Joe Strummer's last outing, on the Class War Rock Against The Rich tour, attracted a lot of attention. Mainly because it was on behalf of the anarchist group, but also, partly I hope, because it proved that the former Clash front-man can still cut it.

This time he is plugging his new album Earthquake Weather, with drummer Jack Loms being the only newcomer since last summer.

As expected, the set consisted of new songs, obscure covers and classic Clash numbers like I Fought The Law, What's My Name, London Calling, Police and Thieves and a blistering rendition of City of the Dead. (OK, two of those are also covers, but let's not nitpick).
Strummer looked fine and appeared to be having a great time, chatting amicably to the crowd and spitting fury into every song, old and new.

Unlike his pal Mick Jones, Joe has no time for the wonders of modern technology. So what you get is a straight two guitars, bass, drums and vocals set up — and the show was all the better for it.

For instance, to recreate the eerie intro to London Calling they could have used tapes, but Strummer just cranked up the echo and screeched down the mike.
No doubt about it, Joe Strummer is a very fine fellow indeed and I urge you to go and buy his album now.

Shane Baldwin

Joe Strummer — Hummingbird Club, Birmingham

STRUMMER was once quite good.

He co-wrote some good songs and developed a great sneer. But, bless him, he misses Mick Jones.

And, 12 years since The Clash started out, he hasn't really changed his act. He has changed his clothes, mind you.

For this solo show at Birmingham's Hummingbird he wore a tasteful scarlet shirt with a bootlace tie and a bad quiff.

His backing band were tightness itself and the new songs Strummer delivered showed he hasn't entirely lost his marbles.

But the 500 or so ageing punks which made up his audience weren't happy with them.
One plaintively called out: "Where's the old 'uns, Joe?"

Joe delivered with an acapella version of Bank Robber, a stirring rendition of City of the Dead, an average version of Junior Murvin's Police and Thieves and London Calling.

Pressure Drop, Brand New Cadillac, Magnificent Seven, Straight To Hell and I Fought The Law cropped up as encores, but the whole show lacked originality.

Come back Mick, all is forgiven.

Dan Collins

Your Guide to Whats On in Balnau Gwent

Just what is the point?

Not that many years ago Strummer was the lead member of one of the greatest rock 'n roll bands the UK has ever produced, as the decade draws to a close he is now putting on a punk/rebel pose cabaret act.

The sad thing is that Joe seems quite happy to trundle out chestnuts like Pressure Drop, London Calling and Straight To Hell.

I'm not saying it's all his fault, if this were The Clash then it would be quite justifiable, throwing in a few classics from the 70s. But the new gang of workmen who've been roped in to dig up these tunes really aren't suited to the gaffer's aspirations of building walls to come crashing down around the ears.

The new LP Earthquake Weather is pointing in the right direction, but it's really only the recent single Gangsterville that comes close to the Clash material.

My advice to Joe would be to get back to basics with Mick, Paul and Topper. Strangle a few guitars, smash up a few drum kits and then hit the road again.

SO FAR this autumn we have managed to see two groups of ex-Clash members. Tonight we can see the third when Joe Strummer plays at the Royal Court.

Havana 3am: Paul Simonon's new group who supported Big Audio Dynamite on their latest tour is probably the closest thing you'll get these days to the early Clash sound.

But Mick Jones' Big Audio Dynamite and Joe Strummer's work are probably closer. In different ways, to the spirit of the group, at least in its later days.

BAD approach the cross cultural mix using the new and current.

GOES BACK FURTHER

Joe Strummer goes back further to what's called those days "roots" music, mixing Latin, rockabilly, reggae and whatever else comes to hand.

They are all mixed up in his new LP Earthquake Weather - his first proper solo work (last year's Permanent Record, as a soundtrack album, doesn't really count).

On tracks like Gangsterville (the single), he shows the voice is still as intense and the guitar still as aggressive as ever. The album evokes images of Americana which match the styles of music.

And the American musicians on the album are also accompanying Joe on the current tour. But although there's a strong sense of America's musical traditions on album (Charlie Parker, Eddie Cochran and Marvin Gaye all get a mention), Joe has not forgotten his own roots either.
On last year's tour he was still doing several Clash numbers. And according to reports, he is throwing in a few this time round as well.

FORMER Clash singer Joe Strummer returns to Brighton next week as part of a tour promoting his new album Earthquake Weather.

Complete with a new backing band, Strummer is treading the boards for the first time since last year's Rock Against the Rich gigs.

