After The Clash split in 1986, Joe Strummer spent time playing with The Pogues, appearing in films and hosting a radio show for the BBC World Service, but he'd become something of a lost soul and was largely shunned by the music industry. He found a new lease of life, however, after forming The Mescaleros in 1999, and combined his punk rock spirit with his love of world music, reggae and just about every genre of music under the sun. Debut album Rock Art And The X-Ray Style (1999) turned into a driving, collision of cultures and included tribute songs to Johnny Cash and a cover designed by artist Damien Hirst. The band really hit their stride, though, on second album Global A Go-Go (2001) and with Joe describing the period as his "Indian summer", it seemed as if his beliefs and musical journeys were starting to come together. Sadly Joe died suddenly of a congenital heart defect in 2002, but the posthumously released Streetcore (2003) marks some of the band's finest work, delivered with Strummer's trademark gravelly, smoke fuelled rasp.
