Joe Strummer, lead singer of the Clash, performs in concert at the Roxy Theater March 27, 1980 in Los Angeles.
Fans of the Clash who are bored with the U.S.A. should maybe head to Spain, where they can hang out in a plaza dedicated to the band’s front man, Joe Strummer. That’s right, “Plaza de Joe Strummer” is now a thing.
Basically, some residents of the southern city of Granada really wanted a local square to be dedicated to the musician. So naturally they took to Facebook, where they launched a petition to try and make it happen, the BBC reports. Strummer, who died of a heart attack in 2002, had ties to the Spanish city that date back to the 1970s, when he visited with his girlfriend, Paloma Romero, a native of southern Spain. During his time in Granada, he became familiar with local band 091 and later went on to produce one of their albums. He also name-dropped the city in the song “Spanish Bombs” on the 1979 album London Calling, singing, “Spanish songs in Granada, oh ma corazón.”
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Strummer’s love for Granada seems to have been reciprocated, as the online petition to honor him garnered more than 2,000 signatures. The overwhelming support prompted city-hall officials to give in and rename a square “Plaza de Joe Strummer.”
“It was a popular movement. It is very well-known the connection between Joe and the city, and people still remember him,” Daniel Galan of the Granada city council told the BBC. “Joe Strummer loved Granada; he loved the whole of Spain.”
The local Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) also supported the campaign to honor the late musician. A spokesman told the BBC that Strummer helped earn the city international recognition and that he embodied the “atmosphere of youth, rebellion, night and rock.” Hopefully the youth don’t rebel too much at the newly named plaza or else they’ll probably have the police on their back.
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