HEADY

The Clash first rose to prominence as part of the heady wave of Punk that swept Britain in the late 70s. In songs such as White Riot they spat out their urban frustration and hate in ways that were as immediate as they were crude.

More recently Strummer has been involved in numerous film soundtracks including Sid and Nancy. He also made his acting debut this year in the soon to be released Mystery Train where he plays a rockabilly drunk.

Sounds Around by Mark Bentley

The new album Earthquake Weather continues Strummer's priority of keeping the politics and the passion of the music before any technical effects. Much of the latest studio gadgetry has reputedly been rejected for the raw sound of valve amps and open mikes.

APPETITE

"I want to recapture that appetite for life, that energy of being 16 when the slate hasn't been written on," he said.

Strummer will be donning denim, leather and six string and stepping into the lights of Brighton's Top Rank on Monday, October 16, tickets price £6.50.

Joe Strummer, Hummingbird

Still angry after all these years?

Joe Strummer, former frontman with The Clash, rocked the crowd with his old punk classics but bewildered the audience with the new songs.

"This old shrunken brain can only remember a few chords," he told them and Bank Robber was the one which suffered.

Attempting to promote his new album Earthquake Weather, Joe was strangled by his past musical and political stance.

Shouts for White Riot were ignored while Joe attempted to reach a higher conscious plane with a song poached from a Spanish civil war soldier.

But the standard Clash anthem London Calling enticed the masses back from the bar.

RAJ SANGHA

SOUTH WALES ECHO, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1989, Page 33

POP - ENTERTAINMENT - PEOPLE

The rebel without a pause

Strummer: "It seems that all the tabloids, ranting Tory MPs and police authorities are after is cheap publicity."

Photo: Earthquake Weather weatherman Joe Strummer

DAVID OWENS talks to the Godfather of Punk, ex-Clash frontman JOE STRUMMER ... the anti-hero who refuses to lay his outspoken musical and social ideals to rest

TEN years after the last gasp of breath was drag-ged from the lungs of punk, Strummer is hitting the headlines once again.

Back in 1977 when glam rock and all inadequacies were being given a severe kick up the proverbial by the rebel-lious spirit of punk a number of angry young men were standing up to be counted among the unruly masses.

While The Jam's Paul Weller was preaching his sermon upon the mount of socialism, The Clash and their outspoken frontman Joe Strummer were inciting the punksome ones to a White Riot and stealing The Pistol's lime-light with their candid brand of rebel rousing songs, while whip-ping the establishment into regular bouts of excessive hys-teria.

When The Clash split and the dust settled on a disrupted rock scene, Mr Strummer packed up his soapbox and disappeared into the relative obscurity of film soundtracks, (Sid and Nancy, Walker), movie bit parts, (Straight To Hell, Mystery Train), and various benefit tours, (Rock Against The Rich).

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This year he's recorded his first solo album, Earthquake Weather, a fine return to his rock-reggae roots and embarked on an extensive British tour.

While out playing live this week Strummer sent the tabloids into reams of caustic, damning headlines and vitriolic copy after what seemed like his condoning of English football thugs, with the line, "To tell you the truth I get a strange swell of pride when I hear of our football hooligans causing trouble abroad."

His reply is simple. "What I said was probably wrong but what I was getting at is the way in which all the fans are tarred with the same brush.

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"It disgusts me the way the tab-loids treat football fans as if they were all hooligans or animals.

"If you treat people like animals they'll behave like animals.

What would you do?

"I really haven't got the answers to solve hooliganism, I just think that the fans should start to be treated like humans.

"That'll never happen if the government and the tabloids adopt this profane attitude.

"Their self-righteous stance un-fortunately seems like a by-product of Thatcherism.

"People forget this country was built on aggression and the fighting spirit. How do you think we won two world wars?

"I guess it's in our blood.

"I'm not condoning football viol-ence, I'm giving my reasons for it."

Were you suprised at the uproar you caused?

"I honestly didn't think my com-ments were worth that much.

"It seems that all the tabloids, ranting Tory MPs and police autho-rities are after is cheap publicity.

"Nobody is free from it, everybo-dy's mad for publicity, be it DJs or scum journalists.

"It reminds me of outright McCarthyism in 50s America. Imagine if I'd dared to say that com-munists were human, there would have been uproar.

"Football fans are human beings as are communists.

"I reckon Britain has taken a big step backwards in humanitarian Issues."

Do you think people still look upon you as some sort of leader, still an outspoken working class rebel?

"I've got to make it clear that I've always admitted to being middle class.

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"Weller and Billy Bragg have taken away any mantle I ever had, around the time of that Red Wedge Tour.

