That famous quiff may be greying at the temples. And the once boyish face has a distinctly lived-in look after 30 years of good times.

Joe Strummer might not be a young man any more but there's no doubt he remains an angry one. The 50-year-old former Clash frontman can legitimately claim to have been one of the voices of his generation.

Ageing punks still get misty-eyed about the Clash gig at the old Newcastle Polytechnic in 1979 that descended into a near riot.

And Strummer's more recent performances in the North made it clear that he retains the ability to move a crowd in a way precious few frontmen ever manage.

His two Newcastle shows in 2000, at the city's university and as support to the Who at the Telewest Arena, proved he has lost none of his fire and ferocity.

And you can expect more of the same from Strummer when he brings his band, the Mescaleros, back to Newcastle on Tuesday night.

After the Clash split in 1985 Strummer acted in and scored films before releasing his debut solo album, Earthquake Weather, in 1989.

He then virtually disappeared from view for almost a decade, until the forming of the Mescaleros in 1998 and putting out the album Rock Art and the X-Ray Style the year after.

Released on Epitaph's Hellcat Records it buzzed with the energy of a man kept quiet for far too long.

The Global A Go-Go album followed two years later, and found him dabbling in everything from rockabilly to reggae. "I'm enjoying this freedom of being able to do whatever the hell I want," he said.

"We don't sell that many records and that fact alone makes us the wildest gang in town, which so many people can't be because of the restraints of working for big record companies.

"We can do more daring music and we like that because the more wages you are getting paid the music conversely has to be less interesting.

"Sometimes I look at people on Top of the Pops and think you have no freedom because there's going to be so much pressure on you just to remake this record."

His long lay-off has also paid dividends, he believes.

He said: "It wasn't a conscious decision to take a breather, but in the long run it'd turned out for the best. Sometimes you save the best for last."

Though Strummer is fiercely proud of the songs the Mescaleros have produced, he also loves dipping into the Clash's back catalogue when he's out on the road.

He said: "It's my Bee-Gees theory. I don't want to go and see the Bee-Gees if they are not at least going to play Stayin' Alive or Massachusettes... and you have to look at yourself like someone who's into the music. Put yourself in that position.

"What are you going to do? Be some pompous ass who says, 'This is our new stuff, hope you like it'. You are up there because people want a night out, after all.

"The band love the old Clash songs too because musicians like to play songs with a good beat, good chords, interesting lyrics... and it's fun to communicate with other people like that."

Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros play Northumbria University on Tuesday. For details call 0191-232 6002.