Mark King in action at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall. Photograph by Ian D. Hall

Originally published by Liverpool Live. October 17th 2012.

Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *

For many of their fans, Level 42 are an institution, a band whose ingenious use of funk/pop/jazz made them a household name throughout the 1980’s. They are also one of only a few bands that can tour with aplomb without having a new album in tow and also get the sort of reception from a Liverpool crowd that involves a standing ovation from the very start of the gig.

Level 42 were in town as part of their anniversary tour for their phenomenal 1987 album Running in the Family, an album that spawned five top 30 singles and which gave them the coveted and greatly prized number two slot in the U.K. charts, their highest for any of their albums at the time.

The band may have changed personal since those heady days but stalwarts Mark King on bass and vocals and Mike Lindup have always provided the joyful heartbeat to their music, on record or live and alongside Nathan King on guitars, the sensational Sean Freeman on saxophone and Pete Ray Biggin on drums gave the audience a wonderful and sincere trip down memory lane.

The band gave a virtuoso performance of the whole of Running in the Family from start to finish, something the band had never done before this tour and with every person in the audience looking as if all their birthday’s had come at once, the band visibly enjoyed making their night as special as possible.

Opening up the evening with the excellent Lessons in love, Mark, Mike, Nathan, Sean and Pete glided effortlessly through the album’s track listing, playing each song with a fresh and dynamic appeal. Whether it was the ballads, the funk or the bouncy tracks such as It’s Over, Fashion Fever or Children Say, there was no let up in the audience’s appreciation.

The album may have been the main part of the night but as the evening wore on; Level 42 continued to perform some of their outstanding back catalogue and had the crowd dancing in the aisles with a couple of genuinely good acoustic numbers, the jazz filled funk sound of Living it Up and the brilliant Something About You.

A welcome return for Level 42 to a city that as Mark said he had been coming to for 32 years, it’s doubtful he, or the band, ever got a reception as stunning as they got at the Liverpool Philharmonic Hall this night.

Ian D. Hall