Lucinda tait biography sample

British musician (–)

"Strummer" redirects here. For the musical technique, notice strum.

Musical artist

John Graham Mellor (21 August – 22 December ), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British musician.

He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist, and lead vocalist of punk rock band the Conflict, formed in The Clash's second studio album, Give 'Em Enough Rope (), reached No. 2 on the UK charts. Soon after, they achieved success in the US, starting with London Calling () and peaking with Combat Rock (), which reached No.

7 on the US charts and was certified 2× platinum there. The Clash's explosive political lyrics, musical experimentation, and rebellious attitude greatly influenced rock music in general, especially alternative rock.^[1] Their music incorporated punk with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, and rockabilly.

Strummer's other career highlights included stints with the ers, the Latino Rockabilly War, the Mescaleros, and the Pogues, as well as solo music. His work as a musician allowed him to scout other interests such as acting, scoring television shows and films, and hosting the BBC Radio show London Calling.

Strummer and the Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family established the Joe Strummer Foundation (initially known as Strummerville), a non-profit organisation that gives opportunities to musicians and supports projects around the world that create empowerment through music.

Early life

Strummer was born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey, on 21 August , the son of a Scottish mother and English father. His mother, Anna Mackenzie (–), 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 (–), was born in Lucknow, India, where his father worked as a railway official 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 great-grandmother.

At the age of nine, Strummer and his year-old brother David began boarding at the City of London Freemen's Educational facility 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 academy 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 stout rich people sent their dense 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."

Strummer developed a admire of rock music by listening to records by Little Richard, the Beach Boys, and Woody Guthrie.^[5] Strummer would even move 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 , 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. Strummer said, "[David] was a year older than me. Funnily enough, you understand, 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[?]"

After finishing his time at the City of London Freemen's School in , 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 day, 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, £ I think, and bought it down Shaftesbury Route. Then the guy I was busking with taught me to play 'Johnny B. Goode'. [] I was on my control for the first time with this ukulele and 'Johnny B.

Goode'. And that's how I started."

In , Strummer moved to Newport, South Wales. He did not study at Newport College of Art, but he 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 unique 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] While 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 film Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten.

In , 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 establish another band with his roommates called the ers,^[1] named after the address of their squat at Walterton Road in Maida Vale.^[6] The band played many gigs in London pubs, acting covers of popular American R&B and rock and roll songs.

During this period, Strummer worked several 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 , 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 advantage singer of the ers and began to write original songs for the group. One lyric 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.

Career

The Clash (–)

Main article: The Clash

On 3 April , the then-unknown Sex Pistols opened for the ers at a venue called the Nashville Room in London, and Strummer was impressed by them.^[1] Sometime after the show, Strummer was approached by Bernie Rhodes and Mick Jones.

Jones was from the band London SS and wanted Strummer to join as steer singer. Strummer agreed to exit the ers and join Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, drummer Terry Chimes and guitarist Keith Levene. The band was named the Clash by Simonon and made their debut on 4 July in Sheffield, opening for the Sex Pistols at the Inky Swan (also known as the Mucky Duck, now known as the Boardwalk).

On 25 January , the band signed with CBS Records as a three-piece after Levene was fired from the band and Chimes quit. Topper Headon later became the band's full-time drummer.

During his time with the Clash, Strummer, along with his bandmates, became notorious for getting into trouble with the law.

On 10 June , he and Headon were arrested for spray-painting the band's name on a wall in a hotel. On 20 May , he was arrested for hitting a violent member of the audience with his guitar during a performance in Hamburg, Germany.

This incident shocked Strummer, and had a permanent personal impact on him. Strummer said, "It was a watershed—violence had really controlled me for once". He determined never again to fight violence with violence.

Before the album Combat Rock was released in , Strummer went into hiding and the band's management said that he had "disappeared".

