Legendary UK 80s funk-rock outfit Level 42 are touring Australia and NZ for the first time ever this May, including a stop at the Astor Theatre on Thursday, May 14.
Level 42 left their mark on the 80s with a polished, upbeat, danceable pop-rock sound largely defined by lead singer and bassist Mark King’s thumb-slap bass technique. As a live act Level 42 have primarily toured the UK (they sold out London’s Wembley Arena for a total of 21 nights over their career), Scandinavia and continental Europe, and have had a number of forays into the North American market on arena tours with the likes of Peter Gabriel and Steve Winwood.
Catchy hits such as Lessons In Love, Running In The Family and Something About You crossed the band from their jazz-funk fusion roots firmly into the mainstream pop charts and gave them a fanbase worldwide.
To date Mark King and the band have released 14 studio albums, 7 live albums, and 6 compilation albums, had 18 top 40 singles, selling in excess of 30 million albums worldwide.
Why they never made it to Australia has King scratching his head, but he is rapt the opportunity is finally here 40 years into his career. “Touring with the band this year has been about as much fun as I can remember having had on the road,” he said. “And if you had asked me back in 1980 if I thought we would be selling out theatres around the world when I was 60 years old I probably would have laughed! Re-invention can be a wonderful thing!”
Level 42 have proven to be one of the most successful and enduring British bands of the 1980s, and with the recent re-issues of the band’s vast catalogue on Universal Music, and the ‘Collected’ series on CD and Vinyl, they continue to be a benchmark for British jazz-funk.
Level 42 play the Astor Theatre on Thursday, May 14. Tickets available HERE.
