We wanted to share this with you this post made by a blogger who goes under the name of Shazwellyn.
“Let me introduce you to the charity Strummerville! Set up in honour of the late Joe Strummer of The Clash, the trustee’s consist of family and friends who create opportunities for musicians who lack the necessary funds to do so.
They also support projects and organisations based around Joe Strummer’s ethics and beliefs. This ranges from providing instruments to prisoners, to help with rehabilitation (Jail Guitar Doors), to supporting people after murder and manslaughter (SAMM).
As you can see they are not biased in where they direct their help. The key is intervention humanitarian…the common good. Strummer strived for an unbiased world – a world where racism and racial discrimination, whether against whites, blacks and whoever, ceases to exist. He strived for a world against racism by advocating freedom and fairness.
The Strummerville Charity was inspired by Joe – he helped make a difference in the world. From environmental to humanitarian and social issues, through his music he inspired change. The formation of Future Trees (now The Carbon Neutral Company) was his brainchild by instigating the planting of acres of trees and Johnny Appleseed by Strummer was released to advertise this passionate environmental message.
His legacy continues to help the lives of others. From the days he spent around the Strummer Camp fire at Somerset’s Glastonbury Festival, to the united collaboration of musician’s in aid of fundraising for Strummerville (cover of Janey Jones with Babyshambles and friends) – John Mellor continues to leave his mark. Strummer was an inspiration… The Future Is Unwritten!!”
Thank you for the kind words Shazwellyn
Loads of love,
Strummerville x
A play looking at The Clash, punk and ’selling out’ is coming to Suffolk.
Meeting Joe Strummer, at Ipswich’s New Wolsey Theatre, looks at two fans’ relationship with the band they adore.
As they grow older they try and stay true to their youthful ideals in the face of getting jobs and holding down relationships.
“The value The Clash gave to me was about trusting your own instincts and doing it yourself,” said playwright Paul Hodson.
The Future Is Unwritten production is touring the UK and should find some takers, maybe from some who attended The Clash’s gigs in Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich - more of which later.
The play centres on characters Nick and Steve and their friendship over 25 years - after meeting at the legendary Rock Against Racism gig in London’s Victoria Park in 1978.
Nick went to a public school and rejects his middle class career path - as did Joe Strummer who was a diplomat’s son. Steve is from a more working class background and is also searching for his place in the grand scheme of things.
[read full feature by Andrew Woodger]
A passionate punk comedy about attitude, friendship and celebrity and a celebration of the man who set the agenda for a generation.
Nick and Steve’s lives were transformed by Joe Strummer and The Clash’s potent mix of politics, soulful rock’n’roll and iconic imagery.
1978. The lads see The Clash for the first time, headlining the Anti-Nazi League carnival in Victoria Park. It’s as if they take an oath to stay true to the values embodied in that day…
2002. Strummer’s tragic and unexpected early death forces Nick and Steve to re-evaluate their lives.
Winner of a Fringe First award, this heartfelt, comic play charts Nick and Steve’s attempts to maintain their ‘oath’ to Strummer while living through Thatcherism, paying the bills and maintaining relationships - how the lads grew up in the real world in the shadow of their hero.
‘theatre’s High Fidelity’ Lyn Gardner, The Guardian
‘Paul Hodson’s marvellous play… it’s required viewing, not just for Strummer’s many admirers, but also for anyone who enjoys funny, perceptive and passionately sincere new writing’ Manchester Evening News
Full info and tour dates visit: www.the-future-is-unwritten.co.uk
Strummerville supporters who came out for the benefit in San Francisco were treated to an impromptu performance by our good friend Billy Bragg.
Thanks to Mike for his long standing support in organising the benefits for us and to all the bands and of course to Billy for his love and support.
Huge thanks to everybody who made the Rock & Roll Public Library Project such a great experience for us, to all the bands who played at the closing gig and especially to Mick Jones for inviting us to put a studio into the exhibition and for just generally being such a dude and being so encouraging and supportive - check out the stage invasion at the end!!!
More Info:
Revolution Rock – A Joe Strummer Tribute Night 2009
From front man of The Clash to his work with The Mescalero’s, Joe Strummer was, and still is a massive influence to so many bands and people’s lives worldwide.
Joe sadly passed away at his home in December 2002.
To pay respects to the great man a night of homage happens annually in Sydney and this year the night is taking place at The Hopetoun Hotel, Surry Hills, Sydney on Saturday 19th September.
Bands paying homage for 2009 are: King Cannons (Melbourne), Backy Skank, The Rumjacks and Topnovil.
Revolution Rock – A Joe Strummer tribute night is now an annual event for Sydney and is in its 3rd successful year in bringing alive Joe’s music and spirit amongst his fans.
All proceeds from the event every year go to Strummerville.
www.myspace.com/revolutionrock_sydney
www.myspace.com/snapnight
Tonight a bevy of unsigned, unknown musicians will play to about 500 people in support of The Kooks on an open-air stage underneath the Westway.
Who’s responsible for their appearance at such a high profile event? Joe Strummer, mainly.
