Keith Levene - Biography

Biography

Keith Levene was an early member of The Clash and The Flowers of Romance (most notable for also featuring a pre-Sex Pistols Sid Vicious). Although he never recorded with The Clash, he co-wrote "What's My Name", featured on their first album. Levene has often claimed that he co-wrote several songs on The Clash's first album. In 2012, he reunited with fellow PiL member and bassist Jah Wobble for Metal Box In Dub and the album Yin & Yang.

According to Simon Reynolds in his book Rip It Up and Start Again, Levene was an avid progressive rock fan who had served at age fifteen as a roadie for Yes on their Close to the Edge tour.

After the Sex Pistols disintegrated, Levene co-founded Public Image Ltd (PiL) with John Lydon. His guitar work was much imitated by several punk rockers and others, including The Edge of U2. On later PiL recordings, Levene would often forgo his guitar for synthesizer. In the winter of 1980/81, after the completion of PiL's The Flowers Of Romance album, Levene was successfully treated by Dr. Margaret Patterson with Neuroelectric therapy (NET) for several weeks to fight a serious Heroin addiction. Levene left PiL acrimoniously in 1983 just before shows which would later form the Live In Tokyo album. PiL had been working on what would become the album This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get. He released the original versions of the songs on his own label under the title Commercial Zone which was 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. In mid-1986, Levene tried to produce demos for the album The Uplift Mofo Party Plan by the Red Hot Chili Peppers at Master Control in Burbank with engineers Steve Catania and Dan Nebenzal, but the band split up over drug money. Also in 1986, Levene worked together with DJ Matt Dike, experimenting with sampling techniques and hip-hop for Ice T and Tone Loc on their early recordings for Delicious.

In 2003, Levene contributed to industrial rock supergroup Pigface's album Easy Listening..., and he has released several solo records, among which was the Killer in the Crowd EP in 2004.

At an impromptu appearance at the Musicport Festival in Bridlington Spa on 24 October 2010, where they were joined by vocalist Johnny Rotter of the Sex Pistols Experience, Levene renewed his association with former PiL bassist Jah Wobble. In 2011 Levene contributed to three tracks on the album "Psychic Life", a collaboration between Wobble and Lonelady.

In early 2012, after some planned Japan gigs were cancelled because of visa issues, Levene and Wobble played various UK clubs as Metal Box in Dub. This was followed by the release of a four-song, eponymous EP.