162-633: John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), 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 Clash , formed in 1976. The Clash's second studio album, Give 'Em Enough Rope (1978), reached No. 2 on the UK charts. Soon after, they achieved success in the US, starting with London Calling (1979) and peaking with Combat Rock (1982), which reached No. 7 on
324-458: A do it yourself (DIY) spirit are prized in punk rock. UK pub rock from 1972 to 1975 contributed to the emergence of punk rock by developing a network of small venues, such as pubs, where non-mainstream bands could play. Pub rock also introduced the idea of independent record labels , such as Stiff Records , which put out basic, low-cost records. Pub rock bands organized their own small venue tours and put out small pressings of their records. In
486-517: A non-profit organisation that gives opportunities to musicians and supports projects around the world that create empowerment through music. Strummer was born John Graham Mellor in Ankara , Turkey , on 21 August 1952, the son of a Scottish mother and English father. His mother, Anna Mackenzie (1915–1986), was the daughter of a crofter and was born and raised in Bonar Bridge ; she later became
648-403: A socialist and explained, "I believe 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." On 22 December 2002, aged 50, Strummer
810-564: A station was built in Aldermans Hill to serve Palmers Green (half a mile away from the nearest houses). The area remained largely undeveloped for thirty more years, as local landowners refused to sell their large estates for building. In 1902, however, large tracts of land were sold for building and the area began to develop rapidly. The first large-scale developments were on the Old Park estate between Fox Lane and Aldermans Hill, and
972-651: A "dirty bastard", a "dirty fucker", and a "fucking rotter", triggering a media controversy. The episode had a major impact on the history of the scene and the punk term became a household name in 24 hours thanks to the press coverage, and several front covers of newspapers. Two days later, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, the Damned, and the Heartbreakers set out on the Anarchy Tour, a series of gigs throughout
1134-473: A "national scandal". Jamie Reid 's "anarchy flag" poster and his other design work for the Sex Pistols helped establish a distinctive punk visual aesthetic . On December 1, 1976, an incident took place that sealed punk rock's notorious reputation, when the Sex Pistols and several members of the Bromley Contingent , including Siouxsie Sioux and Steven Severin , filled a vacancy for Queen on
1296-610: A "punk mass" for the next couple of years. In the March 1971 issue of Creem, critic Greg Shaw wrote about the Shadows of Knight 's "hard-edge punk sound". In an April 1971 issue of Rolling Stone , he referred to a track by the Guess Who as "good, not too imaginative, punk rock and roll". The same month John Medelsohn described Alice Cooper 's album Love It to Death as "nicely wrought mainstream punk raunch". Dave Marsh used
1458-409: A "style of adornment calculated to disturb and outrage". Among the other facets of the punk rock scene, a punk's hair is an important way of showing their freedom of expression. The typical male punk haircut was originally short and choppy; the mohawk later emerged as a characteristic style. Along with the mohawk, long spikes have been associated with the punk rock genre. Between the late 16th and
1620-546: A 1974 interview for his fanzine Heavy Metal Digest , Danny Sugerman told Iggy Pop "You went on record as saying you never were a punk" and Iggy replied "...well I ain't. I never was a punk." By 1975, punk was being used to describe acts as diverse as the Patti Smith Group , the Bay City Rollers , and Bruce Springsteen . As the scene at New York's CBGB club attracted notice, a name was sought for
1782-545: A band who can lay claim to influencing the movement, "the seeds of punk remain blatant in the howling ultimatum Erickson transferred from his previous teen combo to the Elevators" as well as describing other bands in the Houston , Texas psychedelic rock scene as "a prime example of the opaque proto-punk undertow at the heart of the best psychedelia ". Hippie proto-punk David Peel of New York City 's Lower East Side
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#17327987771021944-744: A burnt-out shell despite numerous redevelopment proposals and an appearance on the BBC Two programme Restoration . The Conservatory in the park has recently reopened after a refurbishment. After more than 20 years of discussion, the North Circular A406 was widened to two lanes each way at Bounds Green , with various junction improvements. Some major congestion still exists on the A406. Continuous segregated cycle lanes, junction improvements and rearranged on-street parking on and around Green Lanes have been created by Enfield Council following
2106-606: A campaign against AIDS in Africa. Strummer became a vegetarian in 1971, and remained so until his death in 2002. In 1975, Strummer accepted £120 (equivalent to £1,270 in 2023) to marry South African citizen Pamela Moolman so she could obtain British citizenship (before the British Nationality Act 1981 came into force) by doing so. He used the money to buy his signature Fender Telecaster . In 1978, he started
2268-532: A characteristic sound described by Christgau as a "buzzsaw drone". Some punk rock bands take a surf rock approach with a lighter, twangier guitar tone. Others, such as Robert Quine , lead guitarist of the Voidoids , have employed a wild, " gonzo " attack, a style that stretches back through the Velvet Underground to the 1950s recordings of Ike Turner . Bass guitar lines are often uncomplicated;
2430-618: A distinct musical style. Even where they diverged most clearly, in lyrical approach – the Ramones' apparent guilelessness at one extreme, Hell's conscious craft at the other – there was an abrasive attitude in common. Their shared attributes of minimalism and speed, however, had not yet come to define punk rock. After a brief period unofficially managing the New York Dolls, Briton Malcolm McLaren returned to London in May 1975, inspired by
2592-470: A drunken, short-tempered drifter named Johnny (whom most characters refer to as Elvis, much to Johnny's dismay). He made a cameo appearance in Aki Kaurismäki 's 1990 film I Hired a Contract 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 &
2754-556: A few isolated houses in the mid-17th century. Local records mention a Palmers Field in 1204 and a Palmers Grove in 1340. Palmers Green is mentioned as a highway in 1324 (in Westminster Abbey Muniments ). By 1801 the area had grown to a village of 54 buildings, including two inns (according to the Middlesex Record Office). In 1871 the railway line from Wood Green to Enfield was opened and
2916-619: A former member of New York's experimental rock group the Velvet Underground , who inspired many of those involved in the creation of punk rock. The New York Dolls updated 1950s' rock 'n' roll in a fashion that later became known as glam punk . The New York duo Suicide played spare, experimental music with a confrontational stage act inspired by that of the Stooges. In Boston, the Modern Lovers , led by Jonathan Richman , gained attention for their minimalistic style. In 1974, as well,
3078-796: A mime production) David Bowie . It is no longer a repertory theatre and the building is no longer used exclusively for theatrical performances, but it is still often referred to as the Intimate Theatre. In 1992 the building housed a Radio Cracker studio. In 1988 Palmers Green's only hospital, Greentrees Hospital , was closed and demolished. There is a parade of shops known as Palmers Green Shopping Centre along Green Lanes , with many restaurants, clothing shops, independently owned cafes, beauty salons, and branches of Superdrug , Wetherspoons (The Alfred Herring ), Boots and Morrisons . Broomfield House , in Broomfield Park , remains