Bernie Rhodes, the band's manager, pressured Strummer to perform so because tickets were selling slowly for the Scottish leg of an upcoming tour. It was planned for Strummer to travel, in secret, to Texas and stay with his comrade, musician Joe Ely. Uneasy with his decision, Strummer instead decided to genuinely disappear and "dicked around" in France.

During this time, Strummer ran the Paris Marathon in April He claimed his training regimen consisted of 10 pints of beer the night before the race. For this period of time, Strummer's whereabouts were a mystery not only to the public, but to the band's management as well.

Strummer said later that this was a huge mistake and that you "have to have some regrets". This was in spite of the famous success of the single "Rock the Casbah". During this day, band members began to quarrel frequently, and with tensions tall, the group began to tumble apart.

In September , Strummer issued the infamous "Clash Communique", and fired Mick Jones.

Topper Headon had earlier been kicked out of the band because of his heroin addiction, and Terry Chimes was brought back temporarily to fill his place until the permanent replacement, Pete Howard, could be found. This left the band with only two of its original members, Strummer and Simonon.

Rhodes persuaded Strummer to carry on, adding two new guitarists. Under this lineup, they released the album Cut the Crap in The album was panned by fans and critics alike and Strummer disbanded the Clash.

Lucinda Tait, widow of Joe Strummer, reflects on the punk icon and a near Clash reunion on the 20th anniversary of his passing.

At the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Clash was said to be "considered one of the most overtly political, explosive and exciting bands in rock and roll history".^[15]

Their songs tackled social decay, unemployment, racism, police brutality, political and social repression, and militarism in detail.

Strummer was involved with the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism campaigns. He later also gave his support to the Rock Against the Rich series of concerts organised by the anarchist organisation Class War. The Clash's London Calling album was voted best album of the s by Rolling Stone magazine (although it was released in late in the UK, it was not released until in the US).^[16]

Solo career and soundtrack work (–)

A year later, Strummer worked on several songs for the film Sid and Nancy, including "Love Kills" and "Dum Dum Club".

Strummer also later worked with Mick Jones and his band Big Audio Dynamite, contributing to the band's second studio album, No. 10, Upping St. (), by co-writing most of the songs as successfully as producing the album along with Jones.

In , he played a small part in the film Walker, directed by Alex Cox, as a personality named "Faucet" and wrote and performed on the film's soundtrack.

He starred in another Cox film that same year called Straight to Hell, as the character Simms. Straight to Hell also featured London-Irish folk/punk band the Pogues, both as actors and contributors to the soundtrack. Strummer joined the Pogues for a tour in /88, filling in for ailing guitarist Philip Chevron, who wrote (in May ) on the band's online forum: "When I was sick in late , I taught Joe all the guitar parts in an afternoon and he was on tour in the US as deputy guitarist the next day.

Joe wrote all the tabs in his meticulously neat hand on a prolonged piece of paper which he taped to the top of the guitar so he could glance down occasionally when he was onstage." This tour would be the first of several collaborations with the band.

In , Strummer appeared in Jim Jarmusch's film Mystery Train as a drunken, short-tempered drifter named Johnny (whom most characters point to to as Elvis, much to Johnny's dismay). He made a cameo appearance in Aki Kaurismäki's film I Hired a Tighten Killer as a guitarist in a pub, performing two songs ("Burning Lights" and "Afro-Cuban Bebop").

These were released as a promotional 7-inch single limited to a few hundred copies, credited to "Joe Strummer & the Astro Physicians". The "Astro Physicians" were in fact the Pogues ("Afro-Cuban Bebop" got a re-release on the Pogues' box set).

During this time Strummer continued to act, write and yield soundtracks for various films, most notably the soundtrack for Grosse Pointe Blank ().

In Strummer produced a solo record with the band the Latino Rockabilly War. The album Earthquake Weather was a critical and commercial flop, and resulted in the loss of his contract with Sony Records.

He also did the soundtrack to the show Permanent Record with this band.

