Joe Strummer is the closest thing a rock musician ever got to sainthood.

Not even John Lennon, Bono or Bob Geldof can rival the former Clash and Mescalero icon's reputation as one of music's staunchest defenders of freedom.

But that's only half the story of why interest in Strummer, who died in 2002 of a congenital heart condition, continues to fascinate.

For most fans, Strummer's legacy is an amazing array of diasporic music so sincere and sweet, it penetrates the soul. And that's why a group of musicians will put aside their other bands and briefly become Strummer's tribute band, Los Mondo Bongo, with a gig at Zaphod's on Friday.

The group includes two members of The Mescaleros --Pablo Cook and the drummer simply known as Smiley -- Simple Minds' bassist Derek Forbes, Gary Numan, lead guitarist Steve Harris, and Alarm singer Mike Peters.

"We're celebrating the music of Joe," says Smiley. "People have a special relationship with Joe's music. Everywhere he went, people wanted to meet Joe and play with him. Even other stars.

"I remember a music festival in Australia. The Red Hot Chili Peppers and Foo Fighters wanted to hang out with Joe, but we couldn't find him because he was already hanging out with the fans. No security or media. He loved meeting people and hearing their story.

"Joe quit music for 10 years before he started The Mescaleros," he adds. "That band was a rebirth for Joe. Not everything in the band was lovely, pink and fluffy, but it was exciting."

Smiley, Strummer's drummer from 1999 to 2001, gave in to demand for a tribute concert to Joe after he and Cook became overwhelmed with requests from fans and a couple of concert promoters.

However, once the all-star band started rehearsing, they found they were overcome with the power of the music.

These days, you can find Smiley with two bands, Four Good Men with Forbes and Archive with Harris.

"We instigated this because they're amazing songs. We rearranged the music but we can't change the spirit of the music. People told me all the time how Joe Strummer's music changed their lives. I think he'd get a big kick out of it if he were around."

The son of a British diplomat, Strummer gave up his blue-blood lifestyle to create the iconic punk band The Clash in 1976, renaming himself Strummer after realizing it was the only way he could play the guitar.