This is about the band, Level 42. For the song released by Kaela Kimura, see Level 42 (song).

Level 42
Level 42's original lineup: Mark King (Bass/Vocals), Mike Lindup (Keyboards/Vocals), Phil Gould (Drums), Boon Gould (Guitar).
Background information
Origin	Isle of Wight, United Kingdom
Genre(s)	Rock, Pop, Funk, Jazz-Funk Fusion
Years active	1980–present
Label(s)	Polydor BMG W14/Universal
Associated acts	Go West
Website	Official Website
Members
Mark King Mike Lindup Gary Husband Nathan King Sean Freeman
Former members
Phil Gould Rowland 'Boon' Gould Alan Murphy (deceased) Allan Holdsworth Jakko Jakszyk Lyndon Connah

Level 42 is a popular British pop and funk band. The group had a number of worldwide and UK hits during the 1980s. The band gained fame for its high calibre musicianship, especially that of Mark King, whose percussive slap bass technique provided the driving groove of many of the band's hits. Level 42 have sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.

History

Formation, early years and first successes

Level 42 was formed in 1980 as a jazz-funk fusion band. The Gould brothers, drummer Phil and guitarist Boon, together with then drummer 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 King to keyboard player Mike Lindup, who Phil had met while studying at London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Lindup was studying piano but had taken a course in percussion and he and Phil found that they shared musical heroes - Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, Keith Jarrett and Jan Hammer. Boon then returned from the United States in early 1980, after he had given up later on an ill-fated attempt to be "overnight successes" with King. The band needed a bassist, so King volunteered to learn. Lindup was working in London, but would play regularly with the band in loose rehearsal sessions

Initially the band was signed to a small independent record label, Elite Records, after being seen jamming together. Shortly after they released the single "Love Meeting Love", they came to the attention of Polydor Records and signed to them. One of the performers on that track, keyboardist Wally Badarou, would later become Level 42's longtime co-producer and what King calls the band's "fifth member," though his other commitments prevented him from touring.

In 1981 they released "Love Games", a top 40 hit. They then cut their critically acclaimed, self-titled debut album. This became an immediate success throughout Europe.

Cover of Level 42 album Standing in the Light (1983).

The following year, a second album The Pursuit of Accidents was made, and singles from the album, first "Weave Your Spell" and then "The Chinese Way" were released, both charting, the latter in particular rising high in the charts and gaining the band a much wider audience than hitherto. Their album went on to become a huge seller. In between, Polydor released The Early Tapes, recorded in the early days of the band when they were signed to the Elite label. A fourth album Standing in the Light generated their first top ten hit in the UK in 1983, "The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)". Recorded with members of Earth, Wind and Fire, this album debuted a new era for the band, less experimental and jazzy than previous releases. There were no instrumental tracks on this album whatsoever, nor on any of their following albums until Staring at the Sun in 1988.

The quartet followed that with the album True Colours in 1984, which veered between funk, power pop, midtempo rock and moody ballads. It yielded the singles "The Chant Has Begun" and "Hot Water" (a top 20 hit in Britain, and a top 5 hit in the Netherlands where the band became very popular, the song reached also #7 in Belgium). That same year, Mark King pursued a solo project Influences. By this time, Level 42 had also gained acclaim for its power as a live band (as showcased on the A Physical Presence album).

Worldwide fame

The next studio album, World Machine, was successfully released in 1985. Singles from this LP, "Something About You" and "Leaving Me Now" were UK top twenty hits (top forty hits in Holland). More importantly, "Something About You" was also their first (and only) US top ten the following year; reaching too the top 20 in Italy. During the recording of World Machine, the first major tensions between Phil Gould and Mark King began to surface over musical direction, production and also in their personal relationship. This led to Phil leaving the band for a week and was nearly replaced by Allan Holdsworth's drummer Gary Husband (some three Years prior to Husband actually joining Level 42), however Gould and King's dispute was resolved and the group enjoyed their most successful year to date. Next came "Lessons in Love" in early 1986 - a song taken from Running in the Family to be released in 1987 - which was a very big international hit and gave to Level 42 its first number one, in Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and South Africa, increasing considerably its popularity (#2 in Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden, #3 in the UK, #4 in Austria, #10 in Norway, #12 in the US in 1987 and #22 in France). By this time, the band was heading further away from its original jazz-funk sound and towards a much more mainstream pop sound. Elements of Level 42's roots can still be found in the funky "Coup d'Etat" and "Dream Crazy" on the UK version of the album, as well as a long instrumental track named "Hell", which was also recorded during the World Machine sessions. This last track did not see the light of day until the early 2000s as an MP3 download on the original Napster.