Strummer was asked by the Pogues, who were fracturing as a band, to help them produce their next album, released in as Hell's Ditch. In , he replaced Shane MacGowan as singer of the Pogues for a tour after MacGowan's departure from the band.

One night of this tour was professionally recorded, and three tracks ("I Fought the Law", "London Calling", and "Turkish Song of the Damned") have seen let go as b-sides and again on the Pogues' box set.

On 16 April , Strummer connected Czech-American band Dirty Pictures on stage in Prague at the Repre Club in Obecni Dum at "Rock for Refugees", a benefit concert for people left displaced by the war in Bosnia.

Although the set appeared impromptu, Strummer and the band had spent the days primary up to the event rehearsing and "hanging out" in Prague. The show began with "London Calling" and without pause went into "Brand New Cadillac".

In the middle of the tune, the power went out. Once the power was back on, Strummer asked the audience whether or not they would consciousness if the band started over. They then began again with "London Calling" and continued on for another half-hour.

After these self-described "wilderness years", Strummer began working with other bands; he played piano on the UK hit of the Levellers, "Just the One" and appeared on the Black Grape single "England's Irie" in In , while in New York City, he worked with noted producer and engineer Lee "Scratch" Perry on remixed Clash and ers reissue dub material.

In collaboration with percussionist Pablo Cook, Strummer wrote and performed the soundtrack to Tunnel of Love (Robert Wallace ) that was featured in the Cannes Film Festival in the same year.

In , Strummer played the character of "Brand New Cadillac" songwriter Vince Taylor in F.

J. Ossang&#;[fr]'s road movie Doctor Chance&#;&#;[fr].

In , he made a guest appearance on the animated television show, South Park and appeared on the album Chef Aid: The South Park Album featuring songs from and inspired by the series.

During this hour, Strummer was engaged in a legal dispute with the Clash's record label, Epic Records. The disagreement lasted nearly eight years and ended with the label agreeing to let him register solo records with another label. If the Clash were to reunite though, they would contain to record for Sony.

During the nineties, Strummer was a DJ on the BBC Society Service with his half-hour programme London Calling. Samples from the series provide the vocals for "Midnight Jam" on Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros' final album Streetcore.

The Mescaleros and other work (–)

In the mid-to-late s, Strummer gathered top-flight musicians into a backing band he called the Mescaleros. Strummer and the band signed with Mercury Records, and released their first album in , which was co-written with Antony Genn, called Rock Art and the X-Ray Style.

A tour of England, Europe, and North America soon followed.

This is my Indian summer I learnt 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 to Chris Salewicz – ^[6]

In , the band signed with Californian punk label Hellcat Records and released their second studio album, Global a Go-Go.

The album was supported with a date tour of North America, Britain, and Ireland. Once again, these concerts featured Clash material ("London's Burning", "Rudie Can't Fail", "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais"), as good as covers of reggae and ska hits ("The Harder They Come", "A Message to You, Rudy") and the band regularly closed the show by playing the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop".

He covered Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" with Johnny Cash.

On 15 November , Strummer and the Mescaleros played a benefit entertainment for striking fire fighters in London, at Acton Town Hall. Mick Jones was in the audience, and joined the band on stage during the Clash's "Bankrobber".

An encore followed with Jones playing guitar and singing on "White Riot" and "London's Burning". This performance marked the first time since that Strummer and Jones had performed together on stage.^[15]

Strummer's final regular gig was at Liverpool Academy on 22 November , yet his final performance, just two weeks before his death, was in a small club venue 'The Palace' in Bridgwater, Somerset, close his home.

Shortly before his death, Strummer and U2's Bono co-wrote a song, "", for Nelson Mandela as part of a campaign against AIDS in Africa.

Personal life

Strummer became a vegetarian in , and remained so until his death in ^[17]

In , Strummer accepted £ (equivalent to £1, in ) to marry South African citizen Pamela Moolman so she could obtain British citizenship (before the British Nationality Act came into force) by doing so.

