Coordinates: 51°33′17″N 0°13′03″W / 51.5548°N 0.2176°W / 51.5548; -0.2176

Cricklewood
Cricklewood  Cricklewood shown within Greater London
OS grid reference	TQ235855
London borough	Barnet
	Brent
	Camden
Ceremonial county	Greater London
Region	London
Country	England
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Post town	LONDON
Postcode district	NW2
Dialling code	020
Police	Metropolitan
Fire	London
Ambulance	London
EU Parliament	London
UK Parliament	Brent Central
	Hampstead and Kilburn
	Finchley and Golders Green
London Assembly	Barnet and Camden
	Brent and Harrow
List of places: UK • England • London

Cricklewood is a district of North London, England whose northeastern part is in the London Borough of Barnet, western part is the London Borough of Brent and southeastern part is in London Borough of Camden.

History[link]

There was a small settlement at the junction of Cricklewood Lane and the Edgware Road by 1294, which by 1321 was being called Cricklewood. By the 1750s the Crown (rebuilt in 1889), was providing for coach travellers and by the 1800s it had a handful of cottages and Cricklewood House as neighbours, and was known for its “pleasure gardens”. By the 1860s there were a number of substantial villas along the Edgware Road starting with Rockhall Lodge and culminating in Rockhall Terrace.

Childs Hill Station, later Cricklewood, opened in 1868, but Cricklewood only fully became an industrial and suburban district in the 1930s. In the summer of 1881 the Midland Railway Company moved its locomotive works from Kentish Town to the new “Brent Sidings”, and in October of the same year it was announced that new accommodation for its workers would be built, later the Cricklewood Railway Cottages. Mr H Finch laid out a handful of roads directly behind the Crown Inn, (including Yew, Ash, and Elm Groves) in 1880. The station had become the terminus for the Midland Railway suburban services by 1884. The census of 1881 showed that the population had grown enough for a new church, and St. Peter's replaced a tin chapel in 1891. A daughter church called Little St. Peter's was opened in 1958 on Claremont Way and closed in 1983. The parish church on Cricklewood Lane was demolished and rebuilt in the 1970s. This church building was closed in 2004 although services for Anglicans are still held in Carey Hall on Claremont Road, now called New St. Peter's. The London General Omnibus Company commenced services to Regent Street from the Crown in 1883, in 1899 opening a bus garage (Garage code W), which is still in use, although completely rebuilt by 2010.

The Crown Moran Hotel

By the 1890s, houses and shops had been built along part of Cricklewood Lane. Cricklewood Broadway had become a retail area by 1900 replacing the Victorian villas. The Queens Hall Cinema, later the Gaumont, replaced Rock Hall House, and was itself demolished in 1960. Thorverton, Caddington and Dersingham Roads were laid out in 1907, the year of the opening of Golders Green tube station. With the introduction of the tram system in 1904 and the motorisation of bus services by 1911, numerous important industries were established. The first of these was the Phoenix Telephone Co. in 1911 (later moved to the Hyde). The Handley Page Aircraft Company soon followed, from 1912 until 1917, at 110 Cricklewood Lane and subsequently occupying a large part of Claremont Road. The Cricklewood Aerodrome was adjacent to their factory.

Cricklewood was home to Smith's Industries. This started in 1915 as S. Smith & Sons, on the Edgware Road, established to manufacture fuses, instruments and accessories. By 1939 it was making electrical motors, aircraft accessories and electric clocks. Their large advertisement on the iron railway bridge over the Broadway next to the bus garage became a familiar landmark for decades. As the company grew it acquired other companies and sites overseas but Cricklewood remained the most important site, with 8,000 employees between 1937 and 1978.^[1] Coincidentally, Cricklewood also became the home for the first Smith's Crisps potato crisp factory which replaced the omnibus depot at Crown Yard. Having moved into new premises in Cricklewood Lane, the yard was taken over by Clang Electrical Goods Ltd. From 1929 to 1933 the area was finally built over. Bentley Motors, builders of racing and sports cars, built a factory at Oxgate Lane in 1920, and Cricklewood remained their headquarters until their bankruptcy in 1931.

Cowhouse Farm, latterly Dickers Farm and finally Avenue Farm, was closed in 1932. From 1908 to 1935, Westcroft Farm was owned by the Home of Rest for Horses; at its peak it could house 250 horses. The Metropolitan Borough of Hampstead opened the Westcroft Estate in 1935. From the 1960s, industry in the local area went into decline, and all the above-mentioned businesses have left.

Cricklewood Broadway in the snow, February 2009

Mention should be made of two buildings on Cricklewood Lane. The first was Production Village (Virgin Active gym now stands on the site; apparently this was part of the old HP factory). Production Village was part of the British film-making scene and owned by Samuelsons. Towards its end it was a pub with rehearsal rooms attached. It was demolished around 2000 to make way for the gym. Secondly, and a little further up the hill, is a rather odd modern building on the south side of the road (about number 138): this was the factory for the revolutionary Stylophone handheld organ of the late 1960s / early 1970s – as demonstrated by Rolf Harris. Cricklewood is often mentioned by and is considered to be the home of The Goodies.

In June 2001, a lynx was captured in Cricklewood after a 10 year campaign by residents. The animal was originally nicknamed the "Beast of Barnet" by the local press following numerous sightings around south Hertfordshire and the fringes of north London. A senior veterinary officer for the London Zoological Society arrived with the task of sedating the beast using a tranquiliser gun. It is believed that someone was keeping the animal illegally and it had escaped.^[2] The lynx was taken to London Zoo, and named Lara.^[3]

Geography[link]

Neighbouring areas

	West Hendon	Hendon	Golders Green
	Neasden		Childs Hill
		Cricklewood    East
	Willesden	Brondesbury	West Hampstead

Transport[link]

Cricklewood railway station is the nearest main-line station (for Thameslink services). There is a railway complex and sidings to the north of the station.

The nearest London Underground stations are Willesden Green, Kilburn, and West Hampstead, on the Jubilee line. To the east are Brent Cross and Golders Green on the Northern line.

