Editing Joe Strummer (section)

=== The Clash (1976–1986) ===
{{Main|The Clash}}
On 3 April 1976, the then-unknown [[Sex Pistols]] opened for the 101ers at a venue called the Nashville Room in London, and Strummer was impressed by them.<ref name="bbcco-Strummer" /> Sometime after the show, Strummer was approached by [[Bernie Rhodes]] and [[Mick Jones (The Clash)|Mick Jones]]. Jones was from the band [[London SS]] and wanted Strummer to join as lead singer. Strummer agreed to leave the 101ers and join Jones, bassist [[Paul Simonon]], drummer [[Terry Chimes]] and guitarist [[Keith Levene]].{{Sfn|Westway 2001}} The band was named [[the Clash]] by Simonon and made their debut on 4 July 1976 in [[Sheffield]], opening for the [[Sex Pistols]] at the Black Swan (also known as the Mucky Duck, now known as the [[Boardwalk (nightclub)|Boardwalk]]).{{Sfn|Westway 2001}} On 25 January 1977, the band signed with [[CBS Records International|CBS Records]] as a three-piece after Levene was fired from the band and Chimes quit. [[Topper Headon]] later became the band's full-time drummer.

During his time with the Clash, Strummer, along with his bandmates, became notorious for getting into trouble with the law. On 10 June 1977, he and Headon were arrested for spray-painting the band's name on a wall in a hotel. On 20 May 1980, he was arrested for hitting a violent member of the audience with his guitar during a performance in [[Hamburg]], Germany. This incident shocked Strummer, and had a lasting personal impact on him. Strummer said, "It was a watershed—violence had really controlled me for once". He determined never again to fight violence with violence.{{Sfn|Salewicz|2006}}

Before the album ''[[Combat Rock]]'' was released in 1982, Strummer went into hiding and the band's management said that he had "disappeared". Bernie Rhodes, the band's manager, pressured Strummer to do so because tickets were selling slowly for the Scottish leg of an upcoming tour.{{Sfn|Salewicz|2006}}  It was planned for Strummer to travel, in secret, to Texas and stay with his friend, musician [[Joe Ely]]. Uneasy with his decision, Strummer instead decided to genuinely disappear and "dicked around" in France. During this time, Strummer ran the [[London Marathon]] in April 1982. He claimed his training regimen consisted of 10 pints of beer the night before the race. For this period of time, Strummer's whereabouts were a mystery not only to the public, but to the band's management as well. Strummer said later that this was a huge mistake and that you "have to have some regrets". This was in spite of the popular success of the single "[[Rock the Casbah]]". During this time, band members began to argue frequently, and with tensions high, the group began to fall apart.{{Sfn|Westway 2001}}

In September 1983, Strummer issued the infamous "Clash Communique", and fired Mick Jones.{{Sfn|Westway 2001}} Topper Headon had earlier been kicked out of the band because of his heroin addiction, and Terry Chimes was brought back temporarily to fill his place until the permanent replacement, Pete Howard, could be found.  This left the band with only two of its original members, Strummer and Simonon.  Rhodes persuaded Strummer to carry on, adding two new guitarists.{{Sfn|Westway 2001}}  Under this lineup, they released the album ''[[Cut the Crap]]'' in 1985. The album was panned by fans and critics alike and Strummer disbanded the Clash.

At the band's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Clash was said to be "considered one of the most overtly political, explosive and exciting bands in rock and roll history".<ref name="rockhall-The_Clash">{{cite web|url=http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/the-clash|title=The Clash|access-date=19 November 2007|date=10 March 2003|work=Induction|publisher=The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum|quote=a) Quite simply, the Clash were among the most explosive and exciting bands in rock and roll history. <br>b, c) If not exactly a reunion, it was a rapprochement. On 15 November 2002, Jones and Strummer shared the stage for the first time in nearly 20&nbsp;years, performing three Clash songs during the encore of a London benefit show by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros. This raised hopes for a Clash reunion, which were dashed when Strummer died of a heart attack on 22 December 2002.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100430132108/http://rockhall.com/inductees/the-clash|archive-date=30 April 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Their songs tackled social decay, unemployment, racism, [[police brutality]], political and social repression, and militarism in detail. Strummer was involved with the [[Anti-Nazi League]] and [[Rock Against Racism]] campaigns. He later also gave his support to the Rock Against the Rich series of concerts organised by the anarchist organisation [[Class War]]. The Clash's ''[[London Calling]]'' album was voted best album of the 1980s by ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine (although it was released in late 1979 in the UK, it was not released until 1980 in the US).<ref>{{cite news
|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2600669.stm
|title=Clash star Strummer dies
|access-date=20 November 2007
|date=27 December 2002
|format=STM
|work=Entertainment
|publisher=BBC News World Edition
|quote=Rolling Stone voted London Calling, their classic 1980 album (released in 1979 in the UK) as the best album of the Eighties.
|archive-date=4 December 2012
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121204010710/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2600669.stm
|url-status=live
}}</ref>