The counterfeit Clash

They may once have believed that there was no future, but yesterday, the punk generation was left reeling at the news of the death of Joe Strummer they man who many regarded as the musical and political voice of their era. Drink and drugs had taken its toll on some of his contemporaries, most notably Sid Vicious, but the shock at the front man’s death at the age of only 50 was greater because of the way he had been transformed into a punk icon.

Born the son of a diplomat, it was the public school educated Strummer - real name John Graham Mellor - who was credited as giving punk a Political edge. Intelligent and passionate, the electrifying singer songwriter helped transform the stale musical scene at the end of the 1970’s. With their mix of crashing guitars, melodic riffs and political rhetoric, the Clash influenced many who came after them.

Even last month when Strummer appeared in Edinburgh with his new band The Mescateros, he could still command a rapturous reception form the capacity crowd which squeezed into the Liquid Rooms. 

Strummer, who was born in Ankara, Turkey died on Sunday of a suspected heart attack at his home in Somerset. In keeping with a man who wore his politics on his sleeves, his family asked that instead of floral tributes, money should be paid to the Mandela SOS fund raising concert which is aimed at raising awareness of AIDS, especially in Africa. He had been die to take part in a show on 2 February from Mandela’s former prison on Robben Island

His death was greeted with shock and disbelief from fans and those who associated with the era.U2 singer, Bono called the The Clash "the greatest rock band" and said they "wrote the rule book" for later acts. Billy Bragg said Strummer was the driving force who helped give punk its "political edge". Bob Geldof, a musical contemporary as front-man for the Boomtown Rats, said he admired their refusal to sell out. "I know for a fact they were offered huge amounts of money. They just said 'No, that isn’t really what we stood for.’ That’s truly admirable," he said.

From an early age, Strummer had been fascinated by music and the guitar and after dropping out of art school in the early 1970s, he spent his time busking on the London Underground before forming a pub-rock band called The 101'ers.

A defining moment in his life came in 1976 when he saw the Sex Pistols and decided the pub rock scene was dead. He quit the 101ers and joined up with 3 other musicians he met earlier, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon and Nicky "Topper" Headon who were in a band called London SS. They changed their named to The Clash and later that year, signed to CBS Records'

The band's self-tided debut a year later had the seeds of the sound that would bring them international success within a few years. The "hundred mile-an-hour" sound of White Riot became a punk anthem and they included a cover of junior Murvin's reggae classic Police and Thieves.

The Clash sold records by the millions, but the deal they had struck with their record company meant they never raked in the sort of royalties that others did. A string of 16 top 40 hits included Rock the Casbah, Bank Robber and I Fought the Law, but their sole number one Should I stay or Should I go? only made it to the top of the charts after being used in a Levi’s advert. By that time, the band had split up.

Their third album, London Calling, is widely regarded a one of the finest albums of all time and was named the greatest album of the Eighties by music bible Rolling Stone – even though it was released in 1979.

Strummer - singer, guitarist and songwriter - was the creative force behind the Clash along with Mick Jones. The pair were seen as the Lennon and McCartney of punk and, like the Beatles stars, would alternate singing duties. They quickly matured from writing brief three-chord wonders to filling double, even a triple albums with even more diverse tracks embracing reggae, funk, blues and even early rap. In many ways they were the forefront of world music.

But the pair had a strained relationship and Strummer -famed at the time for his mohican haircut - ousted Jones from the line-up in 1983. The band limped on with new members but called it a day in the mid-Eighties. They always resisted lucrative offers to reform unlike their contemporaries, the Sex Pistols.

After the demise of the Clash, Strummer went on to a solo career and even acted in a number of films, including a cameo in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy. He and The Clash had become huge stars in the US by the time the film was made in 1983. He also appeared in films and on soundtracks for his film director friend Alex Coy, including Walker and Straight To Hell.

In 1989, Strummer released his first solo album, Earthquake Weather. He spent a long time on tour with The Pogues and also played with The Levellers and the Brian Setzer Orchestra. And he recorded the single England's Irie with Shaun Ryder's group, Black Grape, and worked, on South Park’s Chief Aid album and Keith Allen’s Fat Les project.

After a decade without a release under his own name, Strummer brought out the album Rock Art and the X-Ray Style which he recorded with the Mescaleros. The band finished a tour just a month ago, during which he performed with Jones for the first time in almost two decades.

Geoff Martin, the London convenor for Unison, the trade union, praised the way Strummer supported, trade union struggles at home and abroad. "Joe was prepared to fight for workers rights from Nicaragua to-Newcastle. It's a fitting tribute to him that one of his last UK shows was a firefighters benefit that he financed out of his own pocket" he said.

A post mortem is due to take place today to establish the cause of death, which is not thought to be suspicious. Yesterday, Michael Carvill, Strummer's neighbour, described how he was called to the house on Sunday to find the singer slumped in a chair. He said: 'I was called over to the house just after 4pm on Sunday. Joe was sitting in a chair in the kitchen and he was unconscious. Lucinda [his wife] was absolutely distraught. She said she had tried to give him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation but it hadn't worked There was nothing we could do."

Gethin Chamerlain in The Scotsman 24/12/02 www.scotsman.com

e-mail: counterfeitclash@sky.com