Keith Levene | |
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 Levene in 2012 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Julian Keith Levene |
| Born | (1957-07-18)18 July 1957 London, England |
| Died | 11 November 2022(2022-11-11) (aged 65) Norfolk, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Instruments |
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| Years active | 1974–2022 |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | |
| Spouse(s) | Lori Montana (divorced) Shelly da Cunha (divorced) |
Julian Keith Levene (18 July 1957 – 11 November 2022) was an English musician who was a founding member of boththe Clash andPublic Image Ltd (PiL).[1] While Levene was in PiL, their 1978 debut albumPublic Image: First Issue reached No. 22 on 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 byprogressive rock, his musical taste changed after meeting fellow Clash founderMick Jones. Hispunk andpost-punk guitar sounds have been described as "both melodic and discordant, sonorous and violent".[2]
Levene was born inMuswell Hill, London on 18 July 1957. His father wasJewish.[3][4] He was an early fan ofska,The Beatles andprogressive rock; at fifteen he worked as aroadie forYes on theirClose to the Edge tour, "cleaningAlan White's cymbals" amongst other mundane duties.[5][6]
He became a founding member ofthe Flowers of Romance and notablythe Clash, when in 1976, he helped persuadeJoe Strummer to leave thepub rock bandthe 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 ontheir 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 theSex Pistols disbanded, Levene and their lead singerJohn Lydon co-founded Public Image Ltd (PiL) in May 1978.[11] He played onTravis Bean metal-neck guitars.[12] He was involved in the writing, performing and producing of PiL's early albums:First Issue,Metal Box andFlowers of Romance.[13][14] While playing with PiL, their 1978 debut albumPublic 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 titleCommercial Zone; the original working title of the album. In 1985, he moved toLos Angeles where he formed a company with his second wife, journalist Shelly da Cunha.[16]
In the early 1980s, Levene played guitar and keyboards onroots reggae vocal and dubdiscomix releases fromBim Sherman,Jah Woosh,Singers and Players,Prince Far I andStyle Scott'sDub Syndicate. Levene recordedDevious Woman with Bim Sherman andSingers & Players, which also featured on the soundtrack ofRichard Hell'sSmithereens (film), and in 1982, the dub version of the track was released byNew Age Steppers and Creation Rebel on theThreat to Creation album. In mid-1986, Levene was asked to produce demos for the albumThe Uplift Mofo Party Plan by theRed Hot Chili Peppers at Master Control inBurbank with engineers Steve Catania and Dan Nebenzal. Also in 1986, Levene worked with DJMatt Dike, experimenting with sampling techniques and hip-hop forIce-T andTone Loc on their early recordings for Delicious.[17] In 1989, he released his first solo release,Violent Opposition, on which members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers performed.[18]
At an impromptu appearance at the Musicport Festival inBridlington Spa on 24 October 2010, where they were joined by vocalist Nathan Maverick, Levene returned with former PiL bassistJah Wobble. In 2011 Levene contributed to three tracks on the albumPsychic Life, a collaboration between Wobble andLonelady.[19]
In early 2012, after some planned Japan gigs were cancelled because of visa issues, Levene and Wobble played various venues in England, Wales and Germany asMetal Box in Dub, followed by the release of a four-song EP,[20]Yin & Yang.[21] In 2014, Levene travelled to Prague to record the albumCommercial Zone 2014, funded by acrowdsourcing campaign atIndiegogo.[22] Tim Peacock ofRecord Collector noted that it was "recorded in isolation atPrague's Faust Studios", and that the album is in actuality an offering of new material. Peacock stated: "It's primarily instrumental in design, veering from the chilled, scene-stealing Behind the Law to the synth-heavy Kraftwerk-ian noir of They Came to Dance."[23]
In a 2014 interview from Prague regardingCommercial Zone 2014, Levene stated:
"People kept asking 'when are you doing an autobiography?' I said 'I’m not, why would I do one?' Well, that all changed and I started doing a ton of interviews with Kathy DiTondo, talking about the times, the people, the places and it was quite fucking heavy therapy. She’d be asking me questions and some of it would be the same old story, and I’d think I’ve told this story a million times, boring, but I’m telling her because she wants to know genuinely and she thinks its important. Then I’m realising, fuck – this is heavy duty, this hurts. So what it evolved into was quite good for me. We were doingDiary of a Non-Punk Rocker, we were zooming in on areas of my life... We didn’t plan it this way, it fell into place this way. We were doing thisCommercial Zone 2014 campaign, and offered previews from Diary. Kathy DiTondo came up with 'I was A Teenage Guitarist 4 The Clash' and I said 'fucking good'. Then I said “let’s do itCommercial Zone style” hand made and with the covers and so on."[24]
Levene died from complications of liver cancer at his home inNorfolk on 11 November 2022, aged 65.[13]
Levene married his first wife, Lori Montana, an American musician. The two had a son named Kirk and later divorced.[25] Keith's second marriage was to Shelly da Cunha, though it also ended in divorce. He later lived with his partner, Kate Ransford.[26]
Levene cited guitaristSteve Howe ofYes as one of his main influences and "the greatest fucking guitarist in the world", andprog 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]
According toJohn 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 ofRide andMike Scott ofthe Waterboys also paid tribute to him on social media.[7]
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