Joe Strummer Discography

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Member Of

The 101`ers :: The Clash

Influenced By

Sex Pistols :: Ramones

Followers

Courtney Love :: Mark Lind :: Eddie Vedder :: Baby Chaos :: Zack De La Rocha

Similar Artists

Big Audio Dynamite :: The Pogues :: Rancid :: Social Distortion :: Johnny Thunders

Joe Strummer was born as John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey on August 21, 1952. His mother, a crofter`s daughter and one of nine children born and raised in the Scottish Highlands, was a nurse. His father was a British foreign-service diplomat who had been born in Lucknow, India. He was of partial Armenian ancestry. The family spent much time moving from place to place, and Mellor spent his childhood in places such as Cairo, Mexico City, and Bonn. At the age of 9, Mellor and his older brother David, 10, began boarding at the City of London Freemen`s School in Surrey. Mellor rarely saw his parents during this time. He developed a love of rock music listening to records by Little Richard and The Beach Boys as well as American folk-singer Woody Guthrie. (Mellor would even go by the name "Woody" for a few years, following his brother`s suicide in July 1970, until changing his name to "Joe Strummer" a year and a half before the Clash was formed.) After finishing his time at City of London Freemen`s School, Ashtead Park, Surrey, in 1970, Strummer moved on to London`s Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, where he briefly flirted with the idea of becoming a professional cartoonist, but ultimately completed a foundations course. During this time, Strummer shared a flat in the north London suburb of Palmers Green with friends Clive Timperley and Tymon Dogg.

In 1973 Strummer moved to Newport, Wales to attend the Newport College of Art, but soon dropped out. While there, he joined up with some friends to form a band called The Vultures. This band included three former members of Rip Off Park Rock & Roll Allstars, the original college band co-founded by Terry Earl Taylor. For the next year he was the band`s part-time singer and rhythm guitarist. During this time Strummer also worked as a gravedigger. In 1974, the band fell apart and he moved back to London where he met up again with Tymon Dogg. He busked on the streets for a while and then decided to form another band with his West London roommates. The band was called The 101`ers, named for the address of their squat (101 Walterton Road, in Maida Vale). The band played many gigs in London pubs, playing covers of popular American R&B and blues songs. In 1975 he changed his name from "Woody" Mellor to Joe Strummer, and insisted that his friends call him by that name. The name "Strummer" apparently refers to his role as rhythm guitarist, in a rather self-deprecating way. Though left-handed, he was taught to play right-handed by his friend Tymon Dogg; this hampered his abilities somewhat and confined him to strumming chords. Strummer was the lead singer of the 101`ers and began to write original songs for the group. One song he wrote was inspired by his girlfriend at the time, Slits drummer Palmolive. The group liked the song "Keys to Your Heart", and picked it as their first single.On April 3, 1976, a then-unknown band called the Sex Pistols opened for The 101`ers at a venue called "The Nashville Rooms" in London, and Strummer was impressed by them. Sometime after this show, Strummer was approached by Bernie Rhodes and Mick Jones. Jones was from the band London SS and wanted Strummer to join as lead singer. Strummer agreed to join just as the group was breaking up, but he formed a new band with Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, drummer Terry Chimes and guitarist Keith Levene. The band was named The Clash by Simonon and made their debut on July 4, 1976, opening for the Sex Pistols at The