Founding Member of The Clash, Keith Levene, dies at 65

Keith Levene who was well known for being a founding member of The Clash and later guitarist for Public Image Ltd has died age of 65, his close friend has also reported.

Author Adam Hammond has also said Levene, who passed away on Friday, was one of the most influential guitarists of all time in the history of music. Know more about the late legendary musician in the following lines.

How Did Keith Levene Die?

Keith Leven passed away at the ripe old age of 65 year old. At the time of his death, he was suffering from liver cancer.

Hammond has also paid an emotional tribute to his pal while writing on Twitter: “There is no doubt that Keith was one of the most innovative, audacious, and influential guitarists of all time. “Keith sought to create a new paradigm in music and with willing collaborators, John Lydon and Jah Wobble succeeded in doing just that. “His guitar work over the nine minutes of Theme, the first track on the first PiL album, defined what alternative music should be.”

After the news of his death went to be official, his former bandmates also paid tribute to Levene on social media. PiL member Martin Atkins has also paid tribute to Levene’s “unique talent”, while the band’s former bassist Jah Wobble has also remembered his family.

Hammond has also said his beloved friend had been living with liver cancer for two years, but his death had been unexpected as of yet. “He had so many plans – there were so many things he was doing,” Hammond has also said. Levene had just completed a book about Public Image Ltd, co-written with Hammond, and had been working on music to accompany it.

Keith Levene Career in Brief

Levene founded The Clash with another musical sensation Mick Jones in the 1970s but left before they became very successful. He later joined Public Image Ltd (PiL), the post-punk band set up by John Lydon after he quit the Sex Pistols. During his time with the famed band The Clash, Levene has also played a central role in persuading frontman Joe Strummer to leave his then band, The 101ers, and join them.

While with the popular Public Image Ltd, Levene is also credited with helping to pioneer an angular post-punk sound that is still regularly cited.

Also Read: Winningest Baseball Coach, Steve Webber, dies at 74

Levene left Public Image Ltd in the year 1983 – before the band’s wave of success in the mid-1980s that saw them return twice at the top 10, but he continued co-writing with the band. He then moved to Los Angeles and in his later career worked with the legendary Red Hot Chili Peppers and a number of hip hop acts too.

In 2014, he also went to Prague to record Commercial Zone 2014 which was a musical album backed by a crowdsourcing campaign funding website at Indiegogo. In the last years of his life, the famed musician has also invested in Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrency schemes.

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