Electric Guitar Review

“This is a public service announcement… with guitar!“

––The Clash, Know Your Rights

Legendary punk band The Clash’s Joe Strummer was one of my earliest guitar heros, so when he passed away in 2002 of an apparent congenital heart defect, like a lot of thirty-somethings who grew up on punk rock I found myself mortified, saddened, and more than a little surprised by just how deeply connected I felt to the man’s music.

Sadly, it’s my best guess that many of today’s young punks have no clue what kind of debt they owe to early punk rock pioneers such as Strummer, but traces of the raw, unflinchingly honest, and strangely optimistic music of The Clash can be felt across the entire spectrum of bands we currently call punk, alternative, or even just plain old rock.

In my own humble opinion, Strummer left a mark on rock & roll that will be felt for years to come.

Anyway, when I came across this photo I couldn’t help but smile, though I have to wonder what Strummer himself––who lived as a homeless squatter even during The Clash’s heyday––would think of Fender producing what will undoubtedly be an exorbitantly expensive replica of his beloved Telecaster.

Yep, that’s right, according to a post over at guitarist John Mayer’s blog, this Summer’s NAMM Show in Austin, TX. will see the unveiling of what I think we can safely assume to be an extremely Limited Edition replica of Joe Strummer’s absolutely torn-up Tele.

Based on the photos, the guitar appears to be shipping with a grey Tolex hardshell case with red plush interior, a page of stickers, a photo of Joe Strummer with his original Telecaster, and a bunch of other unnamed “extras.” Of course, there aren’t any guitar specs available at this point, but as always, I’ll be sure to keep you up to date as more info becomes available.

I can hardly wait… Photo Source: Honeyee.com

UPDATE: I’m happy to say that upon further digging the guitar appears to be not an overpriced Limited Edition model, but instead a very reasonably priced Fender Joe Strummer Artist Series model, which according to one vendor will be selling for under $1,000 street price.

Whew!… perhaps Joe won’t be rolling in his grave after all. ;)

UPDATE 2: Mark at badlibrarianship found this page full of amazingly LARGE photos of the guitar, and it appears that there may be two different versions in the works––a Custom Shop version, and a cheaper OBEY version…