He used the money to buy his signature Fender Telecaster. In , he started a relationship with Gaby Salter shortly after her 17th birthday. The couple remained together for 14 years and had two daughters, Jazz and Lola, but did not wed as Strummer had been unable to locate and divorce Moolman.

During his relationship with Salter, he had multiple affairs. In , he began an affair with Lucinda Tait, which finally ended his relationship with Salter. He was married to Tait from until his death in

Strummer described himself as a socialist and explained, "I accept 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."^[18][19]

Death

On 22 December , aged 50, Strummer was found dead by his wife at his house in Broomfield, Somerset.

An autopsy showed that he died from a heart attack caused by an undiagnosed congenital heart defect.^{[15][20][21][22]} His estate was valued at just under £1&#;million, and he left all the money to Tait, his wife.

Strummer was cremated, and his ashes were given to his family.

Legacy

At the time of his death, Strummer was working on another Mescaleros album, which was released posthumously in October 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 ("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 box setUnearthed. Strummer and the Mescaleros were scheduled to open for Pearl Jam on the Riot Act Tour.

In November , a video for "Redemption Song" was released, featuring graffiti creator REVOLT painting a memorial mural of Strummer on the wall of the Niagara Bar in the East Village of Modern York City.^[23] In , the mural was destroyed due to construction;^[24] a new mural was unveiled that September,^[25] accompanied by a large celebration with Mick Jones in attendance.^[26]

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.^[27] Strummer was the first painter to make the recording, pressing and distribution of his records carbon neutral through the planting of trees.^[27][28][29] In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family hold established the Strummerville Foundation for the promotion of new melody, which holds an annual festival with the same name.^[30] In December , a blue plaque was erected by Seymour Housing Co-operative at 33 Daventry Lane near Marylebone station where he used to live when it was a squat and the Slits and Malcolm McLaren all lived nearby.^[31][32]

In January , the Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[15] At the Grammy Awards in February , "London Calling" was performed by Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Dave Grohl, Pete Thomas, and Tony Kanal in tribute to Strummer.^[33] 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 Clatter had covered).

At the finish of the concert, the Swedish punk band Ebba Grön reunited for the tribute, aided by Mick Jones on guitar.^[34]

On 22 December , 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; Covert Army; Ted Leo; Vic Thrill & the Saturn Missile.^[35]

The Belfast punk rock group Stiff Brief Fingers recorded a tribute ballad "Strummerville" on their album, Guitar and Drum.

In Al Barr, lead singer of the Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys, named his son Strummer in honour of Strummer.^[36] German band Beatsteaks paid tribute to Strummer on their album Smack Smash with the song "Hello Joe". In , German punk band Depart 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 album Zero Tolerance.

In February Cotswold Rail locomotive was named Joe Strummer by his widow Lucinda Tait at Bristol Temple Meads railway station.^[37][38] On 22 July Tait unveiled a plaque on the house in Pentonville, Newport where Strummer lived from to and where his first foray into recorded music, "Crummy Bum Blues" was recorded.^[39] "That Was Conflict Radio", a short story which Charles de Lint, wrote in response to Strummer's death featuring Strummer in a minor role.^[40]

New Orleans–based rockers Cowboy Mouth released a song called "Joe Strummer" on their album Voodoo Shoppe.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers also recorded a tribute tune 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 A play by Paul Hodson called Meeting Joe Strummer premiered at the Edinburgh Festival, and toured the UK the accompanying year.^[41]

In conjunction with the Strummer estate, Fender released the Joe Strummer Tribute Telecaster in , combining elements of Strummer's main guitars, namely an attempt at the "road worn" finish of his Telecaster, which he used until his death.

