Just looking at the calendar and anniversaries this morning and I realised next month will mark 10 years since the ‘comeback’ of Joe Strummer with his new band the Mescaleros. It was the summer of 1999 when I heard ‘Tony Adams” from the album that was to follow and I was intrigued to say the least. The 90′s had been a fallow period for any Clash fan as Big Audio Dynamite had slowed to a halt by the middle of the decade and the expectation of a Strummer return seemed less likely as time passed.

In 1999 I was on dial up internet and listening to music online was a test of patience. The first time I heard Tony Adams was a streamed video that probably took about 25 minutes. As a test of patience it was worthwhile and I felt a strange excitement knowing an album would be out in the Autumn. I had read that Strummer had worked on and off with Richard Norris for about a 4 year spell but the rumours of a recording surfacing seemed far fetched. Antony Genn was the instigator it seems and thank goodness for that. As summer wound down the fact that the album was ‘in the can’ was broadcast in the UK and then online and I think Clash fans were gradually made aware. Tony Adams marked a taste of what was to come, organically it sounded more like The Clash than much of Joe’s earlier solo work which considering the amount of time that had passed came as a (pleasant) surprise to me. The choppy reggae guitar riff was offset by a drum sound that was instantly different and to this day has a great feel. The album itself was released with little fanfare in the US, almost seen as a wheeling out of the old guard for a final spin around the block. I’ve done some research about reviews in the UK press and the reactions were fairly upbeat. I’ll dig into those a bit more in the next post, if you have specific memories of the album’s release please be sure and send a message via the comments or email me.

I was wondering around, trying to figure out what to do for eleven years. I found Anthony Genn, he’s a young cat. I knew him already from seeing him work at other sessions. He said ‘you’re Joe Strummer. You should be making a record.’ I was looking at these young idiots making music at some joint in London. I looked at him and said ‘you’re right.’ So when we were watching these idiots, he was saying ‘You wanna do it, I’m there.’                            Joe Strummer

I’ll write more about the album, Hellcat Records, the artwork and how this stepping stone got Joe (all too briefly) back on the Road to Rock and Roll in part 2 and 3. Until then the video below is fun to watch in so many ways, his energy and the theme of ‘back from the wilderness’ is so enthralling I wish it was 1999 all over again. His vitality in this interview is so brilliant.