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Clash star Strummer dies
The Clash in their heyday: Strummer is third from left
Joe Strummer, the leader of legendary Seventies punk band The Clash, has died aged 50.
A spokesman for Strummer, real name John Graham Mellor, said the singer died at home on Sunday.
A post mortem examination is to be performed on Monday to confirm the cause of death, which a friend of the singer said was a heart attack.
The Clash was the greatest rock band - they wrote the rule book for U2 - Bono
Police were called to the singer's home, though they said the death was not suspicious.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "We believe police did attend as the death at the farmhouse in Broomfield near Bridgwater was sudden."
Strummer formed The Clash in the mid Seventies. Along with the Sex Pistols, they were the figureheads of the punk scene that put London on the map as the centre of the musical world.
Strummer was with new band The Mescaleros
U2 frontman Bono paid tribute to Strummer on Monday saying: "The Clash was the greatest rock band. They wrote the rule book for U2. It's such a shock."
Pete Jenner, the former manager of The Clash, told BBC News Online: "It's a huge loss.
"The band were one of the best live bands, as good as any band I've ever worked with."
Left-wing singer Billy Bragg added: "Within The Clash, Joe was the political engine of the band, and without Joe there's no political Clash and without The Clash the whole political edge of punk would have been severely dulled."
The Clash's hits
London Calling
Should I Stay Or Should I Go
Rock The Casbah
White Riot
Tommy Gun
Bank Robber
White Man In Hammersmith Palais
The Clash arguably gave punk a classic pop sensibility and their vital spirit in turn influenced later bands such as the Manic Street Preachers.
Strummer's death comes as the members of the Clash were believed to be considering a reunion, 17 years after the band split up.
They were reported to be planning a one-off gig next year as part of their induction ceremony at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in the US.
Strummer had long resisted reforming the band, and was said to be annoyed that the defunct group's songs overshadowed his work with new band The Mescaleros, which had more of a world music slant.
Click here to watch a clip of The Clash performing Clash City Rockers
The Clash were politically aware and became known as champions of left-wing causes. They even called their 1980 album Sandinista, after the left-wing guerrilla movement in Nicaragua.
They were anti-racist and noted for inflammatory, intelligent punk songs such as London Calling, White Riot, White Man In Hammersmith Palais and Tommy Gun.
The band, who also boasted Mick Jones, Topper Headon and Paul Simonon, became huge stars in the US.
Joe Strummer, on the left: Record deal denied The Clash huge profits
Rolling Stone voted London Calling, their classic 1980 album (released in 1979 in the UK) as the best album of the Eighties.
Their 1982 song Should I Stay Or Should I Go was their biggest US hit, and was posthumously used in an ad for jeans manufacturer Levi's.
The Clash had huge record sales, but had signed a deal with their record company that denied them huge profits. They wore this as a badge of pride, claiming it ensured they still kept to their punk ideals.
Strummer led the band until 1986, after sacking Mick Jones. The band released their last album, the poorly-received Cut The Crap, the same year.
In recent years, apart from The Mescaleros, Strummer played with The Pogues and featured in several films, including Alex Cox's Walker and Straight To Hell, and Jim Jarmusch's 1989 Mystery Train.
He leaves a wife and children.
WATCH/LISTEN
ON THIS STORY
The BBC's Jon Brain
"Joe Strummer had a heart attack"
Pat Gilbert, editor of Mojo magazine
"One of the most important bands in musical history"
Musician Billy Bragg
"He walked it like he talked it"
TALKING POINT
Joe Strummer
Send your tributes for The Clash lead singer
See also:
23 Dec 02 | Music
Strummer's lasting culture Clash
23 Dec 02 | Music
Stars' tributes to Strummer
20 Dec 02 | Music
Bono pens Mandela song
23 Dec 02 | Talking Point
Joe Strummer: Your tributes
12 Nov 01 | Reviews
Joe Strummer greets Gran Canaria
22 Sep 99 | Entertainment
The Clash on film
Internet links:
Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer fan site
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Top Music stories now:
Clash star Strummer dies
Girls Aloud top festive chart
Rapper wins Sound of 2003 poll
Ex-Beatle granted coat of arms
Irish song voted world's favourite
Fame Academy's Sinead signs deal
Bono pens Mandela song
Scotland's honour for Madonna
Links to more Music stories are at the foot of the page.