The neck profile was an exact duplicate of Strummer's '66 Telecaster, while the guitar's finish was an approximation of the wear. The first 1, guitars came with a Shepard Fairey designed "Customisation kit" with stickers and stencils, which resembled some of the designs Strummer used on his guitars.^[42]

Boston punk rock band Road Dogs recorded a tribute lyric called "The General's Boombox" on their album State of Grace.

New Jersey's the Gaslight Anthem recorded the song "I'da Called You Woody, Joe" on their album Sink or Swim. The Hold Steady reference Strummer's impact in the song "Constructive Summer" on their album Stay Positive, singing "Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer.

I reflect he might have been our only decent teacher." In November , Tonara, a town in Sardinia, Italy, dedicated a road to Joe Strummer.^[43]

On 22 December , CJAM FM, a radio station in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, declared the anniversary of Strummer's death "Joe Strummer Day to confront poverty in Windsor-Detroit."^[44] For hours, the station played nothing but Strummer-related music, wrapping the sounds around reports about poverty in the Windsor-Detroit region.^[45] CJAM (which is located near the banks of the Detroit River, a kilometre from downtown Detroit) has since decided to craft it an annual event and hosted its 10th annual Joe Strummer Day on 22 December ^[46]

In January a motion was started to grant Strummer his own street in the Spanish city of Granada.^[47]

On 21 August , which would have been Strummer's 60th birthday, Hellcat Records released an exclusive song digital download album titled Joe Strummer & 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 concert with Mick Jones. In September , Hellcat announced the re-release of remastered versions of Strummer's three Hellcat records on both CD and vinyl.^[48] Hellcat released Strummer's 15 November concert, Live at Acton Town Hall on 23 November

In , marking 25 years of Childline (the free counselling service for children and young people in the UK), BT commissioned artists to design and decorate full-sized K6 red telephone box replicas, with Strummer featuring in an artwork titled "London Calling".^[49]

In January Joe Strummer had a plaza named in his honour, Placeta Joe Strummer, in the Spanish town of Granada, about m south of the Alhambra.^[50][51] In June 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 interview, Mick Jones confirmed that Strummer had intentions of reforming the Clatter 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 accompanying 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 Crash record.^[53]

In , 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 and finds his life altering as a result.^[54] The motion picture was met with mostly negative reviews.

It was discovered obeying Strummer's death that he was an archivist of his control work, having barns full of writings and tapes. Over 20, items were stored in the Joe Strummer archive and on 28 September , a ballad compilation album titled Joe Strummer 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 put spans Strummer's career from the ers 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 The set also features two of Strummer's final recordings.^[55]

In September , 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 ers and the Mescaleros.^[56]

In , Rolling Stone ranked Strummer at number on its list of the Greatest Singers of All Time.^[57]

Musical equipment

Strummer's main guitar throughout his career was a Fender Telecaster.

Strummer bought the guitar in its imaginative sunburst finish in , with the £ he was paid to marry Afrikaaner Pamela Moolman, thereby allowing Moolman to last in Britain.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]}

The Fender Custom Shop created a Joe Strummer tribute Telecaster in with a reliced flat inky finish and an exact replica of the neck profile of his '66 Telecaster.^[42]

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.^[58]

He also used three Fender Esquire models, one from , a white blonde with slab fretboard from the mids^[59] and another from initial to mids with a alabaster pick guard and rosewood fingerboard.^[60] The Esquire is a one-pickup version of the Telecaster.

Prior to using any Telecaster oriented guitar, before buying his model, he used as main guitars a Gretsch White Falcon and a Hofner Verithin.^[61] For amplification Strummer was known to exploit amplifiers such as a Roland Jazz Chorus, a Selmer Bassman while he was in the ers, a Vox AC30 and various Marshall amplifiers,^[62] but his main amplifier was a Melody Man HD ,^[63] Strummer commented on his choice of amplifier with "I don't have day to search for those ancient Fender tube amps.