On what would have been his 57th birthday (he died from a heart defect in 2002) the Clash frontman’s influence on London’s music scene still looms large, not just through the popularity of his old band but in a practical way, too.
Strummerville, the charity set up by his friends and family shortly after his death, has become an invaluable support for young musicians.
All five support bands at tonight’s show near the organisation’s Westway home - Smokey Angle Shades, Beans On Toast, Nat Jenkins, The Supernovas and The Skylarkers - have benefited from Strummerville aid.
They are a long way from superstardom, although Strummerville acts Jamie T and Mumford And Sons are now doing very nicely with major label record deals.
“It’s inspired by The Clash’s do-it-yourself ethos, empowering people to get their music out there themselves,” Trish Whelan, director since last September, tells me.
She’s looking for people who want to be musicians, not pop stars. The anti-X Factor Strummerville is a fitting legacy for a rock giant who was resolutely down to earth.
For just a pound an hour, Strummerville offers rehearsal and songwriting rooms decorated with Clash lyrics and artwork in the Camden Roundhouse and the Oh Yeah centre in Belfast.
It organises campfire gigs at the Glastonbury Festival, where Strummer, more heal-the-world hippy than cynical punk, was an annual fixture around an open fire.
It offers introductions to mentors including Clash drummer Topper Headon, Massive Attack producer Nellee Hooper and Coldplay producer Danton Supple. It can provide something so simple yet vital as the loan of the Strummerville van or even cash.
Money comes from gigs organised around the world by Clash fans, and trustees such as Damien Hirst, who in 2008 auctioned Beautiful Love Strummerville Painting With Beautiful Butterflies for over £800,000, donating all the proceeds.
The surname-free Jay, who performs Billy Bragg-style witty folk as Beans On Toast, can’t speak highly enough of the charity that gave him a platform. “There’s a real Robin Hood vibe to it,” he says.
“Having Joe Strummer’s heart behind it is such a great start because there’s so much love for that man. Everyone’s got a Clash story. It opens a lot of doors.”
The bands, more than a hundred of whom have uploaded songs as free downloads in the DIY section of the website, become part of a friendly community at a stage when they might normally feel isolated and unloved.
The loan of instruments and drummers is common, and if someone starts landing bigger gigs, they’re likely to bring their Strummerville pals along as support bands.
One day one of them might even become as big as the hero whose legacy made their dream possible.
Library Live, tonight, under the Westway at Portobello Road. Doors 6pm, tickets £15 on the door.
The curly-haired Brighton boys have been a bit quiet of late, so fans will be pleased to hear they’re planning a not-so-secret gig this Friday in west London.
Organised by the Joe Strummer New Music Foundation – a charitable organisation dedicated to creating opportunities for aspiring musicians – it’s being held to celebrate the late Clash co-founder’s birthday.
Venue details are suitably sketchy – it’s described as an “urban space underneath the Westway” next to Portobello Market and the Public Library. The gig will also mark the closure of fellow Clash member Mick Jones’s pop-up exhibition of rock ‘n’ roll memorabilia , which shuts on 25 August.
This just in — Brighton band The Kooks are booked for a special Friday night show for Joe Strummer’s Birthday (this Fri Aug 21) under the Westway at Mick Jones Rock n Roll Public library. Talk about missing London, when you can roll together a band I really rate playing at a venue that love to visit marking the birthday of Joe Strummer. I’d almost put up with the weather, the cost of living and Tottenham fans to get over for this. Don’t forget our own birthday bash tribute for Joe this week.
So here’s an event that not only should be a good gig but proceeds go direct to Strummerville. Can you ask for more? Full details of the show on the first link and also here from the NME.
Visit The Clash Blog for more info and Clash related news
By Logical Lizard, feature article on Tuscon Citizen
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To say I miss Joe Strummer and The Clash is as pointless and redundant as remarking: “Wow, it is really hot in Tucson in the summer.” Although I did not really know Joe personally, I was lucky enough to meet him more than once, and saw the mighty Clash live and firing on all cylinders numerous times back in the punk days. One of the remarkable things about Joe was that after even the briefest of conversations you had the feeling that you actually did know him, and that he was genuinely interested in what you had to say. He was a real person.
Despite the fact that Joe has been gone for nearly seven years it is, surprisingly enough, still a great time to be a Clash fan. In recent years we’ve been blessed with From Here to Eternity, a live compilation which is actually my single favorite Clash album; Combat Rock being my least favorite with, let’s face it, really only a handful of decent songs (yes, I know I am in the minority there, but what’s new about that?).
We can can watch and re-watch Don Letts’ masterful film Westway To The World, which I consider to be the finest rock documentary every made. I am in no way a fan of director Julian Temple’s work—I find it gimmicky and affected—but he does cover interesting subjects and his Strummer documentary, The Future Is Unwritten, is important viewing for any fan of punk rock history.
Chris Salewicz’s Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer is, for my money, the best rock bio ever written (well, maybe first equal with Dave Marsh’s Who chronicle, Before I Get Old). Sony finally saw fit to officially release 1982’s Live at Shea Stadium on CD and punk rockers can revel in all things Clash related on Tim Merrick’s Clash Blog, ingeniously subtitled “The Only Blog That Matters.”
