Joe Strummer Dead-Age 50

ABC Radio News | self

[mr.pink]

How're ya doin'?

Well since you asked....I'll tell ya'.

The freakin' Cincinnati Bengals reached into my Christmas stocking and removed $25,000 yesterday.....ouch!

Other than that...all's well. I hope you're well and that you have wonderful holidays!

[chengster]

Everyone's got an opinion, here's mine:

Their debut album is one of the great albums of the Punk era, I once read White Man in Hammersmith Palais was the greatest song ever pressed into vinyl -- not sure I agree but it definitely rocks. Their cover of I Fought the Law is great stuff. White Riot, Police and Thieves, Garageland... what an album!

[sneakypete]

Mandela ??? Well , nobody's perfect ...

Mandela is a Marxist,and Bono is Irish and rich. A perfect match. They may end up getting married.

[xp38]

I remember seeing the somewhat unauthorized behind the scenes movie about a roadie for the band called Rude Boy. In it Joe is wearing a t-shirt of the Italian terrorist group which murdered former Italian leader Aldo Moro called the Brigade Rosse. The scene is in a hotel room and the roadie asks what the Brigade Rosse is and Joe says its a pizza restaurant.

[Jhensy]

Wow, I'm shocked. I was a big fan... Strummer in particular. I was there for a lot of it- 2 nights at the "legendary" Bonds Casino shows on Times Square in 1981.

Free Republic is the wrong place to defend the Clash. I was fully aware of thier dopey leftism during the Sandinista period- I had just voted for the first time for Reagan, but it didn't bother me, I loved that LP...it will always remind me of my junior year in college.

Joe was the radical one, Mick Jones was more middle-of-the-road and commercial, which led to their breakup. They had a classic Lennon-McCartney thing going.

Hard to believe that Joe was 50...he was a little older than the other punks. I do know that he ran and finished the London Marathon sometime in the 80's- he supposedly ran it on a whim, without any training whatsoever. He was a lean, wiry, frenetic guy...heart attack is no surprise, but drugs would be. Then again...

[Musket]

....thier dopey leftism

Aptly put. I wouldn't defend it here or anywhere else.

[fourdeuce82d]

"when they kick in your front door, how ya gonna come
with your hands on your head, or on the trigger of your gun..."

[Big Guy and Rusty 99]

It was actual a triple album, their double album "London Calling" was their best. It featured "Lost in a Supermarket" and "Train in Vain" among others.

[Skip Ripley]

Strummer had one issue right. I read an interview with him last year re Bin Laden. Strummer, a guy who used to wear Brigade' Rosse T-shirts, actually said that we should kill Bin Laden and his cronies before they killed us.

I think Brits like Hitchens and Strummer who are otherwise fairly leftist understand the war on terrorism because they came right after the near destruction of London. It's like the "kill or be killed" mentality is part of their genetics

[Skip Ripley]

They put out Sandinista! shortly after their labelmate Bruce Springsteen released "The River". Bruce released it as a double LP, so the Strummer and the Clash said "Suck on this Bruce" (actual quote) and released Sandinista! as a triple.

[XRdsRev]

"Everybody wants to bum a ride
on the rock n roller coaster
and we went out and got our name
in small print on the poster...

Face front you got the future
shining like a piece of gold
but I swear as we got closer
It look more like a lump of coal"

"All the Young Punks" - (Strummer/Jones)

RIP Joe - Thanks for the memories......

[wardaddy]

You just wait...it gets worse...trust me.

[wardaddy]

Unless you are quite wealthy (which I hope you are) you should be careful sir.

[Jhensy]

You could look at Strummer as a Brit equivalent of Springsteen: Friend of the common man, foolish left-wing issues, passionate, intense, short dark-haired guy who played a Telecaster and sang in a rough voice.

[Hemingway's Ghost]

This sucks.

Rest in peace, Joe.

Ignore Alien Orders

[GSWarrior]

I always preferred Give 'Em Enough Rope, myself.

[RichInOC]

...and fans the world over are asking themselves, "What are we gonna do now?!"

Rest easy, Joe. God be good to you.

[meowmeow]

A statement released by his record label said Strummer "died peacefully at his home."

Saw this on CNN. How does one die peacefully of a heart attack??

[cicero's_son]

Same here.

I think London Calling may still be my favorite rock album of all time. Wrong 'Em Boyo, Death or Glory, Lost in the Supermarket, Clampdown, and Spanish Bombs....all on one glorious album. Unbelievable talent.

Rest in Peace, Joe.

[Ditto]

I guess I should mention that he was the singer for the late '70s and early '80s English Punk band the Clash.

I still never heard of him, but RIP anyway.