Joe Strummer

The son of a British diplomat, John Mellor was born in Ankara, Turkey and spent parts of his childhood living in Mexico City and Cairo before being sent to boarding school in England with his brother at the age of nine. A rebellious, outgoing child who fell in love with the 1960s rock & roll of Little Richard and The Rolling Stones, he ended up in Newport, Wales where he hung out with art school friends, worked as a grave digger and played with his first band The Vultures under the name Woody. Returning to London in 1974, he named his next group The 101ers after the door number of the squat that they lived at in Maida Vale and honed a ragged, passionate mix of rockabilly and R&B that became popular on the vibrant rock circuit. They only released one single called 'Keys to My Heart', but were on the brink of greater things when they were supported by a young, anarchic gang of upstarts called Sex Pistols and decided to split. Impressed by their potent, chaotic urgency, Woody became Joe Strummer and headed off with new manager Bernie Rhodes to form The Clash, and by 1977 they were at the forefront as punk rock exploded in a storm of controversy across the UK. His politics, righteous rebellion and burning energy made Strummer one of the scene's most articulate and conscious voices and the image of him with an upturned leather jacket and black Telecaster remains iconic. Classic albums 'The Clash', 'London Calling' and 'Combat Rock' took them from bedsits in Ladbroke Grove to supporting The Who at Shea Stadium, but the band slowly fell apart after Strummer went missing in Spain and feuds, firings and fights led to them officially calling it a day in 1986. Strummer made a low-key return with solo tracks for movie soundtracks including 'Sid and Nancy' and 'Walker' before touring with The Pogues and teaming up with new band The Latino Rockabilly War on album 'Earthquake Weather' in 1989. He described the early 1990s as his "wilderness years" but did enjoy collaborations with Johnny Cash, The Levellers and Michael Hutchence before finding his feet again when he formed The Mescaleros for albums 'Rock Art and the X-Ray Style' in 1999 and 'Global a Go-Go' in 2001. Whether it be the Jamaican music he heard coming from London council estates, classic Americana influences or African and Latin rhythms, Strummer's music remained full of culture melding jams and righteous spirit and he later hosted a radio show for the BBC World Service which showcased his love of folk, reggae, Latin, blues and bhangra. Enjoying a happy, settled, creative resurgence, Strummer even reunited with ex-bandmate Mick Jones at a benefit gig for striking fire fighters and teamed up with Bono to write a song for Nelson Mandela's AIDS charity, but suffered a heart attack brought on by an undiagnosed congenital condition and died in 2002 aged 50. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with The Clash and the final Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros album 'Styreetcore' was released in 2003.

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