A CHARITY set up in memory of The Clash singer Joe Strummer is promoting its activities through a dedicated area at Glastonbury Festival.
The Joe Strummer Foundation (JSF) was established in 2003, a year after Joe’s death, and the dedicated area, Strummerville, is in its current location at the festival since 2015.
Since 2003, the charity is striving to create empowerment through music, provide space and instruments to young musicians, and promote music and the arts.
The official Festival guide described it as an “oasis of calm dedicated to the great Joe Strummer, on the hill beyond the Ribbon Tower”.
The area has a campfire “crackling 24 hours a day”, a café, and a bar called CasBar – after The Clash’s song ‘Rock the Casbah’.
Piers Williams, Strummerville manager and Joe's friend, said: “We first set up in the Unfairground, and then we moved here in 2015.
“It is dedicated to Joe. When he died, it was a time when campfires were not a good idea but we became the original campfire.
“This is a charity, the Joe Strummer Foundation. We raise money for music and water project in Sierra Leone and for young acts, to help them along.
“Frank Turner used to perform here, it is a very popular place.
“I knew Joe as The Clash were starting. I lived in the basement flat of his house in the late 70s.
“One people was loving what Joe was doing and we wanted to keep it alive.
“It’s also an encouragement for young bands and we sponsor water project and musical instruments for kids in Sierra Leone.”
A statement on the Joe Strummer Foundation website read: “When Joe suddenly, unexpectedly and sadly died, we wanted to try and make something positive come out of the sadness of his passing.
“One year later Strummerville, now the Joe Strummer Foundation, was established and a crystal clear mission set… to further the things that Joe believed in, which was bringing people together through music.
“With support from you, we have been able to deliver on our promise to Joe and, for nearly two decades, provide opportunities to musicians and support to projects worldwide that create inclusion & empowerment through music.
“Something we can all be proud of, don’t you think?
“Without people, you’re nothing.”
For more information visit the charity's website here.
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