The Clash in their heyday: Strummer is third from left
Joe Strummer, the leader of legendary Seventies punk band The Clash, has died aged 50.
A spokesman for Strummer, real name John Graham Mellor, said the singer died at home on Sunday.
A post mortem examination is to be performed on Monday to confirm the cause of death, which a friend of the singer said was a heart attack.
The Clash was the greatest rock band - they wrote the rule book for U2 - Bono
Police were called to the singer's home, though they said the death was not suspicious.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: "We believe police did attend as the death at the farmhouse in Broomfield near Bridgwater was sudden."
Strummer formed The Clash in the mid Seventies. Along with the Sex Pistols, they were the figureheads of the punk scene that put London on the map as the centre of the musical world.
Strummer was with new band The Mescaleros
U2 frontman Bono paid tribute to Strummer on Monday saying: "The Clash was the greatest rock band. They wrote the rule book for U2. It's such a shock."
Pete Jenner, the former manager of The Clash, told BBC News Online: "It's a huge loss.
"The band were one of the best live bands, as good as any band I've ever worked with."
Left-wing singer Billy Bragg added: "Within The Clash, Joe was the political engine of the band, and without Joe there's no political Clash and without The Clash the whole political edge of punk would have been severely dulled."
The Clash's hits
London Calling
Should I Stay Or Should I Go
Rock The Casbah
White Riot
Tommy Gun
Bank Robber
White Man In Hammersmith Palais
The Clash arguably gave punk a classic pop sensibility and their vital spirit in turn influenced later bands such as the Manic Street Preachers.
Strummer's death comes as the members of the Clash were believed to be considering a reunion, 17 years after the band split up.
They were reported to be planning a one-off gig next year as part of their induction ceremony at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in the US.
Strummer had long resisted reforming the band, and was said to be annoyed that the defunct group's songs overshadowed his work with new band The Mescaleros, which had more of a world music slant.
Click here to watch a clip of The Clash performing Clash City Rockers
The Clash were politically aware and became known as champions of left-wing causes. They even called their 1980 album Sandinista, after the left-wing guerrilla movement in Nicaragua.
They were anti-racist and noted for inflammatory, intelligent punk songs such as London Calling, White Riot, White Man In Hammersmith Palais and Tommy Gun.
The band, who also boasted Mick Jones, Topper Headon and Paul Simonon, became huge stars in the US.
Joe Strummer, on the left: Record deal denied The Clash huge profits
Rolling Stone voted London Calling, their classic 1980 album (released in 1979 in the UK) as the best album of the Eighties.
Their 1982 song Should I Stay Or Should I Go was their biggest US hit, and was posthumously used in an ad for jeans manufacturer Levi's.
The Clash had huge record sales, but had signed a deal with their record company that denied them huge profits. They wore this as a badge of pride, claiming it ensured they still kept to their punk ideals.
Strummer led the band until 1986, after sacking Mick Jones. The band released their last album, the poorly-received Cut The Crap, the same year.
In recent years, apart from The Mescaleros, Strummer played with The Pogues and featured in several films, including Alex Cox's Walker and Straight To Hell, and Jim Jarmusch's 1989 Mystery Train.
He leaves a wife and children.
WATCH/LISTEN
ON THIS STORY
The BBC's Jon Brain
"Joe Strummer had a heart attack"
Pat Gilbert, editor of Mojo magazine
"One of the most important bands in musical history"
Musician Billy Bragg
"He walked it like he talked it"
TALKING POINT
Joe Strummer
Send your tributes for The Clash lead singer
See also:
23 Dec 02 | Music
Strummer's lasting culture Clash
23 Dec 02 | Music
Stars' tributes to Strummer
20 Dec 02 | Music
Bono pens Mandela song
23 Dec 02 | Talking Point
Joe Strummer: Your tributes
12 Nov 01 | Reviews
Joe Strummer greets Gran Canaria
22 Sep 99 | Entertainment
The Clash on film
Internet links:
Joe Strummer
Joe Strummer fan site
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Top Music stories now:
Clash star Strummer dies
Girls Aloud top festive chart
Rapper wins Sound of 2003 poll
Ex-Beatle granted coat of arms
Irish song voted world's favourite
Fame Academy's Sinead signs deal
Bono pens Mandela song
Scotland's honour for Madonna
Links to more Music stories are at the foot of the page.
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