Seriously sad and shocking news<P>From BBC.com<P> <BR> Joe Strummer, the leader of legendary Seventies punk band The Clash, has <BR> died, aged 50, of a heart attack. <BR> <BR> <BR> A spokesman for Strummer confirmed to BBC News Online that the singer died <BR> on Sunday. <BR> <BR> <BR> A posting on the artist's website reads: "Joe Strummer died yesterday. Our <BR> condolences to Luce and the kids, family and friends." <BR> <BR> <BR> Strummer formed The Clash in the mid Seventies, and the band, who became <BR> punk figureheads with The Sex Pistols, were regarded as one of the most <BR> powerful rock bands of The Seventies. <BR> <BR> <BR> The Clash arguably gave punk a classic pop sensibility and their vital <BR> spirit in turn influenced later bands such as the Manic Street Preachers. <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> (Embedded image moved to file: pic13977.jpg) <BR> Strummer recently launched a new career with his band The Mescaleros <BR> <BR> <BR> <BR> The band were politically aware and became known as champions of left-wing <BR> causes. <BR> <BR> <BR> They were anti-racist and were noted for inflammatory, intelligent punk <BR> songs such as London Calling, White Riot, White Man In Hammersmith Palais <BR> and Tommy Gun. <BR> <BR> <BR> Along with the Sex Pistols, they were the figureheads of the punk scene that <BR> put London on the map as the centre of the musical world in the late <BR> Seventies. <BR> <BR> <BR> The band, who also boasted Mick Jones, Topper Headon and Paul Simonon, <BR> became huge stars in the US. <BR> <BR> <BR> Rolling Stone voted London Calling, their classic 1980 album (released in <BR> 1979 in the UK) as the best albums of the 80s. <BR> <BR> <BR> Jeans ad <BR> <BR> <BR> In 1982 they supported The Who at Shea Stadium, the US venue made famous by <BR> The Beatles. <BR> <BR> <BR> Their 1982 song Should I Stay Or Should I Go was their biggest US hit, and <BR> was posthumously used in an ad for jeans manufacturer Levi's. <BR> <BR> <BR> Strummer led the band until 1986, after sacking Mick Jones. <BR> <BR> <BR> In the last few years Strummer forged another successful career with his <BR> band The Mescaleros, touring around the world and releasing two albums - <BR> Rock Art And The X Ray Style in 1999, and 2001's Global A Go-Go. <BR> <BR> <BR> He also played with The Pogues and featured in several films, including Alex <BR> Cox's Walker and Straight To Hell, and Jim Jarmusch's 1989 Mystery Train. <BR> <BR> <BR> He leaves a wife and family. <BR> <P>
