Joe Strummer's 101'ers Recordings Get Box Set Treatment
A new box set, Joe Strummer 003: The 101'ers Years (1974-1976), will collect Strummer's earliest recordings and arrive November 20th via Dark Horse Records. The package spans three discs and 48 tracks, including studio material, demos, basement tapes, and live performances, along with a 48-page hardbound book. A 2026 mix of "Keys to Your Heart" has also been released ahead of the set.
The collection gathers Joe Strummer’s pre-Clash work with the 101’ers, spanning 1974–1976. It is due November 20 via Dark Horse Records on three discs, with 48 tracks drawn from studio sessions, demos, basement tapes, and concerts. A 48-page hardbound book includes a Glen Matlock foreword, a band history by Richard Nother Dudanski, and Strummer’s own writing.
Ahead of the set, a 2026 mix of “Keys to Your Heart” has been issued, remastered by Paul Hicks. The release also comes as a double LP: one record for studio material, the other for demo and live highlights. Strummer’s notes describe forming the 101’ers in a squat and running a Wednesday pub club with 10p entry.
This archival release could deepen public awareness of Strummer’s pre-Clash period, reaching longtime fans, punk historians, and younger listeners discovering his catalog. It may also boost interest in London pub-rock history and the 101’ers’ local scene. For collectors, the box set and double LP could drive demand for physical music and related reissues. More broadly, it may reinforce how early creative communities and squat-based music-making shaped later cultural movements.