The A5 Cricklewood Broadway is the main north-south road through the area, being the original Roman Road called Watling Street.

Cricklewood Aerodrome adjacent to the Handley Page factory in the 1920s was used for the first London-Paris air service.

Development[link]

Brent Cross Cricklewood, a £4.5 billion regeneration scheme for Cricklewood, Brent Cross and West Hendon has been proposed, to start in 2011.^[4] A new Brent Cross Thameslink station, for 12-car trains, is planned, and for that reason the planned lengthening of Cricklewood station platforms, from 8 to 12-cars, has been abandoned. West Hendon is now being dealt with separately.

As of 2009, the proposal is subject to a planning application for extensive redevelopment of 'Brent Cross Cricklewood', and there are views for^[5][6] and against^[7][8] the proposals, and reports in the media.^[9][10][11]

In April 2009, the London Borough of Camden decided to oppose the application. In May 2009, the London Borough of Brent concluded, although without widespread public pronouncement, that the developers needed to apply for planning permission from Brent as well as from Barnet, because of various road changes that spilled over on to Brent land. On 15 September 2009, Barnet recommended approval of the application, in a report to its 23 September Planning Committee, later postponed to 20 October.^[12] The issue was reported by local media,^[13][14] and was taken up by the national media.^[15]

Notable residents[link]

This section is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (March 2010)

• Elizabeth Adare – television actress in The Tomorrow People'
• Emma Anderson – guitarist and songwriter of indie music bands Lush and Sing-Sing (band)
• Tim Brooke-Taylor – television actor in The Goodies, now lives in Berkshire
• Jamie Cho – actor
• Alan Carr - comedian (mentioned at the end of 'Chatty Man' featuring Kylie Minogue, which aired on 1st June 2012)
• Alan Coren – writer and satirist, who "did for the unprepossessing North London suburb of Cricklewood what Hardy did for Wessex"^[16]
• Ching He Huang – TV chef
• Tamsin Greig – actress, was brought up in Exeter Road, near Kilburn Tube station.
• Ken Livingstone – former Mayor of London^[17]
• Penelope Mortimer – late novelist lived on the Mapesbury Estate in her latter years.
• Róisín Murphy – musician (since 2006)^[18]
• Jimmy Nail – television actor in Auf Wiedersehen, Pet^{[citation needed]}
• Dennis Nilsen – serial killer^[19]
• Peter O'Toole – actor, filmstar ^[20]
• Andrew Sachs – actor best known for playing Manuel in Fawlty Towers lives in the area.
• Oliver Sacks – famous neurologist was brought up on the corner of Exeter & Mapesbury Roads in the house where his parents were GPs.
• Zadie Smith – author of White Teeth grew up in Cricklewood^[21] now lives in Rome

In pop culture[link]

• Setting of The Goodies.
• Setting of the 1990s children's TV show Spatz.
• Setting of Minder.
• Album by Ten Years After is entitled Cricklewood Green
• Mentioned in the spoken introduction to the Irish folk song 'McAlpine's Fusiliers' as performed by The Dubliners, Noel Murphy and others.
• Setting of the opening scene and much of Zadie Smith's novel White Teeth and features in the funeral scene in On Beauty
• The home of Gary Sparrow in the 1990s BBC sitcom Goodnight Sweetheart is located in Cricklewood.

Films made at Cricklewood Film Studios[link]

• 1927: Huntingtower directed by George Pearson

References[link]

External links[link]

• Street map showing Cricklewood station on streetmap.co.uk
• Video of talk about "memories of Cricklewood during wartime"
• History of Cricklewood and Dollis Hill

v t e London Borough of Barnet Districts Arkley Barnet (also referred to as High Barnet or Chipping Barnet) Barnet Gate Brent Cross Brunswick Park Burnt Oak Childs Hill Church End Cockfosters Colney Hatch Colindale Cricklewood East Barnet East Finchley Edgware Finchley Friern Barnet Golders Green Grahame Park The Hale Hampstead Garden Suburb Hendon The Hyde Mill Hill (including Mill Hill East) Monken Hadley New Barnet New Southgate North Finchley Oakleigh Park Osidge Temple Fortune Totteridge West Hendon Whetstone Woodside Park Attractions artsdepot Avenue House Barnet Gate Mill Barnet Museum Church Farmhouse Museum Finchley Youth Theatre Little Hands Theatre RAF Museum Parks and open spaces Arrandene Open Space Basing Hill Park Bittacy Hill Park Brent Park Brent Reservoir Cherry Tree Wood Childs Hill Park Clitterhouse Recreation Ground Coppetts Wood Edgwarebury Park Friary Park Golders Hill Park Greenhill Gardens Hendon Park King George's Fields Lyttelton Playing Fields Mill Hill Park Moat Mount Princes Park Monken Hadley Common Oak Hill Park Old Court House Recreation Ground Rowley Green Common Scratchwood Stoneyfields Park Sunny Hill Park Swan Lane Open Space Totteridge Fields Tudor Sports Ground Victoria Park Victoria Recreation Ground Watling Park West Hendon Playing Fields Whitings Hill Open Space Constituencies Chipping Barnet Hendon Finchley and Golders Green Tubes and railways stations Brent Cross Burnt Oak Colindale Cricklewood railway station East Finchley Edgware Finchley Central Golders Green Hendon railway station Hendon High Barnet Mill Hill Broadway railway station Mill Hill East New Barnet railway station New Southgate railway station Oakleigh Park railway station Totteridge and Whetstone West Finchley Woodside Park Other topics Brent Cross Cricklewood People Public art Schools Nature reserves Category Commons

