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Joe Strummer
born: 21-09-1952
birth place: Ankara, Turkey
died: 23-12-2002

John Graham Mellor was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1952, while his father was there working as a diplomat. However, it wasn’t until his boarding school days in London that he discovered a love for music, and began busking on the streets under his newly adopted stage name – Joe Strummer.

As front man, writer and motive force in ‘The Clash’, the most influential, expansive and enduring band to come out of the British 1976 punk rock explosion, Joe carved his legend in bold and graphic style.

Signed to CBS Records, the band recorded ‘The Clash in London’ and in 1977, Rolling Stone magazine called it the "definitive punk album". However, relationships with the record company were at times strained, which led to promotion problems and poor early sales in the US. Six albums and many hit singles later, The Clash broke up due to their own personal "clashes" within the group.

Strummer went on to contribute two songs to the soundtrack of ‘Sid and Nancy’ and popped up in the films ‘Walker’ and ‘Straight to Hell’. Having worked on a number of soundtracks, he released his first solo album, ‘Earthquake Weather’, in 1989. A quiet period in the 90s ended when he appeared on the Black Grape single ‘England's Irie’.

Strummer went on to release a further two solo albums in the late 1990s and it was while recording his fourth album that he suffered a heart attack and died, aged 50.