Strummer was born John Mellor on August 21, 1952 in Ankara, Turkey, to a British diplomat. Unlike most of his punk contemporaries, Strummer was educated at a private school, but soon felt a strong desire to perform music. In 1976, he and guitarist-songwriter Mick Jones formed The Clash, releasing their first records the following year. The Clash quickly established themselves as one of the most potent bands in the UK punk explosion, releasing a string of scathing, explosive singles over the next few years: "White Riot", "London Calling", "Train in Vain (Stand by Me)", "Rock the Casbah" and "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" establishing them as one of the few bands to successfully combine raw political fervor with rancorous force and musical versatility.
The Clash would eventually disband in 1986, and Strummer soon found himself in the film industry when British filmmaker Alex Cox approached him to contribute to the soundtrack for the punk biopic Sid and Nancy (1986). A fruitful career in films followed and Strummer produced the music for Cox's irreverent historical drama Walker (1987) and Julian Schnabel's moving story of artist Jean-Michel Basquiat's short life in Basquiat (1996). Thanks to his snarling charisma, Strummer also found himself in front of the camera for some notable directors. He played a street thug in Martin Scorsese's The King of Comedy (1983); an amusing cameo in Alex Cox's spaghetti western spoof Straight to Hell (1987); and appeared in cult director Jim Jarmusch's wry comedy Mystery Train (1989) (as a British loner stranded in a Memphis motel) and Aki Kaurismaki's eerie mood pieceI Hired a Contract Killer (1990). Most impressively, Strummer's songs have been featured in several recent films: the John Cusack produced Grosse Pointe Blank (1997); Stephen Daldry's popular hit Billy Elliot (2000); and Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) - all prominently feature Joe Strummer's fiery vocals, coloring and propelling the movie in some manner. Strummer is survived by his wife Lucy, two daughters and a stepdaughter.
by Michael T. Toole
