Sunday 20 July 2008

Guilty pleasures: is it a crazy notion?

There was something about a sweaty Mark King and his frenetic bass that spoke volumes. He always looked like he was having a fucking great time. And so did the
rest of Level 42. What drugs were they on? Have a look at this video for Hot Water.



In 1983, New Order's Blue Monday could rub up against the Human League's (Keep Feeling) Fascination and The Cure could sit easily with Bananarama. It was easy to be loved by everyone... so where were Level 42? Nowhere trendy, that's for sure. But their tracks were amazing! The Sun Goes Down and The Chinese Way helped define that year as a monumental year in pop. And three years later they exploded as the masses around the world took them to their hearts.

Mark King went up in my estimation for agreeing to plug my friend's band, Cartoon on TV. We were at The Tube and we gave him their button badge. Without any question he hooked it onto his bass guitar strap. Worra lovely bloke.

The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up) - Level 42 (zShare)

The Chinese Way - Level 42 (zShare)

Lessons In Love - Level 42
(zShare)

Something About You - Level 42 (zShare)

2 comments:

Michael said...

Guilty pleasure indeed! I actually went and saw these guys at the Hammersmith Odeon back in the day and have to say that it was a great show. I still own a few of the old records too. Now all I need is a Cortina with some fuzzy dice hanging in the front and I'm set...

Phil said...

Ha! The Cortina image was in the back of my head writing this post. And I bet the show was good. They are the consumate musicians!