age of nine I had to say good-bye to them because they went abroad to Africa or something. I went to boarding school and only saw them once a year after that – the Government paid for me to see my parents once a year. I was left on my own, and went to this school where thick rich people sent their thick rich kids. Another perk of my father's job – it was a job with a lot of perks – all the fees were paid by the Government."[4]

Strummer developed a love of rock music listening to records by Little Richard, the Beach Boys and Woody Guthrie.[5] Strummer would even go by the nickname "Woody" for a few years.[6] He would later refer to the Beach Boys as "the reason [he] played music".[7] By 1970, his brother had become estranged from the family. His suicide in July of that year profoundly affected Strummer, as did having to identify his body after it had lain undiscovered for three days.[8] Strummer said, "[David] was a year older than me. Funnily enough, you know, he was a Nazi. He was a member of the National Front. He was into the occult and he used to have these deaths-heads and cross-bones all over everything. He didn't like to talk to anybody, and I think suicide was the only way out for him. What else could he have done[?]"[4]

After finishing his time at City of London Freemen's School in 1970, Strummer moved on to the Central School of Art and Design in London,[9] where he briefly considered becoming a professional cartoonist and completed a one-year foundation course.[10] During this time, he shared a flat in Palmers Green with friends Clive Timperley and Tymon Dogg. He said, "I bought a ukulele. No kidding. I saved some money, £1.99 I think, and bought it down Shaftesbury Avenue. Then the guy I was busking with taught me to play 'Johnny B. Goode'. [...] I was on my own for the first time with this ukulele and 'Johnny B. Goode'. And that's how I started."[4]

In 1973, Strummer moved to Newport, South Wales. He did not study at Newport College of Art, but met up with college musicians at the students' union in Stow Hill and became the vocalist for Flaming Youth before renaming the band the Vultures.[6] The Vultures included three former members of Rip Off Park Rock & Roll Allstars, the original college band co-founded by Terry Earl Taylor. For the next year, Strummer was the band's part-time singer and rhythm guitarist. During this time, he also worked as a gravedigger in St Woolos Cemetery.[11][12] Whilst in Newport, he wrote and recorded on an old reel-to-reel tape recorder "Crumby Bum Blues", which was later used in Julien Temple's 2007 film Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten. In 1974, the band fell apart and Strummer moved back to London, where he met up again with Dogg. He was a street performer for a while and then decided to form another band with his roommates called the 101ers,[1] named after the address of their squat at 101 Walterton Road in Maida Vale.[6][13] The band played many gigs in London pubs, performing covers of popular American R&B and blues songs. During this period Strummer worked a number of occasional temporary jobs to fund the purchase of musical equipment, including time spent as a gardener in Hyde Park "to get the money for the guitar".[14]

In 1975, he stopped calling himself Woody Mellor and adopted the stage name Joe Strummer, subsequently insisting that his friends call him by that name. The surname "Strummer" apparently referred to his role as rhythm guitarist in a self-deprecating way. Strummer was the lead singer of the 101ers and began to write original songs for the group. One song he wrote was inspired by the Slits' drummer Palmolive, who was his girlfriend at the time. The group liked the song "Keys to Your Heart", which they picked as their first single.[4]

Strummer became a vegetarian in 1971, and remained so until his death in 2002.[17]

In 1975, Strummer accepted £100 (equivalent to £1,100 in 2021[18]) to marry South African citizen Pamela Moolman so she could obtain British citizenship (before the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force) to do so. He used the money to buy his signature Fender Telecaster. In 1978, he started a relationship with Gaby Salter shortly after her 17th birthday.[8] The couple remained together for 14 years and had two daughters, Jazz and Lola, but did not marry as Strummer had been unable to locate and divorce Moolman.[8] During his relationship with Salter, he had multiple affairs.[8] In 1993, he began an affair with Lucinda Tait, which finally ended his relationship with Salter.[8] He was married to Tait from 1995 until his death in 2002.

Strummer described himself as a socialist and explained, "I believe in socialism because it seems more humanitarian, rather than every man for himself and 'I'm alright Jack' and all those arsehole businessmen with all the loot. I made up my mind from viewing society from that angle. That's where I'm from and there's where I've made my decisions from. That's why I believe in socialism."[19][20]

On 22 December 2002, Strummer was found dead by his wife at his home in Broomfield, Somerset aged 50, having just returned from walking his dog. An autopsy showed that he died from a heart attack caused by an undiagnosed congenital heart defect.[8][15][21][22][23] His estate was valued at just under £1 million, and he left all the money to his wife Lucinda. He was cremated, and his ashes were given to his family.[8]

At the time of his death, Strummer was working on another Mescaleros album, which was released posthumously in October 2003 under the title Streetcore. The album features a tribute to Johnny Cash, "Long Shadow", which was written for Cash to sing and recorded in Rick Rubin's garage, as well as a remembrance of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 ("Ramshackle Day Parade"), and a cover of Bob Marley's "Redemption Song", which Strummer had also recorded as a duet with Cash. The Cash/Strummer duet version appears on the 2003 box set Unearthed. Strummer and the Mescaleros were scheduled to open for Pearl Jam on the 2003 Riot Act Tour. In November 2003, a video for "Redemption Song" was released, directed by Josh Cheuse. It features how graffiti artist REVOLT painted a memorial mural on the wall of the Niagara Bar in the East Village of New York City.[24]

