Mark King(II)
- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Mark King was born and raised on the Isle of Wight. With drummer
Phil Gould, he was a member of
Reflex and "M" before forming the jazz-funk
instrumental band, Level 42, with Phil, Phil's
guitarist brother, Roland Gould, and keyboards player,
Mike Lindup. King attracted much attention
with his distinctive and highly-skilled bass guitar playing and, by the
time of the band's first single "Love Meeting Love", he was also the
lead vocalist. Level 42 had a series of fairly
minor hit singles but, in 1983, "The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)"
reached the top ten. In September 1985, they released "Something About
You", which reached number six and stayed on the chart for an
impressive 17 weeks. It was also a top-ten hit in the USA. King had
gained more confidence as a distinctive vocalist and their 1985 album,
"World Machine", and its 1987 successor, "Running in the Family",
firmly established Level 42 as a hugely
successful melodic pop band to rival the likes of
Phil Collins'
Genesis. However, Level 42's
increasingly commercial music disappointed some fans of their original
jazz-funk style. "Running in the Family" was the final album with the
Gould brothers, who left the band during the subsequent tour. Mark
continued with Level 42 but the band had lost
some of their magic and the singles became less successful. Level 42
disbanded in 1994, having spent 177 weeks on the British singles chart
and 228 weeks on the album chart. Mark King lives on the Isle of Wight
with his wife, Ria. He has four children. Level 42 will undoubtedly be
remembered for producing some of the most skillful and distinctive
British pop music of the 1980s.