10. Level 42World Machine
JA: Level 42 are one of the greatest bands of all time. A family friend who used to babysit me was also a Level 42 fan, and he’d bring his bass guitar around, which he told me was one of Mark King’s old basses. He was probably lying to me because I was seven years old. But I looked into it and Mark King did have the same kind at some point. I think the first bass guitar I ever played belonged to Mark King.
JB: I knew John would choose Level 42. But incidentally, in fairness, when I was growing up my parents played Level 42 all the time in the car. I remember a six-hour journey to Cornwall with nothing but Level 42 the whole time. Remember Live Aid? One of the biggest moments in my house was when Level 42 came on. Oooh! Look at Mark King go!
JA: Level 42 were a really important band to me. They were the first band where I noticed what bass was, and what it could do in a song. Before that, bass was just a background thing. But hearing Mark King on songs like ‘Something About You’, and a song from the early tapes called ‘Mr Pink’ – he’s the reason I play bass.
