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Level 42 80s Icons Back on the Road
Level 42, one of the biggest and most popular bands of the 80s, are back on the road and heading to Plymouth Pavilions on Saturday 18 October as part of a 20 date tour of the UK.
Led by ever-present band-leader and bass maestro Mark King the group will feature Gary Husband, Lyndon Connah, Nathan King, Sean Freeman and original keyboardist Mike Lindup.
To date the band and Mark have released 14 studio albums, 7 live albums, 6 compilation albums; have had 18 top 40 singles including ‘Lessons in Love’, ‘Something About You’, ‘Leaving Me Now’, ‘Running in the Family’, and ‘Hot Water’; have sold out Wembley for a total of 21 nights and have sold in excess of 30 million albums worldwide. In short, Level 42 proved to be one of the biggest British bands of the 80s and the recent emergence of DVD as a major format has seen a host of re-masters and releases from Universal Music, Studio Hamburg, and River Records among others.
Level 42 were formed in 1980 by Mark King (Bass and vocals) Mike Lindup (Keys and vocals) and brothers Boon (Guitar) and Phil Gould (Drums); and were signed up by Elite Records, an independent jazz funk label in north London.
It didn’t take long before they began to fulfil early promise with their debut single ‘Love Meeting Love’ (featuring Wally Badarou, who was to become a regular addition in the studio, on synths) quickly becoming a classic on the jazz funk club scene, and a reputation as a great live band was begun.
The band took the 80s by storm with their brand of bass driven jazz funk that came from the underground soul scene of wedge hair cuts, pegged trousers, sharp shoes and soul patrols. They led a band of UK ‘funksters’ and soul acts that, for a time, changed the face of the street scene in Britain , dovetailing with the start of the commercial New Romantic movement , Two Tone and the dying embers of punk.
Their slick pop-funk sound marked them out for more than cult success and it was not long before their growing reputation brought them to the attention of Polydor Records who in 1981 released the ‘Level 42’ album which in turn spawned the hit ‘Love Games’, then the underground classic ‘Starchild’. This was supported by the bands first foray into Europe as opening act for The Police.
In 1982 the band released ‘The Pursuit of Accidents’ and the singles ‘Are you Hearing (What I Hear)’; ‘Weave Your Spell’, and ‘The Chinese Way’, all of which made the charts. More touring followed, and it was whilst in Europe that Larry Dunn and Verdine White of the legendary Earth, Wind, and Fire heard the band and offered to produce the next Level 42 album.
This became ‘Standing in the Light’, recorded in LA in 1983 and gave the band their first UK Top10 hit ‘The Sun Goes Down (Living it Up)’, ‘Micro-Kid’, and ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’.
In 1984 the band teamed up with legendary producer Ken Scott to make ‘True Colours’ and had more International success with ‘Hot Water’, and ‘The Chant Has Begun’.
1984 also saw the release of Mark King’s first solo album ‘Influences’.
1985 saw the bands first World tour on the back of the ‘World Machine’ album, and the singles ’Something about you’ and ’Leaving me now’ became massive hits on both sides of the Atlantic.
1986, more touring commitments, and a foray into the studio that saw the creation of the ‘Running in the Family’ album which in turn delivered ‘Lessons in Love’, ‘Running in the Family’, ‘To be with you again’, ‘It’s over’ and ‘Children Say’.
Inevitably the pressure of work took its toll and the band underwent its first line-up change with the Gould brothers being replaced by drummer and pianist Gary Husband, and guitarist Alan Murphy.
1988 and the band decamped to Southern France to produce the ‘Staring at the Sun’ album, followed in 1990 by the release of ‘Guaranteed’ and 1993s ‘Forever Now’.
Though the band stopped touring and recording in 1994, founding member and front man Mark King continued under his own name, and with his distinctive slap bass and song-writing style kept the loyal fan base happy.
In 2001 he acquired the rights to the name ‘Level 42’ and took the band back out on the road again where their unique sound and virtuosity as instrumentalists remains an inspiration to young players the world over.
