Joe Strummer Mural — Notting Hill, London

A mural of Joe Strummer in the Notting Hill/Ladbroke Grove area of west London has become one of the most visited music heritage sites in the city — a painted tribute to the Clash frontman in the neighbourhood where the band was formed and where the Notting Hill Carnival, which profoundly influenced the Clash's engagement with reggae and the politics of race in Britain, took place each August. The area around Portobello Road, Ladbroke Grove, and the Westway was the geography of the early Clash, and Strummer's image painted on the wall of a building here has become a focal point for fans and a visual emblem of the band's west London identity.

Joe Strummer grew up in various locations and attended boarding school before finding his way to west London, where he played in the 101ers (named after their squat at 101 Walterton Road in Maida Vale) before being recruited by Mick Jones to join the Clash in 1976. The Notting Hill Carnival was a radicalising experience for the Clash — the 1976 Carnival ended in riots between Black youth and the Metropolitan Police, and the Clash were there, an event that fed directly into their politics and their embrace of reggae alongside punk. 'White Riot,' 'Police and Thieves,' and the Clash's broader positioning in opposition to racism and institutional power all have roots in this west London geography.

Strummer died on 22 December 2002 at his home in Somerset, and tributes appeared across London almost immediately. The Notting Hill mural has been refreshed and maintained by fans over the years. The Westway — the elevated motorway that appears in 'London's Burning' and hangs over the Ladbroke Grove area — is a few hundred metres from the mural site. The neighbourhood retains its multicultural character and its connection to Carnival, which continues to take place each August Bank Holiday.