From: Level42-request @ worldmachine.com (Level42 Digest) Subject: Level42 Digest V2000 #279 _ ____ _ ____ _ _ ___ // //__ // / //__ // /__// __// //__ //__ \\_/ //__ //__ // /__ D I G E S T Level42 Digest Volume 2000 : Issue 279 1390 subscribers Today's topics: Re: FED UP FAN! Jennie Irvine Ryde photos and Lyndon gig GJWillett Pete Devlin Mark, hardcore fans and Mikey's post... Lisa Devlin MK/L42 releases in North America MikeBass5 The Rundgren connection Doug R RITF CD Richard Maybury IOW show Richard Maybury a flying turd in a black coat Andrew Cooper Bass Players for sale!!! Joseph Smith Mikeys comments Desmond Lynch Mikey's Comments Mark M Walsham Model Firned* Nigel Collier Re: Level42 Digest V2000 #278 SED ------------------------------ Subject: Re: FED UP FAN! From: "Jennie Irvine" Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 12:55:56 -0000 I just wanted to say that I was very shocked at what this person wrote on the digest today!! I dont know who you are, but it would be very interesting to find out - you cant be much of a fan to say this about Mark! Jen (IOW) xxx ------------------------------ Subject: Ryde photos and Lyndon gig From: GJWillett @ aol.com Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 08:39:52 EST Hi guys, Wow what an awesome gig on the IOW. After seeing Mark at the tiny Jazz Cafe the week before it was great to see him play a larger venue, especially the size of the stage (he could actually move around here!). There did seem to be more people there then last year along with four film camera's including one guy filming on stage. Just can't wait for the vid/DVD. Pics from the show are up on my website along with pics from the Jazz Cafe and Britfest 2000 at: http://www.level42.20m.com/welcome.html Enjoy! Glyn. P.S. (nearly forgot!) I spoke to Lyndon after the gig and he said that he's playing a gig along with his band Three Blind Mice at the River Bar, Tower Bridge Road, London this coming Wednesday (29th Nov) at 9pm. ------------------------------ Subject: From: "Pete Devlin" Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 13:34:10 -0000 Ooooh Blimey, Some contraversial stuff!!!! I was fortunate enough to meet Mark on Weds at around 12:30 lunchtime as myself & Craig got to Ryde. I didn't have a camera on me at that moment but did later on when I got to speak to Marks Dad & Mike Lindup later on. Yes I was disapointed that Mark didn't come down to the bar afterwards I consider myself bloody fortunate to have met him but I still don't have a photo of me & him. Please correct me if I'm wrong I heard Ria say he would be down when she was asked. Maybe Mark said he would be there afterwards to some people but I was not aware of that - maybe if he did it was to those same old people?????. I would say that at JDF's after the show last year I saw Mark on a couple of occasions say no to people who thrust armfuls of stuff to be signed (although they had already had a signature photo etc) because 'I've got to try & get round to everyone'. Sorry Mikey (not trying to start an argument cos I meet need a room in Texas one day!) but I think disgraceful is a little over expressive. Did Mark actually promise anyone ? I know we are the fans but Mark did have family upstairs. He is a dad/uncle/son/brother/nephew, yeah I know they can see him 'anytime', but it's not like I'm a personal friend so I don't take it personally. OK there maybe people there who are saying it's OK for me to say this cos on 2 occasions I've met him (sum total of about 30 seconds), but this is how I've always felt, I didn't get all pissed off & annoyed after the show on 14/10/94 when he took off straight away & take it personally that at that time it looked like I had no chances left, it was hey that's life. I didn't stick around after the 5 J.C shows but from what I understand from other people Mark was around. I do think he owes us but maybe the previous suggestion of a controlled meeting would be best rather than us guys stopping a bloke from seeing his family at a do & from going home. I'll take the liberty of quoting Mark's dad before the show on Weds ' He (Mark) always says he does this one for us'........... Just my thoughts on the matter. FED UP FAN OK that's what you feel. why ? What did Mark do that upset you so much, explain what you mean & why create a hotmail account especially for the occasion? Why so fearful? Mikey has put his thoughts lets have yours. We could all create anon hotmail accounts & then at the next lot of shows we could all deny who we are & none of us would meet anyone. I put my thoughts about Phil's comments & have disagreed about some people putting down of Lyndon & am disagreeing (in the nicest possible way cos he's a nice guy & I wouldn't EVER mess with anyone who can drink cider like that!!!!!!) with Mikey T. This is a discussion group as much as anything else. Oh by the way the show was fab. At the end of the day it is all about the music - live or otherwise, the rest of it is extra - it doesn't detract from a (nother) fantastic performance. We are lucky to see this guy, he classes himself as semi retired. He could do what Phil & Boon have done............... Even Mike until he was in Dalata only had made very