Joe Strummer, founder of The Clash, left an indelible mark on the world of music. Strummer was cremated at the West London Crematorium, Kensal Green Cemetery. This was fitting, given the impact that he had on the local area and how much it influenced his own music and art.
Born in the Turkish capital Ankara as John Graham Mellor, his parents were part of the diplomatic service and he spent his childhood moving from place to place: Germany, Egypt and Mexico. Strummer would later take full advantage of his upbringing, fusing artistic and cultural forms. Both of the bands that have won him notoriety - The 101ers and The Clash -strayed from convention, their music profoundly influenced by reggae and ska.
Strummer’s roving lifestyle came at a cost. He was sent to boarding schools, which he hated, and rock became a sanctuary during his school years, when he felt totally isolated. The music of the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry and Little Richard stirred his soul. A rebellious streak would go on to energise his music.
The beginnings of Strummer’s musical career mimicked his early childhood, he spent a lot of it hopping from one band to another. Flaming Youth formed at the Newport College of Art, Strummer was their lead vocalist. He literally worked graveyard shifts at a local cemetery to fund his craft. When the band fell apart, he moved to London and the culture of the capital spurred creative and innovative sounds.
After a period of restlessness, Strummer formed The 101ers, named after a squat in Walterton Road, Maida Hill. His roommates made up the band, among them Tymon Dogg. It was at this point that he adopted the name ‘Joe Strummer’ - the iconoclastic, maverick punk hero was born!
Punk in England was the antithesis to the establishment. Abrasive, loud and definitively offensive, it tapped into the veins of working class alienation. The Clash vocalised the hopelessness of a generation. Strummer did not seek to change the lives of those who heard his music; he wanted to shock the listeners from their stupor and see the world – and their place in it – in a new light.
Born in the Turkish capital Ankara as John Graham Mellor, his parents were part of the diplomatic service and he spent his childhood moving from place to place: Germany, Egypt and Mexico. Strummer would later take full advantage of his upbringing, fusing artistic and cultural forms. Both of the bands that have won him notoriety - The 101ers and The Clash -strayed from convention, their music profoundly influenced by reggae and ska.
Strummer’s roving lifestyle came at a cost. He was sent to boarding schools, which he hated, and rock became a sanctuary during his school years, when he felt totally isolated. The music of the Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry and Little Richard stirred his soul. A rebellious streak would go on to energise his music.
The beginnings of Strummer’s musical career mimicked his early childhood, he spent a lot of it hopping from one band to another. Flaming Youth formed at the Newport College of Art, Strummer was their lead vocalist. He literally worked graveyard shifts at a local cemetery to fund his craft. When the band fell apart, he moved to London and the culture of the capital spurred creative and innovative sounds.
After a period of restlessness, Strummer formed The 101ers, named after a squat in Walterton Road, Maida Hill. His roommates made up the band, among them Tymon Dogg. It was at this point that he adopted the name ‘Joe Strummer’ - the iconoclastic, maverick punk hero was born!
Punk in England was the antithesis to the establishment. Abrasive, loud and definitively offensive, it tapped into the veins of working class alienation. The Clash vocalised the hopelessness of a generation. Strummer did not seek to change the lives of those who heard his music; he wanted to shock the listeners from their stupor and see the world – and their place in it – in a new light.