Cover of Level 42 album Running in the Family.

The band's 1987 album Running in the Family became their biggest seller, reaching the top five in numerous countries, and cemented this poppy musical direction, with King's bass and Lindup and Badarou's chugging keyboards serving as templates for smart pop songs like "Lessons in Love", "To Be With You Again" (#6 in the Netherlands), the ballad "It's Over" (#7 in the Netherlands) and the title track (#1 in Norway, #3 in the Netherlands, #5 in Switzerland).

After this success, both Phil and Boon left the group: Phil suffered from nervous exhaustion and reportedly was not satisfied with the band's direction in terms of its newer "pop" sound. He even went as far as to call it "shallow pop music, which I'd had as much fun playing as when I played in holiday camps". Phil's relationship with King had also broken down and they found it difficult to work together. Boon suffered from stomach problems and decided to retire in order to settle down with his wife and children. King finally recruited Gary Husband to replace Phil and Steve Topping to replace Boon. Husband recommended Topping, but he did not work out due to personality differences with King. Rated session guitarist Alan Murphy joined, formerly of Go West. He had also been Kate Bush's studio guitarist. A new Level 42 album, Staring at the Sun, was released in 1988, reaching the top ten in several European charts, and including the hit-single "Heaven in My Hands" (number 12 in the UK and also top twenty in Germany, Switzerland, etc.).

Level 42 in 1988: The Late Alan Murphy (Guitar), Mike Lindup (Keyboards/Vocals), Mark King (Bass/Vocals), Gary Husband (Drums).

In October 1989, Alan died from an AIDS-related illness, and the band took some time off. At this time Level Best, a greatest hits compilation, was successfully released. In December 1990, the band played a record run at Hammersmith Odeon, London which had been booked almost two years before. These concerts also featured Lyndon J Connah on keyboards and backing vocals (who years later would fill in for Mike Lindup), and virtuoso guitarist Allan Holdsworth, who Gary Husband asked to play as a favour to the band, whilst they searched for a permanent guitar player and in tribute to the late Alan Murphy, whom Holdsworth was a hero to and major influence. In this year, Mike Lindup also released his debut solo album, Changes.

During the early 1990s, the group tried to blend more of their earlier influences, such as Mahavishnu Orchestra, into their sound by asking master musician Allan Holdsworth to provide some stunning guitar work for the album Guaranteed (notably on "A Kinder Eye") . Though well-received, especially by US music critics who appreciated the group's musicianship, many of their jazz-funk fans did not like the set's mostly rock-oriented style, and the pop music scene in the UK had moved in a different direction. The album did not sell well despite being regarded by some as Level 42's most musically sophisticated work to date.

Through it all, the band continued to be a potent live draw, with the studio members joined on stage by singer Annie McCaig, who also did backup vocals on the Guaranteed album; and the brass duo of sax player Gary Barnacle and trumpeter John Thirkell, aka The Hen Pecked Horns. Barnacle played on several Level 42 studio albums, dating back to the self-titled 1981 debut. Barnacle had been preceded as Level 42 tour saxophonist by Krys Mach, who also recorded with Level 42 and toured with the group from 1984 to 1988. Also of note, Dominic Miller guitarist of Sting solo career fame, played most of the guitar parts (along w/Mark King on 'Staring at the Sun') on both 'Staring at the Sun' and 'Guaranteed'. (Alan Murphy and Allan Holdsworth came late in the recording of both of their respective projects and added mostly guitar solos.)

After the recording of Guaranteed, and a week long promotional tour, Mark King assumed Holdsworth would be unwilling to play rhythm guitar and replaced him with Jakko Jakszyk. Only after hiring Jakszyk did he discover that Holdsworth was willing to continue with the band. Although not on the record, Jakszyk features on the album's cover photo; he also took part in promotional duties and the tour for the album. He does play to great effect on two b-sides from this era: "At the Great Distance" and "As Years Go by". Jakszyk's other studio input with Level 42 came in the form of two unreleased tracks (Fire and Free Your Soul) between the Guaranteed and Forever now albums. In 1993 Gary Husband left the band and returned to working with Allan Holdsworth and other session work, both as a drummer and keyboard/pianist.

1994's Forever Now album marked the return of Phil Gould as studio drummer and principal lyricist, following an out of the blue invitation from King,they both agreed to put their long running differences aside. The album saw the group move closer to its R&B-jazz roots, especially in the lush ballad "Romance", the acid-jazz-influenced "Sunbed Song" and the dance-pop "Learn to Say No." (Session guitarist for this album was Danny Bloom.)

