Joe Strummer is the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the English punk rock band The Clash. Born in Ankara, Turkey, Joe Strummer’s real name is John Graham Mellor. Joe Strummer is also the co-founder of the band The Clash and was a member of The Pogues and The Mescaleros.
Joe Strummer spent his childhood in Mexico City and Bonn. He moved to a boarding school in Surrey along with his older brother David and rarely visited his parents then after. His passion for rock music developed after he started listening to The Beach Boys, Woody Guthrie and Little Richard. Strummer changed his name to Joe Strummer after his brother committed suicide on July 1970.
After his schooling in Surrey, he moved to Newport, Wales and attended the Newport College of Art. However, he quit and formed a band called The Vultures and became the part-time singer and the guitarist. He was also associated with the band Gravedigger and The 101’ers. Joe was a left-handed guitarist and his friend Tymon Dogg taught him how to play with his right hand.
Bernie Rhodes and Mick Jones of London SS approached Joe Strummer to join them as a lead singer for their band. However, when Strummer had accepted the offer and was about to join, London SS was splitting. On 1976, Mick Jones and Joe Strummer joined up with Terry Chimes a drummer, Paul Simonon a bass guitarist and guitarist Keith Levene to form the band The Clash. They sang about the social injustice, militarism and the government. They were the most political rock band in their time.