tymon and strummer on the cover of the mescaleros' "acton town hall firefighter's benefit" cd

tymon dogg is best known as the contributor of “lose this skin” a raucous single from side 17 of the clash’s ridiculous sandinista! 10 years earlier, as joe strummer’s best pal and busking buddy, tymon teaches joe a G chord and forever changed the landscape of western music.

tymon’s been releasing records since the 60s. his troubadour style and passionate performances inspired loads of roots rock rebels but his music never really got its due. i can’t stop listening to two of his albums: tymon dogg (1976) and battle of wills (1982). his records are hard to explain. they are full of frenetic spanish guitar, shredded fiddle bows, out-of-tune pianos and his insane vocal style. and everything is as it should be. the songs are descriptive romps through everything from sickness to brandy love. all the good stuff. tymon dogg is wild and unrelenting. battle of wills is a little more mature and put-together. both are necessary.

tymon finally garnered some attention and wide acclaim from his work with the mescaleros. (he contributed to global a go-go and streetcore and he toured with the band through its final years.)

in writing this, i noticed there’s a movie being made about him!