Tickets on sale at 9am on Friday 18 January
Tickets cost: £24.50
(Tickets may be subject to a processing fee)
To book tickets contact the Box Office on 0845 146 1460
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Led by ever-present band-leader and bass maestro Mark King the group will feature Gary Husband, Lyndon Connah, Nathan King, Sean Freeman and original keyboardist Mike Lindup.
To date the band and Mark have released 14 studio albums, 7 live albums, 6 compilation albums; have had 18 top 40 singles including ‘Lessons in Love’, ‘Something About You’, ‘Leaving Me Now’, ‘Running in the Family’, and ‘Hot Water’; have sold out Wembley for a total of 21 nights and have sold in excess of 30 million albums worldwide. In short, Level 42 proved to be one of the biggest British bands of the 80s and the recent emergence of DVD as a major format has seen a host of re-masters and releases from Universal Music, Studio Hamburg, and River Records among others.
Level 42 were formed in 1980 by Mark King (Bass and vocals) Mike Lindup (Keys and vocals) and brothers Boon (Guitar) and Phil Gould (Drums); and were signed up by Elite Records, an independent jazz funk label in north London.
It didn’t take long before they began to fulfil early promise with their debut single ‘Love Meeting Love’ (featuring Wally Badarou, who was to become a regular addition in the studio, on synths) quickly becoming a classic on the jazz funk club scene, and a reputation as a great live band was begun.
The band took the 80s by storm with their brand of bass driven jazz funk that came from the underground soul scene of wedge hair cuts, pegged trousers, sharp shoes and soul patrols. They led a band of UK ‘funksters’ and soul acts that, for a time, changed the face of the street scene in Britain , dovetailing with the start of the commercial New Romantic movement , Two Tone and the dying embers of punk.
Their slick pop-funk sound marked them out for more than cult success and it was not long before their growing reputation brought them to the attention of Polydor Records who in 1981 released the ‘Level 42’ album which in turn spawned the hit ‘Love Games’, then the underground classic ‘Starchild’. This was supported by the bands first foray into Europe as opening act for The Police.
In 1982 the band released ‘The Pursuit of Accidents’ and the singles ‘Are you Hearing (What I Hear)’; ‘Weave Your Spell’, and ‘The Chinese Way’, all of which made the charts. More touring followed, and it was whilst in Europe that Larry Dunn and Verdine White of the legendary Earth, Wind, and Fire heard the band and offered to produce the next Level 42 album.
This became ‘Standing in the Light’, recorded in LA in 1983 and gave the band their first UK Top10 hit ‘The Sun Goes Down (Living it Up)’, ‘Micro-Kid’, and ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’.
In 1984 the band teamed up with legendary producer Ken Scott to make ‘True Colours’ and had more International success with ‘Hot Water’, and ‘The Chant Has Begun’.
1984 also saw the release of Mark King’s first solo album ‘Influences’.
1985 saw the bands first World tour on the back of the ‘World Machine’ album, and the singles ’Something about you’ and ’Leaving me now’ became massive hits on both sides of the Atlantic.
1986, more touring commitments, and a foray into the studio that saw the creation of the ‘Running in the Family’ album which in turn delivered ‘Lessons in Love’, ‘Running in the Family’, ‘To be with you again’, ‘It’s over’ and ‘Children Say’.
Inevitably the pressure of work took its toll and the band underwent its first line-up change with the Gould brothers being replaced by drummer and pianist Gary Husband, and guitarist Alan Murphy.
1988 and the band decamped to Southern France to produce the ‘Staring at the Sun’ album, followed in 1990 by the release of ‘Guaranteed’ and 1993s ‘Forever Now’.
Though the band stopped touring and recording in 1994, founding member and front man Mark King continued under his own name, and with his distinctive slap bass and song-writing style kept the loyal fan base happy.
In 2001 he acquired the rights to the name ‘Level 42’ and took the band back out on the road again where their unique sound and virtuosity as instrumentalists remains an inspiration to young players the world over.
Tickets on sale at 9am on Friday 18 January
Tickets cost: £24.50
(Tickets may be subject to a processing fee)
To book tickets contact the Box Office on 0845 146 1460