v t e London Borough of Brent Districts Alperton Brent Park Brondesbury Brondesbury Park Church End Cricklewood Dollis Hill Harlesden Kensal Green Kenton Kilburn Kingsbury Neasden North Wembley Park Royal Preston Queensbury Queen's Park Stonebridge Sudbury Tokyngton Wembley Wembley Park Willesden Attractions Brent Museum Dollis Hill House Neasden Temple Oriental City The Stables Gallery & Art Centre Tricycle Theatre Wembley Stadium Parks and open spaces Barham Park Fryent Country Park Gladstone Park King Edward VII Park Northwick Park Roundwood park Constituencies Brent North Brent Central Hampstead and Kilburn Tube and rail stations Alperton Brondesbury railway station Brondesbury Park railway station Dollis Hill Harlesden station Kensal Green Kensal Rise railway station Kenton station Kilburn Kilburn Park Kingsbury Neasden North Wembley station Northwick Park Preston Road Queensbury Queen's Park South Kenton station Stonebridge Park Sudbury & Harrow Road railway station Sudbury Town Wembley Central station Wembley Park Wembley Stadium railway station Willesden Green Willesden Junction Other topics People Public art Schools Parks and open spaces in Brent

v t e London Borough of Camden Districts Belsize Park Bloomsbury Brondesbury Camden Town Chalk Farm Covent Garden Cricklewood Dartmouth Park Fitzrovia Fortune Green Frognal Gospel Oak Hampstead Haverstock Highgate Holborn Kentish Town Kilburn Kings Cross Primrose Hill Regent's Park Saffron Hill St Giles St Pancras Somers Town South Hampstead Swiss Cottage Tufnell Park West Hampstead Attractions Bloomsbury Theatre British Library British Museum BT Tower Camden Arts Centre Dickens House Museum Dominion Theatre Donmar Warehouse Foundling Museum Fenton House Freud Museum Highgate Cemetery Keats House Kenwood House The Jewish Museum Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology Roundhouse Shaftesbury Theatre Sir John Soane's Museum Wellcome Collection West End theatre Street markets Camden Market Queen's Crescent Market Parks and open spaces Bloomsbury Square Hampstead Heath Kilburn Grange Park Lincoln's Inn Fields Phoenix Garden Primrose Hill Regents Park Russell Square Waterlow Park Constituencies Hampstead and Kilburn Holborn and St. Pancras Tube and rail stations Belsize Park Camden Road railway station Camden Town Chalk Farm Chancery Lane Euston Euston railway station Euston Square Finchley Road Finchley Road & Frognal railway station Goodge Street Gospel Oak railway station Hampstead Hampstead Heath railway station Holborn Kentish Town Kentish Town West railway station Kilburn High Road railway station King's Cross St. Pancras London King's Cross railway station Mornington Crescent Russell Square St Pancras railway station South Hampstead railway station Swiss Cottage Warren Tube West Hampstead West Hampstead railway station West Hampstead Thameslink railway station Other topics People Public art Schools Category Commons

Christy Moore
Christy Moore in Liverpool Philharmonic , October 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Christopher Andrew Moore
Born	(1945-05-07) 7 May 1945 (age 67)
Origin	Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland
Genres	Folk, traditional Irish, Pop
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, Bodhrán
Years active	1969–present
Associated acts	Planxty, Moving Hearts
Website	http://www.christymoore.com/

Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is well known as one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, Paddy on the Road (a minor release of 500, although made available again on CD through his website and at gigs in 2010) was recorded with Dominic Behan (brother of Brendan) in 1969. In 2007, he was named as Ireland's greatest living musician in RTÉ's People of the Year Awards.^[1]

Early life[link]

Moore was born in Newbridge, County Kildare, Ireland. He was originally a bank employee who wanted to express himself using traditional music. A bank strike in 1966, which lasted six months (and effectively paralysed Irish commercial life for the duration), resulted in Moore spending considerable time practising music. When the strike ended, Moore had already decided where his passion in life arose, and left the bank for good.^[2]

Musical career[link]

1972 brought his first major release, Prosperous (named after the village of Prosperous, County Kildare, where the album was recorded), which brought together the four musicians who shortly thereafter formed Planxty: Liam O'Flynn, Andy Irvine, and Dónal Lunny. For a time they called themselves "CLAD", an acronym of their names, but soon decided on Planxty.^[2]

After leaving Planxty in 1975, Moore continued on his solo career, reforming his old band on occasion (which he has been doing ever since). He also formed the band Moving Hearts with Lunny and five other musicians in 1980. In 2000 he published his autobiography, One Voice.^[2]

Moore's earlier years of heavy drinking, sleeping dysfunctional hours, continual travelling, and often eating takeaway foods resulted in a decline in health, and several operations. Moore's battle with alcohol, and subsequent heart operations have taken their toll. At the end of the 1990s, Moore was requested to reduce his workload for medical reasons.^[2]

Some of Moore's songs are heavily influenced by drink and the effects of drink. His song "Delirium Tremens" being a good example. Listening to Johnny Mulhern's song "Hard Cases" causes Moore, in his website chat, to recall the Galway drinking scene with local musicians  Mickey Finn, Pete Galligan, Corky and Terry Smith.

On 17 April 2009, Moore released his first new studio album in four years, titled 'Listen' and it was promoted through a series of live gigs.^[3]

In December 2011, Moore released his latest album Folk Tale and made it available on Irish music website IrishCountry.ie

Political and social commentary[link]

Moore is best known for his political and social commentary, which reflects a leftwing Irish Republican perspective, this despite the fact that his mother was a Fine Gael county councillor and parliamentary candidate in Kildare.^[4] He supported the republican H-Block protestors in the 1970s and 1980s with the album H-Block in 1978, the launch of which was raided by the police, and The Spirit of Freedom.^[5] He has also recorded songs by the hunger striker Bobby Sands. However, in 1987 he ceased supporting the military activities of the IRA as a result of the Enniskillen bombing.^[6]

Individual political songs he has performed throughout his career include Mick Hanly's 'On the Blanket' about the protests of republican prisoners, his own 'Viva la Quinta Brigada' about Irish volunteers in the Spanish Civil War and his own 'Minds Locked Shut' about Bloody Sunday in Derry.

Moore has endorsed a long list of left wing support causes, ranging from El Salvador to Mary Robinson in the 1990 Presidential Election.^[2] At Glastonbury Festival in 2005 he sang about the Palestinian solidarity activist Rachel Corrie.

With typical Moore social consciousness, he opened the festival marking Ballymun's inception as Dublin's first Fairtrade Town on 23 November 2006. Ballymun, once synonymous with social deprivation and drug problems, is currently the largest urban regeneration project in northern Europe.

