Joe Strummer Biography

Birth of Joe Strummer, born John Mellor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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"

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)

The new band have their first gig supporting the Sex Pistols

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

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 release "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 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 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Clash record London Calling. Produced by Guy Stevens

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Clash effectively disband in early 1986

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

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, from a congenital heart defect at the age of 50

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