Keith Levene recalls THE CLASH times

Your regular Strummer fan is hardly aware of the fact that Keith Levene, who found fame if not fortune with PiL, played a vital part in THE CLASH formation and was there, together with Mick Jones, before Joe joined in. This part of the story lies in the heart of “Diary: I Was A Teenage Guitarist 4 The Clash!”, Keith’s forthcoming book that he calls “a non-autobiography” and that would be part of Levene’s book series. It is also a part of the guitarist’s “Commercial Zone” project which we wrote about earlier.

In Prague, finishing the re-recording of the album that John Lydon rejected and that Levene pressed and distributed independently in 1984, Keith decided to apply the same approach to his book, and the DIY ethics stretches now even into the tome’s cover: each copy unique, in a handmade way, so there’s a good incentive to bag a copy and find the fabric of punk for yourselves.

July 15, 2014