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Thomas
* Dog in the Sand *
USA
1615 Posts |
 Posted - 12/23/2002 : 05:55:00
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2600669.stm
Monday, 23 December, 2002, 12:20 GMT
Clash star Strummer dies
Joe Strummer, the leader of legendary Seventies punk band The Clash, has died aged 50.
A spokesman for Strummer, real name John Graham Mellor, said the singer died at home on Sunday.
A post mortem examination is to be performed on Monday to confirm the cause of death, which a friend of the singer said was a heart attack.
Police were called to the singer's home, though they said the death was not suspicious.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "We believe police did attend as the death at the farmhouse in Broomfield near Bridgwater was sudden."
Strummer formed The Clash in the mid Seventies. Along with the Sex Pistols, they were the figureheads of the punk scene that put London on the map as the centre of the musical world.
U2 frontman Bono paid tribute to Strummer on Monday saying: "The Clash was the greatest rock band. They wrote the rule book for U2. It's such a shock."
Pete Jenner, the former manager of The Clash, told BBC News Online: "It's a huge loss.
"The band were one of the best live bands, as good as any band I've ever worked with."
Left-wing singer Billy Bragg added: "Within The Clash, Joe was the political engine of the band, and without Joe there's no political Clash and without The Clash the whole political edge of punk would have been severely dulled."
The Clash arguably gave punk a classic pop sensibility and their vital spirit in turn influenced later bands such as the Manic Street Preachers.
Strummer's death comes as the members of the Clash were believed to be considering a reunion, 17 years after the band split up.
They were reported to be planning a one-off gig next year as part of their induction ceremony at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in the US.
Strummer had long resisted reforming the band, and was said to be annoyed that the defunct group's songs overshadowed his work with new band The Mescaleros, which had more of a world music slant.
The Clash were politically aware and became known as champions of left-wing causes. They even called their 1980 album Sandinista, after the left-wing guerrilla movement in Nicaragua.
They were anti-racist and noted for inflammatory, intelligent punk songs such as London Calling, White Riot, White Man In Hammersmith Palais and Tommy Gun.
The band, who also boasted Mick Jones, Topper Headon and Paul Simonon, became huge stars in the US.
Their 1982 song Should I Stay Or Should I Go was their biggest US hit, and was posthumously used in an ad for jeans manufacturer Levi's.
The Clash had huge record sales, but had signed a deal with their record company that denied them huge profits. They wore this as a badge of pride, claiming it ensured they still kept to their punk ideals.
Strummer led the band until 1986, after sacking Mick Jones. The band released their last album, the poorly-received Cut The Crap, the same year.
In recent years, apart from The Mescaleros, Strummer played with The Pogues and featured in several films, including Alex Cox's Walker and Straight To Hell, and Jim Jarmusch's 1989 Mystery Train.
He leaves a wife and children.
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Ten Percenter
- FB Enquirer -
United Kingdom
1733 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2002 : 06:51:40
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| Poor Joe (and his wife and children). One of the best gigs I ever attended was the Clash/Mickey Dread tour at the time of London Calling. |
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gibbo
- FB Fan -
USA
31 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2002 : 07:10:09
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Love The Clash. I'll have a beer for Joe tonight and put "Straight to Hell" on loop.
-Gibbo
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Broken Face
-= Forum Pistolero =-
USA
5155 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2002 : 08:03:29
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i just posted about this in the general forum too - this is really terrible - blast your clash today
-Brian
as breathing flows my mind secedes... |
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Ten Percenter
- FB Enquirer -
United Kingdom
1733 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2002 : 12:54:35
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| There have been some good tributes paid on our news here. Possibly my fave live moment ever was the Clash cover version of Armagideon Time. The recorded version just does not compare. |
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mattkendall
- FB Fan -
USA
52 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2002 : 15:18:37
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Sad, sad, sad day.
"And when you get blue and you've lost all your dreams, there's nothin' like a campfire and a can full of beans." |
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St. Francis
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
548 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2002 : 17:20:34
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That sucks...
One of the greatest bands in recent memory...forwarded the cause of racial tollerance and also created amazing tunes. He will be missed.
I know it is winter, but, never trust a man who wears a fur coat. |
Edited by - St. Francis on 12/23/2002 18:23:17 |
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floop
= Wannabe Volunteer =
Mexico
15297 Posts |
Posted - 12/23/2002 : 19:46:07
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just saw the Mescalaros earlier this year, and got to hear early Clash tunes!!!
they've always been among my absolute faves.. self-titled is undoubtedly a desert island disc for me.
indeed, blast your Clash today (tonight).. and always..
palabra a tu madre. |
Edited by - floop on 12/24/2002 16:16:00 |
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Ten Percenter
- FB Enquirer -
United Kingdom
1733 Posts |
Posted - 12/24/2002 : 12:33:59
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MOJO on Joe:
Joe Strummer was the beloved, charismatic leader of the British punk charge. Pat Gilbert remembers him.
MOJO is numbed to learn, as this issue hits the presses, that Clash frontman Joe Strummer died on Sunday, December 22, apparently from heart failure. Details are sketchy, but a source close to the singer says he died at his home in Somerset, having returned from a country walk with his dogs. Joe had turned 50 in August.