Allusions in his songs[link]

• The former Bishop of Galway, Eamon Casey, is the subject of Martin Egan's song 'Casey' often performed by Moore.
• In 2005, his popular release "Don't Forget Your Shovel" (written by Christie Hennessey) was referenced in a number 1 UK single "The JCB Song" by Nizlopi: "And the engine rattles my bum like berserk. While we're singin, 'Don't forget your shovel if you want to go to work!'" It was further referenced in the video for the same song; as the line is sung, the characters in the JCB pass a shop called "Christie's Shovels".
• In his song "If I Get an Encore" he compares Tulsk to hell,"Mountbellew was like purgatory but Tulsk was just like being in hell". Its a reference to a row that broke during one of his gigs in a Tulsk venue.

Musical style[link]

His solo style includes driving rhythms on guitar and bodhrán as well as slower ballads.

Family[link]

Moore's brother Barry, whose stage name is Luka Bloom, is also a successful singer-songwriter.^[7] His nephew, Conor Byrne, is also an accomplished traditional flautist and tin whistle player, with Christy appearing on his Wind Dancer album.^[8]

Memorable events[link]

An Góilín Surprise[link]

On 6 October 2006 Moore paid a surprise visit to the An Góilín traditional singers' club in Dublin. There, before fifty or so people, Moore took out his guitar (instruments are rarely used in An Góilín, it being a singers' refuge) and sang songs reflective of the Irish language and socially radical culture of the club such as Na Conghailigh, about the deaths of Tomás and Seán Ó Conghaile off Conamara, and Viva la Quinta Brigada, about the role of the Irish fighting with the socialists in the Spanish Civil War.

[edit] Desert Island Discs

In June 2007, Moore was guest on Desert Island Discs, a BBC programme that is often considered an accolade. He selected mainly Irish folk music that had inspired him and spoke of personal and political issues that had shaped his life.

Detention incident, 2004[link]

In October 2004, a story in several news agencies revealed how Moore had been stopped and detained by customs officers at the Welsh port of Holyhead.^[9][10] The article claimed the singer was stopped in his van with his driver, taken into an office and questioned over the lyrics of his songs. The following day in response to The Irish Times article, Moore released a statement saying: "My driver and I were stopped and held for two hours at Holyhead last Monday, under the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2002. My driver and I were held separately in two interrogation rooms. I found the whole experience threatening. I was questioned about the contents of my briefcase." Despite initial reports to the contrary, the singer's van, which was full of musical equipment, was not searched. "I was questioned about lyrics of songs and I was asked a lot of personal questions about members of my family and my children and about my home. At no time was I given any explanation as to why I was being held and interrogated in this manner", he added. He said the fact that Irish people are still being treated this way on their way to Britain is very "saddening". "I had hoped to deal with this matter out of the public domain. But seeing as it has become a news item, I feel the need to offer my side of the story. I found the whole affair quite frightening."^{[citation needed]}

Oxegen[link]

On Sunday 10 July 2011 Moore joined Chris Martin from Coldplay on stage at 2011 Oxegen Festival performing the song "Ride On".

Discography[link]

Solo[link]

• Paddy on the Road (1969)
• Prosperous (1972)
• Whatever Tickles Your Fancy (1975)
• Christy Moore (1976)
• The Iron Behind the Velvet (1978)
• Live in Dublin (1978)
• H Block (1980)
• Christy Moore and Friends (1981)
• The Time Has Come (1983)
• Ride On (1984)
• Ordinary Man (1985)
• The Spirit of Freedom (1986)
• Unfinished Revolution (1987)
• Voyage (1989)
• Smoke and Strong Whiskey (1991)
• King Puck (1993)
• Live at the Point (1994)
• Graffiti Tongue (1996)
• Traveller (1999)
• This is the Day (2001)
• Live at Vicar Street (2002)
• Burning Times (2005)
• Live at The Point 2006 (2006)
• Listen (2009)
• Folk Tale (2011)

With Planxty[link]

• Planxty (1972)
• The Well Below the Valley (1973)
• Cold Blow And The Rainy Night (1974)
• After The Break (1979)
• The Woman I Loved So Well (1980)
• Words and Music (1983)
• Planxty Live 2004 (2004)

With Moving Hearts[link]

• Moving Hearts (1981)
• Dark End Of The Street (1982)

Compilation albums[link]

• High Kings of Tara (Christy Moore, Planxty,..) (1980)
• Nice 'n Easy (1984)
• Aris (Planxty) (1984)
• Christy Moore (Compilation USA) (1988)
• The Christy Moore Collection 1981–1991 (1991)
• Christy Moore Collection Part 2 (1997)
• The Box Set 1964 2004 (2004)

Video[link]

• Christy (1995) 54 mins - Christy reflects on life and career.

DVDS[link]

• Christy Moore Uncovered (2001) 104 mins - features collaborations with Jimmy MacCarthy, Wally Page, Shane McGowan, Sinéad O'Connor and John Spillane.
• Planxty Live 2004 The reunion of the hugely popular and influential group after a 20 year hiatus.
• Christy Moore Live In Dublin 2006 (2006) 143 mins - First time a live solo concert has been recorded and released outside CD format. Filmed over 4 nights in December 2005 and January 2006.
• Christy Moore's Come All You Dreamers - Live At Barrowland (2009) - Filmed in Barrowland in Glasgow featuring Declan Sinnott.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Christy Moore's home page
• Review of a Christy Moore concert in Nottingham November 2007
• Review of a Christy Moore concert in Dublin in 2001
• Christy Moore The Early Years
• 4711ers.org '4711' is a term Christy coined which refers to his online fanbase.

