Happy heavenly birthday to Joe Strummer who was born John Graham Mellor in Ankara on 21 August 1952, the son of a Scottish mother and English father. This legendary heart and political soul of punk, rebel spirit and righteous anger has still not faded, his songs still resonate, with immediacy and warning after all, " the ice age is coming, the sun is zooming in, meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin."
His lyrics still able to make us think, that help challenge our views of society. He also taught us, that punk is not a uniform, it's an idea, a passionate grassroots idea to create change, standing up for what you believe, about being open minded, at the end of the day we are all individuals, you've gotta do what's right for you, follow your own heart, your own true spirit.
Strummer died of a heart attack on December 22. He was only 50. As a member of The Clash Strummer was a punk-rock pioneer with a fondness for reggae, who changed peoples lives forever. They were a force that would shape how politics and music fit together, transforming this new, angry punk sound into something with purpose.
Through his song writing Strummer consistently critiqued capitalism, advocated racial justice and opposed imperialism. He showed young people there are alternatives to the complacency, opportunism, and political ambivalence that dominate popular culture. Strummer’s music remains an enduring legacy of radicalism, defiance, and resistance.
As a musician, Strummer redefined music and reaffirmed the principles of committed and intelligent opposition. He seemed to be involved in so many different movements and supported so many causes before they were fashionable. The Clash whose music incorporated punk with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly. were at the forefront of the Rock against Racism movement founded in the seventies to combat the rise of the far-right National Front. Never afraid of controversy, Strummer pushed the Clash to support publicly the H-Block protests in Northern Ireland, which began in 1976 when the British took away the political status of IRA “prisoners.”
But co-founding one of the most important bands of the past 50 years has, understandably, overshadowed the full breadth of Strummer’s musical interests. Strummer's other career highlights included stints with the 101ers, the Latino Rockabilly War, 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. I post this in a spirit of remembrance and joyfulness that he has left behind such a great legacy of music for us to enjoy. So go easy, stay light, stay free, Thank you Commandante Joe, gone but not forgotten.
" Punk rock isn't something you grow out of Punk rock is an attitude , and the essence of that attitude is give us some truth.," - Joe Strummer
"And so now I'd like to say - people can change anything they want to. And that means everything in the world. People are running about following their little tracks - I am one of them. But we've all got to stop just following our own little mouse trail. People can do anything - this is something that I'm beginning to learn. People are out there doing bad things to each other.
That's because they've been dehumanised. It's time to take the humanity back into the center of the ring and follow that for a time. Greed, it ain't going anywhere. They should have that in a big billboard across Times Square. Without people you're nothing. That's my spiel.” - Joe Strummer
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