Joe Strummer rocks again in new documentary

02/11/2007 23:14

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Thirty years ago, fledgling filmmaker Julien Temple was given an ultimatum by the Clash, one of two upstart London punk bands he had been documenting.

"You’ve gotta choose. You can’t be greedy, man. You’ve gotta choose either us or them," Temple recalled the members of the Clash telling him.

So he chose "them" -- the Sex Pistols, and went on to make two films about the bad boys of rock: "The Great Rock ’N’ Roll Swindle" and "The Filth and the Fury." He also shot video clips for artists such as the Rolling Stones and David Bowie.

The Clash did pretty well also, becoming big rock stars by fusing politically themed lyrics with a melange of musical styles rooted in reggae and rockabilly. Their third record "London Calling" was judged the best album of the ’80s by Rolling Stone magazine, notwithstanding its 1979 release.

Temple occasionally ran into Clash frontman Joe Strummer, but they were not close. That changed about a decade ago, when Strummer bought a house up the road in the county of Somerset. The punk survivors’ bonhomie was steeped in their shared left-wing idealism and middle-class upbringing.

The good times ended suddenly on December 22, 2002, when Strummer died of an undiagnosed heart defect while lying on a couch reading .....continued below

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the paper. He was 50. Temple, now 53, was a pallbearer at the funeral.

He pays tribute to Strummer in the documentary "Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten," which opens in New York and Los Angeles on Friday via IFC Entertainment. The film has already opened across much of western Europe,

FLAWED PHILOSOPHER

The two-hour documentary recounts Strummer’s privileged childhood as a diplomat’s son, the suicide of his older brother, his hippie days in London squats, his rise to fame with the Clash, and his struggle to find a new purpose in life after his dictatorial ways lead to the band’s demise.

Strummer’s penchant for hurting those closest to him is a running theme, as is his Machiavellian streak and hunger for fame. He was a womanizer, but also a gracious host and a deep thinker who spoke out against injustice.

"I do think of him as a philosopher and as someone who had a code of living that’s actually quite usable," Temple said.

Of his old Clash bandmates, only bass player Paul Simonon declined to participate. Drummer Topper Headon, who has fought a long battle with heroin addiction, was hard to pin down, but eventually shared nuggets about Strummer sleeping with his girlfriend and kicking him out of the band.

Temple’s interview with guitarist Mick Jones, filmed in an apartment block reminiscent of the London flat Jones shared with his grandmother when the Clash formed, started off disastrously, even though they had always gotten along well.

"He felt incredibly uncomfortable, nervous. And that got me, and we couldn’t say anything for half an hour," Temple recalled.

But the tongues loosened and Jones then talked for hours.

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