Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer [Hardcover]

Chris Salewicz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2007

The Clash was--and still is--one of the most important groups of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Indebted to rockabilly, reggae, Memphis soul, cowboy justice, and '60s protest, the overtly political band railed against war, racism, and a dead-end economy, and in the process imparted a conscience to punk. Their eponymous first record and London Calling still rank in Rolling Stone's top-ten best albums of all time, and in 2003 they were officially inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Joe Strummer was the Clash's front man, a rock-and-roll hero seen by many as the personification of outlaw integrity and street cool. The political heart of the Clash, Strummer synthesized gritty toughness and poetic sensitivity in a manner that still resonates with listeners, and his untimely death in December 2002 shook the world, further solidifying his iconic status.

Music journalist Chris Salewicz was a friend to Strummer for close to three decades and has covered the Clash's career and the entire punk movement from its inception. With exclusive access to Strummer's friends, relatives, and fellow musicians, Salewicz penetrates the soul of an icon. He uses his vantage point to write the definitive biography of Strummer, charting his enormous worldwide success, his bleak years in the wilderness after the Clash's bitter breakup, and his triumphant return to stardom at the end of his life. In the process, Salewicz argues for Strummer's place in a long line of protest singers that includes Woody Guthrie, John Lennon, and Bob Marley, and examines by turns Strummer's and punk's ongoing cultural influence.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this biography of punk icon Joe Strummer, music writer Salewicz focuses on the heady days of the punk explosion and Strummer's long hiatus after leaving the Clash. Born John Graham Mellor in 1952 in Ankara, Turkey, to diplomat parents, Strummer enjoyed a peripatetic childhood before being parked at a British boarding school. An art school dropout, Strummer (who was known then as "Woody") lived a hand-to-mouth existence in London squats before rock impresario Bernie Rhodes selected him to head a new punk band, and Woody became Joe Strummer, the sardonic, gravelly voiced rabble rouser. For a long moment, the Clash channeled the most progressive elements in pop culture, blending punk anger, rasta vibes, bank robbers, cowboys and revolutionary traditions into music that remains compelling today. After the band's breakup in 1985, Strummer fell into a long depression that Salewicz attributes to heavy pot smoking and a family legacy that included his brother's suicide. Yet Strummer had revitalized his career and was making excellent music before his sudden death of heart failure in 2002. As a young writer in the punk years, Salewicz had plenty of access to Strummer, and does a good job of providing a blow-by-blow account of the tours and albums. However, Salewicz provides little historical context, thereby diminishing the importance of the Clash. Despite nearly 600 pages of analysis, Strummer remains an opaque figure. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Salewicz recounts the passage of John Mellor, aka Joe Strummer, front man for the iconoclastic punk band the Clash, who died in 2002 of a congenital heart defect. A diplomat's son, he was born in Ankara, went to boarding school in London, and later became a squatter before singing with a pub rock band. After he saw the Sex Pistols in 1976, he was invited to join the Clash, which immediately drew attention for its adrenaline-fueled performances and "not overearnest" protest songs. The band produced a number of critically acclaimed albums, London Calling being the best known. After ill-advisedly firing cofounder-guitarist Mick Jones, which he regretted for the rest of his life, Strummer entered his wilderness years, recording soundtracks and acting in a few movies before finding his way back to critical success in the Mescaleros. Salewicz reveals a brooding, self-medicating manic-depressive, blunt but charming, thoughtful but reckless, both family man and womanizer. Salewicz's scores of interviews with those who knew Strummer also reveal a well-loved, immensely talented man who died too soon. Benjamin Segedin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: Farrar Straus and Giroux; 1st edition (May 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 057121178X
• ISBN-13: 978-0571211784
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #832,206 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Joe Strummer's mother - a statement from her family, Oct. 17 2007, October 17, 2007

By 

Rona M. McIntosh (Scotland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer (Hardcover)

This book has depicted Anna Mackenzie, Joe's mother, as an alcoholic and a depressive. Those of us who knew her as a sister or an aunt want to challenge this portrayal. She was a quiet, dignified and private person who was also to us unfailingly warm, welcoming, kind and tolerant.

She was the second child of nine, born on a croft and used to hard work from an early age. She became a nurse which in the 1930s was a job even more physically demanding than it is today. We are mystified by the references to her house as "shabby" and "run down". Neither she nor Joe's father Ron was interested in acquiring or flaunting household possessions. Nor did they sit about as if "they had been used to servants": Anna cooked and looked after the house while Ron was in charge of the garden and the DIY repairs and maintenance.

When we visited her in Warlingham or when she was at home in Bonar Bridge, there was no sign of her drinking excessively. She was a social drinker who had one or two gins in an evening - a habit which she probably picked up in India. She recalled with astonishment and disapproval the large amounts of drinking by others that she had observed in the diplomatic communities. At home, she'd usually go to bed early, leaving her nephews and nieces talking with Ron. He wasn't an alcoholic either though he drank more than she did. Nobody in Anna's family that we've spoken to can understand why she's been portrayed in this way. There's no drinking culture among the Mackenzie women.

Like most people, Anna had to cope with deaths in her family. Her older brother Donald died when she had just turned 17 and her older son David killed himself. She rarely referred to David and did not discuss how his death had affected her. That was not the Mackenzie way. She never struck us as depressed however; she was always reserved, content to lead a quiet life.

She loved and supported Joe; she approved of his principles; she worried about him. She admired Gaby and adored her granddaughters. Joe inherited many of her good qualities.

She was loved by us and greatly liked and respected by all those who really knew her. She deserves this to be known.

On behalf of Jessie Mackinnon, Iain Gillies, Anna Gillies, Mairi Macleod, Jan Macleod, Rona McIntosh, Alasdair Gillies, George Macleod, Jane Mackinnon.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars After a long wait, a monumental effort, June 30, 2007

By 

RTBIO (IA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer (Hardcover)

Wow, it seemed like I had this book on pre-order FOREVER. It was well worth the wait. After reading the book I'm glad it wasn't rushed out and can see why it took a long time to compile. This bio is a monumental project and certainly wasn't thrown together in haste.

If I were hypercritical I might complain that there were times I found it hard to follow just who was being quoted, or if the author was simply relating his own experience, but I won't dwell on that. The subject matter is simply too precious and the anecdotes told just too special to quibble over the small stuff. Though Joe barely made it past 50, the book relates the experiences of many folks in Stummer's life and certainly has a huge amount of ground to cover. I just couldn't put it down. When I reached the end I felt almost as sad as the day...well, you know.

If you are a fan of Joe Strummer, The Clash, punk rock or grew up through the late 70's-early 80's, you cannot and should not avoid this book!

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is awesome!!!, June 26, 2007

By 

Lauren J. Matthews (San Antonio, Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer (Hardcover)

This is an extremely well-written biography about an extremely important man who contributed so much to the history of punk rock and inspired so many other artists along the way. This book allows the reader to experience what it was actually like to be a part of Joe Strummer's life. Mr. Salewicz doesn't try to candy coat any aspect of any of the events that go on throughout this book. We are allowed to see the real Joe Strummer, both bad and good. I recommend this book to anyone, not just Clash fans.