Was Joe Strummer in the Pogues?
The Pogues were an English or Anglo-Irish Celtic punk band fronted by Shane MacGowan and others. It was founded in Kings Cross, London in 1982, as “Pogue Mahone” – the anglicization of the Irish Gaelic póg mo thóin, meaning “kiss my arse”.
Strummer joined the Pogues for a tour in 1987/88, filling in for their ailing guitarist Philip Chevron. Philip wrote in May 2008 on the band’s online forum: “When I was sick in late 1987, I taught Joe all the guitar parts in an afternoon and he was on tour in the US as deputy guitarist the next day.
Joe Strummer was a great man whose death had given the world something to mourn over. He was found dead by his wife at his home in Broomfield, Somerset aged 50, having just returned from walking his dog on 22 December 2002.
According to sources, an autopsy conducted showed that he died from a heart attack caused by an undiagnosed congenital heart defect. Strummer was cremated, and his ashes were given to his family.
In his remembrance, Strummer’s friends and family established the Joe Strummer Foundation (initially known as Strummerville), a non-profit organization that gives opportunities to musicians and supports projects around the world that create empowerment through music.
