Fame and Joe Strummer


Last week I saw a documentary about Joe Strummer of The Clash. It really moved me! End 70’s he was in The Clash and they became really famous. The documentary was on German TV, so it was synchronized, unfortunately. But I love to share with you his experience with fame:

“Seven years ago we wanted to grow bigger than all others but without betraying our message. We’ve fallen into all traps a band could fall into if they start at zero and become suddenly successful. We probably even discovered a couple of new ones! Success rises to your head, you drive an ego-trip, become an addict, publish overloaded albums, record the noise of timber eating ants, we did it all. We felt into all these traps and emerged weakened.”

I guess that this is a short summary of what success and fame can do to you, and what it does to many people. When successful, your whole life changes and you often don’t realize it. Your point of view changes too, including your view on ideals. It’s good to be aware of this all, to have an internal compass, so you still can make your own choices, even if your world is shaken upside down and you lost your North.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9eLeZS9OeY]

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