The Melody Man is the closest thing to that sound I've found" and that the "plastic motif on the front is repulsive."^[64]

Discography

The Clash

Further information: The Clash discography

The ers

Solo

Year	Album	Additional information
	Sid and Nancy	Soundtrack for the film Sid and Nancy, featuring 2 songs by Strummer. "Love Kills" and "Dum Dum Club"
	Walker (soundtrack)	Soundtrack for the film Walker, scored by Strummer.
	Straight to Hell (soundtrack)	Soundtrack for the production Straight to Hell, featuring 2 songs by Strummer.
	When Pigs Fly (soundtrack)	Unreleased soundtrack for the film When Pigs Fly, scored by Strummer.
	Chef Aid: The South Park Album	Features "It's A Rockin' World", performed by Strummer, Flea, Nick Hexum, Tom Morello, DJ Bonebrake, and Benmont Tench.
	Michael Hutchence (guest appearance)	Backing vocals on the first track on Michael Hutchence's solo album, "Let Me Show You"
	Free the West Memphis 3	Features a cover of "The Harder They Come", performed by Strummer and Long Beach Dub Allstars
	Jools Holland's Big Band Rhythm & Blues (guest appearance)	Features "Return of the Blues Cowboy" performed by Strummer and the Jools Holland Big Band
	Unearthed (guest appearance)	A duet of "Redemption Song" with Johnny Cash.
	Black Magic (guest appearance)	Strummer performed the song "Over the Border" with Jimmy Cliff. The Clash was first and foremost a punk band. And that goes for the group's attitude, lyrical subject matter, and often gritty sound. As the band's longest-lasting lead singer, main songwriter, and guitarist, Joe Strummer wielded a lot of manipulate on the Clash's music, often angry, political tirades calling out corruption, inequality, and injustice in the band's native U. Strummer carried on those themes in his solo work and his later band, the Mescaleros.
	Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten	Soundtrack to the documentary of the same name
	Joe Strummer	32 song collection featuring remastered, unreleased and alternate versions of songs from Strummer's career
	Assembly	track compilation features three previously unreleased versions of classic Clash tracks, "Junco Partner (Acoustic)", "Rudie Can't Fail" & "I Fought The Law" (Both tracks are recorded live at Brixton Academy, London, 24 November )

The Latino Rockabilly War

The Mescaleros

Year	Album	Additional information
	Rock Art and the X-Ray Style	Strummer's first album with the Mescaleros.
	Global a Go-Go	Reached number 23 on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart in the US.
	Black Hawk Down	Soundtrack for the film features a much shorter version of "Minstrel Boy". The longer version appeared on Global a Go-Go
	Streetcore	Strummer's last album, released posthumously.
	Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten	Soundtrack of the documentary of the same name
	Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros: The Hellcat Years	Digital download only 57 tune set featuring three Hellcat albums, various b-sides and Strummer's 15 November concert
	Live at Acton Town Hall	Record Store Evening exclusive 2-LP vinyl album limited to copies featuring Strummer's 15 November concert. Re-released on vinyl & CD in
	Joe Strummer	32 song collection featuring remastered, unreleased and alternate versions of songs from Strummer's career
	Assembly	track compilation features three previously unreleased versions of classic Clash tracks, "Junco Partner (Acoustic)", "Rudie Can't Fail" & "I Fought The Law" (Both tracks are recorded live at Brixton Academy, London, 24 November )
	Joe Strummer The Mescaleros Years	Box set featuring remastered editions of all three of the band's studio albums along with 15 rare and unreleased tracks

Music videos

Selected filmography

Let's Rock Again! is a 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

Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer is a biography of Strummer by Chris Salewicz.

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten is a 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 Sundance Film Festival.^[65][66][67]

Tribute Concert: Cast a Long Shadow is a recording of the October 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 ^[68]

Let Fury Have the Hour is a documentary directed by Antonino D'Ambrosio, in which the figure of Strummer "looms large in the background".^[69] The movie debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival.^[70]

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

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

References