"I still have people coming up to talk to me after gigs, albeit very rarely, and sometimes I get the feel-ing it's because they see me as some sort of role model.

"It can be quite embarrassing but I do my best to diffuse the situ-ation man, I'm just as normal as the next person you know!"

Have you ever worried about your image?

"Everyone's got to worry about it but the more you worry about it the less important it comes until you reach the stage where you couldn't care less.

"Now I couldn't care less what my image is!"

Do you fear the onset of old age?

"Only sometimes, usually only when I'm in a bad mood, that brings out the fears in me. I can see myself staying in the music business for a few years yet, but not under the situation of bands like The Who, that's just an embar-rasment."

So you wouldn't reform The Clash?

"I hope not - no, no way, that's dead and buried. Who wants to be a rock dinosaur anyway!"

Is there anything around on the music scene at the moment that surprises you?

"I'm a fan of the underground club scene that's spawned all those dance hits. The whole dance, hip hop, house movement is very exciting, but it's the only real bright spot in today's dull music charts. The Top 40 is a chart for kids more so than it ever used to be - my kids love it."

Do they like Stock, Aitken and Waterman puppets like Kylie and Jason?

"They love Kylie but don't like Jason too much, which I'm pretty pleased about!

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What plans have you for your band?

"After this tour we're gonna be touring Europe for two weeks, then heading for the east and west coasts of America."

Do you like touring the States?

"No, not really, it means I'll be away from my kids, which is obvi-ously not an ideal situation. Being in Britain means I can be near the kids."

Can we expect to see you in any more acting roles?

"No, I think Mystery Train, the movie I've just completed, will be the last film I do. It was fun trying it out, but I never intended to be an actor, the music always came first."

Is there anything else you'd like to achieve?

"I tell you, I've never been one to look ahead, basically I've never been able to plan my life, I've al-ways tended to drift into different things. I would say I'll have a look ar-ound but probably move into something musical, who knows!"

The eternal wanderer lugs his suitcase and trusty six string into Cardiff on Tuesday when he plays Cardiff University.

Joe Strummer, Cardiff Union October 17

The Clash live on, as Joe Strummer did his best to show us on Tuesday night at the University Union in Cardiff.

For just as Mick Jones has produced some of his best work with Big Audio Dynamite since the band split, Strummer has barely merited a second hearing.

Just why was amply demonstrated in front of a faithful audience only roused when some classic Clash cuts cropped up to save the gig from oblivion.

Renditions of The Magnificent Seven and What's My Name were needed to spur a spate of pogoing halfway through, and from that moment Strummer was worth watching.

Brand New Cadillac, Police and Thieves and Straight to Hell sustained the momentum and made for an impressive finale.

But for the first half-hour or so, Strummer strutted some stodgy new stuff and it was not pleasant hearing.

Sub-heavy metal tracks floated below his characteristically forceful but limited vocals.

The bass was too high in the mix and individual notes were too difficult to distinguish.

And the songs. Well, clearly Mick Jones took them with him when he left the Clash.

Strummer was unable to introduce a hint of subtlety until a slice of slide guitar emerged during on encore.

Just as well for him that the old stand-bys still sound splendid.

Adrian Colley

Musicbox

Joe Strummer - The Hummingbird Birmingham.

Having not heard any of Strummer's stuff since The Clash's final album 'Cut The Crap', I didn't really know what to expect from this solo show. Reggae? Funk? Or perhaps the tried and tested 'Maximum R'n B'? Well, as it was it turned out to be a bit of everything but mostly the latter - and THAT certainly pleased the crowd.

Warming up with a slow ballad he followed this with the powerful 'Passport To Detroit', then more of the same with 'Shouting Street'.

Next came 'Gangsterville' which got the previously motionless (apprehensive?) fans moving. Shouts of where's the old 'uns Joe were combatted with the excellently tight reggae influenced 'Armagideon Times', and then came more R'n B' with 'Drag City'. The fans were really moving now, and the next track 'Nothing About Nothing' was musically superb but still the shouts for 'old ones' kept coming. They were rewarded with 'Bank Robber', well half of it anyway. Joe says he's forgot the words - (who's he kidding) but he was really just tempting the crowd nearer to hysteria. Back to the new stuff - 'Back In Time' - 'City Of The Dead', hero worship or what?

He then throws in an experimental Spanish Civil war song, which I think was in Spanish. Crowd motionless, bemused? Oh no they want the old stuff again. Well if it keeps 'em happy - 'Whats My Name?' is given a airing. As Joe says.. 'Yeah that still sounds good today, and who else is gonna play it?' Nobody.