3240-421: A minor role. New Orleans–based rockers Cowboy Mouth released a song called "Joe Strummer" on their 2006 album Voodoo Shoppe . The Red Hot Chili Peppers also recorded a tribute song 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 2007. A play by Paul Hodson called Meeting Joe Strummer premiered at
3402-525: A movement and cultural fad confined to western world in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The early punk bands emulated the minimal musical arrangements of 1960s garage rock . Typical punk rock instrumentation is stripped down to one or two guitars, bass, drums and vocals. Songs tend to be shorter than those of other rock genres and played at fast tempos. Most early punk rock songs retained a traditional rock 'n' roll verse-chorus form and 4/4 time signature . However, later bands often broke from this format. Punk music
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#17327987771023564-529: A musical and a cultural "Year Zero". As nostalgia was discarded, many in the scene adopted a nihilistic attitude summed up by the Sex Pistols ' slogan "No Future"; in the later words of one observer, amid the unemployment and social unrest in 1977, "punk's nihilistic swagger was the most thrilling thing in England." While "self-imposed alienation " was common among "drunk punks" and "gutter punks", there
3726-480: A nurse. His father, Ronald Ralph Mellor MBE (1916–1984), 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 . Through his father, Strummer had an Armenian great-grandfather and a German-Jewish great-grandmother. At the age of nine, Strummer and his 10-year-old brother David began boarding at
3888-556: A palm branch as a token of having visited the Holy Land") has already been demolished for housing. The Fox public house, which has been in its present guise since 1904, was once the site of the Electric Mouse comedy venue. The Intimate Theatre was opened in a building that had been built in 1931 as St Monica's Church Hall. Among the actors who performed there were Richard Attenborough , Vivien Leigh , Roger Moore and (in
4050-528: A party thrown by his friend Charles "Charlie Farley" Hallinan near The Fox, Palmers Green . Jona Lewie slightly amended the words, but still mentioned the "do in Palmers Green". A train service runs at Palmers Green railway station , operated by Great Northern , with southbound trains running to Moorgate . Northbound trains run to Hertford North regularly and on to Stevenage once an hour. Some trains also terminate at Gordon Hill . During May 2019,
4212-517: A plaza named in his honour, Placeta Joe Strummer, in the Spanish city of Granada, about 650m south of the Alhambra. In June 2013 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 . In an October 2013 interview, Mick Jones confirmed that Strummer had intentions of reforming
4374-470: 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 marry as Strummer had been unable to locate and divorce Moolman. During his relationship with Salter, he had multiple affairs. In 1993, he began an affair with Lucinda Tait, which finally ended his relationship with Salter. He was married to Tait from 1995 until his death in 2002. Strummer described himself as
4536-529: A requisite item for punk fans. The BBC banned "Oh Bondage Up Yours!" due to its controversial lyrics. In October, the Sex Pistols hit number eight with " Holidays in the Sun ", followed by the release of their first and only "official" album, Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols . Inspiring yet another round of controversy, it topped the British charts. In December, one of the first books about punk rock
4698-401: A single, "Little Johnny Jewel". In the words of John Walker, the record was "a turning point for the whole New York scene" if not quite for the punk rock sound itself – Hell's departure had left the band "significantly reduced in fringe aggression". Early in 1976, Hell left the Heartbreakers to form the Voidoids , described as "one of the most harshly uncompromising [punk] bands". That April,
4860-498: A successful bid for "Mini Holland" funding from Transport for London . The lanes extend as far south as the A406. The aim is to encourage more commuter, school journeys and leisure cycling than was possible under the previous road layout, which combined four lane sections subject to speeding and other dangers to cyclists. Less than one year into their full opening, automated cycle counts at September 2018 already suggest 10-12k trips by bike per month within Palmers Green. Public access to
5022-587: A town in Sardinia , Italy, dedicated a street to Joe Strummer. On 22 December 2010, CJAM 99.1 FM, a radio station in Windsor, Ontario , Canada, declared the anniversary of Strummer's death "Joe Strummer Day to confront poverty in Windsor-Detroit." For 24-hours, the station played nothing but Strummer-related music, wrapping the sounds around reports about poverty in the Windsor-Detroit region. CJAM (which
Joe Strummer - Misplaced Pages Continue
5184-516: A tribute song called "The General's Boombox" on their 2007 album State of Grace . New Jersey's the Gaslight Anthem recorded the song "I'da Called You Woody, Joe" on their 2008 album Sink or Swim . The Hold Steady reference Strummer's impact in the song "Constructive Summer" on their 2008 album Stay Positive , singing "Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer. I think he might have been our only decent teacher." In November 2009, Tonara ,
5346-405: A two-month-long weekend residency at CBGB that significantly raised the club's profile. The Television sets included Richard Hell's "Blank Generation", which became the scene's emblematic anthem. Soon after, Hell left Television and founded a band featuring a more stripped-down sound, the Heartbreakers , with former New York Dolls Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan . In August, Television recorded
5508-527: A vehement, straight-ahead punk rock style with a committed anarchist mission, and played a major role in the emerging anarcho-punk movement. Sham 69, London's Menace, and the Angelic Upstarts from South Shields in the Northeast combined a similarly stripped-down sound with populist lyrics, a style that became known as street punk . These expressly working-class bands contrasted with others in
5670-399: Is applied to those who adopt its stylistic attributes but do not actually share or understand its underlying values and philosophy. Scholar Daniel S. Traber argues that "attaining authenticity in the punk identity can be difficult"; as the punk scene matured, he observes, eventually "everyone got called a poseur". Cultural scholars and music journalists have often attributed ‘true’ punk rock as
5832-524: Is located near the banks of the Detroit River, a kilometre from downtown Detroit) has since decided to make it an annual event and hosted its 10th annual Joe Strummer Day on 22 December 2019. In January 2011 a motion was started to grant Strummer his own street in the Spanish city of Granada . On 21 August 2012, which would have been Strummer's 60th birthday, Hellcat Records released an exclusive 57-song digital download album titled Joe Strummer and
5994-481: Is much less the rule. Hardcore drumming tends to be especially fast. Production tends to be minimalistic, with tracks sometimes laid down on home tape recorders or four-track portastudios. Punk rock lyrics are typically blunt and confrontational; compared to the lyrics of other popular music genres, they often focus on social and political issues. Trend-setting songs such as the Clash's " Career Opportunities " and Chelsea 's "Right to Work" deal with unemployment and
6156-607: 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. In 2001, 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 21-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 well as covers of reggae and ska hits (" The Harder They Come ", "A Message to You, Rudy") and