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2011)

Beady Belle is a Norwegian group founded by Beate S. Lech in 1999. Their music style is jazz and acid-jazz inspired using upbeat and downbeat electronica roots, use of vocal harmonies, piano and strings. However, the music also incorporates elements of several other genres. Beady Belle is an internationally performing band, in 2008 they appeared at the Calgary Jazz Festival.^[1]

Members[link]

• Beate S. Lech (vocals, composer)
• Marius Reksjø (bass, programming)
• Erik Holm (Drums)

Discography[link]

• Home (February, 2001)
• Cewbeagappic (April, 2003)
• Closer (April, 2005)
• Belvedere (January, 2008)
• At Welding Bridge (August, 2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

	Jazz portal
	Music portal

• Beady Belle official website
• Review of At Welding Bridge on Jazzland Recordings

Joe Strummer
Background information
Birth name	John Graham Mellor
Born	(1952-08-21)21 August 1952 Ankara, Turkey
Died	22 December 2002(2002-12-22) (aged 50) Broomfield, Somerset, England
Genres	Punk rock, alternative rock, world
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, radio host, actor
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, bass
Years active	1973–2002
Labels	CBS, Sony, Hellcat, Mercury
Associated acts	The 101ers, The Clash, The Latino Rockabilly War, The Pogues, The Mescaleros
Website	strummernews.com
Notable instruments
1966 Fender Telecaster Fender Esquire

John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was an English musician who was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership of The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in addition to his own solo music career. Strummer's work as a musician allowed him to explore other interests, which included acting, creating film scores for television and movies, songwriting, radio broadcasting, and a position as a radio host. Strummer is one of the iconic figures of the British punk movement.

Strummer and The Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 2003. In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family have established the Strummerville Foundation for the promotion of new music, and each year there are many festivals and both organised and spontaneous ceremonies worldwide to celebrate his memory.

Biography and career[link]

The early years (1952–1976)[link]

Strummer was born John Graham Mellor in Ankara, Turkey on 21 August 1952. His mother, Anna Mackenzie, a crofter's daughter born and raised in Bonar Bridge in the Scottish Highlands, was a nurse. His father, Ronald Mellor, was a British foreign service diplomat born in Lucknow, India. Ronald Mellor had an Armenian maternal grandfather and a German Jewish paternal grandmother.^[1]

The family spent much time moving from place to place, and Strummer spent parts of his early childhood in Cairo, Mexico City, and Bonn. At the age of 9, Strummer and his older brother David, 10, began boarding at the City of London Freemen's School in Surrey. Strummer rarely saw his parents during the next seven years. He developed a love of rock music listening to records by Little Richard and The Beach Boys as well as American folk-singer Woody Guthrie (Strummer would even go by the nickname "Woody" for a few years). Strummer would later say that "the reason [he] played music was the Beach Boys."^[2]

[A]t the age of nine I had to say good-bye to them because they went abroad to Africa or something. I went to boarding school and only saw them once a year after that — the Government paid for me to see my parents once a year. I was left on my own, and went to this school where thick rich people sent their thick rich kids. Another perk of my father's job — it was a job with a lot of perks — all the fees were paid by the Government.

—Joe Strummer^[3]

By 1970 his brother David had become estranged from his family and had joined the National Front. His suicide in July profoundly affected Strummer, as did having to identify his body after it had lain undiscovered for three days.^[1] After finishing his time at City of London Freemen's School, Ashtead Park, Surrey, in 1970, Strummer moved on to London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, where he briefly flirted with the idea of becoming a professional cartoonist, but ultimately completed a foundations course.^[4] During this time, Mellor shared a flat in the north London suburb of Palmers Green with friends Clive Timperley and Tymon Dogg. In 1971 Strummer became a vegetarian and remained one until his death. ^[5]

In 1973 Strummer moved to Newport, Wales. He did not study at Newport College of Art but met up with college musicians in the Students' Union in Stow Hill and became vocalist for Flaming Youth, renaming the band The Vultures.^[6] The Vultures^[4] included three former members of Rip Off Park Rock & Roll Allstars, the original college band co-founded by Terry Earl Taylor. For the next year he was the band's part-time singer and rhythm guitarist. During this time Strummer also worked as a gravedigger. In 1974, the band fell apart and he moved back to London where he met up again with Tymon Dogg. He did street performance for a while and then decided to form another band with his West London roommates. The band was called The 101'ers,^[4] named after the address of their squat (101 Walterton Road, in Maida Vale).^[6][7] The band played many gigs in London pubs, playing covers of popular American R&B and blues songs. In 1975 he stopped calling himself "Woody" Mellor and adopted the stage name of Joe Strummer, and insisted that his friends call him by that name. The name "Strummer" apparently referred to his role as rhythm guitarist, in a rather self-deprecating way. Though left-handed, he was taught to play right-handed by his friend Tymon Dogg. Strummer was the lead singer of the 101'ers and began to write original songs for the group. One song he wrote was inspired by his girlfriend at the time, Slits drummer Palmolive. The group liked the song "Keys to Your Heart", and picked it as their first single.^[3]

The Clash (1976–1986)[link]

On 3 April 1976, a then-unknown Sex Pistols opened for The 101'ers at a venue called The Nashville Rooms in London, and Strummer was impressed by them.^[4] Sometime after the show, Strummer was approached by Bernie Rhodes and Mick Jones. Jones was from the band London SS and wanted Strummer to join as lead singer. Strummer agreed to leave the 101'ers and join Jones, bassist Paul Simonon, drummer Terry Chimes and guitarist Keith Levene.^[7] The band was named The Clash by Simonon and made their debut on 4 July 1976, opening for the Sex Pistols at The Black Swan (a.k.a. The Mucky Duck, now known as the Boardwalk Sheffield, England).^[7] On 25 January 1977, the band signed with CBS Records and was now a three-piece after Levene was fired from the band and Chimes quit. Drummer Topper Headon later became the band's full-time drummer.

