Keith Levene
Julian Keith Levene (18 July 1957 – 11 November 2022) was an English musician who was a founding member of both the Clash and Public Image Ltd (PiL).[1] While Levene was in PiL, their 1978 debut album Public Image: First Issue reached No 22 in the UK album charts, and its lead track "Public Image" broke the top 10 UK singles chart.
Levene was born and raised in London, and although initially influenced by progressive rock, his musical taste changed after meeting fellow Clash founder Mick Jones. His punk and post punk guitar sounds have been described as "both melodic and discordant, sonorous and violent".[2]
Early years and success[edit]
Levene was born in Muswell Hill, London on 18 July 1957. His father was Jewish.[3][4] He was an early fan of ska, The Beatles and progressive rock; at fifteen he worked as a roadie for Yes on their Close to the Edge tour, "cleaning Alan White's cymbals" amongst other mundane duties.[5][6]
He became a founding member of the Flowers of Romance and notably the Clash, when in 1976, he helped persuade Joe Strummer to leave the pub rock band the 101ers and join the Clash.[7][5] Although he left the band before their first studio recordings, he co-wrote "What's My Name", which appeared on their first album.[8] Levene would later document his time with the Clash in his autobiography "I Was a Teen Guitarist 4 the Clash!"[9] When interviewed about "I Was a Teenage Guitarist 4 the Clash, Levene recalled "I was a kid, I was into all sorts of music, The Beatles, reggae, and at the time, prog rock. I’d just finished a tour with Yes as a roadie, which is another story also explained in the book. So basically you’re hanging out with me from when I was about 15 when I got a job with Yes, and then I didn’t get kicked off the tour, but I kinda got told not to come back on another one. It was amazing for me and then, unplanned I started making this migration to West London and I tell you what happened, I take you there. Like when I met Mick Jones and how I talk about the scene that was emerging..."[10]
After the late 1970s British punk group the Sex Pistols disbanded, Levene and their lead singer John Lydon co-founded Public Image Ltd (PiL) in May 1978.[11] He played on Travis Bean metal-neck guitars.[12] He was involved in the writing, performing and producing of PiL's early albums: First Issue, Metal Box and Flowers of Romance.[13][14] While playing with PiL, their 1978 debut album Public Image: First Issue reached No 22 in the UK album charts, while the lead track "Public Image", broke the top 10 single chart.[13]
Levene left PiL in 1983 due to creative differences over what would eventually become the band's fourth album, This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get. In 1984, he released the original versions of the songs on his own label[15] under the title Commercial Zone; the original working title of the album. In 1985, he moved to Los Angeles where he formed a company with his second wife, journalist Shelly da Cunha.[16]
Influences and style[edit]
Levene cited guitarist Steve Howe of Yes as one of his main influences and "the greatest fucking guitarist in the world", and prog rock as a genre he particularly liked.[27]
Describing the evolution of his style, he said in a 2001 interview that "once I got good enough to know the rules, I didn't want to be like any other guitarist. I didn't go out of my way to be different. I just had an ear for what was wrong. So if I did something that was wrong, i.e. made a mistake or did something that wasn't in key, I was open-minded enough to listen to it again."[28]
Legacy[edit]
According to John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Levene's style was "spectacular... [and he]...explored the possibilities of what you can do with the guitar".[7] Upon his death, Massive Attack described Levene as an "artist, architect and re-inventor of punk rock".[7] Andy Bell of Ride and Mike Scott of the Waterboys also paid tribute to him on social media.[7]