Lee Thomas-Mason· September 2, 2020
The Clash singer Joe Strummer once directed a bizarre punk-noir gangster film
Joe Strummer, at a time when his band The Clash were at the height of their fame, turned his attentions to the world of cinema in an attempt to ignite a new creative spark.
As the snarling and uncompromising frontman of the iconic rock band, Strummer became a vital cog in the uncontrollable punk machine that dominated London the 1970s.
Despite his undeniable brilliance, however, Strummer was often known to throw caution to the wind somewhat. While tensions
in the group threatened band relationships, Strummer would often disappear for weeks on end without alerting those close to him of his whereabouts. It was during this difficult period, a time when The Clash had been riding the wave of success following the release of five hugely popular studio albums, that Strummer had an itch that he just couldn’t scratch and had his eyes firmly set on the big screen. With lingering disappointment following the overall result of Rude Boy, a 1980 film directed by Jack Hazan and David Mingay which the band later disowned, Strummer and his bandmates set about doing things their own way.
In a bid to revamp their creative spark following months of squabbling during intense tour schedules, Strummer dreamed up the idea of Hell W10, a Clash film written, directed and starring the band members. A total independent project which had subtle hints to 1930s film production and told the tale of a few small-time crooks and, in an essence, was inspired by Italian neorealism and the French New Wave—albeit made with a shoestring budget and set in 1980s London.
Shot in the summer of 1983 and filmed in black and white, Strummer’s slightly surreal film stars his Clash bandmates, Paul Simonon—who plays the role of Earl—and Mick Jones who portrays a gangster named Socrates. The bizarre final result was, admittedly, all over the place. Lacking cohesion and clear direction, Strummer came to his senses and shelved the film for good and, in doing so, failed to explain to his bandmates why he did so.
“Let’s make a film,” said Mick Jones who, during an interview in 2005, was recalling the events of Hell W10‘s creation. “We had no other agenda there than that. Everyone put in their time without thinking about it. That was what we did on our time off; we worked! It was totally Joe [Strummer]’s idea. He directed it, he shot it, he did it. And then it was gone. It didn’t even come out.”
The final film remained locked away for years until Strummer, who was contemplating a new career in the world of cinema, let slip of his directing debut as part of an interview in 1987. “I have directed a film myself, a black and white 16mm silent movie and it was a disaster,” he said. “Luckily the laboratory that held all the negative went bankrupt and destroyed all the stock, so the world can breathe again. I shot without a script. God knows what it was about. I’m the only other one that knew, and I’m not telling.”
While the punk-noir project had people gossiping, Strummer never released the project. In 2002 however, the year that he passed away, the film was discovered on a VHS tape and handed over to long-time Clash collaborator Don Letts who re-edited the film and added a Clash-infused soundtrack.
The final result can be viewed, below.
Virginia Turbett Photography - Posts | Facebook
Photos from filming
Portobello Road. January 1983. Walking to my local Tesco and stumbled upon 3 Clash filming their gangster parody 'Hell W10' film. Co-starring their mates and the local area it's not the greatest film ever made but worth a watch to check out Joe's directing and writing, Mick and Paul's acting, West London in the pre-gentrified early 80's and to listen to the (always) amazing Clash soundtrack.
JOE STRUMMER’S BIZARRE FILM ‘HELL W10’ STARRING THE CLASH, FROM 1983
The Clash’s Joe Strummer wrote and directed this rather strange gangster filck, Hell W10, which stars fellow bandmates, Paul Simonon as Earl, and Mick Jones as kingpin gangster, Socrates. The film centers around a tale of rivalry and ambition, murder and violence, mixing the style of 1930’s gangster movies with 1980’s London. It’s a reminiscent of something Alex Cox might have made (who later directed Strummer in the punk spaghetti western Straight to Hell), and while the film self-consciously meanders, it holds interest, and is aided by a superb soundtrack from The Clash. Watch out for Strummer as a mustachioed cop.
Hell W10: the film that killed the Clash?
Posted on September 29, 2011 | 8 Comments
In 1983, just as the band were starting to fall apart, The Clash decided to make a film. But stung by their experiences on the strange but compelling Rude Boy, they decided to make it themselves. They called it Hell W10, filmed it on 16mm silent black and white film, and made the plot up as they went along. The result, understandably, was somewhat bizarre.
‘Let’s make a film!’ said Mick Jones in 2005. ‘We had no other agenda there than that. Everyone put in their time without thinking about it. That was what we did on our time off; we worked! It was totally Joe [Strummer]’s idea. He directed it, he shot it, he did it. And then it was gone. It didn’t even come out!’
Strummer believed the film was lost forever. In 1987, when it looked like he might carve out a new career for himself in the film world, he told an interviewer, ‘I have directed a film myself, a black and white 16mm silent movie and it was a disaster. Luckily the laboratory that held all the negative went bankrupt and destroyed all the stock, so the world can breathe again. I shot without a script. God knows what it was about. I’m the only other one that knew, and I’m not telling.’
In 2002, the film was rediscovered on video tape and re-edited by long-time Clash collaborator Don Letts, who added a fine Clash soundtrack over the top. It is a strange piece indeed, a gangster tale that follows Earl, a musician and small-time hood played by Paul Simonon, who falls foul of the local crime boss called Socrates, ‘The Lord of Ladbroke Grove’, played with some relish by Mick Jones, resplendent in white tux (‘You wanna end up as a pillar in a Canning Town flyover?’ he threatens one lackey). Strummer gives himself a cameo as a corrupt and racist policeman. It’s a cross between The Harder The Come and some of the pulp London crime novels of the 1950s (many of which have been republished by London Books).
Hell W10 also features some cracking period photography of Notting Hill, Paddington and Ladbroke Grove, and weighs in at almost 50 minutes, which suggests it must have taken quite some time to film.
What makes it particularly fascinating is that it was filmed just as the band were starting to go belly up; Topper Headon had already been kicked out for drug abuse, while Simonon and Jones were barely speaking, making their feud in the film a little too close to the truth. Things came to a head within weeks of Hell W10 being made, with Jones sacked from the band in September 1983.
In Letts’s documentary, Westway To The World, both Jones and Strummer confess that the band had simply spent too much time in each other’s company and should have taken a break; if they had done so, hotheads may have had time to cool. Instead, they made a film. Perhaps if they’d had a summer holiday in 1983 rather than fool around with a camera, the band of Jones, Strummer and Simonon might have lasted another few years. Still, it looks like they had fun making it.
Was it worth it? Watch and decide, this is the first of five parts.
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