Memorial to Strummer on 7th Street at Avenue A, New York City

In 2013 the mural of Joe Strummer outside Niagara bar was destroyed due to construction,[25] and on 19 September 2013, a new mural was unveiled.[26] The unveiling was accompanied by a large celebration, attended by Mick Jones.[27]

Strummer was instrumental in setting up Future Forests (since rechristened the Carbon Neutral Company), dedicated to planting trees in various parts of the world to combat global warming.[28] Strummer was the first artist to make the recording, pressing and distribution of his records carbon neutral through the planting of trees.[28][29][30] In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family have established the Strummerville Foundation for the promotion of new music, which holds an annual festival with the same name.[31] In December 2016, a blue plaque was erected by Seymour Housing Co-operative at 33 Daventry Street near Marylebone station where he used to live when it was a squat and the Slits and Malcolm McLaren all lived nearby.[32][33]

In January 2003, the Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.[15] 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.[34] In the same month at the rock club Debaser in Stockholm some of Sweden's better known rock musicians paid their tribute to Strummer by performing songs written by the Clash (the exception was Nicke Borg and Dregen from Backyard Babies, who performed "I Fought the Law", which the Clash had covered). At the end of the concert, the Swedish punk band Ebba Grön reunited for the tribute, aided by Mick Jones on guitar.[35]

Joe Strummer nameplates on Cotswold Rail locomotive 47828 in June 2009

On 22 December 2003, 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.[36]

The Belfast punk rock group Stiff Little Fingers recorded a tribute song "Strummerville" on their 2003 album, Guitar and Drum. In 2004 Al Barr, lead singer of the Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys, named his son Strummer in honour of Joe.[37] German band Beatsteaks paid tribute to Strummer on their 2004 album Smack Smash with the song "Hello Joe". In 2004, German punk band Die Toten Hosen released an EP called "Friss oder stirb", which included a tribute song for Strummer called "Goodbye Garageland"; it is a lyrical co-production with Matt Dangerfield from London's 77 punk band the Boys. Attila the Stockbroker's Barnstormer released "Comandante Joe" on their 2004 album Zero Tolerance.

In February 2005 Cotswold Rail locomotive 47828 was named Joe Strummer by his widow Lucinda Tait at Bristol Temple Meads railway station.[38][39] On 22 July 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.[40] "That Was Clash Radio", a 2005 short story which Charles de Lint, wrote in response to Strummer's death featuring Strummer in a minor role.[41]

New Orleans-based rockers Cowboy Mouth released a song called "Joe Strummer" on their 2006 album Voodoo Shoppe. The Red Hot Chili Peppers also recorded a tribute song called "Joe" as part of the recording sessions for their album Stadium Arcadium, releasing the outtake as a B-side to their single Desecration Smile in 2007. A play by Paul Hodson called Meeting Joe Strummer premiered at the 2006 Edinburgh Festival, and toured the UK the following year.[42]

In conjunction with the Strummer estate, Fender released the Joe Strummer Tribute Telecaster in 2007, combining elements of Joe's main guitars, namely an attempt at the "road worn" finish of his 1966 Telecaster, which he used until his death. The neck profile was an exact duplicate of Joe's '66 Telecaster, while the guitar's finish was an approximation of the wear. The first 1,500 guitars came with a Shepard Fairey designed "Customisation kit" with stickers and stencils, which resembled some of the designs Strummer used on his guitars.[43]

Boston punk rock band Street Dogs recorded a tribute song called "The General's Boombox" on their 2007 album State of Grace. New Jersey's the Gaslight Anthem recorded the song "I'da Called You Woody, Joe" on their 2008 album Sink or Swim. The Hold Steady reference Strummer's impact in the song "Constructive Summer" on their 2008 album Stay Positive, singing "Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer. I think he might have been our only decent teacher." In November 2009, Tonara, a town in Sardinia, Italy, dedicated a street to Joe Strummer.[44]

On 22 December 2010, CJAM 99.1 FM, a radio station in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, declared the anniversary of Strummer's death "Joe Strummer Day to confront poverty in Windsor-Detroit."[45] For 24-hours, the station played nothing but Strummer-related music, wrapping the sounds around reports about poverty in the Windsor-Detroit region.[46] CJAM (which is located near the banks of the Detroit River, a kilometre from downtown Detroit) has since decided to make it an annual event and hosted its 10th annual Joe Strummer Day on 22 December 2019.[47]

In January 2011 a motion was started to grant Strummer his own street in the Spanish city of Granada.[48]

On 21 August 2012, which would have been Strummer's 60th birthday, Hellcat Records released an exclusive 57-song digital download album titled Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros, The Hellcat Years. The album features Strummer's three Hellcat albums along with various b-sides and live songs, including Strummer's 15 November 2002 concert with Mick Jones. In September 2012, Hellcat announced the re-release of remastered versions of Strummer's three Hellcat records on both CD and vinyl.[49] Hellcat released Strummer's 15 November 2002 concert, Live at Acton Town Hall on 23 November 2012.

