One of the biggest and most popular bands of
the eighties are back on the road in 2006.
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.
Mark King’s unique style has influenced a generation;
he may have been copied by thousands of bassists
around the planet, but he has never yet been matched.
This is a chance to catch the real thing. King's
sensational playing as the frontman and driving
force of Level 42, saw the group release 14 hit
albums, enjoy 18 Top 40 hits - including Top 10
smashes "Running In The Family", "Hot Water" and
"Lessons in Love" - and sell in excess of 30 million
albums worldwide, while the band toured the globe
endlessly for nearly 15 years supporting legends
like Madonna and The Police along the way.
Reforming the group in 2002 to huge acclaim it
was clear that the fierce energy with which he
drove Level 42 onwards was alive and well and
the group continued to entrance audiences with
their pulsating presence and showmanship.
LEVEL 42 was formed in early 1980. The Gould brothers,
drummer Phil and guitarist Boon, together with bassist
Mark King all came from the Isle of Wight and had
played together in various bands during their teenage
years. In late 1979 Phil introduced Mark to keyboard
player Mike Lindup, a soul mate he had met while
studying at London's Guildhall School of Music and
Drama. Mike was studying piano but had taken a course
in percussion and he and Phil found that they shared
a clutch of musical heroes - such as Miles Davis,
John McLaughlin, Keith Jarrett and Jan Hammer. Mark
was working in London, but would play regularly
with them in loose rehearsal sessions and the arrival
of Boon, who had previously traveled with Mark to
the states in an ill-fated attempt to be "overnight
successes", was the final piece in the musical jigsaw.
In May 1980 the head of a small independent label,
(Andy Sojka), saw them jamming together and was
impressed enough to offer them a recording deal.
He signed the band to his Elite Records and recorded
and released their debut single "Love Meeting Love"
that July. The record had started life as an instrumental
but became the vehicle for LEVEL 42 finding their
voice. "Love Meeting Love" shot into the Funk/Disco
charts in the UK and brought the band to the attention
of Polydor Records. A follow-up single was released
at the end of 1980 with the band signed direct to
Polydor. "(Flying On The) Wings Of Love" again charted
and LEVEL 42's live shows displayed a controlled
energy and uninhibited inventiveness that drew commendation
from every critic who saw them. 1981 During the
first part of 1981 the band's appearances grew even
more widespread and in the late spring Polydor put
them together with producer Mike Vernon. The outcome
of this initial collaboration was the top 40 single
"Love Games", which has since become a classic LEVEL
42 recording throughout Europe. During June and
July the team got together again, this time to record
their debut album; "Level 42". Its release in the
late summer was greeted with unanimous praise and
within two weeks it had climbed into the Top 20
national charts. Further successes followed in Europe
where, after a ten date tour of Germany and Holland,
the album and single lodged them in the Top 5 of
the Dutch Charts and resulted in the band receiving
their first award in the form of a gold album. They
returned to Britain, overwhelmed by the spontaneous
acclaim of European audiences and with a new belief
in their abilities. They completed 1981 and started
1982 with an extensive five week tour of Holland.
1982 Work began on a second album in January 1982
but was halted when, due to public demand, March
saw the release of "The Early Tapes July/August
1980" - material the band had recorded during their
days with Elite Records. Once again the album charted
immediately and primarily in response to the interest
they had created in Germany, signaled the start
of an extensive European Tour which was to last
for over two months and culminate in two sell-out
concerts at Hammersmith Odeon in London. Early summer
saw the band's reunion with producer Mike Vernon
and by late July "The Pursuit Of Accidents" album
was completed and preparations were underway for
simultaneous UK and European releases of the album
during early September coupled with a most ambitious
and exhausting tour lasting three months and taking
in the UK, France, Switzerland, Austria, Holland,
Belgium and Germany. On completion of "Pursuit Of
Accidents" and prior to the autumn tour, the band
managed a well earned holiday period of three weeks
- just enough time for Mark to get married, Phil
to get hooked on windsurfing and Boon and Mike to
disappear - temporarily of course! Release of the
third Polydor LP in the UK brought an immediate
reaction - "The Pursuit of Accidents" stubbornly
refused to stumble at any obstacle and surged into
the Top 20 in double quick time. The single taken
from the LP "Weave Your Spell" also charted, whilst
the band undertook a UK mini-tour and then stormed
Europe with an extensive tour, their debut gig in
Paris being a particular triumph! LEVEL 42's return
to the UK for their massive November tour saw sell-
out audiences throughout and when a remixed version
of "The Chinese Way" was issued in January 1983,
it raced towards the top twenty with gratifying
ease. 1983 During the German part of LEVEL 42's
European tour at the end of 1982, the band was spotted
by Earth, Wind and Fire members Larry Dunn and Verdine
White, who were so excited by the group that they
asked if they could produce the next album. So,
in March, with "The Chinese Way" still high in the
UK charts and several major TV shows under their
belts (including a prestigious half hour special
on BBC2's "Sight And Sound In Concert" series) LEVEL
42 flew off to Los Angeles to begin recording their
fourth Polydor album. In April they released "Out
Of Sight, Out Of Mind", one of the first tracks
from their sessions with Larry and Verdine. This
also charted in the UK whilst the band carried on
working enthusiastically in LA's noted Complex Studio.