At the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Clash was said to be "considered one of the most overtly political, explosive and exciting bands in rock and roll history".^[8] Their songs tackled social decay, unemployment, racism, police brutality, political and social repression, and militarism in detail. Strummer was involved with the Anti-Nazi League and Rock Against Racism campaigns. He later also gave his support to the Rock Against the Rich series of concerts organised by the anarchist organisation Class War. The Clash's London Calling album was voted best album of the 1980s by Rolling Stone magazine (although it was released in late 1979 in the UK; it was released in 1980 in the USA).^[9]

During his time with The Clash, Strummer, along with his bandmates, became notorious for getting in trouble with the law. On 10 June 1977, he and Headon were arrested for spray-painting "The Clash" on a wall in a hotel. On 20 May 1980, he was arrested for hitting a violent member of the audience with his guitar during a performance in Hamburg, Germany. This incident shocked Strummer, and had a lasting personal impact on him.^[10]

Before the album Combat Rock was released in 1982, Strummer wilfully went into hiding and band management represented that he had "disappeared". Bernie Rhodes, the band's manager, pressured Joe to do so because tickets were selling slowly for the Scottish leg of an upcoming tour.^[1] It was planned for Strummer to meet and stay with one of Rhodes' friends in secret. However, Strummer, uneasy with his decision, decided to genuinely disappear and "dicked around" in France. During this time, Strummer ran the Paris Marathon in April 1982. He claimed his training regime consisted of 10 pints of beer the night before the race. For this period of time, Joe's whereabouts were not only a mystery to the public, but the band's management as well. Joe later said this was a huge mistake and you "have to have some regrets". This was in spite of the popular success of the single "Rock the Casbah". During this time band members began to argue a lot, and with tensions high, the group began to fall apart.^[7] In September 1983, Strummer issued the infamous "Clash Communique", and fired Mick Jones.^[7] Headon had earlier been kicked out of the band because of his heroin addiction, which now left the band with only two of its original members. Rhodes persuaded Strummer to carry on and added new members.^[7] "The Clash Mark Two" released the album Cut the Crap in 1985. The album was panned by fans and critics alike and Strummer disbanded The Clash.

1986–1999[link]

Strummer, backing with the Pogues in Japan Photo: Masao Nakagami

A year later, Strummer worked on several songs for the 1986 film Sid and Nancy, including "Love Kills" and "Dum Dum Club". Strummer also later worked with Mick Jones and his band Big Audio Dynamite, contributing to the band's second studio album by co-writing most of the songs as well as producing the album along with Jones. In 1987, he played a small part in the film Walker, directed by Alex Cox, as a character named "Faucet" and wrote and performed on the film's soundtrack. He starred in another Cox film that same year called Straight to Hell, as the character Simms. Straight to Hell also featured London-Irish folk/punk band The Pogues – both as actors and major contributors to the soundtrack. Strummer joined The Pogues for a tour in 1987/88, filling in for ailing guitarist Philip Chevron, who wrote (in May, 2008) on the band's online forum: "When I was sick in late 1987, I taught Joe all the guitar parts in an afternoon and he was on tour in the USA as deputy guitarist the next day. Joe wrote all the tabs in his meticulously neat hand on a long piece of paper which he taped to the top of the guitar so he could glance down occasionally when he was onstage." This tour would be the first of several collaborations with the band.

In 1989, Strummer played a substantial role in Jim Jarmusch's film Mystery Train, as a drunken, short-tempered drifter named Johnny (whom most characters refer to as Elvis, much to Johnny's dismay). He also made a brief appearance in Aki Kaurismäki's 1990 film I Hired a Contract Killer as a guitarist in a pub, performing two songs ("Burning Lights" and "Afro-Cuban Bebop"). These were released as a promotional 7-inch single limited to a few hundred copies, credited to "Joe Strummer & the Astro Physicians". The "Astro Physicians" were in fact The Pogues ("Afro-Cuban Bebop" got a re-release on The Pogues' 2008 box set). During this time Strummer continued to act, write and produce soundtracks for various films, most notably the soundtrack for Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). Strummer began producing solo records with a band called The Latino Rockabilly War in 1989. The album Earthquake Weather was a critical and commercial flop, and resulted in the loss of his contract with Sony Records. He also did the soundtrack to the movie Permanent Record with this band. Strummer was asked by The Pogues, who were fracturing as a band, to help them produce their next album, released in 1990 as Hell's Ditch. In 1991, he replaced Shane MacGowan as singer of The Pogues for a tour after MacGowan's departure from the band. One night of this tour was professionally recorded, and three tracks ("I Fought the Law", "London Calling", and "Turkish Song of the Damned") have seen release as b-sides and again on The Pogues' 2008 box set. On 16 April 1994, Strummer joined Czech-American band Dirty Pictures on stage in Prague at the Repre Club in Obecni Dum at "Rock for Refugees", a benefit concert for people left displaced by the war in Bosnia. Backed up by the Pictures, Strummer played a blistering set of Clash songs that he said he had not played in more than ten years. Although the set appeared impromptu, Strummer and the band had spent the days leading up to the event rehearsing and "hanging out" in Prague. The show began with "London Calling" and without pause went into "Brand New Cadillac". In the middle of the song, the power went out. Once the power was back on, Strummer asked the audience whether or not they would mind if the band started over. They then began again with "London Calling" and continued on for another half hour. After these self-described "wilderness years", Strummer began working with other bands; he played piano on the 1995 UK hit of The Levellers, "Just the One" and appeared on the Black Grape single "England's Irie" in 1996. In 1997, while in New York City, he had worked with noted producer and engineer Lee Perry on a significant amount of remixed Clash and 101'ers reissue dub material. In 1998, he made a guest appearance on the animated television show, South Park and appeared on the album Chef Aid: The South Park Album featuring songs from and inspired by the series. Also during this time, Strummer was in dispute with The Clash's record label, Epic Records. The disagreement lasted nearly eight years and ended with the label agreeing to let him record solo records with another label. If The Clash were to reunite though, they would have to record for Sony.

During the nineties, Strummer was a DJ on the BBC World Service with his half-hour programme London Calling. Samples from the series provide the vocals for "Midnight Jam" on Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros' final album Streetcore.

The Mescaleros and other work (1999–2002)[link]

In the mid-to-late 1990s, Strummer gathered top-flight musicians into a backing band he called The Mescaleros. Strummer and the band signed with Mercury Records, and released their first album in 1999, which was co-written with Antony Genn, called Rock Art and the X-Ray Style. A tour of England, Europe, and North America soon followed; sets included several Clash fan favourites.

