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Image source, Getty Images
Keith Levene, a founding member of The Clash and later guitarist for Public Image Ltd, has died aged 65, his close friend has said.
Author Adam Hammond said Levene, who died on Friday, was one of the most influential guitarists of all time.
Levene founded The Clash with Mick Jones in the 1970s but left before they became successful.
He then joined Public Image Ltd (PiL), the post-punk band set up by John Lydon after he left the Sex Pistols.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,Levene (right) pictured with John Lydon in 1982
Hammond said his friend had been living with liver cancer for two years, but his death had been unexpected.
"He had so many plans - there were so many things he was doing," Hammond said.
Levene had just completed a book about Public Image Ltd, co-written with Hammond, and had been working on music to accompany it.
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,Levene performing in 2007
After news of his death broke, his former bandmates paid tribute to Levene on social media.
PiL member Martin Atkins paid tribute to Levene's "unique talent", while the band's former bassist Jah Wobble remembered his family.
Thanks for all the messages of condolence re Keith …but it’s his partner and family who are really impacted by his passing 🙏👍❤️
— Jah Wobble (@realjahwobble) November 12, 2022The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.View original tweet on Twitter
Fellow musicians also paid tribute.
Former Oasis bassist and member of Ride, Andy Bell, said the sound Levene made on the guitar was "like ground-up diamonds fired at you through a high pressure hose".
While music magazine Rolling Stone said the musician's "influential fretwork shaped the sound of punk and post-punk to come".
English (US)