Joe Strummer

Founding member, lead singer and key lyricist for seminal political punk rock group The Clash. A gifted songwriter (particularly in tandem with The Clash's Mick Jones), Strummer moved from subway busker to pub-rocker (e.g. his first group The 101'ers), and like so many others of his generation, discovered punk rock after seeing The Sex Pistols. He immediately formed The Clash, and within a year the group had carved out its place as "the only band that matters," a quote referring to their seemingly concrete political commitment.

After a couple of critically lauded albums (especially 1979's "London Calling"), the group broke up by 1983. Following the group's disbandment, Strummer turned to film in the late '80s, providing scores for a couple of Alex Cox films, as well as acting. Although he had earlier appeared in a quasi-documentary on The Clash ("Rude Boy" 1980), and took a lead role in Cox's very unserious romp "Straight to Hell" (1987), it was his performance in Jim Jarmusch's "Mystery Train" (1989) which marked his dramatic acting debut.