6318-482: Is often nicknamed "Little Cyprus" or "Palmers Greek". Recorded as Palmers grene 1608, 'village green associated with a family called Palmer' (mentioned in local records from the 14th century), from the Middle English grene . Palmers Green was once a tiny hamlet in the parish of Edmonton , situated at the junction of Green Lanes and Fox Lane. Its population was very small, and there were no more than
6480-563: Is totally original – more like an Olympic strong man imploding all his energy into a final record-breaking lift than anything seen on a rock'n'roll stage before. Off-stage, he's the Clash member with the lowest profile. — Caroline Coon In conjunction with the Strummer estate, Fender released the Joe Strummer Tribute Telecaster in 2007, combining elements of Strummer's main guitars, namely an attempt at
6642-598: The Los Angeles Times , reviewing the debut album by a hard rock band, Aerosmith , declared that it "achieves all that punk-rock bands strive for but most miss." A March 1973 review of an Iggy and the Stooges show in the Detroit Free Press dismissively referred to Pop as "the apotheosis of Detroit punk music". In May 1973, Billy Altman launched the short-lived punk magazine in Buffalo, NY which
Joe Strummer - Misplaced Pages Continue
6804-528: The CBGB club, also in Lower Manhattan . At its core was Television , described by critic John Walker as "the ultimate garage band with pretensions". Their influences ranged from The Velvet Underground to the staccato guitar work of Dr. Feelgood 's Wilko Johnson . The band's bassist/singer, Richard Hell , created a look with cropped, ragged hair, ripped T-shirts, and black leather jackets credited as
6966-634: The Central School of Art and Design in London, where he briefly considered becoming a professional cartoonist and completed a one-year foundation course. During this time, 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, £1.99 I think, and bought it down Shaftesbury Avenue . Then the guy I was busking with taught me to play ' Johnny B. Goode '. [...] I
7128-645: The City of London Freemen's School 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 school 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 thick rich people sent their thick rich kids. Another perk of my father's job – it
7290-538: The Krautrock tradition of groups such as Can . In Japan, the anti-establishment Zunō Keisatsu (Brain Police) mixed garage-psych and folk . The combo regularly faced censorship challenges, their live act at least once including onstage masturbation. A new generation of Australian garage rock bands, inspired mainly by the Stooges and MC5 , was coming closer to the sound that would soon be called "punk": In Brisbane ,
7452-481: The New River waterway has been improved with waterside paths and access gates. According to the 2011 census, 64% of the ward's population is white (34% British, 27% other, 3% Irish). 6% was Indian and 5% of 'any other ethnic group'. The main foreign languages are Turkish , spoken by 795 people, and Greek , spoken by 605. Green Lanes, the high street of Palmers Green, is featured in the "Knight Bus" sequence in
7614-517: The Paris Marathon in April 1982. 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 popular success of the single " Rock
7776-428: The safety-pin aesthetic —was a major influence on Sex Pistols impresario Malcolm McLaren and, in turn, British punk style. ( John D Morton of Cleveland's Electric Eels may have been the first rock musician to wear a safety-pin-covered jacket.) McLaren's partner, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood , credits Johnny Rotten as the first British punk musician to rip his shirt, and Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious as
7938-430: The "road worn" finish of his 1966 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 1,500 guitars came with a Shepard Fairey designed "Customisation kit" with stickers and stencils, which resembled some of the designs Strummer used on his guitars. Boston punk rock band Street Dogs recorded
8100-538: The 101ers and began to write original songs for the group. One song 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. On 3 April 1976, the then-unknown Sex Pistols opened for the 101ers at a venue called the Nashville Room in London, and Strummer was impressed by them. Sometime after
8262-592: The 18th centuries, punk was a common, coarse synonym for prostitute; William Shakespeare used it with that meaning in The Merry Wives of Windsor (1602) and Measure for Measure (1603–4). The term eventually came to describe "a young male hustler, a gangster, a hoodlum, or a ruffian". The first known use of the phrase "punk rock" appeared in the Chicago Tribune on March 22, 1970, when Ed Sanders , co-founder of New York's anarcho-prankster band
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#17327987771028424-452: The 1986 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. (1986), by co-writing most of the songs as well as producing the album along with Jones. In 1987, he played a small part in the film Walker , directed by Alex Cox , as a character named "Faucet" and wrote and performed on
8586-583: The 1990s with Nirvana , punk rock saw renewed major-label interest and mainstream appeal exemplified by the rise of the California bands Green Day , Social Distortion , Rancid , the Offspring , Bad Religion , and NOFX . The anti-government stance and nihilistic impression of the future provided by capitalism united the punk scene in the 1970’s in the United Kingdom as other bands emerged in
8748-632: The 1995 UK hit of the Levellers , "Just the One" and appeared on the Black Grape single "England's Irie" in 1996. In 1997, while in New York City, he worked with noted producer and engineer Lee "Scratch" Perry on remixed Clash and 101ers reissue dub material. In collaboration with percussionist Pablo Cook, Strummer wrote and performed the soundtrack to Tunnel of Love (Robert Wallace 1997) that
8910-580: The 2003 box set Unearthed . Strummer and the Mescaleros were scheduled to open for Pearl Jam on the 2003 Riot Act Tour . In November 2003, a video for "Redemption Song" was released, featuring graffiti artist REVOLT painting a memorial mural of Strummer on the wall of the Niagara Bar in the East Village of New York City. In 2013, the mural was destroyed due to construction; a new mural
9072-417: The 2006 Edinburgh Festival , and toured the UK the following year. On-stage Strummer wires himself up into an inhuman dynamo of sweaty, trembling flesh, fearful enough to have one wondering when the ambulance brigade will rush to his rescue with a straitjacket. While he tilts his bullet head at acute angles, his agonising face screwed into an open wound, he wields his Telecaster like a chain saw. His magnetism
9234-456: The 70’s and 80’s like X-Ray Spex and Steel Pulse. The first wave of punk rock was "aggressively modern" and differed from what came before. According to Ramones drummer Tommy Ramone , "In its initial form, a lot of 1960s stuff was innovative and exciting. Unfortunately, what happens is that people who could not hold a candle to the likes of Hendrix started noodling away. Soon you had endless solos that went nowhere. By 1973, I knew that what
9396-484: The Alex Harvey Band — their influence was enormous. And they try to write that all off and wrap it around Patti Smith. It's so wrong!". In October 1976, the Damned released the first UK punk rock band single, " New Rose ". The Vibrators followed the next month with "We Vibrate". On November 26, 1976, the Sex Pistols' released their debut single " Anarchy in the U.K. ", which succeeded in its goal of becoming
9558-600: The Astro Physicians". The "Astro Physicians" were in fact the Pogues ("Afro-Cuban Bebop" got a re-release on the Pogues' 2008 box set). During this time Strummer continued to act, write and produce soundtracks for various films, most notably the soundtrack for Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). In 1989 Strummer produced a solo record with the band the Latino Rockabilly War. The album Earthquake Weather
