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The news is good, very good. After a prolonged absence, Mr Mike Lindup is back. I can
just see the former Chethams School of Music pupil standing behind a bank of keyboards. Across the stage, there’s bass playing legend, thunder thumbs himself, Mr Mark King. It’s just like the old times, well
almost.
Level 42 were my favoured band of the 1980s. Even today, their first few albums are still very much up there for me alongside the likes of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, Stanley Clarke
et al.
Sadly, fellow founding band members Phil and Boon Gould are no longer part of the band’s live setup. Shame! However, Mark has his brother Nathan playing guitar, the excellent Sean Freeman on sax and
the incomparable Gary Husband, tonight playing drums.
The Guildhall is like a giant cave with seats. But there’s a great crowd here. Lots of folks have come on the ferries over the water from the band’s
native Isle of Wight. Soccer AM star and self-confessed L42 nut, Helen Chamberlain is here too flashin' this massive digital camera thingy in front of fans in the lobby.
I won’t be happy with the setlist
and I’m not tonight. I never am. How awful it must be to have had hits?
When folks come to see you, they expect you to play them, all of them.
Me? I just wanna hear all of the old, obscure stuff
like ‘True Believers’, ‘Physical Presence’ and ‘Are you hearing what I hear?’ Tough!
Tonight brings an added complication in the form of the fact that Level 42 have a new album of original
material out. Although enjoying some great lyrics from Boon Gould, ‘Retroglide’ is a really dull affair.
I lost a little heart with the band in the mid 80s when they stopped releasing stuff with great
playing on it in order to concentrate on ‘song-writing’, always the beginning of the end!
If I tell you that ‘Leaving me now’ is my most hated 42 tune, you’ll hopefully to get the picture. Of
course, this is quite wrong of me. Many 42 fans think its a fine tune, which is fine. Sadly, ‘Retroglide’ is more ‘Leaving me’ than ‘Turn it on’ for me.
‘Dive into the sun’ is a fine opening
tune tonight followed by some old favourites. Mid-set are two numbers well worthy of the band’s level best, both featuring Mike Lindup. ‘Kansas City Milkman’ and ‘Starchild’ are the best numbers all night.
The predictable ‘home-strait’ of ‘The sun goes down’, ‘Running in the family’, ‘Lessons in love’ and ‘Something about you’ fails to get the band off the stage. Mark, concerned about the
home crowd’s ability to catch their ferries, leaps straight into two fabulous encores – full-on 'Love Games' followed by a ‘Chinese’! Hmmm, very tasty!
Set list:
Dive into the sun
To be with you again
Hot water
Rooted
World machine
Retroglide
Leaving me now
Kansas City Milkman
Starchild
The sun goes down
Running in the family
Lessons in love
Something about you
Encores
Love Games
The Chinese Way
Level 42 official website
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