few appearances & we are still waiting for the piano album - now due 5th Jan so come on guys lighten up, we're getting a DVD/Video in euro & U.S formats ( although the votes were for V or DVD & for 1 region), we voted for songs & got 5 never heard live before, we've had One Man, Trash, LATJC 99, his input with the reissues - is he really such a git? Phil from Y Chromo Boyz thanks for the Cd after the show on Weds, . Guys this is good I really liked it, it kind of (to my ear) has a slight latiny type feel to it, it also has some nice bass & a (I think) fairly unique sound I reckon it's worth a listen www.y-chromo-boyz.com ------------------------------ Subject: Mark, hardcore fans and Mikey's post... From: "Lisa Devlin" Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 14:07:07 -0000 First of all I just wanted to say well done to Mikey for having the courage to speak his mind when I'm sure alot of people who have felt the same have kept quiet for fear of upsetting people/receiving a backlash from angry fans etc. Good on ya mate. Ok, on the issue of fans. As I'm sure many of you know I have been a long time fan of the band, and particularly of Mark since about 1984 - longer than I care to remember really and it makes me feel very old indeed. I have always tried to steer myself away from this "competition" thing but recent events and posts on the digest have made me feel as if I ought to speak out. I am one of the people who has been very lucky to meet Mark on several occasions, and to all the people who spoke out against "hardcore fans" hogging the time with Mark, I can totally understand how it might come across this way, but it really isn't the case at all. I remember when I first met him being too shy to approach him and it was only because of Mark's chattiness that I got to speak to him at all. I really don't think that any of the long term fans think we have any more right to speak to him than anybody else, of course that would be presumptuous and arrogant, and if anyone does feel that way, they need a serious reality check. But, and here's the flip side, things have changed alot since those days, Mark has changed alot himself and now sadly seems less willing to spend time chatting to fans, so a little time gets spread amongst alot of people, and inevitably the people who are too shy to approach him are going to feel left out. But the fact is, he certainly isn't going to approach you, so you just have to bite the bullet and make the first move. As I'm sure many of you saw at the Jazz Cafe last week, it really is a case of if you want to meet him, hang around in the freezing cold, wind and rain for an hour and a half, and then if you're really really lucky, he may spend 30 seconds with you while trying to dive out the back door to a waiting taxi-cab without being noticed. (tongue planted firmly in cheek here, in case you were wondering) As for the group of fans who can usually be seen every night (ie, us!) being intimidating to others as somebody brought up - we don't mean to be, honest! It's just that many of us have friendships outside the Level circle, have known each other for a very long time, and tend to stick together just because it's nice to hang out with your friends. Simple as that. The whole "queuing up early" thing isn't done merely to secure a good spot in the crowd, for many of us it is a chance to catch up with our friends that we haven't seen for a long time, of course you don't get the opportunity to do this once you're inside the venue and the show is underway. On the issue of competitiveness that Mikey touched on in his post, this is something I find very worrying and I think should be addressed. I found myself last week on the receiving end of a particularly nasty and upsetting verbal attack via email from somebody I considered to be a good friend. It was on the final night of the London shows, a night that alot of people had been queuing outside the Jazz Cafe for a long time, NOT just the hardcore fans, people from all over the place. This person decided that it was OK to arrive half an hour before the start of the show and barge his way up to the front of the stage, pushing in front of fans who had been waiting patiently for hours to get a good spot in the crowd - many of whom had travelled a very long way away to see the show for the first time. When Colin politely pointed out that of course, if he wanted to barge in it was up to him, but he might upset a few people in the process, we arrived home to an email full of abuse from somebody who quite obviously was only out for himself and decided to be an idiot when asked to show a little consideration for others. In fact he was so put out by this, that he spat the dummy and went home before the band came on! His loss I think. On the subject of Mark's attitude towards the fans, it seems to vary alarmingly from day to day, and I think this is what many people find disturbing. I'm sure alot of people noticed at the 1999 Jazz Cafe gigs that Mark was quite aloof and very eager to get away every night without speaking to people, and I know many people who were upset by this. Some had travelled from half way across the world to be there and simply wanted to shake his