9720-625: The Black Swan (also known as the Mucky Duck, now known as the Boardwalk ). On 25 January 1977, 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 1977, he and Headon were arrested for spray-painting
9882-495: The Casbah ". During this time, band members began to argue frequently, and with tensions high, the group began to fall apart. In September 1983, 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
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#173279877710210044-570: The Clash (the exception was Nicke Borg and Dregen from Backyard Babies , who performed " I Fought the Law ", which the Clash had covered). At the end of the concert, the Swedish punk band Ebba Grön reunited for the tribute, aided by Mick Jones on guitar. On 22 December 2003, a year after his death, a tribute show/benefit was held at Irving Plaza in NYC. Bands that played were: Ari Up ; Clem Snide ;
10206-459: The Clash , which was joined by Joe Strummer . On June 4, 1976, the Sex Pistols played Manchester's Lesser Free Trade Hall in what became one of the most influential rock shows ever. Among the approximately forty audience members were the two locals who organised the gig—they had formed Buzzcocks after seeing the Sex Pistols in February. Others in the small crowd went on to form Joy Division ,
10368-422: The Clash 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 following 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
10530-598: The Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . At the Grammy Awards in February 2003, "London Calling" was performed by Elvis Costello , Bruce Springsteen , Steven Van Zandt , Dave Grohl , Pete Thomas , and Tony Kanal in tribute to Strummer. 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
10692-425: The Clash's debut had included a cover of the recent Jamaican reggae hit " Police and Thieves ". Other first wave bands such as the Slits and new entrants to the scene like the Ruts and the Police interacted with the reggae and ska subcultures, incorporating their rhythms and production styles. The punk rock phenomenon helped spark a full-fledged ska revival movement known as 2 Tone , centered on bands such as
10854-401: The Dead Boys. They were soon playing regularly at Max's Kansas City and CBGB. At this early stage, the term punk applied to the scene in general, not necessarily a particular stylistic approach as it would later—the early New York punk bands represented a broad variety of influences. Among them, the Ramones, the Heartbreakers, Richard Hell and the Voidoids, and the Dead Boys were establishing
11016-535: The Detachment Kit ; Dirty Mary; Hammel on Trial ; Jesse Malin ; New Blood Revival; the Realistics; Eugene Hütz ; Radio 4 ; Secret Army; Ted Leo ; Vic Thrill & the Saturn Missile. The Belfast punk rock group Stiff Little Fingers recorded a tribute song "Strummerville" on their 2003 album, Guitar and Drum . In 2004 Al Barr, lead singer of the Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys , named his son Strummer in honour of Strummer. German band Beatsteaks paid tribute to Strummer on their 2004 album Smack Smash with
11178-500: The Detroit band Death —made up of three African-American brothers—recorded "scorching blasts of feral ur-punk", but could not arrange a release deal. In Ohio, a small but influential underground rock scene emerged, led by Devo in Akron and Kent and by Cleveland's Electric Eels , Mirrors and Rocket from the Tombs . Bands anticipating the forthcoming movement were appearing as far afield as Düsseldorf , West Germany, where "punk before punk" band Neu! formed in 1971, building on
11340-415: The Electric Lady in New York City. Underground and pub rock scenes became filled with cacophonous sounds, haziness brought by drugs and alcohol, and unassuming fashion. American punk represented a new generation that combined bohemian atmosphere with an aggressive guitar distortion. The Dead Boys' debut LP, Young, Loud and Snotty , was released at the end of August. October saw two more debut albums from
11502-437: The English fanzine Sideburns published a now-famous illustration of three chords, captioned "This is a chord, this is another, this is a third. Now form a band". British punk rejected contemporary mainstream rock, the broader culture it represented, and their musical predecessors: "No Elvis , Beatles or the Rolling Stones in 1977", declared the Clash song "1977". 1976, when the punk revolution began in Britain, became
11664-568: The Exploited ), and anarcho-punk (e.g., Crass ), became some of the predominant modes of punk rock, while bands more similar in form to the first wave (e.g., X , the Adicts ) also flourished. Many musicians who identified with punk or were inspired by it went on to pursue other musical directions, giving rise to movements such as post-punk , new wave , thrash metal , and alternative rock . Following alternative rock's mainstream breakthrough in
11826-559: The Fall , and – in the 1980s — the Smiths . In July, the Ramones played two London shows that helped spark the nascent UK punk scene. Over the next several months, many new punk rock bands formed, often directly inspired by the Sex Pistols. In London, women were near the center of the scene—among the initial wave of bands were the female-fronted Siouxsie and the Banshees , X-Ray Spex , and
11988-546: The Fugs described his first solo album as "punk rock – redneck sentimentality". In 1969 Sanders recorded a song for an album called "Street Punk" but it was only released in 2008. In the December 1970 issue of Creem , Lester Bangs , mocking more mainstream rock musicians, ironically referred to Iggy Pop as "that Stooge punk". Suicide 's Alan Vega credits this usage with inspiring his duo to bill its gigs as "punk music" or
12150-580: The Hazelwood Park Estate between Hazelwood Lane and Hedge Lane, within the latter development the building that now serves as Hazelwood Infant School and Hazelwood Junior School was built in Hazelwood Lane in 1908. Notable local buildings include Broomfield House and Truro House . The former Southgate Town Hall has now been converted into flats. The former Pilgrims Rest (reflecting the name Palmers – "medieval pilgrim who carried
12312-532: The Heartbreakers' 1976 and 1977 tours of Britain, Thunders played a central role in popularizing heroin among the punk crowd there, as well.) The Ramones' third album, Rocket to Russia , appeared in November 1977. The Sex Pistols ' live TV skirmish with Bill Grundy on December 1, 1976, was the signal moment in British punk 's transformation into a major media phenomenon, even as some stores refused to stock
12474-471: The Jerks led what became known as no wave . The Misfits formed in nearby New Jersey. Still developing what would become their signature B movie –inspired style, later dubbed horror punk , they made their first appearance at CBGB in April 1977. The American youth were searching for authenticity and newcomers like The Ramone, The Clash and The Stooges. They brought their unique sound to venues like CBGB and
12636-629: The Mescaleros , and the Pogues , as well as solo music. His work as a musician allowed him to explore 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 2003. In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family established the Joe Strummer Foundation (initially known as Strummerville),
12798-463: 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 2002 concert with Mick Jones. In September 2012, Hellcat announced the re-release of remastered versions of Strummer's three Hellcat records on both CD and vinyl. Hellcat released Strummer's 15 November 2002 concert, Live at Acton Town Hall on 23 November 2012. In January 2013 Joe Strummer had
12960-754: The Ramones", when nothing could have been further from the truth. In Perth , the Cheap Nasties formed in August. In September 1976, the Saints became the first punk rock band outside the U.S. to release a recording, the single " (I'm) Stranded ". The band self-financed, packaged, and distributed the single. "(I'm) Stranded" had limited impact at home, but the British music press recognized it as groundbreaking. A second wave of punk rock emerged in 1977. These bands often sounded very different from each other. While punk remained largely an underground phenomenon in
