Editing Joe Strummer (section)

==Early life==
Strummer was born John Graham Mellor in [[Ankara]], [[Turkey]], on 21 August 1952, the son of a Scottish mother and English father. His mother, Anna Mackenzie (1915–1986), was the daughter of a [[crofter]] and was born and raised in [[Bonar Bridge]]; she later became a nurse. His father, Ronald Ralph Mellor [[Order of the British Empire|MBE]] (1916–1984), was born in [[Lucknow]], India, where his father worked as a railway official; Ronald Mellor became a clerical officer, who later attained the rank of second secretary, in [[Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service|the foreign service]].<ref>{{Cite ODNB | url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-88710 | title=Strummer, Joe &#91;real name John Graham Mellor&#93; (1952–2002), rock musician and songwriter| doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/88710| year=2004}}</ref> Through his father, Strummer had an [[Armenians|Armenian]] great-grandfather who had lived in India and a [[Germans|German]] great-grandmother.{{Sfn|Salewicz|2006|pp=35, 205}} At the age of nine, Strummer and his 10-year-old brother David began boarding at the [[City of London Freemen's School]] in Surrey and rarely saw their parents during the next seven years. He later said, "[A]t the age of nine I had to say good-bye to them because they went abroad to Africa or something. I went to boarding school and only saw them once a year after that – the Government paid for me to see my parents once a year. I was left on my own, and went to this school where thick rich people sent their thick rich kids. Another perk of my father's job – it was a job with a lot of perks – all the fees were paid by the Government."{{sfn|Coon|1977}}

Strummer developed a love of rock music by listening to records by [[Little Richard]], the [[Beach Boys]], and [[Woody Guthrie]].<ref>{{cite web|author=Will Gilgrass |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nowplaying/2012/12/strummer6music---help-pick-the.shtml |title=Blogs – Now Playing @6Music – #Strummer6Music |publisher=BBC |access-date=17 June 2013}}</ref> Strummer would even go by the nickname "Woody" for a few years.<ref name="trackMARX-Joe_Strummer"/> He would later refer to the Beach Boys as "the reason [he] played music".<ref>[http://rollingstoneextras.com/playlists/view/sean-lennon The Playlist Special – Sean Lennon] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101224175016/http://rollingstoneextras.com/playlists/view/sean-lennon |date=24 December 2010 }}, ''[[Rolling Stone]]''</ref> By 1970, his brother had become estranged from the family. His suicide in July of that year profoundly affected Strummer, as did having to identify his body after it had lain undiscovered for three days.{{Sfn|Salewicz|2006}} Strummer said, "[David] was a year older than me. Funnily enough, you know, he was a [[Nazi]]. He was a member of the [[National Front (UK)|National Front]]. He was into the [[occult]] and he used to have these deaths-heads and cross-bones all over everything. He didn't like to talk to anybody, and I think suicide was the only way out for him. What else could he have done[?]"{{sfn|Coon|1977}}

After finishing his time at the City of London Freemen's School in 1970, Strummer moved on to the [[Central School of Art and Design]] in London,<ref name=bowe>Brian J. Bowe (2011). [https://archive.org/details/clashpunkrockban0000bowe ''The Clash: punk rock band'']. Berkeley Heights, NJ : Enslow. {{ISBN|9780766032323}}. p. 14. Retrieved August 2013.</ref> where he briefly considered becoming a professional cartoonist and completed a one-year foundation course.<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2600955.stm
|title=Strummer's lasting culture Clash
|access-date=20 November 2007
|date=23 December 2002
|format=STM
|work=Entertainment
|publisher=BBC News World Edition
|quote=a) Born John Graham Mellor in 1952, Strummer was the son of a diplomat and was given a middle-class upbringing at boarding school in Surrey before going to study art in London – before deciding that it was a "lousy set up". <br />b, c, d) He had immersed himself in music since childhood, and his own musical career began when he started street performing with a ukulele at Green Park tube station. He played in two bands, the Vultures and the 101ers, but when the Sex Pistols supported the 101ers in west London in 1976, Strummer saw the possibilities open up for him and was inspired to form the Clash.
|archive-date=7 December 2008
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207213554/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2600955.stm
|url-status=live
}}</ref> During this time, he shared a flat in [[Palmers Green]] with friends [[The Passions (British band)|Clive Timperley]] and [[Tymon Dogg]]. He said, "I bought a ukulele. No kidding. I saved some money, £1.99 I think, and bought it down [[Shaftesbury Avenue]]. Then the guy I was busking with taught me to play '[[Johnny B. Goode]]'. [...] I was on my own for the first time with this ukulele and 'Johnny B. Goode'. And that's how I started."{{sfn|Coon|1977}}

