Level 42 was founded in England in the late 1970s by bassist Mark King. His distinctive bass playing combined with his role as frontman stood out and became the group's trademark. The group also consisted of Mike Lindup and brothers Phil and Boon Gould. Initially, Level 42 played instrumental jazz/fusion, but after pressure from the record company, Mark King began singing. Level 42's breakthrough came in 1981 with the single "Love Games," from the album of the same name. That same year, an album with older material was released, aptly titled "The Early Tapes."
Restart Mark King
In 2001, Mark King, in consultation with Mike Lindup, began performing again under the name Level 42. Lindup said he was willing to contribute to future albums but no longer interested in performing live.
In 2013, the EP "Sirens" was released, containing six tracks. The EP was produced by John Morales. Level 42 returned to their early 1980s roots with this EP. In 2014, the band toured to promote "Sirens"; during a concert in Bournemouth, Gary Husband filled in for Pete Ray Biggin. In 2016, Level 42 played at the world-famous North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam. Also announced was the new EP "Sirens II." In 2017, Level 42 toured with Ali Campbell's version of UB40. Both bands visited the Netherlands on 24 June 2017 for Night at the Park in The Hague. In 2018, Level 42 toured again; Dutch (club) performances took place in the autumn. In May 2019, Boon Gould was found dead at home in Dorset; he was only 64 years old. In July 2019, Level 42 performed at Bospop.
On 13 October 2019, Level 42 was on our turntable during our Sunday Morning Classics.
Source: Wikipedia and NPO2 Photo: Sven Mandel
