Joe Strummer Biography and Timeline

Birth of Joe Strummer

Birth of Joe Strummer, born John Mellor

Education

Moves to Newport, Wales to attend the Newport College of Art, but soon drops out but while there, he joins up with some friends to form a band called The Vultures

101ers

Strummer founds a band called The 101ers, named for the address of their squat (101 Walterton Road, in Maida Vale)

101ers

The then-unknown band called the Sex Pistols open for The 101ers at a venue called "The Nashville Rooms"

Clash

Rhodes and Levene meet surreptitiously with Strummer after a 101ers gig, Rhodes gives him 48 hours to make up his mind whether he wanted to join the new band that would "rival the Pistols"

Clash

The band is named The Clash by Simonon who make their debut opening for the Sex Pistols at The Black Swan (a. k. a. The Mucky Duck, now known as the Boardwalk Sheffield, England)

Clash

The new band have their first gig supporting the Sex Pistols

Clash

The Clash perform at the 100 Club Punk Festival, sharing the bill with the Sex Pistols, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Subway Sect

100 Club Punk Festival

Performs with the Clash during the 100 Club Punk Special, an important early showcase for Britain's developing punk movement.

Role range: 1974-2002

Clash Formation

Joins Mick Jones and Paul Simonon in the newly formed Clash, becoming the band's principal singer and one of its main songwriters.

Role range: 1974-2002

Clash

The Clash os formed, originally composed of Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Keith Levene and Terry Chimes. Strummer had previously played in the pub rock act The 101ers (stage name Woody Mellor), renames himself "Joe Strummer", a reference to his rudimentary strumming skills on the ukulele as a busker in the London Underground

Clash

The Clash sign to CBS Records for œ100,000, a remarkable amount for a band that had played a total of about thirty gigs and almost none as a headliner

White Riot

The bands first single, "White Riot", was released in March; the album, The Clash, came out the following month

White Riot Chart Entry

White Riot becomes the Clash's first Official Singles Chart entry and reaches the UK Top Forty.

Role range: 1974-2002

The Clash Debut Album

The Clash's self-titled debut enters the UK albums chart and peaks at number twelve.

Role range: 1974-2002

Complete Control Chart Entry

Complete Control enters the Official Singles Chart and becomes another early Clash Top Forty hit.

Role range: 1974-2002

The Clash

The bands first single, "White Riot", was released in March; the album, The Clash, came out the following month. The Clash released their first single "White Riot/1977" and their first album "The Clash" to considerable success in the UK

The Clash

The Clash release "The Clash"

White Riot/1977

The bands first single, "White Riot", was released in March; the album, The Clash, came out the following month. The Clash released their first single "White Riot/1977" and their first album "The Clash" to considerable success in the UK

White Riot

The bands first single, "White Riot", was released in March; the album, The Clash, came out the following month. The Clash released their first single "White Riot/1977" and their first album "The Clash" to considerable success in the UK

Give 'Em Enough Rope Number Two

Give 'Em Enough Rope enters the UK albums chart and peaks at number two.

Role range: 1974-2002

Tommy Gun Chart Entry

Tommy Gun enters the Official Singles Chart and later reaches number nineteen.

Role range: 1974-2002

London Calling Album

London Calling enters the UK albums chart, reaching the Top Ten and expanding the Clash's sound beyond early punk.

Role range: 1974-2002

Clash

The Clash record London Calling. Produced by Guy Stevens

The Clash release London Calling, Rolling

The Clash release London Calling, Rolling Stone magazine declared it the best album of the 1980s & place it at #8 on their list in 2003 of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. The Clash record London Calling. Produced by Guy Stevens

Clash

The band come out with a single, "This Is Radio Clash", that further demonstrates their ability to mix diverse influences such as dub and hip hop

Clash

The loss of Headon, well-liked by the others, exposes the growing frictions within the band. Jones and Strummer begin to feud

Big Audio Dynamite

For Big Audio Dynamites second album, No. 10 Upping St., Jones reunited with Strummer, together, the two write several songs on the album, including "Beyond the Pale", "V. Thirteen", and "Sightsee M.C."; Strummer also co-produces the album

Earthquake Weather

Joe Strummer releases the first of his solo albums, "Earthquake Weather", which was neither a commercial nor critical success

Big Audio Dynamite

Strummer collaborates with ex-bandmate Mick Jones on BADs second album, No. 10 Upping St., co-producing the album and co-writing seven of its songs

Clash

The Clash effectively disband in early 1986

Clash

A reissue of "Should I Stay or Should I Go" gives The Clash its first and only number 1 UK single

Death of Joe Strummer

Death of Joe Strummer, from a congenital heart defect at the age of 50

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Clash are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by The Edge of U2