60 years ago today, Joe Strummer entered our world. The music that he made during his lifetime has a permanent imprint on the global music landscape, and it’s impossible to count how many lives the music he made has touched and will touch.
Unfortunately I’m too young to have seen him perform, but I’m not too young to say this… Joe Strummer and the bands he was involved in shaped my taste in music, the way I play music, and the way I see music’s impact on the world.
We live in a time of great change and unrest, and we can learn a lot from the messages that Strummer delivered in both his actions and his music during his lifetime.
This playlist celebrates Joe Strummer’s life on what would have been his 60th birthday. It has a minute of music for every year since his birth, and comprises a range of music spanning his career. There was no intention to select hits (there’s certainly enough compilations out there) or trying to be “alternative” with selections – just tracks that I love personally. There’s countless more tracks that could be included, so I hope this spurs a few on to rediscover music by one of the greatest songwriters to ever walk this earth.
RIP Joe Strummer [1952-2002]
TOM AYLOTT
01 ‘Coma Girl’
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
‘Streetcore’
2003
02 ‘Rudie Can’t Fail’
The Clash
‘London Calling’
1979
03 ‘Death Or Glory’
The Clash
‘London Calling’
1979
04 ‘The Magnificent Seven’
The Clash
‘Sandinista!’
1980
05 ‘Train In Vain’
The Clash
‘London Calling’
1979
06 ‘Cheat’
The Clash
‘The Clash’
1977
07 ‘Tommy Gun’
The Clash
‘Give ‘Em Enough Rope’
1978
08 ‘The Right Profile’
The Clash
‘London Calling’
1979
09 ‘Should I Stay Or Should I Go’
The Clash
‘Combat Rock’
1982
10 ‘London’s Burning’
The Clash
‘The Clash’
1977
11 ‘Lost In The Supermarket’
The Clash
‘London Calling’
1979
12 ‘Global A Go-Go’
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
‘Global A Go-Go’
2001
13 ‘London Calling’
The Clash
‘London Calling’
1979
14 ‘Clampdown’
The Clash
‘London Calling’
1979
15 ‘Hate & War’
The Clash
‘The Clash’
1977
16 ‘Spanish Bombs’
The Clash
‘London Calling’
1979
17 ‘X Ray Style’
Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
‘Rock Art & The X Ray Style’
1999