In 1973, Strummer moved to [[Newport, South Wales]]. He did not study at [[Newport College of Art]], but he met up with college musicians at the students' union in Stow Hill and became the vocalist for Flaming Youth before renaming the band the Vultures.<ref name="trackMARX-Joe_Strummer">{{cite web
|url=http://trakmarx.com/2003_01/09.htm
|title=Joe Strummer – 1952–2002
|access-date=17 November 2007
|last=Encoule
|first=Jean
|year=2003
|website=TrakMARX.com
|quote=a) Joe Strummer was born in Ankara, Turkey, in 1952 & christened John Graham Mellor. His family spent time in Ankara, Cairo, Mexico City & [[Bonn]] before Mellor returned to the UK to attend the City of London Freemen's School in Surrey. Mellor left school & enrolled at Central College of Art but left "after about a week", heading straight for the underground & squat culture. Mellor lived in Wales, playing in knock-about bands and using the nickname "Woody" inspired by Woody Guthrie's name.  <br /> b) The Vultures, in time, led to the 101ers, a group of West London-based squatters named after their squat address. The 101ers were eventually supported by a nascent Sex Pistols. Mellor adopted the stage name of "Joe Strummer". Impressed by the power of the [[Sex Pistols]], the newly self-coined Strummer determined that the 101ers were "yesterday's papers" by comparison. It was time to strike out anew. And this led to the start of the Clash. <br /> c) "This is my Indian summer ... I learnt that fame is an illusion & everything about it is just a joke. I'm far more dangerous now, because I don't care at all." – Joe Strummer to Chris Salewicz – 2000.
|archive-date=19 December 2007
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219155124/http://trakmarx.com/2003_01/09.htm
|url-status=live
}}</ref> The Vultures included three former members of Rip Off Park Rock & Roll Allstars, the original college band co-founded by Terry Earl Taylor. For the next year, Strummer was the band's part-time singer and rhythm guitarist. During this time, he also worked as a [[gravedigger]] in [[St Woolos Cemetery]].<ref>Don J Whistance's Clash Site – [http://www.theclash.org.uk/joetheearlyyears.htm "Joe the Early years"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717120500/http://theclash.org.uk/joetheearlyyears.htm |date=17 July 2014 }} (Retrieved 7 February 2014)</ref><ref>JoeStrummer.org – [http://www.joestrummer.org/bio.php "Bio"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306203914/http://www.joestrummer.org/bio.php |date=6 March 2014 }} (Retrieved 7 February 2014)</ref> While in Newport, he wrote and recorded on an old [[reel-to-reel]] tape recorder "Crumby Bum Blues", which was later used in [[Julien Temple]]'s 2007 film ''[[Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten]]''. In 1974, the band fell apart, and Strummer moved back to London, where he met up again with Dogg.  He was a street performer for a while and then decided to form another band with his roommates called [[the 101ers]],<ref name="bbcco-Strummer" /> named after the address of their squat at 101 Walterton Road in [[Maida Vale]].<ref name="trackMARX-Joe_Strummer" />{{Sfn|Westway 2001}} The band played many gigs in London pubs, performing covers of popular American [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]] and [[rock and roll]] songs. During this period, Strummer worked several occasional temporary jobs to fund the purchase of musical equipment, including time spent as a gardener in Hyde Park "to get the money for the guitar".<ref>ARTE TV interview 2001 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqEI7O41NpM {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329172242/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqEI7O41NpM&gl=US&hl=en |date=29 March 2022 }}</ref> 

In 1975, he stopped calling himself Woody Mellor and adopted the stage name Joe Strummer, subsequently insisting that his friends call him by that name. The surname "Strummer" apparently referred to his role as rhythm guitarist in a self-deprecating way. Strummer was the lead singer of the 101ers and began to write original songs for the group. One song he wrote was inspired by [[the Slits]]' drummer [[Palmolive (musician)|Palmolive]], who was his girlfriend at the time. The group liked the song "Keys to Your Heart", which they picked as their first single.{{sfn|Coon|1977}}