To Ordinary Joe

We lost Joe Strummer ten years ago. He died on December 22 from a congenital heart defect. It could have happened at any time - during one of those ever-intense Clash shows, but instead he was at home after walking the dogs, reading The Observer.

Ten years of reflection and reassessment have not damaged the reputation much. The Chris Salewicz biography showed all of the contradictions and still Joe emerged well. Likewise with the Julian Temple film. I adore that archive moment on stage in America when he's asking for a little hostility from the crowd - just some token of aliveness and humanity. They don't teach that at X Factor, baby. And as I mentioned recently, the recent Danny Garcia film, The Rise And Fall Of The Clash is also a forensic and unforgiving work. Except you forgive him, still.

The music endures and still inspires, but the other body of work is the slogans, the truth attacks, the aphorisms. Each one could give you a lifetime of direction. Namely:

"No input, no output."

"Without people you are nothing."

"Be mythic and prolific."

And the one he co-opted from an un-named source: "Ignore Alien Orders."

Good steers, all of them.

Miss you, fella.