從地下樂界躍入主流、憑著以貝斯為表現主軸的靈魂爵士放克樂風靡80年代英國流行音樂市場，并開啟新浪漫運動的Level 4樂團，被譽為與Incognito、Light of The World、Lynx…齊名、對當代英國樂團發展最具影響力的代表性團體之一。從81年同名專輯打入英國金榜Top 20開始，他們陸續推出《The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)》、《Lessons in Love》、《Something About You》等走紅英美兩地的暢銷排行作品﹔而樂團精湛的彈唱技巧更讓他們成為當時最受推崇的live表演團體。 by Stephen Thomas Erlewine At the beginning of their career, Level 42 was a jazz-funk fusion band, following in the footsteps of such pioneers as Stanley Clarke. By the end of the 80s, they were a pop-R&B band with a number of hit singles to their credit. Featuring Mark King (bass, vocals), Phil Gould (drums), Boon Gould (guitar), and Mike Lindup (keyboards), the band formed in 1980. Before they released their first single, Love Meeting Love, the band was pushed to add vocals to their music in order to give it a more commercial sound; they complied, with King becoming the lead singer. Released in 1981, their self-titled debut album was a slick soul-R&B collection that charted in the U.K. Top 20, resulting in the release of The Early Tapes by their former record label, Polydor. Level 42 had several minor hit singles before 1984s The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up) hit the British Top Ten. Released in late 1985, World Machine broke the band worldwide; Lessons in Love hit number one in Britain and Something About You hit number seven in America. Their next two records, Running in the Family (1987) and Staring at the Sun (1988), were a big success in the U.K., yet only made some headway in the U.S. Both of the Gould brothers left the band in late 1987; they were replaced by guitarist Alan Murphy and drummer Gary Husband. Murphy died of AIDS-related diseases in 1989; he was replaced by the renowned fusion guitarist Alan Holdsworth for 1991s Guaranteed. The band followed Guaranteed in 1995 with Forever Now.