13122-460: The Ramones' debut album was released by Sire Records ; the first single was " Blitzkrieg Bop ", opening with the rallying cry "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" According to a later description, "Like all cultural watersheds, Ramones was embraced by a discerning few and slagged off as a bad joke by the uncomprehending majority." The Cramps , whose core members were from Sacramento, California and Akron, Ohio , had debuted at CBGB in November 1976, opening for
13284-698: The Saints evoked the live sound of the British Pretty Things , who had toured Australia and New Zealand in 1975. The origins of New York's punk rock scene can be traced back to such sources as the late 1960s trash culture and an early 1970s underground rock movement centered on the Mercer Arts Center in Greenwich Village , where the New York Dolls performed. In early 1974, a new scene began to develop around
13446-405: The Sex Pistols as central players in a new youth movement, "hard and tough". As described by critic Jon Savage , the band members "embodied an attitude into which McLaren fed a new set of references: late-sixties radical politics, sexual fetish material, pop history, [...] youth sociology". Bernard Rhodes , an associate of McLaren, similarly aimed to make stars of the band London SS , who became
13608-570: The Specials , the Beat , Madness , and the Selecter . In July, the Sex Pistols' third single, " Pretty Vacant ", reached number six and Australia's the Saints had a top-forty hit with " This Perfect Day ". In September, Generation X and the Clash reached the top forty with, respectively, "Your Generation" and " Complete Control ". X-Ray Spex's " Oh Bondage Up Yours! " did not chart, but it became
13770-454: The T-shirt, motorcycle jacket, and jeans ensemble favored by American greasers of the 1950s associated with the rockabilly scene and by British rockers of the 1960s. In addition to the T-shirt, and leather jackets they wore ripped jeans and boots, typically Doc Martens . The punk look was inspired to shock people. Richard Hell 's more androgynous, ragamuffin look—and reputed invention of
13932-585: The Teenage Wasteland" in his review of the Stooges July 1972 performance at King's Cross Cinema in London for a British magazine called Cream (no relation to the more famous US publication). In the January 1973 Rolling Stone review of Nuggets , Greg Shaw commented "Punk rock is a fascinating genre... Punk rock at its best is the closest we came in the '60s to the original rockabilly spirit of Rock 'n Roll." In February 1973, Terry Atkinson of
14094-745: The UK. Many of the shows were cancelled by venue owners in response to the media outrage following the Grundy interview. A punk subculture began in Australia around the same time, centered around Radio Birdman and the Oxford Tavern in Sydney's Darlinghurst suburb. By 1976, the Saints were hiring Brisbane local halls to use as venues, or playing in "Club 76", their shared house in the inner suburb of Petrie Terrace . The band soon discovered that musicians were exploring similar paths in other parts of
14256-405: 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 . Their music incorporated punk with reggae , ska , dub , funk , rap , and rockabilly . Strummer's other career highlights included stints with the 101ers , the Latino Rockabilly War ,
14418-790: The US, in the UK it had become a major sensation. During this period punk music also spread beyond the English speaking world, inspiring local scenes in other countries. The California punk scene was fully developed by early 1977. In Los Angeles, there were: the Weirdos , The Dils , the Zeros , the Bags , Black Randy and the Metrosquad , the Germs , Fear , The Go-Go's , X , the Dickies , and
14580-576: The album Radios Appear on its own Trafalgar label. By 1979, the hardcore punk movement was emerging in Southern California . A rivalry developed between adherents of the new sound and the older punk rock crowd. Hardcore, appealing to a younger, more suburban audience, was perceived by some as anti-intellectual, overly violent, and musically limited. In Los Angeles, the opposing factions were often described as "Hollywood punks" and "beach punks", referring to Hollywood's central position in
14742-647: The all-female the Slits . There were female bassists Gaye Advert in the Adverts and Shanne Bradley in the Nipple Erectors , while Sex store frontwoman Jordan not only managed Adam and the Ants but also performed screaming vocals on their song "Lou". Other groups included Subway Sect , Alternative TV , Wire , the Stranglers , Eater and Generation X . Farther afield, Sham 69 began practicing in
14904-536: 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 form another band with his roommates called the 101ers , named after the address of their squat at 101 Walterton Road in Maida Vale . The band played many gigs in London pubs, performing covers of popular American R&B and rock and roll songs. During this period, Strummer worked several occasional temporary jobs to fund
15066-550: 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 2002, Strummer and the Mescaleros played a benefit show 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
15228-726: 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 1985. The album was panned by fans and critics alike and Strummer disbanded the Clash. 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". Their songs tackled social decay, unemployment, racism, police brutality , political and social repression, and militarism in detail. Strummer
15390-474: The band's name on a wall in a hotel. On 20 May 1980, 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 lasting 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
15552-583: 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 release as b-sides and again on the Pogues' 2008 box set. On 16 April 1994, Strummer joined 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
15714-415: The basis for punk rock visual style. In April 1974, Patti Smith came to CBGB for the first time to see the band perform. A veteran of independent theater and performance poetry, Smith was developing an intellectual, feminist take on rock 'n' roll. On June 5, she recorded the single " Hey Joe "/" Piss Factory ", featuring Television guitarist Tom Verlaine ; released on her own Mer Records label, it heralded
15876-435: The developing sound. Club owner Hilly Kristal called the movement "Street rock" ; John Holmstrom credits Aquarian magazine with using punk "to describe what was going on at CBGBs". Holmstrom, Legs McNeil , and Ged Dunn's magazine Punk , which debuted at the end of 1975, was crucial in codifying the term. "It was pretty obvious that the word was getting very popular", Holmstrom later remarked. "We figured we'd take
16038-486: The early Who , the British punks also reflected the influence of glam rock and related artists and bands such as David Bowie , Slade , T.Rex , and Roxy Music . However, Sex Pistols frontman Johnny Rotten (real name John Lydon) insisted that the influences of the UK punk scene were not from the US and NY. "I've heard an awful lot of American journalists pretending that the whole punk influence came out of New York." He argued: "T. Rex, David Bowie, Slade, Mott The Hoople ,
16200-527: The early 1970s to refer to mid-1960s garage acts. In the liner notes of the 1972 anthology LP, Nuggets , musician and rock journalist Lenny Kaye , later a member of the Patti Smith Group, used the term "punk rock" to describe the genre of 1960s garage bands and "garage-punk", to describe a song recorded in 1966 by the Shadows of Knight. Nick Kent referred to Iggy Pop as the "Punk Messiah of