Back in the musical fray since hooking up with The Mescaleros in 1999, Strummer had been revving up for a busy 2003. He had just recorded a third album with his new band, and had also been in discussions with the other members of The Clash about how to celebrate their induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland on March 10. However, in the light of this sad and tragic news, it looks as if talk of a Clash reunion - which looked like a genuine possibility after Joe's performance with guitarist Mick Jones at a recent Fire Brigade Union benefit - will remain just that.
Born John Mellor in Ankara, Turkey in 1952, Joe was already a name on the London pub-rock scene when the fledgling Clash poached him from the 101'ers in May 1976. Articulate and charismatic, with Humphrey Bogart tough-guy looks and "a voice dredged from the bottom of the Nile", he quickly became a driving force in the group and a natural figurehead of the UK punk movement. On-stage, he was electrifying: spitting out his lyrics and jerking at his beloved Telecaster as if a high voltage current was passing through him; off-stage he was warm, funny and impassioned, always fascinated to meet fans, talk politics, and share around his cigarettes and booze. It was a way of communicating with his public that he kept up to the very end; to Joe, the fans were everything.
As a lyricist, Strummer had made his mark with the memorable west London vignettes of The Clash - all street riots, dole offices and kebab shops - but it was the subtle complexities and intelligence of later songs like White Man In Hammersmith Palais, Groovy Times and Lost In The Supermarket that confirmed his reputation of one of the great English wordsmiths. The Clash's Ivor Novello triumph last year may have come a couple of decades too late. But at least Joe was there to see it happen.
Eighteen months ago, Strummer visited MOJO's local after doing an interview with this writer. Over round after round of Tequila slammers and pints of Stella, he sat there like a contented cowpoke, entertaining the whole staff with stories about "the old days" and leading debates about music, politics, children, everything. He skipped off leaving everyone feeling like a million dollars. A talented, compassionate and great man: his loss to the world is immeasurable.
Joe Strummer 1952 - 2002
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aeclare1
- FB Fan -
17 Posts |
Posted - 12/25/2002 : 12:04:25
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THE ONLY BAND THAT MATTERS!!!
RIP---JOE STRUMMER
revolution rock |
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themaninblack
- FB Fan -
USA
37 Posts |
Posted - 12/25/2002 : 18:51:27
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I will be blue.
The Clash was the first punk band I ever heard, back in high school in 1979. Some guy played a bootleg copy of Clash City Rockers and a few other songs, mixed in with some Sex Pistols. After hearing crap like REO Speedwagon on the radio all my young life, I knew this was exactly the sound that was missing from the world. It changed my life. Damn.
Eat healthy, Frank! We selfish fans want you around for a long, long time!
Are they grey or is it my own nation? |
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bazza
* Dog in the Sand *
Ireland
1439 Posts |
Posted - 12/31/2002 : 07:57:54
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rip joe
fear the mullet. |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2003 : 10:00:12
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Just found this whilst surfing the Red Hot Chili Peppers website, written by Flea;
From:flea
To: black
Sent: dec 30. 2002
Joe Strummer checked out. When we were driving to the Fuji festival in Japan a few months ago we got into this conversation about Joe Strummer. It went like most conversations we have ever had about Joe something like this:
"Joe is the coolest guy with the most integrity"
"Remember that time Joe went out of his way to make someone feel good who was obviously uncomfortable?"
"How about when Joe was accosted by that fan who any other rock star in the world would have run from instantly but Joe gave him a hug and talked to him for 5 minutes because he was grateful that people cared about his music?"
"My favorite record is 'Sandinista', really you think 'London Calling'?"
and so on.
When we got to that festival all the bands were hanging out in the backstage area and it was fun but not Joe.....he was out camping with the people by a river whooping it up.
I didn't know him that well but hung out with him a few times through mutual friends.
Once I was hanging out in the studio when he was recording his record 'Earthquake Weather' and my girlfriend Loesha (now my xwife) was with me and she was just 17 years old and had come down from Canada and was shy and culture shocked. She sat there fidgeting and drew a picture on a piece of paper of a cat. Joe grabbed it and Thumbtacked it up on the wall saying "This is gonna make us play great!"......just to make her feel good.
Last time I saw him was at a rock show in L.A. and he hugged me and kissed me. I went home feeling great. He was a walking bundle of love.
The Clash are my favorite band. They never stopped growing and changing. Their music means so much to me. It makes me feel so good when I hear it. The sound of it. I know it is supposed to be political but that's not what it seems like to me. To me it is purely humanitarian, it is all love. To me Politics means playing games to get what you want. Joe sang about people he didn't think were getting a fair shake, it is obvious that he cared deeply about them.
I love him. If anyone was ever my role model it is him.
The world has lost one of it's best humans.
When he played at the Troubador before he walked off the stage he said "It's a sad and beautiful world! Goodnight!"
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BrendanT
= Cult of Ray =
Canada
907 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2003 : 12:52:13
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Very cool Ramona, thanks for the info. Anytime I can reflect about Joe it brightens my day.
Strummer-man
I had me a vision!
Buttercup! Bubbles! Let's go! |
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ramona
"FB Quote Mistress"
USA
3988 Posts |
Posted - 01/27/2003 : 13:09:37
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| we're missing you in the old HH, Brendan. |
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