List of Level 42 members

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Members of Level 42 onstage in 2009 (top) and 2018 (bottom).

Level 42 are an English jazz-funk band from the Isle of Wight. Formed in late 1979, the group were originally an instrumental outfit consisting of bassist Mark King, keyboardist Mike Lindup, guitarist Rowland "Boon" Gould and drummer Phil Gould.[1] Shortly after their formation, the band were encouraged to add vocals to their music, with both King and Lindup taking on lead vocalist duties.[2] The group's lineup remained constant throughout much of the 1980s, before the Gould brothers left in October 1987.[3] After suffering exhaustion on tour, Boon and Phil were replaced for shows at the end of the year by Paul Gendler and Neil Conti, respectively.[4] Early the next year, King and Lindup enlisted Steve Topping, soon replaced by Alan Murphy, and Gary Husband as their new permanent bandmates,[5] after deciding against continuing with supporting musicians.[6]

Topping left Level 42 due to musical differences after tour dates in early 1988.[7] He was replaced later by Alan Murphy, who debuted on Staring at the Sun later in the year.[8] On 19 October 1989, however, Murphy died of pneumonia resulting from AIDS.[9] The group took a year off before returning to record Guaranteed, on which the three official members worked with guitarists Allan Holdsworth and Dominic Miller.[10] Holdsworth also performed on tour dates in December 1990.[11] Early the following year, before the album's release, Jakko Jakszyk joined as Murphy's permanent touring replacement.[12] After more tour dates, Husband left Level 42 in March 1992.[11] Phil Gould returned in his place the following year, although only for the recording of Forever Now.[13] He was replaced for subsequent tour dates by Gavin Harrison.[14]

After breaking up at the end of their 1994 tour, Level 42 reformed in late 2001 after King secured the rights to use the band name. Joining the frontman were his brother Nathan on guitar, Sean Freeman on saxophone, and returning members Husband (drums) and Lyndon Connah (keyboards).[15][16] In 2003, an original lineup reunion was attempted by King, Lindup and the Gould brothers (along with frequent contributor Wally Badarou), however after "about four days" of writing new material it "just fell apart".[13] Lindup collaborated with the band again in 2005 to record some keyboard parts for their new studio album Retroglide,[17] before returning on a full-time basis the next year.[18] Billy Cobham substituted for Husband at a number of shows in 2008,[19][20] before the regular drummer was replaced by Pete Ray Biggin in 2010.[2]

In October 2013, Level 42 released their first new studio material since 2006, the Sirens EP, which introduced new band members Dan Carpenter on trumpet and Nichol Thomson on trombone.[21] The newly expanded horn section later joined the group on tour in 2014.[22]

Members

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Current

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Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
Mark King
  • 1979–1994
  • 2001–present
  • bass
  • lead and backing vocals
  • occasional percussion, keyboards, synthesisers and guitar
all Level 42 releases
Mike Lindup
  • 1979–1994
  • 2006–present
  • keyboards
  • synthesisers
  • piano
  • backing and lead vocals
  • percussion
all Level 42 releases from Level 42 (1981) to Forever Now (1994), and from Level 42 at Rockpalast (2005) onwards
Nathan King 2001–present
  • guitar
  • backing vocals
all Level 42 releases from Live 2001 Reading UK (2002) to Live at the Apollo (2004), and from Retroglide (2006) onwards
Sean "Skip" Freeman
  • saxophone
  • backing vocals
Pete Ray Biggin 2010–present
  • drums
  • percussion
all Level 42 releases from 1980–2010: 30th Anniversary World Tour (2011) onwards
Dan Carpenter 2013–present
  • trumpet
  • backing vocals
  • occasional percussion
  • Sirens (2013)
  • Sirens Tour Live (2016)
  • Eternity (2019)
Nichol Thomson
  • trombone
  • backing vocals
  • occasional percussion

