[Beginnings of Music in Fukuoka] Vol. 8: The Revival of MUSIC CITY TENJIN and the Words Joe Strummer Left Behind
In 2024,MUSIC CITY TENJINreturned for its 20th edition.
I once worked on the event secretariat, and the moment I arrived in Tenjin and heard music coming from all around, I felt, “Ah, I’m back.” It made me very happy.
To mark the occasion, here is a treasured item.
The set list from the first MCT stage in 2002
The inaugural event was held on September 28, 2002. Former Clash frontman Joe Strummer & The Mescaleros performed at Zepp Fukuoka. The photograph shows the set list from that performance.
The MCT performance can be seen on the DVD Joe Strummer: LET’S ROCK AGAIN! Along with the live show, it includes rare scenes of Joe traveling by car through Tenjin and along the Fukuoka Urban Expressway, and visiting the reclining Buddha at Nanzoin Temple in Sasaguri.
The previous year, I was fortunate enough to arrange a conversation between Joe and Tatsuya Moriyama of THE MODS. At the end of their passionate discussion about rock, I asked Joe for a message to Fukuoka’s music lovers. This is what he said:
Support your local groups
Stop watching television all the time
Go out and see your local groups
Because they would be the superstars! You never know
Support your local bands.
Stop watching television all the time and go see live music.
They might be superstars by Monday!
To me, it sounded like a message from Joe celebrating MCT’s revival and its 20th edition. I clearly remember Moriyama, who once led THE MODS when they were still a “local group” in Hakata, listening to Joe’s words and nodding deeply.
THE MODS also appeared at the first MCT. Another connection came in 2007, when we held a talk event with Moriyama as a special guest to mark the release of the Joe Strummer biographical film Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten. Directed by Julien Temple, the film includes footage from Joe’s 2002 Japan tour, including MCT, with live performances and scenes of him meeting fans at a station.
October 2001. Joe and Moriyama during their conversation at a location in Tenjin. [Photo: Naoto Motonaga]
Article contributed by Naoto Motonaga
A resident of Fukuoka City. After seeing the Bay City Rollers on their first Japan tour in 1976, he became captivated by live music and has since attended countless performances by Japanese and international artists. During his years at a broadcaster, he worked on music programs and events including MUSIC CITY TENJIN, the Asia-Pacific Festival, and Fukuoka Prefecture’s Asian Youth Cultural Exchange Project.
