Formed in 1980 as an instrumental jazz/funk unit, heavily influenced by the music of Stanley Clarke, this UK band originally comprised Mark King (b. 20 October 1958, Northwood, Isle of Wight, England; bass/vocals), Philip Gould (b. 28 February 1957, Hong Kong; drums), Boon Gould (b. Rowland Charles Gould, 4 March 1955, Shanklin, Isle of Wight, England; guitar) and Mike Lindup (b. 17 March 1959, London, England; keyboards/vocals). By the release of the same year’s debut single, ‘Love Meeting Love’ (on the small independent label Elite Records), King was urged to add vocals to give the band a more commercial sound. Keyboard player Wally Badarou also appeared on the single and would go on to stay with the band for several years as an unofficial fifth member.
Level 42’s Mike Vernon -produced major label debut album was an exciting collection of funk and modern soul orientated numbers that made the UK Top 20 in 1981. Cashing in on this unexpected success, their previous record company issued a limited edition album of early material, which their new record company Polydor Records re-packaged the following year. Word had now got round that Level 42 were one of the most exciting new bands of the 80s, the focal point being Mark King’s extraordinary bass-slapping/thumb technique, which even impressed the master of the style, Stanley Clarke. Most of their early singles were minor hits until ‘The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)’ in 1983 made the UK Top 10. Further hits followed in quick succession with ‘Hot Water’ and ‘The Chant Has Begun’.
Level 42’s worldwide breakthrough came with 1985’s World Machine, a faultless record that pushed their style towards straight, quality pop. King’s vocals were mixed up-front and the band entered a new phase in their career as their fans left the dance floor for the football stadiums. This also coincided with a run of high-quality UK hit singles between 1985 and 1987, notably, ‘Something About You’, ‘Leaving Me Now’, ‘Lessons In Love’, the autobiographical ‘Running In The Family’, ‘To Be With You Again’, and the immaculate tear-jerker ‘It’s Over’. Both Running In The Family (1987) and Staring At The Sun (1988) were major successes, although the latter had no significant hit singles. After the release of the former, the band changed its line-up drastically with Boon and Philip Gould replaced by Alan Murphy (b. 18 November 1953, d. 19 October 1989, London, England) and Gary Husband (b. 14 June 1960, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England) respectively. Both the Goulds had been unhappy with the band’s more pop-orientated direction. Murphy tragically died of pneumonia a year after the release of Staring At The Sun. Veteran jazz guitarist Allan Holdsworth (b. 6 August 1946, Bradford, West Riding of Yorkshire, England) filled in for the recording of Guaranteed. Guitarist Jakko Jakszyk (b. Michael Lee Curran, 8 June 1958, Highgate, London, England) joined in 1991, adding a stronger sound to the band’s live performances.
Despite the return of Philip Gould on drums on Forever Now, Level 42’s career had faltered by the mid-90s as both their recording and public activity took a lower profile, and Mark King took life easy from his base in the Isle of Wight. They announced their split in 1994, playing their last show at the Royal Albert Hall, London on 14 October. King later acquired the rights to the name and resumed touring in 2002, with Gary Husband (drums), Nathan King (guitar/vocals), Lyndon Connah (keyboards/vocals) and Sean Freeman (saxophone/vocals). A new studio album followed in late 2006, which was co-written by King and former bandmate Boon Gould.
Level 42 should be remembered for briefly bringing quality jazz/funk music to the foreground by blending it with catchy pop melodies, albeit with 80s over-crisp production.