Dick Rude’s 68-minute film Let’s Rock Again is tauntingly short, but remains an entertaining and good-hearted record of Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros on the road shortly before Joe’s death. And that is the really tragic part. After years of self-imposed exile in a post-Clash wilderness, Joe had finally reinvented himself, teamed up with long-time friend, mentor, and musical collaborator Tymon Dogg and was touring with an eclectic and highly talented band. The new songs may not have had quite the musical kick that his great songwriting partner, Mick Jones, brought to the old Clash numbers, but there was an expansive, world music vibe to the Mescaleros. And Joe looked happy in concert, like he was finally doing what he wanted.
The three Mescaleros records: Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, Global A Go-Go and the posthumous Streetcore are a glorious jumble of musical styles. Those records do not fit into any known category of music and quite right too. By 2001, Joe was a mature composer, singer and performer at the height of his powers, drawing upon his love of richly diverse musical forms including jazz, reggae, blues, ska, rockabilly, folk, and punk rock. What could he have accomplished given another ten years behind that battered Telecaster?
Pic: Andy Willsher
Bruce Springsteen closed the second night of Glastonbury festival tonight (June 27) by paying tribute to the late Clash frontman Joe Strummer.
The star’s headlining show on the Pyramid Stage, his first ever festival appearance in the UK, was one of the most eagerly-awaited sets of the weekend.
Springsteen, a huge Clash and Strummer fan, chose to open the set with a solo rendition of Strummer’s track ‘Coma Girl’.
Originally recorded with The Mescaleros, the song’s lyrics were inspired by the festival, with Strummer a regular visitor up until his death in 2002.
A visibly moved Springsteen told the packed crowd: “We’re so pleased to be here at the rain-free Glastonbury! I’ve heard about it. I’ve heard about it! And now I can see it. The E Street Band are here to honour the solemn vow to rock the house tonight!”
The Clash were an English rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk rock. Along with punk rock, they experimented with reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap and rockabilly. For most of their recording career, The Clash consisted of Joe Strummer (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Mick Jones (lead guitar, vocals), Paul Simonon (bass, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals) and Nicky “Topper” Headon (drums, percussion). Headon left the group in 1982, and internal friction led to Jones’s departure the following year. The group continued with new members, but finally disbanded in early 1986.
The Clash were a major success in the UK from the release of their debut album, The Clash, in 1977. Their third album, London Calling, released in the UK in December 1979, brought them popularity in the United States when it came out there the following month. It received wide critical acclaim; a decade later Rolling Stone magazine declared it the best album of the 1980s.[1]
The Clash’s politicised lyrics, musical experimentation, and rebellious attitude had a far-reaching influence on rock, alternative rock in particular.[2] They became widely referred to as “The Only Band That Matters”, originally a promotional slogan introduced by the group’s record label, CBS. In January 2003 the band—including original drummer Terry Chimes—were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked The Clash number 30 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[3]
So you saw the name of the play and your interest was piqued, but what did you think it?s about? Perhaps an anodyne ?Buddy?-style Story Of The Clash; or maybe some inane jukebox musical along the lines of ?We Will Rock You?? Kindly think again.
Fortysomethings Nick and Steve meet again for the first time in years at a 2002 gig by Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros at Acton Town Hall. They have seen a lot since they first met as teenagers watching The Clash play the Rock Against Racism rally at Victoria Park in 1978: divorce, class warfare, acid house, the bleak Thatcher years and even soap stardom, but the flame of punk idealism ? what they describe as the ?inner Strummer? ? has never quite gone out.
Have they done what they wanted in their lives? Can they put their past differences behind them? And - most importantly - will they meet their hero Joe Strummer?
Paul Hodson has written a perceptive, funny and hard-hitting play about male friendship, integrity and the struggle to retain youthful idealism in the face of life?s bitter blows, which was an Edinburgh Festival First winner in 2006 and toured the UK in 2007. The Clash and The Mescaleros provide most of the soundtrack. SLT’s production will be the amateur premiere of this passionate comedy.
A Christmas benefit gig for the charity Strummerville is to be staged in London this December.
Strummerville Does Christmas takes place at west London venue The Tabernacle on December 21, the eve of the anniversary of Joe Strummer’s death.
The iconic Clash frontman died unexpectedly on December 22, 2002, of heart complications.
The Christmas gig features live performances from The Rotten Hill Gang, The Riff-Raff, Dan Smith and The Savage Nomads.
Strummerville was founded by Joe Strummer’s widow Lucinda shortly after his death.
The group says it “seeks to reflect Joe’s unique contribution to the music world by offering support, resources and performance opportunities to artists who would not normally have access to them”.
Endless Strummer is a tribute to Joe Strummer of The Clash and a benefit for Strummerville, a foundation that creates new opportunities for aspiring musicians. It takes place this Saturday, September 1st at Bottom of the Hill in San Francisco.