Former

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Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
Phil Gould
  • 1979–1987
  • 1993–1994
  • 2004
  • drums
  • percussion
  • backing vocals
  • piano
  • organ
  • all Level 42 releases from Level 42 (1981) to Live at Wembley (1987)
  • Forever Now (1994)
  • Level 42 at Rockpalast (2005)
  • The River Sessions (2005)
Rowland "Boon" Gould
  • 1979–1987
  • 2012
(died 2019)
  • guitar
  • saxophone (early)
  • all Level 42 releases from Level 42 (1981) to Live at Wembley (1987)
  • Level 42 at Rockpalast (2005)
  • The River Sessions (2005)
  • Retroglide (2006) – guest appearance on one track only
Gary Husband
  • 1988–1993
  • 2001–2010
  • drums
  • backing vocals
  • occasional keyboards
all Level 42 releases from Staring at the Sun (1988) to Guaranteed Live (1992), from Live at Wembley (1996) to Live at the Apollo (2004), and from Retroglide (2006) to Live in Holland 2009 (2009)
Steve Topping 1988 guitar none
Alan Murphy 1988–1989
(until his death)
Lyndon Connah
  • 1990 (touring)
  • 2001–2006
  • keyboards
  • backing vocals
  • Live 2001 Reading UK (2002)
  • Greatest Hits Live (2003)
  • Live at the Apollo (2004)
  • Retroglide (2006)

Touring

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Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions Notes
Gary Barnacle
  • 1981

  • 1988–1994
saxophone Barnacle toured with Level 42 during the 1980s and 1990s, and featured on several studio albums.[23]
Krys Mach 1984–1988
Mach took over from Barnacle in 1984, and remained part of the touring band until Barnacle's return.[23]
Annie McCaig 1985–1992 backing vocals Guaranteed (1991) McCaig joined the touring band after the release of World Machine, appearing on several albums and tours.[23]
Paul Gendler 1987 guitar none Following the Gould brothers' departures, Gendler and Conti filled in for remaining tour dates later that year.[4]
Neil Conti drums
John Thirkell 1988–1994 trumpet
  • Guaranteed (1991)
  • Forever Now (1994)
Thirkell was added to the group's touring lineup as its first trumpeter in 1988, once Barnacle had returned.[23]
Allan Holdsworth 1990 (died 2017) guitar Guaranteed (1991) After the death of Alan Murphy in 1989, Holdsworth recorded on Guaranteed and subsequent tour dates.[11]
Jakko Jakszyk 1991–1994
  • guitar
  • backing vocals
Jakszyk joined after Holdsworth's short stint in the group, remaining until the band broke up in 1994.[12]
Gavin Harrison 1994 drums none Following Phil Gould's second departure, Harrison performed drums on the 1994 Forever Now tour.[14]
Billy Cobham 2008 Cobham substituted for Gary Husband during 2008, when the regular drummer was unavailable.[19][20]

Session

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Image Name Years active Instruments Release contributions
Wally Badarou
  • 1979–1994
  • 2001–present
  • synthesizers
  • backing vocals
  • keyboards
  • organ
  • piano
  • guitar
all Level 42 releases from Level 42 (1981) to Forever Now (1994)
Leroy Williams 1981–1982
  • congas
  • bongos
  • percussion
Dave Chambers tenor saxophone
Pete Wingfield 1982 clavinet The Pursuit of Accidents (1982)
Pete Jacobson synthesizers
Paulinho da Costa 1983 percussion Standing in the Light (1983)
Andrew Woolfolk soprano saxophone
Steve Sidwell 1988 trumpet Staring at the Sun (1988)
Dominic Miller 1988–1991 guitars
Danny Blume 1993–1994 Forever Now (1994)
Miles Bould percussion
Mitey voice
Derek Watkins trumpet
Stuart Brooks
Richard Edwards trombone

Timeline

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Colors =

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 id:bvocals    value:pink         legend:Backing_vocals
 id:bass       value:blue         legend:Bass
 id:guitar     value:green        legend:Guitar
 id:keys       value:purple       legend:Keyboards
 id:drums      value:orange       legend:Drums
 id:perc       value:claret       legend:Percussion
 id:sax        value:tan2         legend:Saxophone
 id:trumpet    value:skyblue      legend:Trumpet
 id:trombone   value:coral        legend:Trombone
 id:touring    value:yellow       legend:Touring_member
 id:studio     value:black        legend:Studio_releases
 id:live       value:gray(0.75)   legend:Live_recordings
 id:bars       value:gray(0.95)