Back to R'n B', throw some blues in for good measure, a bit of thrash, damn strings bust - wondered when that was gonna happen? More requests : 'Ok, try 'Police and Thieves', they love it!

He followed this with 'Walkin' Out On Street' and then with a cry of 'is everybody ready?' off he goes into the epic 'London Calling'.. The fans want more - much more. 'Ok we got the message, so here's some old ones'. 'Pressure Drop', 'Brand New Cadillac', 'Magnificent Seven', 'Straight to Hell', and his new EP title track, the acoustic 'Island Hopping'.

So a good time was had by all. Joe Strummer was completely professional, with an excellent backing band, but that no more than you'd expect after all these years.

Review - Tim Arnold (with help form Timbo and Delictable Del!)

Paolo Bedini presenta

C.G.I.L. MODENA ARCI MODENA in collaborazione con MONDORADIO

DOMENICA 29 OTTOBRE '89 ore 21,00

VECCHIO PALASPORT di Viale Molza

MODENA

PREVENDITE ABITUALI

Organizzazione Tecnica: STUDIO'S
Informazioni: STUDIO'S tel. 23.00.68
ARCI tel. 22.56.41 - CGIL tel. 32.61.11

JOE STRUMMER

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facebook --- Facebook

Modena Poster. Original sold for $400

Ratoblanco Mezzetti --- I was there
Pier Tosi --- I saw that show...

JOE STRUMMER EARTHQUAKE WEATHER 

DEBUT SOLO ALBUM 
NOW AVAILABLE ON LPCDMC 

INCLUDES THE SINGLE CANGSTERVILLE  45347 1/4 

SEE JOE STRUMMER ON TOUR 

OCTOBER 6th GLASGOW, BARROWLAND
OCTOBER 7th MANCHESTER, INTERNATIONAL 2
OCTOBER 8th BIRMINGHAM, HUMMINGBIRD
OCTOBER 9th BRISTOL, STUDIO OCTOBER 11th NORWICH, U.E.A. 
OCTOBER 12th/13th LONDON, TOWN & COUNTRY
OCTOBER 14th LIVERPOOL, ROYAL COURT 
OCTOBER 16th BRIGHTON, TOP RANK
OCTOBER 17th CARDIFF, UNIVERSITY

VIRGIN

JOE STRUMMER earthquake weather 

joe strummer returns! the debut solo album entitled "earthquake weather featuring the single "gangsterville" the album is available from your local virgin megastore on l.p. cassette, and c.d. see joe strummer on tour october 6th glasgow - barrowlands 

7th manchester-international II 
8th birmingham-humming bird 
9th bristol-studio 
11th norwich-uea 
12th/13th london-town and country club 
14th liverpool-royal court 

Virgin - VIRGIN megastores 
BIRMINGHAM BRIGHTON DUBLIN EDINBURGH GLASGOW-argyle st & union st LEEDS LONDON-oxford st & marble arch- MELBOURNE NOTTINGHAM PARIS SYDNEY 

Meet joe strummer at virgin megastores in london, brighton and glasgow. see press for details.

JOE STRUMMER plus Guests 
SUNDAY 8th OCTOBER at 8pm 

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BIRMINGHAM HUMMINGBIRD 
TICKETS £6.50 ADV 

FROM HUMMINGBIRD(021 236 4236), ODEON BOX OFFICE TEMPEST MIKE LLOYD MEGASTORE WOLVERHAMPTON), TICKET SHOP & POSTER PLACE COVENTRY) 

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MONDAY 9th OCTOBER at 8pm BRISTOL STUDIO 
TICKETS £6.50 ADV. 

FROM STUDIO 10272 276 193), VIRGIN (BRISTOL REVOLVER RIVAL, TICKETS BATH & BOOKING NOW BATHI 

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THURSDAY/FRIDAY 12th & 13th OCTOBER at 7.30 pm TOWN & COUNTRY CLUB 
TICKETS £7 ADV 

BOX OFFICE (01 284 1221) TOWN & COUNTRY CLUB STATION (01 284 0305) PREMIER, KEITH PROWSE, OPEN ALL HOURS, STARGREEN & LTB (subject to booking feel 

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MONDAY 16th OCTOBER at 8pm BRIGHTON TOP RANK
TICKETS £6.50 ADV. 

FROM TOP RANK SUITE (0273 732627), VIRGIN (BRIGHTONI ROUNDER BRIGHTON, WORTHING, BURGESS HILLI & BRIGHTON CENTRE

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