Find in a library near you: Redemption Song: The Ballad of Joe Strummer
Exerpt from Boston Globe Review:
If you're unclear as to how the singer of a long-defunct punk-rock band came to merit an honor guard from his local constabulary, Chris Salewicz's large and generously comprehensive "Redemption Song" will set you straight. Strummer was born John Mellor in 1952, in Ankara, Turkey, the son of a British diplomat. With the advent of punk he reinvented himself, and from 1976 to its breakup in 1985 he fronted the Clash, so embodying the ragged, big-hearted energy of the band that its demise virtually guaranteed him a long spell in what he would refer to as "the wilderness." Journalist Salewicz (dubbed "Sandwich" by Strummer, who had a pet name for everyone) was along for the ride, a bobbing head at the first Clash shows and subsequently a lifelong friend to his troubled hero. Read Full review
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