16362-443: The early days of punk rock, this DIY ethic stood in marked contrast to what those in the scene regarded as the ostentatious musical effects and technological demands of many mainstream rock bands. Musical virtuosity was often looked on with suspicion. According to Holmstrom, punk rock was "rock and roll by people who didn't have very many skills as musicians but still felt the need to express themselves through music". In December 1976,
16524-483: The early evening Thames Television London television show Today to be interviewed by host Bill Grundy . When Grundy asked Siouxsie how she was doing, she made fun of him saying, "I've always wanted to meet you, Bill". Grundy who was drunk, told her on the air; "we shall meet afterwards then". This instantly generated a reaction from Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones who pronounced a series of terms inappropriate for prime-time television. Jones proceeded to call Grundy
16686-630: The film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban . Palmers Green is mentioned in Jona Lewie 's song " You'll Always Find Me in the Kitchen at Parties " (1980). The song's lyrics were written by Lewie's friend Keef Trouble , a fellow member of Brett Marvin and the Thunderbolts. The reference to Palmers Green was prompted by the fact that Trouble had split up with his girlfriend and was at
16848-410: 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 1987/88, filling in for ailing guitarist Philip Chevron , who wrote (in May 2008) on the band's online forum: "When I
17010-470: The first time since 1983 that Strummer and Jones had performed together on stage. Strummer's final regular gig was at Liverpool Academy on 22 November 2002, yet his final performance, just two weeks before his death, was in a small club venue 'The Palace' in Bridgwater, Somerset, near his home. Shortly before his death, Strummer and U2 's Bono co-wrote a song, " 46664 ", for Nelson Mandela as part of
17172-817: The first to use safety pins, although few of those following punk could afford to buy McLaren and Westwood's designs so famously worn by the Pistols, so they made their own, diversifying the 'look' with various different styles based on these designs. Young women in punk demolished the typical female types in rock of either "coy sex kittens or wronged blues belters" in their fashion. Early female punk musicians displayed styles ranging from Siouxsie Sioux 's bondage gear to Patti Smith 's "straight-from-the-gutter androgyny". The former proved much more influential on female fan styles. Over time, tattoos, piercings , and metal-studded and -spiked accessories became increasingly common elements of punk fashion among both musicians and fans,
17334-670: The garage phenomenon gathered momentum around the US. By 1965, the harder-edged sound of British acts, such as the Rolling Stones , the Kinks , and the Who , became increasingly influential with American garage bands. The raw sound of U.S. groups such as the Sonics and the Seeds predicted the style of later acts. In the early 1970s some rock critics used the term "punk rock" to refer to
17496-780: The genre that became known as punk was developing, prominent acts included Television , Patti Smith , and the Ramones in New York City; the Saints in Brisbane ; the Sex Pistols , the Clash , and the Damned in London, and the Buzzcocks in Manchester. By late 1976, punk had become a major cultural phenomenon in the UK. It gave rise to a punk subculture that expressed youthful rebellion through distinctive styles of clothing , such as T-shirts with deliberately offensive graphics, leather jackets, studded or spiked bands and jewelry, safety pins, and bondage and S&M clothes. In 1977,
17658-574: The grim realities of urban life. Especially in early British punk, a central goal was to outrage and shock the mainstream. The Sex Pistols' " Anarchy in the U.K. " and " God Save the Queen " openly disparaged the British political system and social mores. Anti-sentimental depictions of relationships and sex are common, as in "Love Comes in Spurts", recorded by the Voidoids . Anomie , variously expressed in
17820-445: The influence of the music and subculture spread worldwide. It took root in a wide range of local scenes that often rejected affiliation with the mainstream. In the late 1970s, punk experienced a second wave, when new acts that had not been active during its formative years adopted the style. By the early 1980s, faster and more aggressive subgenres, such as hardcore punk (e.g., Minor Threat ), Oi! (e.g., Sham 69 ), street punk (e.g.,
17982-523: The job. Adopting a new name, the group played its first gig as the Sex Pistols on November 6, 1975, at Saint Martin's School of Art , and soon attracted a small but dedicated following. In February 1976, the band received its first significant press coverage; guitarist Steve Jones declared that the Sex Pistols were not so much into music as they were "chaos". The band often provoked its crowds into near-riots. Rotten announced to one audience, "Bet you don't hate us as much as we hate you!" McLaren envisioned
18144-467: The kind of "cerebral mix of musical ferocity and rebellious posture" that would characterize much of the later British punk rock of the 1970s. The garage/beat phenomenon extended beyond North America and Britain. In America, the psychedelic rock movement birthed an array of garage bands that would later become influences on punk, the Austin Chronicle described the 13th Floor Elevators as
18306-493: The mid-1960s garage genre, as well as for subsequent acts perceived to be in that stylistic tradition, such as the Stooges. In Britain, largely under the influence of the mod movement and beat groups, the Kinks' 1964 hit singles " You Really Got Me " and " All Day and All of the Night ", were both influenced by "Louie, Louie". In 1965, the Who released the mod anthem " My Generation ", which according to John Reed, anticipated
18468-509: The mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock , punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced short, fast-paced songs with hard-edged melodies and singing styles with stripped-down instrumentation. Lyricism in punk typically revolves around anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian themes. Punk embraces a DIY ethic ; many bands self-produce recordings and distribute them through independent labels . The term "punk rock"
18630-584: The movement: the Vibrators , formed as a pub rock–style act in February 1976, soon adopted a punk look and sound. A few even longer-active bands including Surrey neo-mods the Jam and pub rockers Eddie and the Hot Rods , the Stranglers , and Cock Sparrer also became associated with the punk rock scene. Alongside the musical roots shared with their American counterparts and the calculated confrontationalism of
18792-595: The name before anyone else claimed it. We wanted to get rid of the bullshit, strip it down to rock 'n' roll. We wanted the fun and liveliness back." The early to mid-1960s garage rock bands in the United States and elsewhere are often recognized as punk rock's progenitors. the Kingsmen 's " Louie, Louie " is often cited as punk rock's defining " ur-text ". After the success of the British Invasion ,
18954-454: The new scene he had witnessed at CBGB. The King's Road clothing store he co-owned, recently renamed Sex , was building a reputation with its outrageous "anti-fashion". Among those who frequented the shop were members of a band called the Strand, which McLaren had also been managing. In August, the group was seeking a new lead singer. Another Sex habitué, Johnny Rotten , auditioned for and won
19116-407: The next Clash record. In 2016, 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 1979 and finds his life changing as a result. The film was met with mostly negative reviews. Punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk ) is a music genre that emerged in
19278-566: The original L.A. punk rock scene and to hardcore's popularity in the shoreline communities of South Bay and Orange County . Palmers Green Palmers Green is a suburban area and electoral ward in north London , England, within the London Borough of Enfield . It is located within the N13 postcode district , around 8 miles (13 km) north of Charing Cross . It is home to the largest population of Greek Cypriots outside Cyprus and