By May, when "Standing In The Light" had been laid
down on tape, requiring only some final mixing,
the band played their first American concert as
British contemporary music representatives in the
"Britain Salutes New York" festival. Their show
at the famous Bottom Line Club won them the respect
of New York's elite. Returning to the UK, Mark,
Phil, Boon and Mike took the chance of a short break
before flying in mid-July to appear at the world
famous Montreux Jazz Festival, after which there
commenced an intense rehearsal period in preparation
for the "1983-1984 World Tour". The July release
of "The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)" single achieved
their first Top 10 entry in the UK together with
an immediate chart entry to No 9 with the LP "Standing
In The Light" which subsequently lodged itself in
the Top Ten for four weeks. As both single and album
climbed the charts, the 1983 section of the "World
Tour" got underway and during late August commenced
with six weeks in Britain and followed with an extensive
tour of Europe which took in Germany, Switzerland,
France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Sweden and Norway.
On returning to the UK in mid-December the band
went straight into a Christmas mini-tour which ended
on 22nd December and saw them disappear faster than
a speeding bullet to their families for a peaceful
Christmas Holiday. 1984 The new year saw Mark taking
some time off from LEVEL 42 to record his debut
solo LP "Influences" which was released in the summer
of '84. However, this didn't mean that the band
were resting their laurels; August 1984 saw the
release of their new single "Hot Water" which was
a top ten smash and was taken from a brand new LP
entitled "True Colours", which was released in October.
Another single from the LP, "The Chant Has Begun",
also charted. 1985 The beginning of 1985 saw the
band playing more live dates culminating in a live
LP in June called "A Physical Presence", which encapsulated
the band's five year career. One of LEVEL 42's greatest
strengths is their live performances and the fans
keep coming back for more as the band consistently
sell out their tours. The "live" LP caught them
in the act and transferred their spirited performance
onto vinyl. A few months later, LEVEL 42 came out
of the studio with the "World Machine" album, preceded
by a single from it - "Something About You", in
September. Another single "Leaving Me Now" was taken
from the LP - both were top 10 hits and the "World
Machine" album has now sold over three million copies
worldwide ! The Band was also voted Best Funk Act
by British DJs for the second consecutive year.
1986 After a well-deserved rest at the beginning
of the year, and after playing their debut shows
in Ireland, the boys started to write some new material
for their follow up LP to "World Machine" and in
April they released a brand new single entitled
"Lessons In Love". They then embarked on a lengthy
US tour whilst "Something About You" was shooting
up the American charts. They finished 1986 by playing
four sell out nights at Wembley Arena in December
- a triumphant way to end the year! 1987 February
1987 saw the band in the top ten once again with
their new single "Running In The Family" and their
new LP of the same name. The album achieved platinum
status ONE WEEK after release! The album has since
become double platinum! After completing a sell-out
UK tour which included eight nights at Wembley Arena,
LEVEL 42 went off to Europe for a five week tour.
A third single from the "Running In The Family"
was released, "To Be With You Again", which also
achieved a top ten placing. The summer saw the boys
appear as special guests on the Madonna tour and
also headlining their own shows in the States when
the Madonna tour finished. During October 1987 both
Phil and Boon left LEVEL 42, Phil suffered from
nervous exhaustion and reportedly was not satisfied
with the band's direction in terms of its newer
"pop" sound. Boon likewise suffered from stomach
problems and decided to retire in order to settle
down with his wife and children. Neil Conti from
Prefab Sprout joined temporarily and Paul Gendler
also joined LEVEL 42 on guitar to finish the Tina
Turner tour in the US. December saw the release
of "Children Say" with the video featuring only
Mark & Mike. At the end of 1987, Mark & Mike were
looking for a new guitarist and drummer. One name
on the short-list for drummer was Gary Husband who
had almost joined in 1985 when Phil Gould had left
the band for one week. Gary Husband, ex-Allan Holdsworth
and Syd Lawrence, suggested Steve Topping (to quote
Gary - "He's a great guitarist") to fill the other
position. 1988 Early 1988 Mark, Mike, Gary and Steve
were in Ireland writing and rehearsing for the new
album which was, of course, "Staring At The Sun".
After Dublin, LEVEL 42 moved onto the recording
studios in the south of France and Steve Topping
left the group after finding difficulty in fitting
into the music and life with the band. Alan Murphy
then joined during the session at Miraval. He had
previously played with Go West taking care of all
the key guitar solos. He was one of the top five
session guitarists in the UK. The album was finished
in a record 26 days and was co-produced by the band,
Wally Badarou and Julian Mendelsohn. The release
of the album was followed by a four month European
tour culminating in six sell-out nights at Wembley
Arena over the New Year which proved that LEVEL
42 is one of the hardest working bands in the world!
