15 Reasons Joe Strummer Was Cool + ChartAttack Vacation Note

Joe Strummer, the former lead singer for The Clash, died on the weekend of an apparent heart attack. He was 50 years old.

In CHARTattack tradition, rather than lament this total bummer, we present to you 15 reasons why Joe Strummer was cool:

1) He, along with the rest of The Clash, was part of the infamous Sex Pistols "Anarchy In The UK" tour where all but three gigs were cancelled.

2) Strummer and drummer Nicky "Topper" Headon were each fined five pounds for spray-painting a wall with the word "Clash."

3) The pair were also fined 100 pounds for stealing a pillow case from a Holiday Inn and failing to appear in court.

4) In 1978 The Clash headlined the Anti Nazi League Carnival in London.

5) Without songs like "Armagideon Time" and albums like Sandinista!, many ignorant punks and skinheads would never have been exposed to dub, reggae and just "different" music in general.

6) In 1980, Strummer smashes his guitar over the head of a fan in Hamburg, Germany. He is released after proving he wasn't drunk when he did it.

7) Strummer "disappears" the day before the "Know Your Rights Tour" in 1982. He says it was because his girlfriend's mother was in jail and he had to go to Paris.

8) Strummer and Paul Simonon kick Mick Jones out of the band because he's not punk enough. The Clash then do a "busking" tour of the U.K. They break up shortly after.

9) He played with Bob Dylan on Down In The Groove.

10) In 1991, Strummer replaces Shane MacGowan as lead singer in The Pogues.

11) He did the soundtrack to the film Sid And Nancy.

12) He appeared in the "Chef-Aid" episode of South Park.

13) He was a radio host on the BBC World Service.

14) Along with the rest of The Clash, Strummer won the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Composers & Songwriters for The Clash's outstanding contribution to British music in May 2001. It was the first time since 1982 that the original Clash line up (Headon, Jones, Simonon and Strummer) were together on the same stage.

15) The last record Strummer put out was Global A Go-Go, a wide-ranging musical trip that defied genres. It showed that, even at 50, Strummer was still a rebel.

If you don't own any Clash records, you're a fool.

ChartAttack Readers Holiday Note!

Your pals here at ChartAttack have closed up shop for the holidays. We'll be back with a daily news update on Jan. 2, 2003, but until then, we've prepared some special stories for you to chew on over the holidays. This year we've cooked up three celebrity filled holiday poll questions - dozens of musicians have participated, so be sure to check 'em out.

Our old friend Robin Black has also prepared his annual State Of The Union Address, which is sure to generate many angry letters from all you reactionaries out there.

Finally, all of our regional Buzz writers have submitted special columns, detailing what's going on on New Year's Eve across the country and also reflecting on the year that was 2002.

Also, if you're looking for something to do over the holidays, don't forget to vote in our Year End Readers Poll. Your vote DOES count, so make sure to check it out here.

Finally, if you're looking for a little holiday treat, we've designed a couple more desktop wallpapers featuring Dashboard Confessional and Sam Roberts. Grab them for yourself in our downloads section.

Happy Holidays!