In January 2013 Joe Strummer had a plaza named in his honour, Placeta Joe Strummer, in the Spanish city of Granada, about 650m south of the Alhambra.[50] [51] In June 2013 a mural of Strummer was unveiled on the corner of Portobello Road and Blenheim Crescent and attended by a number of Strummer's former friends including Mick Jones and Ray Gange.[52] In an October 2013 interview, Mick Jones confirmed that Strummer had intentions of reforming the Clash and new music was even being written. In the months prior to Strummer's death, he and Jones got together to write new music. Jones said at the time he assumed the new songs would be used on albums with the Mescaleros. A few months following their work together, Jones ran into Strummer at an event and asked him what he intended to do with those songs. Strummer informed Jones that they were going to be used for the next Clash record.[53]

In 2016, actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers portrayed Strummer in the film London Town which tells the story of a Clash-obsessed teenager who crosses paths with Joe Strummer by happenstance in 1979 and finds his life changing as a result.[54] The film was met with mostly negative reviews.

It was discovered following Strummer's death that he was an archivist of his own work, having barns full of writings and tapes. Over 20,000 items were stored in the Joe Strummer archive and on 28 September 2018, a 32-song compilation album titled Joe Strummer 001 was released. The album, which was overseen by Strummer's widow, Lucinda, and producer Robert Gordon McHarg III, features 32 songs, 12 of which had never been released. The set spans Strummer's career from the 101ers to the Mescaleros and features some unheard demos from the Clash following the departure of Mick Jones, along with an unreleased song recorded by Jones and Strummer in 1986. The set also features two of Strummer's final recordings.[55]

In September 2018, Warner/Chappell Music signed a publishing contract with the Strummer estate. The deal includes Strummer's solo career, Cut the Crap by the Clash, the soundtracks to three films, and his compositions with the 101ers and the Mescaleros.[56]

Strummer in 2001 with his guitar

Strummer's main guitar throughout his career was a 1966 Fender Telecaster that he acquired in its original sunburst finish during the middle of 1975, when he was playing with the 101ers. After joining the Clash, the guitar's body and pickguard were refinished in grey auto primer and then painted black. Over the years, the guitar would see numerous sticker configurations, with the most prominent and longest-lasting one stating "Ignore Alien Orders". Years of heavy wear and taped on set lists remain on the guitar to this day, and the only known modifications to it included the installation of an individual, six-saddle bridge, and Fender "f-style" tuning machines.

The Fender Custom Shop created a Joe Strummer tribute Telecaster in 2007 with a reliced flat black finish and an exact replica of the neck profile of his '66 Telecaster.[43]

Strummer was naturally left-handed, but was taught to play guitar right-handed by his friend Tymon Dogg. Strummer had reckoned his left-handedness on a right-hand guitar as a drawback and claimed it caused him to be underdeveloped as a guitarist, although his style of playing was unique.[57]

He also used three Fender Esquire models, one from 1952, a white blonde with slab fretboard from the mid-1950s[58] and another from early to mid-1960s with a white pick guard and rosewood fingerboard.[59] The Esquire is a one-pickup version of the Telecaster. Prior to using any Telecaster oriented guitar, before buying his 1966 model, he used as main guitars a Gretsch White Falcon and a 1964 Hofner Verithin.[60] For amplification Strummer was known to use amplifiers such as a Roland Jazz Chorus, a Selmer Bassman while he was in the 101ers, a Vox AC30 and various Marshall amplifiers,[61] but his main amplifier was a Music Man HD 212,150.[62] Strummer commented on his choice of amplifier with "I don't have time to search for those old Fender tube amps. The Music Man is the closest thing to that sound I've found" and that the "plastic motif on the front is repulsive."[63]

Let's Rock Again! is a 2004 one-hour music documentary, directed by Dick Rude, which follows Strummer touring in America and Japan with the Mescaleros and premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, May 2004.

Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer is a 2006 biography of Strummer by Chris Salewicz.[8]

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten is a 2007 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.[64][65][66]

Tribute Concert: Cast a Long Shadow is a recording of the October 2007 tribute and benefit concert held in honour of Joe Strummer in Los Angeles. It features Love & Rockets, Zander Schloss, Hellride and many other artists, released in DVD format in December 2010.[67]

Let Fury Have the Hour is a 2012 documentary directed by Antonino D'Ambrosio, in which the figure of Strummer "looms large in the background".[68] The movie debuted at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival.[69]

Quiero tener una ferretería en Andalucía is a 2014 documentary about Joe Strummer's relationship with Andalucia.

I Need a Dodge! Joe Strummer on the Run is a 2015 documentary by Nick Hall.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Joe Strummer.

• Official website
• Joe Strummer at AllMusic
• Joe Strummer discography at Discogs
• Joe Strummer at IMDb 
• The Joe Strummer Foundation website