1989 The UK tour ended at the end of January 1989
and in the spring the band decided to take some
time off. Mark got his home studio up to scratch
and he and Mike wrote possible material for inclusion
on the next album. In July they appeared as the
"house-band" behind The Prince's Trust Concert held
at the NEC in Birmingham. They backed the likes
of Spandau Ballet, Mike & The Mechanics, Andy Bell
of Erasure, Alexander O'Neal plus many more - what
a mixture of styles! Sadly, the new line-up of Mark,
Mike, Gary and Alan was not to last. Alan became
seriously ill and died of AIDS-related symptoms
on Thursday, 19th October, 1989. A devastated LEVEL
42 cancelled all promotional work connected with
the single "Take Care Of Yourself" released earlier
in October. November 1989 saw the release of the
"Level Best" album, a collection of their greatest
hits. It went double platinum within three weeks;
a fitting tribute to a great band and to Alan Murphy,
a gifted musician. 1990 In December 1989, Mike embarked
on a solo album project. The album was recorded
in London and mixed in Scotland. Calum Malcolm co-
produced with Mike and Pino Palladino (bass), Manu
Katche (drums) and Dominic Miller (guitar) were
the principal musicians along with Mike on keyboards
and vocals. The album was released on the 11th of
June and Mike did two shows. One in London at the
Subterranea and the second in Glasgow at King Tut's
Wah Wah Hut. Whilst Mike was working on his solo
material, Mark was no idle either. Work was completed
on the studio and Mark wrote new material (for the
band and other artists) with a number of co-writes
including Rick Astley and Drew Barfield. Album recording
started at the beginning of August 1990. The album
was co-produced by the band and Wally Badarou and
mixed by Tom Lord Alge at the Hit Factory in New
York. After playing on five tracks of the new album
Allan Holdsworth was asked to join the 1990/91 tour
in order to recreate some of his stunning guitar
work. Allan, critically acclaimed by many of the
world's top guitar gurus, has made serious contributions
to many legendary rock and instrumental groups such
as Bruford, Soft Machine, Jean-Luc Ponty, Gong and
Tony William's Life Time. Gary had initially teamed
up with Allan in 1980 and toured many times with
him even while holding down another job in LEVEL
42! 1990 had been a busy year for LEVEL 42 with
the launch of Mike's solo album "Changes"; Mark's
debut as a cafe owner "JOE DAFLO's" and, Gary's
eastern tour taking in Japan and Australia with
Allan Holdsworth. The release date of the new album,
"Guaranteed" was postponed until 1991 after a dispute
with their record company, Polydor. Apparently,
Polydor wanted the band to have a more "commercial"
sound and the band was unwilling to compromise and
parted ways with Polydor. The year ended with a
record-breaking 15 nights at the Hammersmith Odeon
overtaking a previous record of 14 shows set by
Elton John. 1991 RCA/BMG signed LEVEL 42 in 1991
and was willing to release their new album. "Guaranteed"
hit the shelves in September and the first single,
"Guaranteed" hit the UK and European Top 40 charts.
They later toured Britain and Europe to support
the album, this time the lineup being King, Lindup,
Husband and top UK session guitarist Jakko Jakszyk,
who played for such artists as Swing Out Sister
and others. 1992 "Guaranteed" was released in March
in North America, but the record company and the
band decided not to tour there as they thought it
wouldn't be "financially feasible." The rest of
the year saw the release of other singles off the
album in the UK and Europe, but none of them entering
the UK Top 30. 1993 The year 1993 was mostly an
inactive year for the band. At the beginning of
the year, drummer Gary Husband decided to leave
LEVEL 42, apparently becoming disillusioned with
playing drums to a sequencer click in concert and
in the studio. He later re-joined Allan Holdsworth's
band. In the latter portion of the year, the band
began writing and recording their next album, this
time employing the help of ex-drummer and old friend
Phil Gould and session guitarist Danny Bloom, an
American. But Gould only opted to help the band
out in the studio, and not tour. 1994 1994 was the
year the band put out its latest effort, "Forever
Now," released in March. The album and first single,
also called "Forever Now" hit the UK Top 40. A few
weeks later, in April, the album's second single,
"All Over You," debuted in the UK charts at No.26,
the first time LEVEL 42 has had 2 consecutive UK
Top 40 hits since 1987. In July, they released their
third single from the album, "Love In A Peaceful
World." But nothing lasts forever; in the fall of
1994, they embarked on a European tour - their last
tour ever. On Friday, October 14, 1994, LEVEL 42
played their penultimate show at London's Royal
Albert Hall. 2002 They’re back! One of the biggest
Pop bands of the 80s and early 90s are reformed
for a one-off Greatest Hits Tour, driven by tireless
bass maestro Mark King and back on the road for
the first time since 1994! Featuring Mark King bass/vocals
Gary Husband drums Lyndon Connah keys/vocals Nathan
King guitar/vocals Sean Freeman sax
