Joe Strummer

I first saw the mighty Clash when I was just a lad, on the 1978 "Out of Control" tour at London's Rainbow Theatre, and many times thereafter. I was lucky enough to meet Joe (or "Uncle Joe" as we called him) a couple of times, and to see his magnificent return to New York's Palladium in 1989 on the "Earthquake Weather" tour, then twice more with the Mescaleros at Irving Plaza and at Roseland. The Clash were the best band I've ever seen, and I don't expect to see anything as powerful or exciting, as long as I live.

Joe was the spokesman for the punk generation — an articulate, brilliant, radical, intellectual rebel and songwriter — and a really nice guy too, who always had time for his fans. To say he was a big influence on my music and politics for the past 25 years would be an understatement.

He was also our greatest lyricist:

"Every cheap hood strikes a bargain with the world
But ends up making payments on a sofa or a girl
'Love and Hate' tattooed across the knuckles of his hand
Hands that slapped his kids around
'Cos they don't understand
How 'Death or Glory' becomes just another story"

From "Death or Glory" (Strummer/Jones)

Joe's two recent solo albums were the work of an exceptional, thoughtful, and eclectic artist at the height of his powers. The recently-released live Clash album (complied by the band themselves), "From Here to Eternity" is a must-have for all punk fans, as is the Don Letts documentary about the band, "Westway to the World." Joe was working on a third Mescaleros album, which I guess we will never hear. Other achievements include his Latin-inspired soundtrack for Alex Cox's film "Walker," and his gorgeous production on the Pogues' classic "Hell's Ditch" album.

Joe gave style, commitment, and direction to the punk revolution, and was one of the very few punk-era artists who kept on making consistently important and enjoyable music in the decades that followed. Hardly a day goes by in the this house, even after all these years, without some Clash or Uncle Joe in the CD player. For me, there is not — and never will be — an artist more inspirational and influential than Joe. And there's nobody whose music I could possibly miss more.

— Geoff Notkin