BOLSHY'S TRIBUTE TO JOE STRUMMER

Submitted by AWL on 9 February, 2003 - 10:08

Joe Strummer
1952-2002

They don't make bands like The Clash any more. Call me cynical, but it's true. Girls Aloud and One True Voice, as vocally talented, articulate, intelligent people as they are, don't quite measure up to a band like The Clash. Their front-man, Joe Strummer, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack in December 2002 at the age of 50, will certainly be missed.

Joe Strummer and The Clash combined punk - the angry noise of the white working-class - and ska - the angry noise of the black working-class - and came out with…The Clash: the angry noise of the working-class. Okay, apathy wasn't as endemic then, but Joe and The Clash never avoided controversy and were never afraid to speak their minds.

While most of their contemporaries merely churned out recycled chords and meaningless, pseudo-political lyrics, The Clash were genuinely musically innovative and exceptionally refreshing.

Having had the misfortune, as I did, to have missed The Clash's heyday due to an accident of birth, you could say that I don't know what I'm talking about because I wasn't there. Maybe so, but I do know that The Clash - headed by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones - sound a helluva lot better than 100% of the tripe in the charts today.

The Clash recorded their last album in 1982 and, as punk breathed its terminal breath, they split up. Joe's next band, Latino Rockabilly Rebel didn't last long, and his solo career fizzled out surprisingly quickly. In 1999, his new band, the Mescaleros burst onto the scene, fronted by a seemingly calmer Joe. They were even more musically eclectic than The Clash - combining all kinds of styles of world music.

The state of the music industry today - where bands like Slipknot are what passes for rebellious - is absolutely lamentable. Gone, for now at least, are the days of music as the voice of a rebellious youth. Gone are bands like The Clash, making genuine political statements rather than just wearing baggy clothes and shouting unintelligibly into a microphone. But young people are beginning to get radicalised again, through the anti-war and anti-capitalist movements. The signs are all there, so maybe the next Clash is just about to burst onto our radios. Let's hope so, eh?

Everybody smash up your seats and rock to this brand new beat,
This here music mash up the nation,
This here music cause a sensation…
This revolution rock.
(From 'Revolution Rock.' w .J. Edwards/D. Ray arr. The Clash)

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.