Mark King jamming with…. Mark King!

Hey there! Yeah, been a while and for that I apologise…. AGAIN!

Been a busy/stressful time of late, with much preventing me from posting on here as frequently as I should. Most of it has been for quite personal reasons and maybe one day soon I can tell you all about that. But for now, I saw this video today and just had to share it with you.

I don’t think I know anyone who would ever doubt the fact that Mark King, of Level 42 fame, is one of the greatest living bass guitarists, if not one of THE greatest ever. Even readers of Sounds magazine, notoriously metal based in their musical tastes, agreed, repeatedly voting him best bass player in the early/mid eighties. I discovered him, and Level 42, about the same time and was instantly infected by his rhythmic playing style and the signature slap bass sound he had. Seeing him do this live many times, I was always so full of awe and admiration. You may reel off a string of names such as John Entwistle, Paul McCartney, John Deacon, John Paul Jones, Chris Squire, Peter Hook, etc. as “great” bassists, but everything they do, Mark King already has in his back pocket. He’s not just a slap bass merchant or one trick pony. I’ve seen him play a myriad styles and play them as good, if not better than any of the aforementioned who, don’t get me wrong, are all amazing purveyors of bass playing.

No, the thing with Mark King is what he has over and above these guys. He’s up there with Pino Paladino, Bootsy Collins, Larry Graham, Prince and Stanley Clark. He has something extra. As with the rest of Level 42, whichever incarnation you care to choose, he has a supreme knowledge and command of musical technique. Watching some of his playing, you can easily begin to think that you are witnessing Prog Funk, if such a thing exists (and if it doesn’t, that term is copyrighted to me!). He has the most blistering chops, the quite unfathomable grasp of bizarre time signatures. For fucks sake, this guy strums a bass guitar and it sounds, well… right!

Check out Mark’s messy little studio, packed full of goodies including MPC’s. If you ever get to speak to Steve Howell of Hollow Sun fame, ask him about the time he was on the phone for hours on end, helping Mark with his newly acquired MPC60 🙂

I doff my cap to you, Mark King. You are a freakin’ legend, an all round fun guy and this video just proves it.

Enjoy!