Joe Strummer

Features

Part 5: On the Other Hand… [1988–1989]

By Chris Salewicz

"Music's got shit, Thatcher became God, ninety percent of the papers are right-wing and brown-nosing." -- Joe Strummer to Carol Clerk in Melody Maker interview. [25 May 2007]

Part 4: Anger Was Cooler [1982-1984]

By Chris Salewicz

"(Joe) seemed this sad, lonely figure, confused with life, Hank Williams playing on his ghetto blaster in the background. I felt sorry for him." -- Mark Cooper, Record Mirror [24 May 2007]

Part 3: Red Hand of Fate [1979]

By Chris Salewicz

Johnny Greene and a roadie... found a rehearsal room... (it) was at the rear of a garage, the kind of premises you might see in American gangster films as heists are planned... Here, hunkered together with no visible means of financial support, the Clash would rigorously write and rehearse the new songs that would emerge as London Calling, which time would judge one of the finest rock 'n' roll albums ever made... [23 May 2007]

Part 2: Under Heavy Manners [1976-1977]

By Chris Salewicz

"... people like Joe Strummer... were like the punk intelligentsia, they were the thinkers... (Joe) knew all the cultural and literary references, all the revolutionary references, and he put it all into context... there's a lot more ideas (sic) in one of Joe's rhyming couplets than there are in some people's entire albums..." -- Don Williams [22 May 2007]

Part 1: Straight to Heaven [2002]

By Chris Salewicz

"...I learned that fame is an illusion and everything about it is just a joke. I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all." -- Joe Strummer [21 May 2007]

“Stay Free”: R.I.P. Joe Strummer

By Jordan Kessler

Filled with life, Joe Strummer and the Clash showed us just how much vitality and hope rock could convey. [27 December 2002]

The Most Effective Weapon

By Matt Cibula

Not all that useful, ultimately, to talk about the importance of Joe Strummer in my life, because that only applies to me and my junior high and high school friends. I've actually done this before, written about how the Clash politicized us, made us care about US foreign intervention and issues of culture and class (funny how close "class" and "clash" always were), introduced us to dub and re-framed rockabilly so it sounded cool instead of corny -- but somehow none of that means much of anything right now.

Less Rotten than reasonable: Joe Strummer and my punk Damascus

By Simon Warner

Although I saw Joe Strummer in action many times, I only met him once and, embarrassingly, confused him with someone else. In early autumn 1976, as term at Sheffield University unfolded, news of the arrival of the most talked about gig of the year filtered through the underground grapevine. The Anarchy in the UK tour, bringing the nascent fury of British punk to the nation, wended its uncertain way through the country, uncertain, because where-ever the entourage set up camp, there was imminent danger of the local council denying the potential hell-raisers a performing licence.

Why The Clash Still Matter

By John L. Micek

As famous as he got, Joe Strummer never forgot what it was like to be on the other side of the stage. He never forgot what it was like to love a band with all your heart and soul. He never forgot about the transcendent power that all the best bands are capable of, and of the tremendous responsibility that comes with that kind of power.

Stay Free: A Tribute to Joe Strummer

By Marshall Bowden

The music of Joe Strummer and the Clash were an integral part of the soundtrack of my high school and college years. Strummer's death represents the disappearance of an important and substantial part of my musical past as well as the loss of one of rock music's truly poetic voices.

Reviews

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten

By Ron Hart

The director of Earth Girls Are Easy finally sees his masterful cinematic character study on the late "punk rock warlord" Joe Strummer released on DVD, with minimal extras. [11 July 2008]

In Memoriam: Joe Strummer

By Jody Beth Rosen

Mere months before he left us to rock that grand casbah in the clouds, Joe Strummer remained a vital rock 'n' roll warrior. [22 March 2007]

Joe Strummer: Walker

By Zeth Lundy

Strummer's soundtrack for Alex Cox's 1987 Western -- his first solo endeavor after the Clash disbanded -- is reissued for the first time since it went out of print. [21 October 2005]

Joe Strummer: Streetcore

By Hank Kalet

Streetcore, is a tragic testament to Strummer’s gifts as a songwriter and musician, a political and spiritual disc, a great rock-and-roll record that questions the state of the world and somehow simultaneously looks both forward and backward.

[21 November 2003]