19440-605: The original 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 . 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 2007 film Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten . In 1974,
19602-521: The planting of trees. In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family have established the Strummerville Foundation for the promotion of new music, which holds an annual festival with the same name. In December 2016, a blue plaque was erected by Seymour Housing Co-operative at 33 Daventry Street near Marylebone station where he used to live when it was a squat and the Slits and Malcolm McLaren all lived nearby. In January 2003,
19764-490: The poetic terms of Richard Hell's " Blank Generation " and the bluntness of the Ramones' " Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue ", is a common theme. The controversial content of punk lyrics has frequently led to certain punk records being banned by radio stations and refused shelf space in major chain stores. Christgau said that "Punk is so tied up with the disillusions of growing up that punks do often age poorly." The classic punk rock look among male American musicians harkens back to
19926-513: The political idealism and Californian flower-power silliness of hippie myth." Hippies were rainbow extremists; punks are romantics of black-and-white. Hippies forced warmth; punks cultivate cool . Hippies kidded themselves about free love ; punks pretend that s&m is our condition. As symbols of protest, swastikas are no less fatuous than flowers. — Robert Christgau in Christgau's Record Guide (1981) Technical accessibility and
20088-464: The purchase of musical equipment, including time spent as a gardener in Hyde Park "to get the money for the guitar". In 1975, 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 lead singer of
20250-476: The quintessential approach is a relentless, repetitive "forced rhythm", although some punk rock bass players—such as Mike Watt of the Minutemen and Firehose —emphasize more technical bass lines. Bassists often use a pick due to the rapid succession of notes, making fingerpicking impractical. Drums typically sound heavy and dry, and often have a minimal set-up. Compared to other forms of rock, syncopation
20412-525: The records and radio airplay was hard to come by. Press coverage of punk misbehavior grew intense: On January 4, 1977, The Evening News of London ran a front-page story on how the Sex Pistols "vomited and spat their way to an Amsterdam flight". In February 1977, the first album by a British punk band appeared: Damned Damned Damned (by the Damned) reached number thirty-six on the UK chart. The EP Spiral Scratch , self-released by Manchester's Buzzcocks ,
20574-787: The relocated Tupperwares, now dubbed the Screamers . Black Flag formed in Hermosa Beach in 1976 under the name Panic. They developed a hardcore punk sound and played their debut public performance in a garage in Redondo Beach in December 1977. San Francisco's second wave included the Avengers , The Nuns , Negative Trend , the Mutants , and the Sleepers. By mid-1977 in downtown New York, bands such as Teenage Jesus and
20736-541: The scene's DIY ethic and has often been cited as the first punk rock record. By August, Smith and Television were gigging together at Max's Kansas City . In Forest Hills, Queens , the Ramones drew on sources ranging from the Stooges to the Beatles and the Beach Boys to Herman's Hermits and 1960s girl groups, and condensed rock 'n' roll to its primal level: " '1–2–3–4!' bass-player Dee Dee Ramone shouted at
20898-409: The scene: Richard Hell and the Voidoids' first full-length, Blank Generation , and the Heartbreakers' L.A.M.F. One track on the latter exemplified both the scene's close-knit character and the popularity of heroin within it: " Chinese Rocks " — the title refers to a strong form of the drug – was written by Dee Dee Ramone and Hell, both users, as were the Heartbreakers' Thunders and Nolan. (During
21060-471: The second wave that presaged the post-punk phenomenon. Liverpool's first punk group, Big in Japan , moved in a glam, theatrical direction. The band did not survive long, but it spun off several well-known post-punk acts. The songs of London's Wire were characterized by sophisticated lyrics, minimalist arrangements, and extreme brevity. Alongside thirteen original songs that would define classic punk rock,
21222-529: The series provide the vocals for "Midnight Jam" on Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros' final album Streetcore . In the mid-to-late 1990s, 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 1999, 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
21384-445: The series. During this time, 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 record solo records with another label. If the Clash were to reunite though, they would have to record for Sony. During the nineties, Strummer was a DJ on the BBC World Service with his half-hour programme London Calling . Samples from
21546-406: The show, Strummer was approached by Bernie Rhodes and Mick Jones . Jones was from the band London SS and wanted Strummer to join as lead singer. Strummer agreed to leave the 101ers 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 1976 in Sheffield , opening for the Sex Pistols at
21708-426: The song "Hello Joe". In 2004, German punk band Die 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 2004 album Zero Tolerance . In February 2005 Cotswold Rail locomotive 47828
21870-411: The southeastern town of Hersham . In Durham , there was Penetration , with lead singer Pauline Murray . On September 20–21, the 100 Club Punk Festival in London featured the Sex Pistols, Clash, Damned, and Buzzcocks, as well as Paris's female-lead Stinky Toys . Siouxsie and the Banshees and Subway Sect debuted on the festival's first night. On the festival's second night, audience member Sid Vicious
22032-429: The start of every song as if the group could barely master the rudiments of rhythm." The band played its first show at CBGB in August 1974. By the end of the year, the Ramones had performed seventy-four shows, each about seventeen minutes long. "When I first saw the Ramones", critic Mary Harron later remembered, "I couldn't believe people were doing this. The dumb brattiness." That spring, Smith and Television shared
22194-417: The term in the May 1971 issue of Creem , where he described ? and the Mysterians as giving a "landmark exposition of punk rock". Later in 1971, in his fanzine Who Put the Bomp , Greg Shaw wrote about "what I have chosen to call "punkrock" bands—white teenage hard rock of '64–66 ( Standells , Kingsmen, Shadows of Knight , etc.)". Lester Bangs used the term "punk rock" in several articles written in
22356-427: The train service was disrupted due to platform works at Stevenage. Bus routes 34 , 102 , 121, 141 , 232, 299, 329, W4 , W6, W9 and the N29 operate locally. The North Circular Road and A10 are the main trunk roads. The A111 through Southgate gives access to the M25 motorway at junction 24. An electric tramway along Green Lanes as far as Winchmore Hill was developed in 1907, helping to further develop
22518-601: The war in Bosnia. Although the set appeared impromptu, Strummer and the band had spent the days leading 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 song, the power went out. Once the power was back on, Strummer asked the audience whether or not they would mind 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
22680-435: The world. Ed Kuepper , co-founder of the Saints, later recalled: One thing I remember having had a really depressing effect on me was the first Ramones album. When I heard it [in 1976], I mean it was a great record [...] but I hated it because I knew we'd been doing this sort of stuff for years. There was even a chord progression on that album that we used [...] and I thought, "Fuck. We're going to be labeled as influenced by
