Joe Strummer - Joe Strummer 001 (4LP)

• Only available by request.

Ignition Records are proud to announce the release of Joe Strummer 001, the first compilation to span Joe Strummer’s career outside of his recordings with The Clash.

Joe Strummer 001 is a career-spanning 32 song collection album featuring 12 previously unreleased songs, as well as favourites from his recordings with the 101ers, the Mescaleros and his extensive soundtrack work along with alternate versions of previously released songs.

Exclusive to collection is an album of unreleased material including an early demo of "This Is England" entitled "Czechoslovak Song/Where Is England". A solo demo of "Letsagetabitarockin" recorded in Elgin Avenue in 1975, and outtakes from Sid & Nancy featuring Mick Jones and unreleased songs "Rose Of Erin", the biographical and mythical recording "The Cool Impossible" and "London Is Burning" - one of the last songs Joe recorded.

Punk pioneer, singer, songwriter, recording artist, activist, musical and political inspiration for a generation and mighty diamond Joe Strummer was the most charismatic and passionate front man to emerge from the punk explosion of the late seventies.

After Joe’s untimely death in December 2002, it was discovered that he had been quite an archivist of his own work, having barns full of writings and tapes stored in his back garden. There are now over 20,000 items in the Joe Strummer Archive. The archiving of this material and compiling of Joe Strummer 001 was overseen by Joe’s widow Lucinda Tait and compilation producer Robert Gordon McHarg III.

All tracks were restored and mastered by Grammy Award winner Peter J. Moore at the E. Room in Toronto, Canada. Ongoing through cassettes and recording tapes it was discovered that Joe was rather frugal and keen on hiding tracks. On cassettes, he would leave 20 minutes between songs. On the 1” 8 track recordings it was discovered there were hidden tracks superimposed onto each other. For example tracks, 1-4 were taken by one song and tracks 5-8 by two other songs which were thought when played back to be caused by tape denigration until the tapes went to Peter J Moore who was able
to separate one song from another.

The box set includes an accompanying hard backed book featureing rarely seen and previously unpublished memorabilia from Joe’s personal collection, as well as historical press reviews and technical notes about the albums. The slipcase cover artwork is taken from Joe’s 1990 Californian driving license.

This project was art directed and designed by Robert Gordon McHarg III who previously worked on the Clash ‘Sound System’ box set with Paul Simonon, the John Cooper Clarke compilation ‘Anthologia’ and curated the Black Market Clash Exhibition.