Writer Hammond announces Keith Levene’s death – “There is no doubt – recalled Hammond when announcing Levene’s death – that Keith was one of the most innovative, audacious and influential guitarists of all time”.
The disappearance of Keith Levenecomposer, guitar pioneer, co-founder of The Clash and member of Public Image Ltd., she was also paid homage on social media by former bandmates, Martin Atkins and Jah Wobble. The Keeper reported that Levene died of liver cancer.
To the biography – Born in 1957 Julian Levene in Muswell Hill, north London, met fellow Clash co-founder Mick Jones in the mid 1970s and formed an early version of the band; he and manager Bernard Rhodes convinced singer Joe Strummer to join the group. Levene stayed in the Clash long enough to appear in early concerts and contribute songs, including “What’s My Name” on their 1977 debut album.
He then moved away from the increasingly political direction of the group, achieving greater success with i Public Image Ltd. When the Sex Pistols broke up in January 1978, singer John Lydon (formerly known as Johnny Rotten) and Levene formed the new band with bassist John Wardle (known as Jah Wobble). Their first album, “Public Image: First Issue”, reached number 22 in 1978, preceded by the single Public Image, which reached the Top 10. Their second album, 1979’s Metal Box, is considered a post-punk classic.
Levene left Pil in 1983, after disagreeing with Lydon over the recording of new material for the album that would later become This Is What You Want, This Is What You Get. In the following years he collaborated on various musical projects (including several soundtracks) and released some solo works, not forgetting a reunion with Wobble in the 2010s.
He released an autobiography called “I Was a Teen Guitarist for the Clash” in 2015 and has been working on a book about the history of Public Image Ltd. with writer Adam Hammond. His partner, Kate Ransford, who, with her sister, Jill Bennett, and her husband, was with him in his last hours, told the Keeper that the musician died “peacefully, welcoming and loved”. The family has asked for privacy.