BackgroundColors = bars:bars

LineData =

 layer:back
 color:live
 at:29/10/1983
 at:13/10/1984
 at:30/03/1985
 at:30/11/1986
 at:12/01/1989
 at:20/03/1992
 at:03/12/2001
 at:22/11/2003
 at:31/10/2006
 at:18/02/2009
 at:23/10/2010
 at:10/12/2011
 at:05/09/2015
 at:24/10/2018
 color:studio
 at:15/08/1981
 at:15/03/1982
 at:15/08/1982
 at:15/10/1983
 at:15/10/1984
 at:15/09/1985
 at:15/03/1987
 at:15/09/1988
 at:15/10/1991
 at:14/03/1994
 at:18/09/2006
 at:31/10/2013

BarData =

 bar:Mark   text:"Mark King"
 bar:Boon   text:"Boon Gould"
 bar:Paul   text:"Paul Gendler"
 bar:Steve  text:"Steve Topping"
 bar:Alan   text:"Alan Murphy"
 bar:Allan  text:"Allan Holdsworth"
 bar:Jakko  text:"Jakko Jakszyk"
 bar:Nathan text:"Nathan King"
 bar:Mike   text:"Mike Lindup"
 bar:Lyndon text:"Lyndon Connah"
 bar:Phil   text:"Phil Gould"
 bar:Neil   text:"Neil Conti"
 bar:GaryH  text:"Gary Husband"
 bar:Gavin  text:"Gavin Harrison"
 bar:Billy    text:"Billy Cobham"
 bar:Pete   text:"Pete Ray Biggin"
 bar:GaryB  text:"Gary Barnacle"
 bar:Krys   text:"Krys Mach"
 bar:Sean   text:"Sean Freeman"
 bar:John   text:"John Thirkell"
 bar:Dan    text:"Dan Carpenter"
 bar:Nichol text:"Nichol Thomson"
 bar:Annie  text:"Annie McCaig"

PlotData =

width:13 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(11,-4)
 color:lvocals
 bar:Mark   from:01/06/1980 till:14/10/1994 
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 bar:Boon   from:start      till:31/10/1987
 bar:Boon   from:01/10/2012 till:31/10/2012
 bar:Paul   from:01/11/1987 till:31/01/1988
 bar:Steve  from:01/02/1988 till:31/03/1988
 bar:Alan   from:01/04/1988 till:19/10/1989
 bar:Allan  from:01/08/1990 till:15/12/1990
 bar:Jakko  from:01/04/1991 till:14/10/1994
 bar:Nathan from:01/11/2001 till:end
 color:keys
 bar:Mike   from:start      till:14/10/1994
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 bar:Lyndon from:01/11/2001 till:14/05/2006
 bar:Mike   from:15/05/2006 till:end
 color:bass
 bar:Mark   from:start      till:31/05/1980
 bar:Mark   from:01/06/1980 till:14/10/1994 width:7
 bar:Mark   from:01/11/2001 till:end        width:7
 color:drums
 bar:Phil   from:start      till:31/10/1987
 bar:Neil   from:01/11/1987 till:31/01/1988
 bar:GaryH  from:01/02/1988 till:31/03/1992
 bar:Phil   from:01/03/1993 till:30/06/1994
 bar:Gavin  from:01/07/1994 till:14/10/1994
 bar:GaryH  from:01/11/2001 till:14/02/2010
 bar:Billy  from:24/05/2008 till:24/05/2008 width:3
 bar:Pete   from:15/02/2010 till:end
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 bar:GaryB  from:01/09/1981 till:30/11/1981
 bar:Krys   from:01/11/1984 till:30/09/1988
 bar:GaryB  from:01/10/1988 till:14/10/1994
 bar:Sean   from:01/11/2001 till:end
 color:trumpet
 bar:John   from:01/10/1988 till:14/10/1994
 bar:Dan    from:01/06/2013 till:end
 color:trombone
 bar:Nichol from:01/06/2013 till:end
 color:bvocals
 bar:Phil   from:01/06/1980 till:31/10/1987 width:3
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 bar:Jakko  from:01/04/1991 till:14/10/1994 width:3
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 bar:Nathan from:01/11/2001 till:end        width:3
 bar:Lyndon from:01/11/2001 till:14/05/2006 width:3
 bar:Sean   from:01/11/2001 till:end        width:3
 bar:Dan    from:01/06/2013 till:end        width:3
 bar:Nichol from:01/06/2013 till:end        width:3
 color:perc width:3
 bar:Phil   from:start      till:31/05/1980  
 bar:Phil   from:01/06/1980 till:31/10/1987 width:7
 bar:Mark   from:start      till:14/10/1994 
 bar:Mark   from:01/11/2001 till:end       
 bar:mike   from:start      till:31/05/1980  
 bar:Mike   from:01/06/1980 till:14/10/1994 width:7
 bar:Mike   from:15/05/2006 till:end        width:7
 bar:Pete   from:15/02/2010 till:end
 bar:Dan    from:01/06/2013 till:end        width:7
 bar:Nichol from:01/06/2013 till:end        width:7
 color:touring 
 bar:GaryB  from:01/09/1981 till:30/11/1981
 bar:Krys   from:01/11/1984 till:30/09/1988
 bar:Annie  from:01/10/1985 till:31/05/1992
 bar:Paul   from:01/11/1987 till:31/01/1988
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 bar:Billy  from:24/05/2008 till:24/05/2008 width:13

