The groundbreaking guitarist and original member of Public Image Ltd., Keith Levene, has passed away in Norfolk, United Kingdom. Ex-bandmates Martin Atkins and Jah Wobble took to social media to share the news of his passing; the Guardian reported that he had died. He was 65.
Cause Of Death
Levene passed away from liver cancer at his Norfolk home, but not before making an indelible mark on British rock. Long suffering from cancer, he passed away on November 11, 2022, at the age of 65.
British post-punk forefather Keith Levene has died after a long battle with liver cancer. Levene’s death came as a shock to his friends and family, according to Levene’s buddy Hammond, who said that Levene had been ill with liver cancer for two years. “He had so many ideas, so many things he was doing,” Hammond said of him. Levene had finished authoring a book about Public Image Ltd with Hammond and had begun composing the score.
Musicians have been paying tribute to him as news of his death has spread. Guitarist with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, John Frusciante, is a fan of his and has praised him for his “amazing” playing and “exploring the boundaries of what you can do with the guitar.” Liver cancer was the ultimate killer of Keith Levene.
Read More – Winston Churchill Death: When did Winston Churchill die?
Social Media
Keith Levene, a founding member of The Clash and guitarist for Public Image Ltd, has died aged 65, his friend says https://t.co/HlvGMHCKSM
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) November 12, 2022
Keith Levene is dead, yet Newt Gingrich walks the earth. He’s up there with Kissinger in terms of human trash who’s done nothing but make the world a worse place. Fuck him, also what the fuck, Death? You need to up your game.
— Richard Kadrey (@Richard_Kadrey) November 13, 2022
I just read about the death of The Clash and Public Image Limited guitarist Keith Levene. RIP Keith. You left both bands before they became stars, but your influence on both was undoubted.
— Simon Majumdar (@SimonMajumdar) November 13, 2022
Early Life
English musicians The Clash and Public Image Ltd both count Julian Keith Levene as a founding member. The birth of Levene took place on July 18th, 1957, in the London neighbourhood of Muswell Hill. As a youngster, he was already a lover of progressive rock, and at the age of fifteen, he got a job as a roadie for Yes on their Close to the Edge tour. In 1976, he became a founding member of both The Clash and The Flowers of Romance.
Read More – Jonathan Brandis Death: Whose Best-Known Singer?
As the leader of the 101ers, Levene recruited Joe Strummer, along with bassist Paul Simonon and guitarist Mick Jones, to form the Clash while they were all only 18 years old. Levene worked alongside Bernard Rhodes as the band’s manager. Seeing the Sex Pistols play at London’s Nashville Rooms convinced Strummer that punk was the way to go, which was great news for the Clash.
Career
Levene remained a member of the Clash long enough to take part in their earliest shows and record songs with them, such as What’s My Name from 1977. However, he grew tired of the Clash’s increasingly political direction and found greater success with PiL.
People assumed I had classical training, which was a load of bollocks, Levene said in 2012. Since I already knew the E chord, I decided to give E minor a shot. We served Lydon the tunes on a silver platter. He produced excellent job for the period and was quite hip, he claimed.
When the Sex Pistols broke up in January of 1978, singer John Lydon (then known as Johnny Rotten) and Levene recruited bassist John Wardle to establish a new band. A.K.A. “Jah Wobble” “John made a smart choice getting Keith,” Wobble said in 2012.
Before their 1978 first album, Public Image: First Issue, which peaked at number 22, they had the number 10 hit single Public Image. Their 1979 second album, Metal Box, is widely considered a seminal work in the development of post-punk. The lineup’s several drummers helped bring fresh takes on post-punk, dub, freeform jazz, and classical music to the mainstream.
His final recording with PiL was 1981’s The Flowers Of Romance, but he kept working with Wobble into the 2000s. With guitar playing “occupying a position between geometric roughness and pop grandeur,” the website the Quietus referred to him as “one of the architects of the post-punk sound” in 2021.
Read More – Nardo Natural Brother Death: Why Did Shark Tank Dump Nardos Naturals?
Levene, who enjoyed writing and making guitars, has been working with writer Adam Hammond on a book on PiL. His partner Kate Ransford said he died “peacefully, contentedly, warm and loved” with his sister Jill Bennett and her husband by his side. The family has asked for privacy at this time.
Personal Life
Keith Levene is married to Shelly da Cunha, as far as we can tell. Keith Levene is now single in the year 2022, as of May.
No information on any previous partnerships involving Keith Levene has been found. Maybe you can assist us in compiling Keith Levene’s dating history!
Networth
Keith Levene is a very successful and well-known musician who also happens to be very wealthy. Our research indicates that Keith Levene is worth about $1.5 million, and other sources including Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider corroborate this.
Comments are closed.