The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer
Interview with author Gregor Gall
When thinking about the political and philosophical underpinnings of punk, it is likely that the figure that will come first to many people’s minds is Clash frontman Joe Strummer. There’s a general sense that Joe Strummer (and the band(s) he was part of) were particularly political even in amongst a genre and peers that were all likely to have that label. But what were his politics really? What labels that have been given to him are rooted in empirical fact and are evidence-based, and how much of what we attribute to him are projections based on what we want him to be? If anyone is able to unpick this and present a clear account of the political leanings of the man, then it is Gregor Gall and his new book The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer. Punk Rock Philosophy had a chat with the author about Strummer’s legacy, how his politics changed over the course of his life and career and the power of music to make political change.
Many works have been written about Joe Strummer and The Clash, there is certainly no shortage of documentation about most aspects of his (and their) career. But what is absent in a lot of retrospectives and discourse is an analysis of his political life- what he thought; why he thought it and what he did with it. This is why, in the year that marks 20 years since Strummer’s death at age 50, this book seems like a fitting exploration of such an integral part of his life and work. For Gall, this was certainly part of the reason for bringing this book to the world in 2022:
The precise point for writing the book now, is he died 20 years ago on 22nd December 2002 and I wanted to make my own contribution to marking his importance to, not just my own intellectual development but those thousands of others. He had an important impact on a generation I was a part of. If you look at books written about Joe Strummer and The Clash, politics is not that important in the way the books have been written and what they focus on. I thought there was a need to concentrate on the politics, not just in The Clash but subsequent to them because he has an extended career thereafter and was still politically active.
And his politics are undoubtedly important as it is often this aspect of Strummer’s persona that takes the credit for the significant influence he has had on the lives of his fans and followers. As well as chapters on Strummer’s activities, positions and pronouncements, Gall includes testimonies of fans and those who have been influenced by Strummer politically or intellectually. That was an important part of the process in trying to substantiate his legacy:
I had heard from others (and he was told by fans)- that he had changed their lives. And this is a statement repeated again and again but many other books didn’t ask questions like ‘what had changed’ and ‘how it has changed’, it hasn’t been interrogated so I thought we need to look at this assertion. Did it mean politically or personally, did it mean to become more left wing? The penultimate chapter is the testimonies I took from people on that specific point.
Strummer has had many different labels across the course of his life and beyond- activist, revolutionary, Marxist, Socialist- and Gall examines the case behind each of these labels as well as drilling down into specific topics such as environmentalism; gender issues; class. There’s a reason behind taking this methodical approach in order to convey the truth about Strummer’s position on a range of issues and how he developed over time:
I wanted to reveal the true Joe Strummer- not the Joe Strummer that people project onto or say ‘he is one of our group’. He was a complex character- he had quite marked failings particularly in relation to women and gender. John Graham Mellor was the person- Joe Strummer was the means he used to convey his political ideas.
And how much of a priority was it for him to use music to convey ideas? And how typical of punk was he in that respect?
For Joe Strummer, the main thing that motivated him was seeing music and culture as a battleground on which to fight various political battles, mainly against racism and fascism. There’s the famous quote by him- “I think people ought to know that we’re anti-fascist, we’re anti-violence, we’re anti-racist and we’re pro-creative. We’re against ignorance.” If that was all he was about, that’s not particularly left wing or socialist per se, and yet in the course of being in The Clash he becomes a spokesman for a generation. By late 1970s and early 1980s he is identifying as a Socialist. We may quibble on meanings, but he says it and is not afraid of it. That period lasts until late 1980s. Then he becomes a humanist. Even though he changed, he was always political. Even as a hedonist, despite diversions, he was still very political and most other musicians and bands. You would have to look to maybe The Mekons, Billy Bragg or The Redskins to find similarly political musicians at the time. Because of his personality and charisma and The Clash holding position as a key punk band, he was able to have more influence on more people in a more radical direction which is why he stands out. Without The Clash, punk could have ended up being a very inward-looking, narcissistic, possibly quite right-wing movement. The ‘anarchism’ offered by bands like The Sex Pistols was quite shallow and speaking more to individual autonomy than anarchism as an ideology.
One point that is emphasised in the book is Strummer’s wariness of organised political parties and he never fully threw himself into campaigning for any particular party, instead seeking to make individual human connections and raise consciousness and awareness. Perhaps it was this less paternalistic approach that gave people the space to absorb his messages and confront them in their own time and in their own way:
Quite often Joe would say the Angelic Upstarts or the Tom Robinson Band were too prescriptive in their political approach but also the references in their lyrics didn’t have a timelessness or universality. For example, Tom Robinson refers to politicians that were probably not that well known at the time and became less well known over time. Whereas Joe Strummer may have written about the Spanish Civil War for example, which was geo-specific in some ways but there’s also a more general quality that allows a song like that to transcend time. It is not a coincidence- this is a deliberate thing that Strummer engaged in which marks out his quality as a lyricist. He doesn’t hit people over the head with things and he spoke in themes that are relatable- liberty, freedom of expression, liberation. He doesn’t give you everything, before the age of internet you would go to the library and try and find books on these topics that he speaks of. So, he played the role of an educator. Advocate not activist- too many people misconceive he was an activist, he wasn’t.
How do we quantify his legacy now? 20 years on from his death, it is clear that the man still holds a very special place in the hearts and memories of many a punk fan. But is that legacy slowly tapering off or does he still manage to inspire people anew?
I feel there is sufficient robustness to say there are many people still alive and active in campaigning who were teenagers when The Clash were at their peak, and they take forward that influence. In the song Stop the World, there is a line about ‘wheat fields in Kyiv’. And if many people are to find out about Joe Strummer lyrics, it will be through new world events that highlight something he said years ago. Stop the World is anti-war. Based on current events, many people will be horrified by the Ukraine war and so there is a link there. There are still events such as International Clash Day, there’s the anniversary of the Acton Firefighters gig with Mescaleros of 2002, there are Joe Strummer inspiredfestivals….so his legacy will be ongoing.
People would say ‘why is this guy still relevant’? In a nutshell, the things he cared about and wrote about- those things are still present in the world we live in. Environmental destruction, racism, war, human rights, social justice. Things that no matter how much we think the world has changed, they are still relevant. We still live in a capitalist system, it is only the details on the margin that have changed, society is still the same.
Joe Strummer is such an important part of the history of punk and a key reason why it is considered an intrinsically political genre, at the forefront of progressiveness and representing the disenfranchised. Gregor Gall’s book goes beyond the general labels and provides a thorough account of every element of Strummers political journey that is a fascinating read.
The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer is released by Manchester University Press on 22nd June 2022. You can pre order your copy here.