</timeline>

Lineups

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Period Members Releases
Late 1979 – October 1987
(Classic Lineup)
October 1987 – early 1988
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Paul Gendler – guitar (touring)
  • Neil Conti – drums (touring)
none – live performances only
Early 1988
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Steve Topping – guitar
  • Gary Husband – drums
Early 1988 – October 1989
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Alan Murphy – guitar
  • Gary Husband – drums
October 1989 – late 1990
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Gary Husband – drums, keyboards, backing vocals
December 1990
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Gary Husband – drums, backing vocals
  • Allan Holdsworth – guitar (touring)
none – live performances only
Early 1991 – March 1992
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Gary Husband – drums, backing vocals
  • Jakko Jakszyk – guitar, backing vocals (touring)
  • Guaranteed Live (1992)
Early 1993 – mid-1994
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Phil Gould – drums, keyboards, backing vocals
  • Jakko Jakszyk – guitar, backing vocals (touring)
Mid – late 1994
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Jakko Jakszyk – guitar, backing vocals (touring)
  • Gavin Harrison – drums (touring)
none – live performances only
Group inactive 1994–2001
Late 2001 – May 2006
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Nathan King – guitar, backing vocals
  • Lyndon Connah – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Gary Husband – drums
  • Sean Freeman – saxophone, backing vocals
  • Live 2001 Reading UK (2002)
  • Greatest Hits Live (2003)
  • Live at the Apollo (2004)
  • Retroglide (2006)
May 2006 – February 2010
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Nathan King – guitar, backing vocals
  • Gary Husband – drums
  • Sean Freeman – saxophone, backing vocals
  • Retroglide Tour (2007)
  • Live in Holland 2009 (2009)
February 2010 – late 2013
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Nathan King – guitar, backing vocals
  • Pete Ray Biggin – drums, percussion
  • Sean Freeman – saxophone, backing vocals
  • 1980–2010: 30th Anniversary World Tour (2011)
  • Live from Metropolis Studios (2013)
  • Live in Switzerland (2023)
Late 2013 – present
  • Mark King – bass, vocals, percussion
  • Mike Lindup – keyboards, synthesisers, vocals
  • Nathan King – guitar, backing vocals
  • Pete Ray Biggin – drums, percussion
  • Sean Freeman – saxophone, backing vocals
  • Dan Carpenter – trumpet, backing vocals
  • Nichol Thomson – trombone, backing vocals
  • Sirens (2013)
  • Sirens Tour Live (2015)
  • Eternity (2019)
  • Living It Up (2023)

References

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