WOMAD

Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros

From United Kingdom

2001 Biography:Joe Strummer first fronted pub-rock band the 101ers in London in 1974. But when Strummer saw the Sex Pistols in 1976 he was inspired to make a move which would change the future of Rock 'n' Roll forever. Strummer broke up the 101ers to become the lead vocalist of The Clash, one of the defining bands of the late 70’s and early 80s. After The Clash broke up in 1986, Strummer dabbling in acting, and made soundtrack contributions to the films ‘Sid and Nancy’ and ‘Walker’, amongst other projects. Then followed a solo LP ‘Earthquake Weather’ and a world tour with various musicians from the punk and funk scene in LA.The late 80s and early 90s, Strummer periodically deputised for Phil Chevron and Shane MacGowan on The Pogues' worldwide tours and produced the Pogues LP ‘Hell’s Ditch’. In 1999 Strummer returned to the touring circuit with his new support band, The Mescaleros to promote their album, ‘Rock Art and The X-Ray Style’. The Mescaleros are described as "a superbly crazed collection of London based musicians"; they were joined in 2000 by Tymon Dogg, a long-lost collaborator of Strummer’s. The musicians who worked on the brilliant follow-up album ‘Global a-Go Go’ were Strummer, Scott Shields, Martin Slattery, Pablo Cook, Tymon Dogg and at the controls, Richard Flack. The band supported The Who on their tour at the end of 2000, and Roger Daltrey was persuaded to sing on the title track of the new album. The Mescaleros line-up in 2001 includes Tymon Dogg, Scott Shields, Martin Slattery, Luke Bullen and Simon Stafford.PRESS RELEASE FROM ARTIST'S MANAGEMENT, 2001:This is the Bio of Global A Go Go an L.P. by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros.Ten years without an album and then, like waiting for the proverbial bloody bus, along come two within eighteen months!"I know" says Joe Strummer. "It wasn’t a deliberate decision to take an eleven year breather, but in the long run it’s turned out well. Sometimes you save the best for last!"Which is some claim, considering Strummers’ back pages. From THE 101’ERS to ‘GLOBAL A-GO GO’ it’s a long way down Rock ‘n’ Roll.After THE CLASH split in the mid 80’s, Strummer met ALEX COX at the wrap party of ‘SID ‘N’ NANCY’ and bunged in a couple of tunes during the film’s post production sessions. This led to a full soundtrack for Cox’s movie ‘WALKER’. Then followed a solo L.P. ‘EARTHQUAKE WEATHER’ and a world tour with the recording unit:- ZANDER SCHLOSS JACK IRONS, WILLIE MACNEIL and LONNIE MARSHALL – all musicians from the punk and funk scene in LA.Just at that moment THE POGUES came calling, and Strummer played a world tour depping for the injured PHILIP CHEVRON. The following year, Strummer depped for the resting SHANE MACGOWAN on another world tour, and this long association culminated in Strummer producing the Pogues L.P. ‘HELL’S DITCH’. The last L.P. recorded with the classic line-up, it features such tunes as:- ‘SUNNYSIDE OF THE STREET’ and ‘SUMMER IN SIAM’.Following this, Strummer began to work with film directors from the rebel side of the camera tracks:From Finland, AKI KAURISMAKI with ‘I HIRED A CONTRACT KILLER’.From France, F.J. OSSANG with ‘DOCTOR CHANCE’.From the U.S., JIM JARMUSCH with ‘MYSTERY TRAIN’.And ROBERT FRANK and RUDY WURLITZER with ‘CANDY MOUNTAIN’.Two years ago, he re-emerged with a new band, THE MESCALEROS – a superbly crazed collection of London based musicians, comprising:- ANTONY GENN, PABLO COOK, SCOTT SHIELDS, MARTIN SLATTERY and SMILEY BARNARD, and recorded ‘ROCK ART AND THE X-RAY STYLE’. After hitting the road with this unit, Strummer found himself singing in every country once again. At that point there occurred a couple of rips in the Space-Time Continuum – veteran Beatnik poet MICHAEL HOROWITZ (organiser Albert Hall, 1965) convinced Strummer and the Mesky’s to get up onstage at THE POETRY OLYMPICS in London on a bill that included JAH WOBBLE’S INVADERS, MARTIN CARTHY and JOHN COOPER-CLARKE.That night the Mesky’s discovered a stripped down sound and Strummer re-united with the legendary TYMON DOGG. Strummer had started out playing guitar with Tymon Dogg whilst busking in the London underground and across Holland, Belgium and France. Dogg had contributed the track ‘LOSE THIS SKIN’ to ‘SANDINISTA’ and until that night at the Poetry Olympics the two had lost contact. About this time Ant Genn left the unit so the musicians who assembled to start work on ‘GLOBAL A-GO GO’ were as follows:- STRUMMER, SCOTT SHIELDS, MARTIN SLATTERY, PABLO COOK, TYMON DOGG and at the controls as usual, RICHARD FLACK. Using the same room where they had record ‘Rock Art’, they began in November 2000. Immediately something began to click. After a dizzy five day burst the Mescaleros upped sticks to tour the U.K. supporting THE WHO for three weeks in Nov/Dec. At the end of the tour, they kidnapped ROGER DALTREY in a mini-cab, and forced him to sing on the title track. They worked until Christmas and then came back quick to try and finish it before it finished them. They took it to CHRIS PARAMIDES who mastered it, sometime in March. Strummer comments:- "Anyway, the main thing is this is a team effort from start to finish. Our enjoyment was strong when we made this record. A team is always strong, that’s what I’ve learnt".