Sunday 24 July, 18:00 (Thursday 28 July, 22:00 repeat)

David Randall chats to Mark King including tracks from the live album 'Sirens Tour Live'

BONUS MATERIAL!!

Mark King chats about his playing style and his solo work with tracks from his solo/live albums including 'Influences' (1984).

Listen now!

LEVEL 42

Level 42's first main label album was produced by Mike Vernon (Fleetwood Mac, Focus) and released in 1980.  For the next decade the band developed into one of the most popular mainstream and crossover acts, combining pop melodies with funk rhythms and capturing both a chart and club audience.

Bandleader Mark King brought showmanship and pizzazz to his infectious slap bass style and more than anyone he was responsible for introducing the style to mainstream pop. It was a winning formula when combined with Phil Gould’s drums and brother Boon’s guitar fills whilst Mike Lindup was a gifted keyboard player who also lent the band his distinctive falsetto vocals.

Their third album – 1983's Standing In The Light - was produced by Earth Wind & Fire’s bass player Verdine White which lent the band a certain cudos in terms of cultural crossover, and club credibility.

1985's World Machine firmly established Level 42 on the international stage and yielded their biggest U.S. hit ‘Something About You’.

By 1986 the band was already showing personal strains and following ‘Running In The Family’, Phil and Boon Gould left. Subsequently, the band rediscovered their fusion roots and worked with the likes of the seasoned sessionist Gary Husband (John Mclaughlin, Jeff Beck), Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree) and even Allan Holdsworth who provided guitar on the 1991 album ‘Guaranteed’.

After 1993's Forever Now album and tour Mark King put the band on ice and pursued a lower-key solo and songwriting career. Less than 10 years later, after including Level 42 material in his live sets and meeting up again with Mike Lindup, Mark King reconstituted the band and with brother Nathan on guitar and a horn section.

The band's latest release - Sirens Tour Live - was recorded at the Indigo O2 in London, September 2015.

They tour extensively in the UK in October 2016

UK dates (October 2016)

Oct 2 Waterfront Hall Auditorium, Belfast
Oct 3 Venue Cymru, Llandudno
Oct 4 The Lowry, Salford Quays
Oct 6 Victoria Hall, Stoke-On-Trent
Oct 7 O2 ABC, Glasgow
Oct 8 Sage Gateshead
Oct 10 Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
Oct 11 Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Oct 12 Margate Winter Gardens
Oct 14 Southend Cliffs Pavilion
Oct 15 Ipswich Regent Theatre
Oct 16 New Theatre Oxford
Oct 18 Portsmouth Guildhall
Oct 19 Colston Hall, Bristol
Oct 21 Bath Pavilion
Oct 22 Truro Hall for Cornwall
Oct 23 Bournemouth Pavilion
Oct 25 G Live, Guildford
Oct 26 Hexagon Theatre, Reading
Oct 28 Watford Colosseum
Oct 29 Eventim Apollo, London

Page updated 26.07.16
 

Level 42 website

Album review (Sirens Tour Live)