By Masaru Sato
TORONTO, Nov 25 (Reuters) -
British punk rock legend Joe Strummer is back on
the road, mellower but still powerful and mischievous.
The former front man of the Clash has been crisscrossing North America on
an
18-city tour in November with a new youthful band, the Mescaleros, after
releasing his first album in a decade, "Rock Art and the X-Ray Style".
Strummer fans have been waiting for years to hear him again. Since the Clash
came to a bitter end in mid-1980s, the rock hero has been acting in films by
Alex Cox and Jim Jarmusch, writing and producing music, mostly for other
musicians, and raising kids in the London suburbs.
"The best career move I ever made was not making any move at all,"
the
47-year-old singer told a DJ on the Edge 102 rock radio station in Toronto in
a
rare live interview during the marathon tour. "As years went by, my stock
rose,
my popularity increased, so I didn't really want to spoil all that by putting
out a record, but eventually my wife forced me to do this."
Strummer has written about 160 songs, some with Clash co-founder and
guitarist Mick Jones, and others on his own during the post-Clash days,
including "Earthquake Weather," the 1989 album produced with Latino
Rockabilly
War. Now he's found a new songwriting partner, Antony Genn, guitarist of the
Mescaleros, whose members are all in their late twenties.
During the radio interview, broadcast outside a glass-walled studio on to
Toronto's bustling Yonge Street, Strummer played to the crowd with acoustic
guitar, wailing a tune from his latest album, "The Road to Rock 'N' Roll,"
and
an improvised version of "Junco Partner" from the Clash album "Sandinista!"
The rebel rocker in middle age appeared content that his music had survived
the test of time, as teenagers and people in their twenties are finding Clash
material strikingly fresh.
And he hasn't lost an ounce of his sense of satire. Asked about the inner
workings of the diverse Clash sound, Strummer told the radio audience, "I
hate
to disappoint you, but musicians don't have minds. We just have these empty
prairies with the trains whistling in the distance."
"We don't have that front-lobe thinking. We're just wailing blues singers,"
said the lyric writer, who grew up on American rhythm and blues.
Several generations of fans showed up to watch the return of Strummer at a
warehouse on the Toronto waterfront. He last came to Toronto in 1991 to fill
in
as a rhythm guitarist for the Irish-English band the Pogues. The last Canadian
tour by the original Clash was in 1982.
Some had never seen him before. "I was born in 1977, just after the Clash
debut. My brother has seen them, but this is the first time for me," said
a
beaming Eric Tavares, who was taking concert pictures for a local magazine.
On stage, Strummer's chiseled menacing look and wrist sweat band have been
replaced by a marriage ring and the well-fed look of a contented husband and
father.
But his stamina is undiminished, his sandpaper voice intact, even stronger
while reaching a wider range of octaves.
The rock icon continues his lyrical crusade for free speech and the joy of
playing music. His trademark Fender Telecaster is gleaming, with scratch marks
showing the man has never stopped strumming.
"On the road to rock 'n' roll, there's a lot of wreckage in the ravine,"
he
sings, and his path from busking in the London Underground has had a few rough
spots.
There was the wrenching legal dispute with a former record company with which
the Clash unwittingly signed a deal to do 10 albums in 10 years. Asked about
his
current deal with small record label Hellcat, he replied: "It's run by
human
beings, which to me is an amazingly new experience."
The sacking of Clash powerhouse drummer Topper Headon also left scars, as
seen in the latest Clash documentary "Westway to the World", directed
by
musician and former reggae DJ Don Letts.
At the Toronto show, Joe dedicated a rendition of "Rock the Casbah"
to
Headon, its creator, whose drug addiction forced him out of the band just as
the
song, from the "Combat Rock" album, was climbing toward the top of
the U.S.
charts in 1982.
Cheering by the 1,800 fans in Toronto peaked as Strummer and the Mescaleros
banged out with strength and precision the Clash hits "Whiteman in Hammersmith
Palace", "Safe European Home" and "London Calling".
There was no spitting at the band, but some lads, seeking to relive the punk
days, bodysurfed over the crowd, and were kicked out after their failed attempt
to land on stage. Some even hurled trash, forcing Strummer to step back with
the
mike stand.
The release this year of the Clash live album "From Here to Eternity,"
tribute albums by younger musicians, the documentary video, a book by former
Clash roadie Johnny Green "A Riot of Our Own," has heightened hopes
among fans
that the original four members will reunite to tour the world.
But Strummer, Jones, Headon, and bassist and visual artist Paul Simonon have
so far saved that idea for later enjoyment, unlike the Sex Pistols, who reformed
to cash in on a punk revival two years ago.
On the oft-asked question of the possibility of a Clash reunion, Strummer
simply told the radio audience: "None of us are dead yet. Beyond that,
I don't
know."
((Masaru Sato, Reuters Toronto newsroom (416) 941-8107,
toronto.newsroom@reuters.com))
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