hand and say "thank you for all the years of great music", but never got the opportunity. This year however, the mood seemed to be different, Mark seemed relaxed and happy to spend a few minutes chatting, but as soon as we got to the Ryde show, the atmosphere changed completely. Yeah, the show was good and very professional, but personally I thought that it seemed very false and obviously staged for the cameras, and once in front of the cameras again Mark's whole persona seemed to change - the 80's megastar came back with a vengeance. (It'll be interesting to see if the part where Mark fell over the lights in front of the drumkit gets cut out of the video, and even more interesting to see if the over-zealous introduction by the MC which concentrated on how many billions of album sales had been acheieved 15 years ago makes it in its place.) The "see you in the bar" comment at the end of the show I think really led some of the, how can I put it, "less experienced?" fans to believe that he would actually show up in the bar afterwards, and of course, he never did. I heard comments ranging from "oh, great, not again", to "gutted, absolutely gutted". For the people who were hoping to meet him for the first time, this was naturally very disappointing, while many of us who have heard these sorts of comments from him a hundred times before are pretty used to it, and know that he does not always mean what he says. At the end of the 1999 shows, I remember clearly sitting in my hotel room with some fans from overseas, having the discussion "We came all this way to support him and he doesn't give a damn - never again". At the time I was defending him, coming up with all sorts of excuses for why he couldn't find the time to just to pop out and say hello to some of his most ardent supporters. Sadly, this year, after the Ryde show, I found myself having that exact same conversation in a different hotel room, with a different fan, only this time from the completely opposite stance, and I thought that was really sad, as Colin said, "same s***, different year". My advice to Mark would be simply this - "Think before you speak, actions speak way louder than words, and DONT call us "friends" if you just see us as customers". I suppose what we really need to ask ourselves is - is it REALLY worth it? Does Mark care that you spend hundreds of pounds a year travelling to support him, inevitably in the middle of winter, standing around in the freezing cold for the chance to say "cheers mate" - does he really appreciate it? Nobody will ever be right or wrong on this issue, it's a personal decision which has to be made by the individual fan. I used to be of the mind "Of course he cares, or he wouldn't stop to talk to us on the way out" - but after finally realising that he always leaves it till the last minute before he comes out, and most of the time actually already has one foot inside his taxi trying to get away while people are being nice to him, congratulating him on yet another excellent show and great usicianship - I'm very sad to say after all these years that I'm not so sure any more. As Mikey pointed out, many people spend hours of their spare time promoting Mark for free on their websites, and no, of course he hasn't asked any of us to do this, but I feel that sometimes a little common courtesy would not go amiss. Of course, none of us should be arrogant enough to EXPECT him to give up his time to come and see us, but to give the impression that he will, and then go back on is just not very nice. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who approached me at the shows last week with compliments on my website, and all the people who have written to me with kind comments since I decided after the Ryde show to take it down. I may as well be honest, the reason it has gone is because I personally feel that we, as supporters, are not being treated particularly well by the people that we give up our spare time to promote, and I really do not want to be a party to other people's upset and disappointment. Not specifically for myself, or any of the other long term fans who have all had their chances, but for the people over the past couple of years who have scrimped and saved to come to the UK to see the shows, hoping to meet Mark and shake his hand, who left feeling very deflated and wondering why on earth they bothered. I have had alot of fun running the site, but the time has come to question my motives for running it, and I realised that sadly, apart from having another URL to put on my CV, there weren't any. Thank you all for your patience, I realise that some of this may sound disjointed but I can only speak from my heart - I hope it made sense. Cheers guys Lisa ------------------------------ Subject: MK/L42 releases in North America From: MikeBass5 @ aol.com Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 10:57:47 EST In a message dated 11/26/00 5:51:57 AM Eastern Standard Time, Level42-request @ worldmachine.com writes: << Hi all, My name is Mark, and I'm a professional bassist in the US who has been a Level42 fan for 18 years. Mark being one of my main "influences"( excuse the pun), but never had the chance to see them live. Does anyone in the