22842-421: Was a benchmark for both the DIY ethic and regionalism in the country's punk movement. The Clash 's self-titled debut album came out two months later and rose to number twelve; the single " White Riot " entered the top forty. In May, the Sex Pistols achieved new heights of controversy (and number two on the singles chart) with " God Save the Queen ". The band had recently acquired a new bassist, Sid Vicious , who
23004-424: Was a critical and commercial flop, and resulted in the loss of his contract with Sony Records . He also did the soundtrack to the movie 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 1990 as Hell's Ditch . In 1991, he replaced Shane MacGowan as singer of the Pogues for a tour after MacGowan's departure from
23166-566: Was a job with a lot of perks – all the fees were paid by the Government." Strummer developed a love of rock music by listening to records by Little Richard , the Beach Boys , and Woody Guthrie . Strummer would even go by the nickname "Woody" for a few years. He would later refer to the Beach Boys as "the reason [he] played music". By 1970, 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]
23328-424: Was a year older than me. Funnily enough, you know, 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 1970, Strummer moved on to
23490-424: Was always a tension between their nihilistic outlook and the "radical leftist utopianism" of bands such as Crass , who found positive, liberating meaning in the movement. As a Clash associate describes singer Joe Strummer 's outlook, "Punk rock is meant to be our freedom. We're meant to be able to do what we want to do." Authenticity has always been important in the punk subculture—the pejorative term " poseur "
23652-455: Was arrested for having thrown a glass at the Damned that shattered and destroyed a girl's eye. Press coverage of the incident reinforced punk's reputation as a social menace. Some new bands, such as London's Ultravox !, Edinburgh's Rezillos , Manchester's the Fall, and Leamington 's the Shapes , identified with the scene even as they pursued more experimental music. Others of a comparatively traditional rock 'n' roll bent were also swept up by
23814-434: Was featured in the Cannes Film Festival in the same year. In 1997, Strummer played the character of "Brand New Cadillac" songwriter Vince Taylor in F. J. Ossang [ fr ] 's road movie Doctor Chance [ fr ] . In 1998, 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
23976-415: Was found dead by his wife at his home in Broomfield, Somerset . An autopsy showed that he died from a heart attack caused by an undiagnosed congenital heart defect . 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. At the time of his death, Strummer was working on another Mescaleros album, which
24138-456: 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 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine (although it was released in late 1979 in the UK, it was not released until 1980 in the US). A year later, Strummer worked on several songs for
24300-414: Was largely devoted to discussion of 1960s garage and psychedelic acts. In May 1974, Los Angeles Times critic Robert Hilburn reviewed the second New York Dolls album, Too Much Too Soon . "I told ya the New York Dolls were the real thing," he wrote, describing the album as "perhaps the best example of raw, thumb-your-nose-at-the-world, punk rock since the Rolling Stones ' Exile on Main Street ." In
24462-416: Was named Joe Strummer by his widow Lucinda Tait at Bristol Temple Meads railway station . On 22 July 2005 Tait unveiled a plaque on the house in Pentonville, Newport where Strummer lived from 1973 to 1974 and where his first foray into recorded music, "Crummy Bum Blues" was recorded. "That Was Clash Radio", a 2005 short story which Charles de Lint , wrote in response to Strummer's death featuring Strummer in
24624-441: Was needed was some pure, stripped down, no bullshit rock 'n' roll." John Holmstrom , founding editor of Punk magazine, recalls feeling "punk rock had to come along because the rock scene had become so tame that [acts] like Billy Joel and Simon and Garfunkel were being called rock and roll, when to me and other fans, rock and roll meant this wild and rebellious music." According to Robert Christgau , punk "scornfully rejected
24786-483: Was not a standalone movement in the 70’s and 80’s. Major punk communities gather across the globe as punk perseveres among contemporary musicians and listeners today. The vocals are sometimes nasal, and the lyrics often shouted in an "arrogant snarl", rather than conventionally sung. Complicated guitar solos were considered self-indulgent, although basic guitar breaks were common. Guitar parts tend to include highly distorted power chords or barre chords , creating
24948-435: Was on my own for the first time with this ukulele and 'Johnny B. Goode'. And that's how I started." In 1973, Strummer moved to Newport, South Wales . He did not study at Newport College of Art , but 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. The Vultures included three former members of Rip Off Park Rock & Roll Allstars,
25110-444: Was previously used by American rock critics in the early 1970s to describe the mid-1960s garage bands. Certain late 1960s and early 1970s Detroit acts, such as MC5 and Iggy and the Stooges , and other bands from elsewhere created out-of-the-mainstream music that became highly influential on what was to come. Glam rock in the UK and the New York Dolls from New York have also been cited as key influences. Between 1974 and 1976, when
25272-464: Was published: The Boy Looked at Johnny , by Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons . In February 1977, EMI released the Saints ' debut album, (I'm) Stranded , which the band recorded in two days. The Saints had relocated to Sydney; in April, they and Radio Birdman united for a major gig at Paddington Town Hall . Last Words had also formed in the city. The following month, the Saints relocated again, to Great Britain. In June, Radio Birdman released
25434-488: Was released in 1982, Strummer went into hiding and the band's management said that he had "disappeared". Bernie Rhodes, the band's manager, pressured Strummer to do 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 friend, musician Joe Ely . Uneasy with his decision, Strummer instead decided to genuinely disappear and "dicked around" in France. During this time, Strummer ran
25596-454: Was released posthumously in October 2003 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 2001 ("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
25758-457: Was seen as exemplifying the punk persona. The swearing during the Grundy interview and the controversy over "God Save the Queen" led to a moral panic . Scores of new punk groups formed around the United Kingdom, as far from London as Belfast 's Stiff Little Fingers and Dunfermline , Scotland's the Skids . Though most survived only briefly, perhaps recording a small-label single or two, others set off new trends. Crass , from Essex , merged
25920-457: Was sick in late 1987, 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 long 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 1989, Strummer appeared in Jim Jarmusch 's film Mystery Train as
26082-401: Was the first person to use the word " motherfucker " in a song title and also directly influenced the Clash . In August 1969, the Stooges , from Ann Arbor , premiered with a self-titled album . According to critic Greil Marcus , the band, led by singer Iggy Pop , created "the sound of Chuck Berry 's Airmobile —after thieves stripped it for parts". The album was produced by John Cale ,
26244-405: Was unveiled that September, accompanied by a large celebration with Mick Jones in attendance. 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 . Strummer was the first artist to make the recording, pressing and distribution of his records carbon neutral through
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