NEWS: Strummer's 101ers' Album to Be Reissued

MUSIC: Strummer's 101ers' Album to Be Reissued

Before the Clash, Joe Strummer fronted the R&B group The 101ers, part of a back-to-basics "pub-rock" movement that helped lay the groundwork for punk in England.

During their two-year lifespan, the group never released a proper album, only turning out one killer single: "Keys to Your Heart". Soon after, Strummer left the group to find immortality in the Clash, but due to Strummer's fame, a 101ers album was eventually cobbled together for a 2,000 copy limited release in 1981 and has been widely bootlegged ever since. That "album", Elgin Avenue Breakdown, is essentially a collection of demo and BBC sessions, mixed at random with a live audience-recorded bootleg.

It has never, to my knowledge, however, been officially released on CD. Until now.

You see, Strummer never forgot his roots, and before his death in 2002 he often spoke of reissuing the 101ers' material. Unfortunately, it seems that Joe's death provided the urgency required to finally get the ball rolling on the project.

The 101ers reformed to play a few tribute gigs after Strummer's death, but Dudanski says the band won't tour to promote the new re-release.

This is A Good Thing.

I have a vinyl 101ers disc, and it's fun stuff. A pretty solid band, I think.

Cheers, Joe. We miss you.

The Clash at one of their earliest gigs was the first punk band I ever saw. We went because we really liked the 101ers and knew that the Clash were Joe Strummer's new band. We were expecting something in a similar vein but when they hit the stage (opening the bill for a Teddy Boy Rock'n'roll band and a country/pop band) they blew us away, splitting the audience between those that hated it and those of us that thought it was one of the most amazing gigs we had ever seen.



[Edited on May 27, 2005 10:08AM]

Nifty. I can't wait to pick it up.

I seem to recall that most early punk bands in England hated the back to basics pub-rockers. In Johnny Rotten's book, several go out of their way to mock the entire movement, since at the time punk was about creating something new, not copying the old. So pardon if I doubt that pub-rock led the way for punk.

It's also well documented that John Lydon was a fan of "Kilburn & The High Roads" - Ian Dury's pub rock band - and was a regular at their gigs. You can also see a lot of Ian in Johnny Rotten - the hunched over/hanging on to the microphone stance etc. A few of the punk bands featured people who were previously part of the pub rock scene.
It is also documented that Malcolm McLaren's first choice for the Sex Pistols singer was Mike Spenser of the Count Bishops who were... a pub rock band doing Chuck Berry Covers (extremely well, I might add).
Also check out Dr Feelgood (recently released DVD "Going Back Home") to see pre-punk ex-pub rockers with in-your-face-attitude, short(ish) hair and short punchy songs with minimalist guitar solos - definitely one of the bands who paved the way for punk.

Nothing comes out of a vacuum (not even punk) and I believe some of the pub rock bands had as much influence on British punk as Iggy or the New York dolls.

[Edited on May 27, 2005 by jmp]

[Edited on May 27, 2005 by jmp]

Yeah, Lydon tends to ...lie a bit. I like his book, and generally him too... but the guy had freaking long hair and listened to Hawkwind and Can, for god's sake!!
Okay, John, we know you hated Pink Floyd and Zeppelin and blahblah, but pub rock was a part of punk rock. Oh, and I love Steve Jones's guitar-playing, but John also has said that Steve's main goal at first was to play music like The Faces.

Just to add one thing, though, about John's hunched stance- he suffered from spinal meningitis as a kid. Was in hospital for a year or more. His stance wasn't all an act... but he's also credited (I believe in The Filth and the Fury) Lawrence Olivier's King Richard III performance as an inspiration for his onstage demeanor.

ps- I love Ian Dury; I have to check out that band soon.

Please post more.

this should be awesome. if the 101ers are anything like the nips im siked.