After the demise of the Clash, vocalist Joe Strummer continued in the funky-soul-reggae hybrid vein of their late albums on Earthquake Weather (Epic, 1989), that contains Gangsterville. For several years Strummer gave up recording music, and concentrated on producing and acting. He also scored the soundtracks for the films Walker (1987) and Straight to Hell (1987).

After a ten years hiatus, Strummer picked up the microphone again to front the Mescaleros, a group formed with Anthony Genn, ex Pulp Elastica, multi-instrumentalist Martin Slattery and percussionist Pablo Conte. Rock Art And The X-Ray Style (Hellcat, 1999) is a collection of rocking shuffles inspired by caribbean and brazilian music, such as the pensive ska Tony Adams and, above all, the catchy samba-techno of Sandpaper Blues. The anthemic The Road To Rock And Roll (a singalong that echoes American Pie), the stern pop-metal of Techno D-Day and the touching commemoration of the Tiennamen Square massacre Forbidden City display Strummer's knack at setting social commentary to engaging music. While the melange of styles is a little disorienting, The band is successful when it lets the frenetic bongos flow and follows them with merry feasts of chords, but far less compelling when they let Strummer delve in his wiseman/political commentator mood.

The second Mescaleros album, Global A Go Go (Hellcat, 2001), is another eclectic excursion through modern pop culture around the world (Global A Go Go, Cool N Out).

Strummer's last album, Streetcore (Hellcat, 2003), returned to anthemic and raucous rock'n'roll and reggae, reminiscent of the heydays of Clash with Coma Girl, Arms Aloft and Burnin' Streets. In line with his previous solo albums (infected by a world-funk hybrid), Go Down Moses and All in a Day offered dance music for former punks, and a few covers reduced the impact of the rockers, but overall this was probably his best solo effort since the Clash.

Joe Strummer died at 50 of a heart attack in December 2002.