With one further album required as part of the band's three album deal with RCA, fans saw a bright future for the band, especially with Phil Gould back in the fold and the critical success of Forever Now, however, the fruitful (part) reunion was short-lived. Phil Gould, dismayed at what he felt was the record company's ineptitude, did not go on the road with the band on their Forever Now tour. He was replaced for the tour with live session drummer Gavin Harrison and Jakko Jakszyk returned for the tour and tv/promotion. It was announced halfway through the tour (on the day of their Manchester Apollo gig) that Level 42 would be disbanding permanently. In 1998 Mark King began recording a single called "Bitter Moon" (Lyndon J Connor - played keyboards on the track). King made the music video "Bitter Moon" in 1998 featuring actress Olivia Burnette.

Recent years

Level 42 in 2006: Nathan King (Guitar), Mark King (Bass/Vocals), Mike Lindup (Keyboards/Vocals), Gary Husband (Drums) with Sean Freeman (sax) on tour (not pictured).

In 1998, Mark King released his second solo album One Man with lyrics by Boon Gould. In 1999, King went back on the road playing his own new compositions and some Level 42 favourites. In late 2001 he came to a business agreement with Mike Lindup for the rights to the name Level 42 (Lindup agreed to play on future albums, but did not want to tour) and subsequently King reformed the band with returning drummer Gary Husband, Mark's younger brother Nathan King on guitars/vocals, Lyndon J Connah on keyboards/vocals and Sean Freeman on saxophone.

In August of 2000, three quarters of the original Level 42 line-up reunited for a private show. Phil Gould invited some musician friends to play at a party, including his brother Boon and Mike Lindup. Two years later, King, Lindup and Phil Gould played together (at Lindup's wedding) for the first time in ten years. This led to a tentative get together of the classic line-up along with Wally Badarou, to work on a new studio album only, with King continuing to tour live with the new line up. However, the reformation was short-lived, and old tensions began to resurface, particularly between Phil Gould and Mark King, who decided they could not work together again.

On February 13th, 2005, Level 42 played a historic date at The Forum in London. For the first time since October 14th, 1994 at The Royal Albert Hall, Mike Lindup joined Level 42 on stage. In March, the two Rockpalast shows from 1983 and 1984 are released on DVD, and in April, a show from 1983, recorded in Scotland, surfaces on CD called "The River Sessions". In June, The Ultimate Collection II is released including a brand new song called "Genius Of Love" by Hardage featuring Mark King on vocals and a sample of "I Want Eyes".

Cover of Level 42 album Retroglide (2006).

Although the classic lineup decided not to reform, original members Boon Gould and Mike Lindup have both contributed to a new album, chiefly recorded by King, with Gary Husband on drums (his first studio album since 1991's Guaranteed) with Nathan King, Lyndon J Connah and Sean Freeman, from the new line up. The new album, Retroglide was announced in February 2006 with a supporting tour throughout the UK, Netherlands, Germany and some other European countries. In May 2006, prior to the start of the tour in october,level42.com announced that Mike Lindup would return full time to replace Lyndon J Connah on keyboards. Although Phil Gould is uncredited on the album, the track "Ship" is the first song since 1986 worked on by all four original members - Phil originally arranged the track with his brother Boon.

Band members

Main article: Level 42 members

The first meeting of the group which would eventually form Level 42 involved Mark King (Vocals/Bass Guitar), Mike Lindup (Keyboards/Vocals), Dominic Miller (Guitar) and Phil Gould (Drums). At all subsequent meetings Rowland 'Boon' Gould replaced Dominic Miller on guitar; Phil and Boon are brothers. The two brothers, along with King and Lindup, are known as the 'original and founding members'. Studio keyboardist Wally Badarou contributed to many of the band's early hits, and is considered by many to be the fifth member of the group, although he never officially joined. Initially, the instrumentation responsibilities were not easy to decide. King was primarily a drummer, but also played bass. Boon played bass and guitar equally well. Lindup and Phil Gould were training as percussionists and both played drums, although Lindup also played keyboards. None of them sang. Eventually they settled with the arrangement shown above, although over the years, Phil and Mike never played guitars and Boon never played drums; apart from those exceptions turns were occasionally taken by all on all instruments both live and in the studio. Boon also played saxophone. Although they considered looking outside the band for a vocalist, eventually they decided to split vocals between King and Lindup.

Other full time band members over the years have included Alan Murphy, Gary Husband, Allan Holdsworth, Jakko Jakszyk, Nathan King, Lyndon J Connah, and Sean Freeman.

