Joe Strummer's name now on plaza in Spain

Dave Hogan / Getty Images

By Rolling Stone

Joe Strummer will have a plaza in Granada, Spain, named after him following a Facebook petition that swayed city officials with the signatures of more than 2,000 residents, the BBC reports.

Now to be known as Plaza de Joe Strummer, the campaign to rename the square was reportedly started by a neighborhood association and even drew the support of a few political parties. "It was a popular movement," said Granada City Council member Daniel Galan. "It is very well known the connection between Joe and the city and people still remember him. There were some people who were friends with him and came here and (now) live here."

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Strummer, who died in 2002, was a frequent visitor to Granada, first traveling there with Spanish girlfriend Paloma Romero (who later drummed for the Slits under the name Palmolive) in 1970 and name-dropping the city on the Clash song "Spanish Bombs," from their classic "London Calling"?LP. The punk legend even became involved with the local group 091 after hearing them on a jukebox in a bar, eventually producing an album for them in Madrid.

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One of the political groups backing the name change was the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party, whose spokesman said Strummer helped spread Granada's name worldwide and embodied the "atmosphere of youth, rebellion, night and rock."

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Source: http://entertainment.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/17/16563414-clash-guitarist-joe-strummer-honored-with-plaza-in-spain?lite

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