	Redemption Song noicon Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

In 2001, the band signed with Californian punk label Hellcat Records and released their second studio album, Global a Go-Go. The album was supported with a 21-date tour of North America, Britain, and Ireland. Once again, these concerts featured Clash material ("London's Burning", "Rudie Can't Fail", "(White Man) In Hammersmith Palais"), as well as covers of reggae and ska hits ("The Harder They Come", "A Message to You, Rudy") and the band regularly closed the show by playing the Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop". He covered Bob Marley's "Redemption Song" with Johnny Cash. In the same year, somewhat out of character, Strummer and the Mescaleros performed the song "Minstrel Boy" for the film Black Hawk Down, a haunting and emotive Celtic tune that is played during the evacuation of PFC Todd Blackburn during the Battle of Mogadishu and again over the end credits.

Strummer performing in Brooklyn, April 2002.

On 15 November 2002, Strummer and The Mescaleros played a benefit show for striking fire fighters in London, at the Acton Town Hall. Mick Jones was in the audience, and joined the band on stage during the Clash's "Bankrobber". An encore followed with Jones playing guitar and singing on "White Riot" and "London's Burning". This performance marked the first time since 1983 that Strummer and Jones had performed together on stage.^[8] Jones later remarked that it was totally unplanned and that he felt compelled to join Strummer on stage.

Strummer's final regular gig was at Liverpool Academy on 22 November 2002, yet his final performance, just two weeks before his death, was in a small club venue 'The Palace' in Bridgwater, Somerset near to his home. Shortly before his death, Strummer and U2's Bono co-wrote a song, "46664", for Nelson Mandela as part of a campaign against AIDS in Africa. Strummer had been scheduled to play at Mandela's SOS fundraising concert in February 2003 on Robben Island. Mick Jones later recorded a version of the song in studio, performing both the vocals and guitar work, that has yet to be formally released.

Death and legacy (2002–present)[link]

Strummer died suddenly on 22 December 2002 in his home at Broomfield in Somerset, the victim of an undiagnosed congenital heart defect.^[8][11][12] His estate was valued at just under £1 million, and he left all the money to his wife Lucinda.^[13]

Strummer was instrumental in setting up Future Forests (since rechristened The Carbon Neutral Company), dedicated to planting trees in various parts of the world in order to combat global warming.^[14] Strummer was the first artist to make the recording, pressing and distribution of his records carbon neutral through the planting of trees.^[14][15][16] In his remembrance, Strummer's friends and family have established the Strummerville Foundation for the promotion of new music.^[17]

In January 2003, The Clash were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[8] At the Grammy Awards in February 2003, "London Calling" was performed by Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, Dave Grohl, Pete Thomas, and Tony Kanal in tribute to Strummer. Another tribute to Strummer occurred in the same month at the rock club Debaser in Stockholm, when some of Sweden's most famous rock musicians paid their tribute to Strummer by performing songs written by the Clash (the exception was Nicke Borg and Dregen from Backyard Babies, who performed "I Fought the Law", which the Clash had covered). At the end of the concert, the legendary Swedish punk band Ebba Grön reunited for the tribute, aided by Mick Jones on guitar.

At the time of his death, Strummer was working on another Mescaleros album, which was released posthumously in October 2003 under the title Streetcore. The album features a tribute to American music icon Johnny Cash; "Long Shadow", which was actually written for Cash to sing and recorded in Rick Rubin's garage, as well as a remembrance of the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001 ("Ramshackle Day Parade"), and a cover of Bob Marley's classic "Redemption Song", which Strummer had also recorded as a duet with Cash. The Cash/Strummer duet version appears on the 2003 box set Unearthed.

November 2003 saw the release of a video for "Redemption Song", directed by Josh Cheuse. The video features the painting of a memorial mural, by graffiti artist REVOLT, on the wall of the Niagara Bar in the East Village of New York City.^[18]

On 22 December 2003, exactly a year after his death, a tribute show/benefit was held at Irving Plaza in NYC. Bands that played were: Ari Up; Clem Snide; The Detachment Kit; Dirty Mary; Hammel on Trial; Jesse Malin; New Blood Revival; The Realistics; Eugene Hütz; Radio 4; Secret Army; Ted Leo; Vic Thrill + The Saturn Missile.^[19] The show was videotaped by punkcast.com but is as yet unreleased.

A documentary by Dick Rude titled Let's Rock Again! was released in 2004. The film, completed after Strummer's death, chronicles life on tour in the United States with the Mescaleros to support Global a Go-Go. The Belfast punk rock group Stiff Little Fingers also recorded a tribute song "Strummerville" on their album, Guitar and Drum. Al Barr, lead singer of the Boston punk band Dropkick Murphys, named his son Strummer in honour of Joe.^[20] German band Beatsteaks pay tribute to Strummer on their album Smack Smash with the song "Hello Joe". In 2004, German punk band Die Toten Hosen released an EP called "Friss oder stirb", which included a tribute song for Strummer called "Goodbye Garageland", which is a lyrical co-production with Matt Dangerfield from London's 77 punk band The Boys. Boston Punk Rock Band Street Dogs recorded a tribute song called "The General's Boombox" on their latest album State Of Grace, and New Jersey's The Gaslight Anthem recorded the song "I'da Called You Woody, Joe" on their album Sink or Swim. Attila the Stockbroker's Barnstormer released "Comandante Joe" on their album Zero Tolerance.