The band still performs live shows and a new album, Retroglide, was released on 18 September 2006. Rumours on fan sites are suggesting that in 2007/2008 work will commence on a new studio album.

Current members

This lineup stays since 2006, when Mike Lindup returned definitively to the position of keyboardist of the band.

• Mark King: Bass, Vocals (1980 - Present)
• Mike Lindup: Keyboards,Vocals (1980 - 1994; 2005 - Present)
• Gary Husband: Drums (1988 - 1993; 1999 - Present)
• Nathan King: Guitars (1997 - Present)
• Sean Freeman: Saxophone (2001 - Present)

Former members

• Phil Gould: Drums (1980 - 1987; 1994)
• Boon Gould: Guitars (1980 - 1987)¹
• Alan Murphy: Guitars (1988 - 1989)
• Allan Holdsworth: Guitars (1990 - 1991)
• Jakko Jakszyk: Guitars (1991 - 1994)
• Lyndon Connah: Keyboards (1997 - 2004)

¹ Boon subsequently wrote lyrics for the albums: Staring at the Sun (1988) and Retroglide, and played a guitar solo on the track Ship, from Retroglide (2006).

Original formation

The original formation stayed intact during the period of 1980 up to 1987.

• Mark King: Bass, Vocals
• Mike Lindup: Keyboards, Vocals
• Phil Gould: Drums
• Rowland "Boon" Gould: Guitars

Origins of the name

The origin of the band's name has been variously described as being inspired by a sign in a lift in a very tall building in the US; the top level of the biggest car-park in the world, in Japan; the floor on which Jonathan Pryce's character resides in the film Brazil (which was released long after the band gained international recognition); or after Tower 42 (also known as the NatWest Tower) the tallest building in the City of London.

King and Boon Gould decided the band should be called simply by a number, and they both favoured '88' - the number of the bus they used to catch to the recording studio. However, Lindup and Phil Gould saw a poster for a band called Rocket 88 so their idea was abandoned (although '88' was later used as a song title). King and Gould both claim to have been reading Douglas Adams' comical science fiction novel, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy wherein the Answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything, is '42'. Therefore '42' was suggested as a name for the band. It should be noted that their then producer, Andy Sojka (now deceased), similarly claimed to have been reading the book, and claimed to have put forward the number as a suggested band name. It is known therefore, that the use of the number '42' in the band name came from either King, Boon Gould, or Sojka. The appendage of the word 'Level' is claimed to have been from either Sojka's lawyer, or John Gould's (the third brother and band manager) lawyer.

Other names considered for the band were 'Powerline' and 'Kick in the Head'. 'Powerline' was rejected and given to another of Sojka's groups, and it was on a white label promotional record numbered 'DAZZ 4' that the words 'Level 42' first appeared. The band providing the B-side - a track called "Sandstorm" (a track which they also wanted to call "Kick in the Head"). The A side was provided by 'Powerline'.

'Kick In The Head' was finally used by the band as a working title for the song "A Floating Life" on their True Colours album. The lyric features in the song.

Three further songs (all instrumentals) were 'numbered' by the band: '43', '88' and the B-side 'Forty-two'.

Trivia

Rowland Gould's childhood nickname was "Boon". The nickname supposedly came from his uncle, who found him so quiet and well behaved as a baby that he informed Rowland's mother that the baby was 'a real boon'.

In 2006 Anthony David recorded "Something About You" on The Red Clay Chronicles.

Morrissey once said of the band, "Having never been sufficiently drunk to enjoy a Level 42 record, I prescribe the Burmese neck ring to these chumps for being so icy".

Discography

Main article: Level 42 discography

Main albums

Gold (UK)
	2x Platinum (UK) Worldwide sales: over 3 million	2x Platinum (UK)	Platinum (UK)
¹		¹

¹ - Not rated by All Music Guide.

References

1. http://www.forevernow.com/band/murphy.shtml
2. http://www.forevernow.com/tracks.shtml
3. Unofficial Myspace. Mysace of information. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
4. Boon Gould in MSN Music. Boon Gould info at MSN music. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
5. Level 42 Biography at Mark King website. Biography of the Group. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.

External links

• www.level42.com - Official Level 42 Website
• www.forevernow.com
• Level 42 at MySpace
• www.ultimatelevel42.com - The Definitive Level 42 Online Collectors Resource & Discography
• Level 42 Digest - email mailing list from 1993 to present
• Level 42 Web Digest
• Level 42 Resource
• Level 42 DK
• Level 42 full history
• Level 42 at MusicBrainz