Band members

John 'Woody' Mellor (Joe Strummer), Vocals, guitar
Clive Timperley, Guitar, vocals
Dan Kelleher, Bass, guitar, vocals
Richard Dudanski, Drums
Simon 'Big John' Cassell, Saxophone
Alvaro Pena-Rojas, Saxophone
Marwood 'Mole' Chesterton, Bass
Antonio Narvaez, Drums
Julian Yewdall, Vocals, harmonica
Tymon Dogg, Fiddle, vocals

Primarily known as the band Joe Strummer

Primarily known as the band Joe Strummer was in before he joined the Clash, the 101'ers were part of the last wave of British pub rock bands of the mid-'70s. The group never released any recordings while they were together, yet they were among the important transitional figures in the metamorphosis of pub rock into punk rock. The band name came after their home in 101 Walterton Road, Maida Vale.

May '74

Joe Strummer formed the 101'ers in May of 1974, recruiting guitarist Clive Timperley, bassist Dan Kelleher, and drummer Richard Dudanski; according to legend, the group either named themselves after the torture room in George Orwell's 1984 or the building where they lived calling themselves El Huaso and the 101 All Stars. By the end of the summer, the group had performed their first concert, playing Brixton's Telegraph pub.

The name would later be shortened to The 101 All Stars and finally just The 101ers. The name came from the squat where the band lived together, at 101 Walterton Road, Maida Vale.

For the next year and a half, the 101'ers worked the pub rock circuit. During 1975 and early 1976, the group laid down some demos. In the first half of 1976, the 101'ers had been opening for the Sex Pistols on selected dates. Inspired by the Pistols and the burgeoning punk movement, Strummer decided to quit the 101'ers in June 1976 and form the Clash. Within a month, the group's only single, "Keys to Your Heart," was released on Chiswick Records.

The band's early gigs included several at the Windsor Castle and a residency at the Elgin.They were supported by the Sex Pistols at the Nashville Room on 3 April 1976.[4] Strummer claims that this is when he saw the light and got involved in the punk scene. Joe Strummer commented on this event in the Don Letts documentary Westway to the World on the end of the 101ers by saying "5 seconds into their (the Pistols') first song, I knew we were like yesterday's paper, we were over."

By the time their debut single, "Keys to Your Heart", was released, Joe Strummer had joined The Clash and the 101ers were no more.[2] Clive Timperley later joined The Passions, Dan Kelleher went to Martian Schoolgirls and The Derelicts. Richard Dudanski went on to work with The Raincoats, Basement 5 and Public Image Ltd. Tymon Dogg worked with Strummer briefly in The Clash, playing fiddle and singing his original song, "Lose This Skin", on Sandinista!, and later in The Mescaleros.

I know the 101ers were good. In fact, as far as sound and excitement went we were much better than Eddie and the Hot Rods. The other guys in the group were twenty-five and twenty-six and they played good because they'd spent a few years getting that far. But they were just too old. What I really wanted was to get in with some young yobbo's who I was more in tune with.
— Joe Strummer

Following the demise of the 101'ers, Dudanski played with the Raincoats and, later, Public Image Limited; Timperley joined the Passions; and Kelleher became a member of the Derelicts. In 1981, after the Clash had become stars, Strummer allowed a 101'ers compilation called Elgin Avenue Breakdown to be released.

The 101ers' recorded output was initially limited to one single. However, by 1981, interest in The Clash was at its height and a second single and a compilation album Elgin Avenue Breakdown was released.[2] Several of the tracks on the latter album were live recordings, and there is no evidence that the band ever conceived of these recordings as a full-length album.

Until his death in 2002, Joe Strummer had been planning to re-release Elgin Avenue Breakdown, complete with previously unreleased tracks that would encompass everything the band ever recorded.[citation needed] The project was completed with the help of Strummer's widow Lucinda Tait and former drummer Richard Dudanski, and released in May 2005 as Elgin Avenue Breakdown Revisited via Astralwerks in the US and EMI in Europe. The last track on the 2005 re-issue was an 8-minute version of "Gloria" recorded on 22 May 1976 at the Cellar Club in Bracknell. This was recorded two weeks before the 101ers finally split.[6] Joe Strummer joined The Clash who played their first gig at the Black Swan, Sheffield supporting the Sex Pistols on 4 July 1976.

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Joe Strummer and the 101ers remembered: "Even then, he had this charisma…"

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Videos in the article

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lr-27E9V2rM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhldlGZlgLw

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101ers discography

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101ers booking agents

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101'ers: A high energy 4 piece band with Joe Strummer as the real star in the Chuck Berry vein. Agency: ALBION £150

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Photos: 101ers

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The 101ers, The Elgin, Ladbroke Grove, 1975 2

1974 Photo Joe strummer 101ers

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1976 Joe Strummer with his guitar in the doorway of The Colonnades, 34 Porchester Square, London in 1976 - Photo taken Julian Yewdall

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Rock'n'Roll Redux - A pre-Clash Joe Strummer with his guitar in the doorway of The Colonnades, 34 Porchester Square, London in 1976 - Photo taken Julian Yewdall when Joe was playing in pub rock group, The 101ers,