The Mescaleros
 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
The Mescaleros | |
|---|---|
| Website | www.myspace.com/themescaleros |
The Mescaleros were the British backing band for British singer, musician and songwriter Joe Strummer, formed in 1999, which issued three albums prior to Strummer's death in 2002.
Many of the band members were multi-instrumentalists. The original line up consisted of Strummer on vocals and
The name "The Mescaleros" for my new group is something I just stole from a cowboy film I was watching one night. So, um, really, doesn't have any meaning to the direction. But we're moving in a kind of roots reggae, rock thing. I mean, more or less, as if time hadn't passed. But, we're trying to move it into the future as well. Definitely don't wanna stay in the past. Gotta get out of the past! It's a quagmire of treacle.
Joe Strummer, 1999, Hultsfred Festival, Sweden
The Mescaleros arose from Strummer's work with Pablo Cook and Richard Norris. The three of them originally came together to write the soundtracks for two short films, Tunnel of Love, and Question of Honour. The song "Yalla Yalla" was originally written by this trio, and mixed by Antony Genn. Once Genn was brought on board, a new song "Techno D-Day" was recorded, at which point Strummer, at the behest of Genn, began recording a new record.
The original drummer, Ged Lynch, left the band before recording on Rock Art & the X-Ray Style was complete and Steve Barnard, previously with (Robbie Williams), was brought in to finish recording. Shields and Slattery were recruited through a number of contacts with the band. Slattery had also appeared on Robbie Williams' Life Thru a Lens album, and Scott Shields was a friend of Slattery's. Oddly enough, in the initial lineup, only Smiley was playing the instrument which he knew best.
Genn reportedly did not have the ability to play sufficient lead guitar, so multi-instrumentalist Slattery, originally trained on horns and keyboards, was brought in. Strummer once joked that Slattery could play a hole in the windshield of the tour bus. Shields had previously been a drummer but was recruited to play bass, and later played guitar.
History
The Mescaleros' first gig was on 5 June 1999 at The Leadmill in Antony Genn's hometown of Sheffield. They toured extensively for the next six months in the U.S. and Europe, appearing as well at the Glastonbury Festival. In 2000 the band played Big Day Out in Australia and New Zealand, as well as touring Japan.
The band signed with the Californian punk label Hellcat Records, and issued three albums. Following the release of the first, Rock Art and the X-Ray Style, they toured England and North America; sets included several Clash-fan favourites.
Singer-songwriter
Honorary Mescaleros include John Blackburn and Jimmy Hogarth, both of whom played bass in place of Scott Shields on the 2000 tour supporting The Who, which was also Tymon Dogg's first tour with the band. Andy Boo, Srummer's guitar tech also appeared in the Mescaleros line up in place of Pablo Cook on percussion at a gig in Finland 1999.[1]
Following the departure of Genn and Smiley, Scott Shields moved to guitar,
Following the release of
Musically, the Mescaleros continued the genre mixing that Strummer was known for during his time with The Clash. Elements of reggae, jazz, funk, hip hop, country, and of course punk rock can be found in the three Mescaleros releases.[1]
The band is also the subject of a documentary by
Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros' last concert was on 22 November 2002, in
The band's final album Streetcore was released, after Strumer's death, on 20 October 2003.
The band also made appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, as well as touring on the Hootenany Festival in the summer of 2001.
Various Mescaleros members have performed at numerous tribute concerts in both UK & Europe. Pablo Cook & Smiley together with Mike Peters (the Alarm), Derek Forbes (Simple Minds), Steve Harris (Gary Numan) are members of Los Mondo Bongo, a celebration of the music of Joe Strummer, who together with Ray Gange (DJ) tour whenever possible, performing Mescaleros tunes.
Antony Genn currently fronts The Hours, a band that he and fellow Mescalero Martin Slattery formed in 2004.
