A sad footnote, I just read that Phil Chevron died of cancer in 2013. He wrote some great songs like "Thousands are Sailing".

And "Rabinga", from the "Straight To Hell" soundtrack. That was a bizarre movie, with The Pogues, Joe Strummer, Courtney Love, Dennis Hopper, Grace Jones in a spaghetti western in Almeria, Spain.

I sure do miss Joe Strummer. I leaned a lot about chords and song structures from Lennon\McCartney and then listening to the Clash added this energy like nothing else.

Fun fact about this song and my hero Joe Strummer, from Songfacts.com -

Singer Joe Strummer told an interesting story to Musician magazine in 1988 about how he proved that popular 1980s group Tears for Fears stole a line from "Charlie Don't Surf" for the title of their hit "Everybody Wants To Rule The World." He was apparently in a restaurant and saw Roland Orzabal, lead songwriter for Tears for Fears, and told him that "you owe me a fiver," explaining that the name of their hit song was an exact lift of the first line of the middle eight in "Charlie Don't Surf." According to Strummer, Orzabal simply reached into his pocket and gave him a five pound note, effectively admitting that this had been the case.

(for the record it was from the first verse, not the middle eight as there is no middle eight in "Charlie Don't Surf")

The bad guy is actually Joe Strummer re-incarnated

Indeed long live the Clash. My #1 music muse will always be Joe Strummer, followed by Lennon and McCartney. I was playing Supertramp's 8 minute long dirges on the piano back in 1980 until I heard London Calling and it totally energized me.

I saw the Clash at the infamous Bonds shows in June 1981 in Times Square, with Topper on drums. Hard to believe that was 30 years ago.

The Clash was one of the best bands that came out of the 70's. They made a difference.
Joe Strummer and Mick Jones were musical geniuses. They made great music on their own as well.
Every time i hear Johnny Appleseed i cant help but smile. Long live THE CLASH!

PS. I just searched for Johnny Appleseed on the sift and it's not there. Soon to rectified.

>> ^harpom:

I think Joe Strummer was one of the most talented musicians ever. I started listening to the Clash in 1977, and still listen to them on a regular basis. If i were on a desert Island i would be happy with, the clash discography and also the Ramones for good measure. Joe Strummer RIP.


Agreed. As a musician Strummer is my #1 musical influence, hands down. Followed by Lennon and McCartney. I crank up "4 Horsemen" on the way to work and sing along until I'm hoarse.

I think Joe Strummer was one of the most talented musicians ever. I started listening to the Clash in 1977, and still listen to them on a regular basis. If i were on a desert Island i would be happy with, the clash discography and also the Ramones for good measure. Joe Strummer RIP.

I voted yes, but campion is righteous in his observations, eh? Tell ya what, fellow strummer....may I? Make a website dedicated just that. I tried an accordion channel, it did not work out so well.

By the by, bang for the buck-wise, I have decided that the guitar to use as the primary care giver for myself, to be the Gibson SG...Out of the box, perfection but a bit of tweaking in the hands of a smitty, n she'll give ya hours of unadulterated pleasure-I like the effects package of the Digitech EX-7 expression factory pedal, though the functionality of an everything-in-one pedal is a frikkin live-music nightmare....you simply can't beat the individual spread of the palatalized gearbox.

My second choice for guitar would be a resonator , one that fits yer particular style of pickin' and pressure...try a Johnson or a Dean. Oh and, the warm glow of the tube amp, only. The Marshall has gotten better and better with the solid-state/tube combos...try a Vintage Modern 2266C, for all yer ear-bludgeoning needs.

Alas, I have lost my gear this last year to pawn....another reason to forego nitrous oxide and cocaine, until you become liberated from the bonds of the devil, money....or I mean, forever.

James Allan looks a lot like Joe Strummer. And it's a great song - *promote!

Tags for this video have been changed from 'musicvideo' to 'musicvideo, joe strummer, topper headon, combat rock, 80s, 1982' - edited by rasch187

Excellent sift, kronos. The animation is made from cartoons Joe Strummer made before he joined the Clash. They were made when he was with "The Vultures" and "The 101'ers" (named after the address where they were squatting).

Thanks Shake it, baby!

In reply to this comment by peggedbea:
this made me shake butt while folding laundry so... *promote !

Yayyy!!! This might be my favorite Strummer tune!

Hey Rasch. I can always count on you for my Joe Strummer fix.

Speaking of Tymon Dogg, my cover of "Lose This Skin" from Sandinista is featured on Tymon Dogg's unofficial fanpage. It's in the News/Updates section under Feb 9, 2009.

http://www.tymondogg.net/gpage.html