Level 42 are an English jazz-funk band from the Isle of Wight. Formed in late 1979, the group were originally an instrumental outfit consisting of bassist Mark King, keyboardist Mike Lindup, guitarist Rowland "Boon" Gould and drummer Phil Gould.[1] Shortly after their formation, the band were encouraged to add vocals to their music, with both King and Lindup taking on lead vocalist duties.[2] The group's lineup remained constant throughout much of the 1980s, before the Gould brothers left in October 1987.[3] After suffering exhaustion on tour, Boon and Phil were replaced for shows at the end of the year by Paul Gendler and Neil Conti, respectively.[4] Early the next year, King and Lindup enlisted Steve Topping, soon replaced by Alan Murphy, and Gary Husband as their new permanent bandmates,[5] after deciding against continuing with supporting musicians.[6]
Topping left Level 42 due to musical differences after tour dates in early 1988.[7] He was replaced later by Alan Murphy, who debuted on Staring at the Sun later in the year.[8] On 19 October 1989, however, Murphy died of pneumonia resulting from AIDS.[9] The group took a year off before returning to record Guaranteed, on which the three official members worked with guitarists Allan Holdsworth and Dominic Miller.[10] Holdsworth also performed on tour dates in December 1990.[11] Early the following year, before the album's release, Jakko Jakszyk joined as Murphy's permanent touring replacement.[12] After more tour dates, Husband left Level 42 in March 1992.[11] Phil Gould returned in his place the following year, although only for the recording of Forever Now.[13] He was replaced for subsequent tour dates by Gavin Harrison.[14]
After breaking up at the end of their 1994 tour, Level 42 reformed in late 2001 after King secured the rights to use the band name. Joining the frontman were his brother Nathan on guitar, Sean Freeman on saxophone, and returning members Husband (drums) and Lyndon Connah (keyboards).[15] [16] In 2003, an original lineup reunion was attempted by King, Lindup and the Gould brothers (along with frequent contributor Wally Badarou), however after "about four days" of writing new material it "just fell apart".[13] Lindup collaborated with the band again in 2005 to record some keyboard parts for their new studio album Retroglide,[17] before returning on a full-time basis the next year.[18] Billy Cobham substituted for Husband at a number of shows in 2008,[19] [20] before the regular drummer was replaced by Pete Ray Biggin in 2010.[2]
In October 2013, Level 42 released their first new studio material since 2006, the Sirens EP, which introduced new band members Dan Carpenter on trumpet and Nichol Thomson on trombone.[21] The newly expanded horn section later joined the group on tour in 2014.[22]
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark King | all Level 42 releases | |||
| Mike Lindup | all Level 42 releases from Level 42 (1981) to Forever Now (1994), and from Level 42 at Rockpalast (2005) onwards | |||
| Nathan King | 2001–present | all Level 42 releases from Live 2001 Reading UK (2002) to Live at the Apollo (2004), and from Retroglide (2006) onwards | ||
| Sean "Skip" Freeman | ||||
| Pete Ray Biggin | 2010–present | all Level 42 releases from 1980–2010: 30th Anniversary World Tour (2011) onwards | ||
| Dan Carpenter | 2013–present | |||
| Nichol Thomson |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phil Gould | |||||
| Rowland "Boon" Gould | |||||
| Gary Husband | all Level 42 releases from Staring at the Sun (1988) to Guaranteed Live (1992), from Live at Wembley (1996) to Live at the Apollo (2004), and from Retroglide (2006) to Live in Holland 2009 (2009) | ||||
| Steve Topping | 1988 | guitar | none | ||
| Alan Murphy | 1988–1989 | ||||
| Lyndon Connah |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Barnacle | saxophone | Barnacle toured with Level 42 during the 1980s and 1990s, and featured on several studio albums.[23] | |||
| Krys Mach | 1984–1988 | Mach took over from Barnacle in 1984, and remained part of the touring band until Barnacle's return. | |||
| Annie McCaig | 1985–1992 | backing vocals | Guaranteed (1991) | McCaig joined the touring band after the release of World Machine, appearing on several albums and tours. | |
| Paul Gendler | 1987 | guitar | none | Following the Gould brothers' departures, Gendler and Conti filled in for remaining tour dates later that year. | |
| Neil Conti | drums | ||||
| John Thirkell | 1988–1994 | trumpet | Thirkell was added to the group's touring lineup as its first trumpeter in 1988, once Barnacle had returned. | ||
| Allan Holdsworth | 1990 | guitar | Guaranteed (1991) | After the death of Alan Murphy in 1989, Holdsworth recorded on Guaranteed and subsequent tour dates. | |
| Jakko Jakszyk | 1991–1994 | Jakszyk joined after Holdsworth's short stint in the group, remaining until the band broke up in 1994. | |||
| Gavin Harrison | 1994 | drums | none | Following Phil Gould's second departure, Harrison performed drums on the 1994 Forever Now tour. | |
| Billy Cobham | 2008 | Cobham substituted for Gary Husband during 2008, when the regular drummer was unavailable. |
| Image | Name | Years active | Instruments | Release contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| all Level 42 releases from Level 42 (1981) to Forever Now (1994) | ||||
| Leroy Williams | 1981–1982 | |||
| Dave Chambers | tenor saxophone | |||
| 1982 | clavinet | The Pursuit of Accidents (1982) | ||
| Pete Jacobson | synthesizers | |||
| 1983 | percussion | Standing in the Light (1983) | ||
| Andrew Woolfolk | soprano saxophone | |||
| Steve Sidwell | 1988 | trumpet | Staring at the Sun (1988) | |
| Dominic Miller | 1988–1991 | guitars | ||
| 1993–1994 | Forever Now (1994) | |||
| Miles Bould | percussion | |||
| Mitey | voice | |||
| Derek Watkins | trumpet | |||
| Stuart Brooks | ||||
| Richard Edwards | trombone |
| Period | Members | Releases | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late 1979 – October 1987 (Classic Lineup) |
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| October 1987 – early 1988 |
| none | |
| Early 1988 |
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| Early 1988 – October 1989 |
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| October 1989 – late 1990 |
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| December 1990 |
| none | |
| Early 1991 – March 1992 |
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| Early 1993 – mid-1994 |
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| Mid – late 1994 |
| none | |
| Group inactive 1994–2001 | |||
| Late 2001 – May 2006 |
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| May 2006 – February 2010 |
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| February 2010 – late 2013 |
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| Late 2013 – present |
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