System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Joe Strummer, The Clash
, 1952 - December 22, 2002
Front man for the legendary punk act The Clash and solo artist Joe Strummer died Sunday December 22, 2002 at the age of 50 years of an apparent heart attack.
His band “The Clash” was one of Britain's greatest punk acts and arguably one of the best bands to come out of the late 70’s & 80’s. Joined by guitarist Mick Jones, bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Topper Headon, they put out five albums that took punk from its tinny, speed-fueled beginnings with The Clash (1977, Epic) through a visionary and far-reaching path that included everything from the roots of hip-hop and gospel to reggae and straightforward rock. The act's third effort, the double album London Calling (1979, Epic), grafted punk ideals onto a host of rock influences and is considered by many critics to be the most important album of its era.
He was the son of a diplomat and was born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey. The public school-educated Strummer has been credited with giving punk a political edge. Intelligent and passionate, the electrifying singer-songwriter helped transform the stale musical scene at the end of the 1970s. With their mix of crashing guitars, melodic riffs and political rhetoric, the Clash influenced many who came after them. After The Clash disbanded in 1984 -- although Strummer and Simonon gave it one last ill-advised attempt to continue with 1985's Cut the Crap (Epic) -- Strummer played as a solo artist, fronting the Latino Rockabilly War, and as a stand-in member for The Pogues, singing and playing guitar while singer Shane MacGowan suffered a bout with alcoholism. Outside of music, he appeared in a couple movies, Mystery Train and Straight to Hell during the '80s, while keeping a low profile during most of the '90s. He returned to the music world in 1999, this time fronting Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. The act, which took Strummer's keen punk sense and fused it to world-beat influences. The band had two releases, 1999's Rock Art and the X-Ray and 2001's Global A Go-Go
In keeping with a man who wore his politics on his sleeve his family asked that instead of floral tributes, money should be paid to the Mandela SOS fundraising concert, which is aimed at raising awareness of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. He had been due to take part in the February show from Mandela’s former prison on Robben Island. He is survived by his wife Lucy, two daughters and a stepdaughter.
