Joe strummer RIP

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[Colin Zeal EFM]

Joe Strummer, the leader of legendary Seventies punk band The Clash, has died aged 50.

A spokesman for Strummer, real name John Mellor, confirmed that the singer died at home on Sunday.

 

Friend and Clash video director Don Letts said Strummer had died of a heart attack, but an autopsy is to be performed to confirm the cause of death.

 

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.

 

Pete Jenner, the 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. They were also one of the most important bands to come out of Britain in the Seventies.

 

"My overriding memory of him and The Clash was that it was never boring."

 

Hein van der Ray, the head of Epitaph Records, who released Strummer's two most recent albums with The Mescaleros, said: "It is pretty devastating news."

 

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.

 

The band were politically aware and became known as champions of left-wing causes.

 

They even called their 1982 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.

 

Rolling Stone voted London Calling, their classic 1980 album (released in 1979 in the UK) as the best albums of the 80s.

 

In 1982 they supported The Who at Shea Stadium, the US venue made famous by The Beatles.

 

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.

 

The Clash were due to be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2003, after the Ramones only the second punk band to be honoured.

 

In the last few years Strummer forged another successful career with his band The Mescaleros, touring around the world and releasing two albums - Rock Art And The X Ray Style in 1999, and 2001's Global A Go-Go.

 

He also 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. Strummer's website reads: "Our condolences to Luce and the kids, family and friends."

 

From BBCi

[EFM The Firm, The Voice]

<blockquote><font class="small">Quote Colin Zeal EFM:</font><hr />

 

 

The Clash arguably gave punk a classic pop sensibility and their vital spirit in turn influenced later bands such as the Manic Street Preachers.

 

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That must of been thier pre-richie days, I don't remember the Clash going from a great band into a slow rotting wimpering shadow of their former selves.