"What I like about playing America is you can be pretty sure you're not going to get hit with a full can of beer when you're singing, and I really enjoy that" -- Joe Strummer
On August 21st, Joe Strummer would have been 58 years-old.
Like so many fans of The Clash, from the late 8o's throughout the 90's, I had hoped for a reunion, but the closest we ever came was a songwriting and producing collaboration between Strummer and guitarist Mick Jones on Big Audio Dynamite's "No.10 Upping Street."
The Sex Pistols may have paved the way for The Clash, but the band's talent, willingness to explore other musical genres and keen social awareness established them as the quintessential British Punk Rockers and for a time, "the only band that mattered."
Clash fans miss Strummer's candor, his willingness to speak his mind, but most of all, we just miss his music.
Here are ten lesser-known facts about Mr. Strummer:
1. His real name: John Graham Mellor.
2. Inspired by Woody Guthrie, Strummer's nickname was "Woody" for several years.
3. He once worked as a gravedigger.
4. He was heavily involved in the Anti-Nazi League.
5. He was arrested with Topper Headon on 6/10/77 for spray painting "The Clash" on a hotel wall.
6. On May 20, 1980, he was arrested for hitting a violent member of the audience with his guitar during a show in Hamburg, Germany.
7. Before The Clash recorded "Combat Rock," Strummer went into hiding for a long period.
8. He ran the Paris marathon in 1982.
9. Strummer joined The Pogues for a tour in 1987-88, filling in for Philip Chevron.
10. Acted in Jim Jarmusch's film "Mystery Train."
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