On 12 February 2005, the Class 47 locomotive 47828 was named "Joe Strummer". The nameplates were unveiled by his widow Lucinda Tait in a ceremony at Bristol Temple Meads railway station.^[21] On 22 July 2005 Tait unveiled a plaque on the house in Pentonville, Newport where Strummer lived from 1973 to 1974 and where his first foray into recorded music, "Crummy Bum Blues" was recorded.^[22] That Was Clash Radio, a short story by Charles de Lint, was written in response to Strummer's death and features Strummer in a minor role.^[23]

New Orleans-based rockers Cowboy Mouth released a song called "Joe Strummer" on their latest album Voodoo Shoppe. The song tells the story of a man who had to break up with his girlfriend because “...she didn't know who/Joe Strummer was.” The popular track is a tongue-in-cheek salute to Strummer and The Clash that received significant radio play in 2006. In addition, the Joe Pernice-penned "High As a Kite", included on The Pernice Brothers 2006 album Live a Little, was, in part a tribute to Joe Strummer. Lyrics included, “Heavy downbeat of one and the show began/London calling, strike up the contraband” and the memorable opening to the chorus, “We wore pictures of Strummer.” A play by Paul Hodson called Meeting Joe Strummer has premiered at the Edinburgh Festival in winter 2006, and is still touring the UK from the following year. It is not a play directly about Joe, instead about two men who share a passion for Joe's music.^[24]

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten, a documentary film directed by Julien Temple about Joe Strummer, premiered on 20 January 2007 at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.^[25] On October of that same year, a tribute and benefit concert in honor of Joe Strummer was held in Los Angeles featuring Love & Rockets, Zander Schloss, Hellride and many other artists. The event was filmed and then released in DVD format as Tribute Concert: Cast a Long Shadow by MVD Videos in December 2010.^[26] In conjunction with the Strummer estate, Fender released the Joe Strummer Tribute Telecaster, combining elements of Joe's main guitars, namely an attempt at the "road worn" finish of his 1966 Telecaster, which he used until his death. The first 1,500 guitars come with a Shepard Fairey designed "Customization kit" with stickers and stencils, which resemble some of the designs Joe used on his guitars.^[27] Joe Strummer's impact is referenced by The Hold Steady in the song "Constructive Summer", a song featured on their 2008 album Stay Positive. In this song the band sings “Raise a toast to Saint Joe Strummer. I think he might have been our only decent teacher.” In November 2009, Tonara, a town in Sardinia, Italy, dedicated a street to Joe Strummer.^[28]

There are also many festivals each year dedicated to his memory. These festivals include Strummerville and there is Strummercamp which bands like The Alarm, The Damned, T.V. Smith from the Adverts, Sham 69, Dreadzone, The Beat, Hugh Cornwell from The Stranglers and a band the appears most years Goldblade which includes author John Robb. All these bands were greatly influenced by The Clash and Joe Strummer.

Due to Strummer's infatuation with the Spanish city Granada, where he spent long periods of time living throughout his life and even immortalized in The Clash's song "Spanish Bombs" from the album London Calling, in January 2011 a motion was started in order to grant Strummer his own street.^[29]

Marriages and relationships[link]

In 1975, after being offered £120, Strummer married Pamela Moolman, a South African citizen, so she could obtain British citizenship. He bought his signature Fender Telecaster, later painted black, with the money. In 1978, Strummer started a relationship with Gaby Salter shortly after her 17th birthday.^[1] The couple remained together for 14 years and had two daughters, Jazz and Lola, but did not marry as Strummer had been unable to locate and divorce Moolman.^[1]

During his relationship with Salter, he had multiple affairs spanning the 1980s.^[1]

In 1993, Strummer began an affair with Lucinda Tait, which finally ended his relationship with Gaby Salter.^[1] Strummer and Tait married in 1995 and remained so until his death in 2002.

Strummer is commonly believed to have been Lily Allen's godfather. Although this is not true, Strummer and his family were close friends with the Allens and would regularly attend the Glastonbury Festival together. Lily Allen has recalled how Strummer had a paternal attitude towards her as an adolescent, accompanying her for two days when she went to meet-up with some friends at the festival.^[30]

Documentaries[link]

Let's Rock Again! is a one-hour music documentary, directed by Dick Rude, that follows Joe Strummer as he tours across America and Japan with The Mescaleros. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York, May 2004.

Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten is a documentary about Joe Strummer by Julien Temple. It comprises archive footage of him spanning his life, and interviews with friends, family, and other celebrities. It debuted at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival.^[31][32][33]

A documentary on Strummer's politics Let Fury Have the Hour, produced by Tim Robbins and based on the book of the same name by Antonino D'Ambrosio, is due out in 2008. New York City band Radio 4 are supplying soundtrack music.^[34]

Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer is a 2006 biography of Strummer by Chris Salewicz.^[1]

Musical equipment[link]

Strummer in 2001 with his guitar

Strummer's main guitar throughout his career was a 1966 Fender Telecaster that originally came in a three-color sunburst with a white pickguard. Strummer acquired the guitar in middle of 1975 while playing with 101ers. After joining the Clash, the guitar's body and pickguard were refinished in grey auto primer and then painted black. By 1979, the word NOISE was stenciled on the upper part of the body, a rasta flag sticker was placed at the horn of the pickguard, and an "Ignore Alien Orders" sticker was placed above the bridge. By the release of Give ‘Em Enough Rope, the guitar was fitted with a bridge with individual saddles and the original Kluson tuners were replaced with later model tuners and a large question mark was spraypainted on its back. The guitar would remain in this configuration throughout his career with the addition of different stickers on its body. The guitar's black paint became worn down due to Strummer's playing and on many places the original sunburst finish and bare wood shines through, except for the square where Strummer taped his setlists. In 2012 modern artist Karl Haglund paid tribute to this guitar in one of his iconic guitar paintings.^[35] The Fender Custom Shop has created a Joe Strummer tribute Telecaster with a reliced flat black finish.^[27] Strummer was naturally left-handed, but learned to play guitar right-handed. He had attributed this as a drawback and claimed it caused him to be underdeveloped as a guitarist, although his style of playing was unique.

He also used three Fender Esquire models, one from 1952,^[36] a white blonde with slab fretboard from the mid 1950's^[37] and another from early to mid 1960s with a white pick guard and rosewood fingerboard.^[38] The Esquire is a one-pickup version of the Telecaster.

For amplification Strummer was known to use amplifiers such as a Roland Jazz Chorus, a Selmer Bassman while he was in the 101'ers, a Vox AC30 and various Marshall amplifiers,^[39] but his main amplifier was a Music Man HD 212 150.^[40] Strummer commented on his choice of amplifier with "I don't have time to search for those old Fender tube amps. The Music Man is the closest thing to that sound I've found." and that the "plastic motif on the front is repulsive."^[41]

Discography[link]

The Clash

The 101'ers

Solo

The Latino Rockabilly War