In an October 2013 interview with
Members
- lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Martin Slattery – lead guitar, keyboards, saxophone, flute
- Scott Shields – guitar, bass guitar
- Antony Genn – guitar (1999–2000)
- Simon Stafford– bass guitar, trombone (2001–2002)
- Tymon Dogg – violin, Spanish guitar, keyboards (2000–2002)
- John Blackburn – bass guitar (2000)
- Jimmy Hogarth – bass guitar (2000)
- Pablo Cook – percussion (1999–2001)
- Luke Bullen – drums (2001–2002)
- Steve "Smiley" Barnard – drums (1999–2000)
Discography
| Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 3 |
| Compilation albums | 5 |
| Music videos | 8 |
| Singles | 7 |
- Studio albums
| Year | Album Information | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S [8] | |||
| 1999 | Rock Art and the X-Ray Style
|
71 | – |
| 2001 | Global A Go-Go
|
68 | – |
| 2003 | Streetcore
|
50 | 160 |
- Soundtracks, compilations, box sets and live albums
| Year | Album Information | Chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S [8] | |||
| 2007 | Joe Strummer: The Future is Unwritten
|
– | – |
| 2012 | Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros: The Hellcat Years
|
58 | – |
| 2012 | Live at Acton Town Hall
|
66 | – |
| 2018 | Joe Strummer 001
|
– | – |
| 2021 | Assembly
|
– | – |
| 2022 | Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years
|
– | – |
- Singles
| Year | Single | Album | Chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "Yalla Yalla" (Ineligible to chart) | Rock Art and the X-Ray Style | |
| 1999 | "Tony Adams" | Rock Art and the X-Ray Style | |
| 2001 | "Johnny Appleseed" | Global A Go-Go | 153 |
| 2003 | "Coma Girl" | Streetcore | 33 |
| "Redemption Song" / "Arms Aloft" | 46 | ||
| 2018 | "London is Burning" | Joe Strummer 001 | |
| 2022 | "The Road to Rock 'N' Roll (Demo)" | Joe Strummer 002: The Mescaleros Years | |
| "Fantastic" |
Music videos
| Title | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| "Yalla Yalla" | 1999 | — |
| "Tony Adams" | ||
| "Johnny Appleseed" | 2001 | |
| "Coma Girl" | 2003 | |
| "Redemption Song" | ||
| "London is Burning" | 2018 | Kevin Petillo |
| "Junco Partner (Acoustic)" | 2021 | Spencer Ramsey |
| "I Fought the Law (Live)" | — | |
| "The Road to Rock 'N' Roll (Demo)" | 2022 |
DVDs on which Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros appear:
- Joe Strummer: The Future is UnwrittenDirected by Julien Temple (out on DVD: September 2007)
- Viva Joe Strummer Directed by M.Parkinson
- Let's Rock Again! Directed by Dick Rude
- Later with Jools Holland: Legends
- Hootenanny DVD
- Give 'Em the Boot
- Glastonbury the Movie
- Black Hawk Down (soundtrack)
- Le scaphandre et le papillon ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly") (2007)
Notes
- ^ busking pal and fiddle-player Tymon Dogg, for the first time since Sandinista). The music was a glorious amalgamation of every aspect of Joe's character: as wide as his vision & as big as his heart. I caught shows on each tour, to see Joe again after so long was just as exhilarating as it had been the first time round. The last time I saw him I'd decided that he was gonna live forever & turn into a gnarled punk/blues/world amalgamation of Bo Diddly, Woody Guthrie & Muddy Waters – a man for all seasons & all generations. A foot soldier of the old guard destined to continue teaching lesser minds the beauty & power of legitimate protest through an art-form: "Let fury have the hour, anger can be power, you know that we can use it".
- ISBN 0-9544620-0-9.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link - ^ McDonald, Gregg; Alan Miles (2003). "The Last Night London Burned". theclash.org.uk. Retrieved 4 December 2007.
A Film by Gregg McDonald and Alan Miles. - An account of Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros (featuring Mick Jones) FBU benefit concert at Acton Town Hall
- ^ "Clash star Joe Strummer dies". ENTERTAINMENT. CNN.com. 23 December 2002. Archived from the original on 17 November 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
Strummer, who was the band's guitarist, vocalist and songwriter alongside Mick Jones, died on Sunday at his farmhouse in Somerset, southwestern England.
- ^ "The Clash - Mick Jones: 'Secret Joe Strummer Tunes Could Have Sparked The Clash's Comeback'". Contact Music. 4 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ^ a b c "The Official Charts Company - Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- ^ a b c "Chart Log UK: DJ S - The System of Life". Dipl.-Bibl.(FH) Tobias Zywietz, 1994–2009. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
- ^ a b "allmusic ((( Joe Strummer > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Billboard. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
References
- Davie, Anthony (2004). Vision of a Homeland: The History of OCLC 123775358.
Further reading
- D'Ambrosio, Antonino (13 October 2004). Let Fury Have the Hour: The Punk Rock Politics of Joe Strummer. New York: Nation Books. OCLC 56988650.
Edited with an Introduction by Antonino D'Ambrosio.
- Davie, Anthony (2010). ISBN 978-2-35779-048-3.)
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link - Davie, Anthony (2004). New and Previously Unpublished Photographs OCLC 64898380.
- OCLC 96002520.
- Matula, Theodore (December 2003). "Joe Strummer, 1952-2002". Popular Music and Society. 26 (4). Bowling Green, Ohio: Taylor & Francis: 523–525. S2CID 191412037.
- Salewicz, Chris (15 May 2007). OCLC 76794852.
External links
- Home of The Mescaleros
- Festival of music and film to celebrate the work of Joe Strummer
- The Joe Strummer Foundation for New Music
- Richard Flack Music Production
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
| Other | |
