joe strummer's mysterious disappearance and the paris marathon

it was 28 years ago today, may 18, 1982, that joe strummer of the clash resurfaced after a self-imposed "disappearance" from his band and fans. it was initially drummed up as a publicity stunt by the group's manager, bernie rhodes. but strummer felt guilty about the charade and genuinely "disappeared" - and didn't bother to tell rhodes (or his band) his whereabouts.

strummer left london and lived in paris with his girlfriend, gaby salter. in april, 1982, strummer (and gaby) ran the paris marathon. it wasn't strummer's first marathon (he ran london the year before) and wouldn't be his last (he'd run london again the following year). strummer reappeared from his self-imposed exile on may 18, 1982 - shortly after the release of "combat rock."

as for some of his paris marathon details (from a 1999 magazine interview):

Q: Didn’t you once run in the Paris Marathon?
Joe: Yep. I ran three of them.
Q: Correct me if I’m wrong but is it also true that you never trained for any of them?
Joe: You shouldn’t really ask me about my training regime, you know.
Q: Why?
Joe: Because it’s not good and I wouldn’t want people to copy it.
Q: Don’t make me beat it out of you.
Joe: Okay, you want it, here it is. Drink 10 pints of beer the night before the race. Ya got that? And don’t run a single step at least four weeks before the race.
Q: No running at all?
Joe: No, none at all. And don’t forget the 10 pints of beer the night before. But make sure you put a warning in this article, “Do not try this at home.” I mean, it works for me and Hunter Thompson but it might not work for others. I can only tell you what I do.

spoken like a true punk rocker :D