UK know if Mark is planning to do a few selected dates in the US, or are we going to have to travel to the UK to see him? Also, how long does it take to send his CD's Trash and Live at the Jazz Cafe" to the US and how do you go about purchasung them? Cheers, Mark. P.S Great club, wish I had known about it sooner! >> Check out www.audiophileimports.com for the latest for MK/L42 stuff here in the States. The turn around is pretty quick. Great group BTW!! Also, I know that there was a compilation of tunes put out by the fans a while back (fan s doing covers of L42 stuff) is there going to be any more and if so how do I contribute? Thanks, Mike Fredericks PS. Any of you guys near the Detroit, Michigan, USA area? ------------------------------ Subject: The Rundgren connection From: Doug R Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 08:19:35 -0800 (PST) Hello there, I finally got a copy of "Trash" after traveling from the U.S. to see a couple Jazz Cafe gigs. I am very impressed with the recording to be sure. I'm wondering if anyone else has recognized the uncanny similarity of some of the music to Todd Rundgren(?) I have read that Todd is Mark's favorite singer, which surprised me, as stylistically they are so different (until "Trash" anyway). "Outstanding", "Throwing Sevens" and especially "Stronger" sound to me like deliberate homages to Todd. Other Rundgrenian moments occur throughout. Am I imagining things? Does anyone know what Mark has said in regards to Todds influence? Lastly, to anyone that is wondering who the heck I am talking about- Todd is the worlds foremost musical genius IMHO, and you should definitely check him out! __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Photos - 35mm Quality Prints, Now Get 15 Free! http://photos.yahoo.com/ ------------------------------ Subject: RITF CD From: "Richard Maybury" Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 17:23:00 -0000 Howdy Folks, Recently picked up a copy of the Dutch "Running In The Family" CD. This is a compilation featuring 16 tracks similar to the Mater Series CD. However it cost me including p&p to Holland just £6.25 !!! Just goes to show Cds are overpriced in the UK. Kansas City Milkman... P.S. Mr King get recording and publishing the Ryde video - I can't wait !!!! email : maybury @ nildram.co.uk web: www.maybury.nildram.co.uk ------------------------------ Subject: IOW show From: "Richard Maybury" Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 17:35:49 -0000 Howdy Folks, This is a message on behalf of Sharon Atikas...read below : "IOW Show What a night.. And it was great to finally meet some of the other digesters-especially Josie(sorry I had to rush off after the show), Lisa and Colin. Andrew and Dave, great to see you both again but forgot to get your email address, so can you please get in touch? Mandy and Dave from Droitwich Spa, thankyou so much for the photos-hope you're both well and I hope that your little girl had a great time on Friday. To Ria and Mark-thankyou very much for the invite-you were both great! Dave and the rest of the crew, thanks for all your help and hopefully see you again at the show on Feb 2nd. Sharon" On another note, could Glyn Willett please email me about his pictures of the Jazz Cafe show this year. Till the sun goes down... Kansas City Milkman Richard Maybury email : maybury @ nildram.co.uk web: www.maybury.nildram.co.uk ------------------------------ Subject: a flying turd in a black coat From: "Andrew Cooper" Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 20:39:08 -0000 Come On tell it like it is. If this offends.I don't give a flying crap...or a rat's ass. My what an interesting post from one of the "core" fans...Mikey P. I never thought I would read it,or see it,Mikey I think you are a very brave man, To speak up like this,especially on the digest and also as you regard him as one of your Heroes ?Although Mark once said "don't meet em,they are gits. Or only Human after all.... Ladies & Gentlemen the Ego has landed..unjustifiably? His fame & some of his fortune have somewhat dwindled,the latter seemingly more important to him than artistic integrity,"top ten 1987". Hey why else did the Gould brothers leave the band? Because artistic integrity was more important to them than making a million pounds? yes?, I wonder ? or having Hit Singles ?,Check out the early albums,they kick the ass of anything after true colours. There's an old saying if it wasn't for the fans where would they be?It seems on more than one occasion he forgets his fans.So where will he be,(In the "trash" can).Or as tommy cooper said "just like that" If the "core"fans feel this way they have been hurt,left out,upset,pissed off,a very dangerous thing to do,when you only have a handful left,the curtains open and there's nobody there...oh dear back into retirement.But the sad thing is. Sorry but...WAIT FOR IT..Mark King doesn't give a "monkeys" about ANY OF YOU,just himself Iam afraid and whether he can fill up his Harley come spring time.Discuss...."is he only interested in the money?"err yes. Like the music,don't care for the man...he's not very nice.A bit false you see...ever noticed that?Is he genuine? Has anyone ever read the story about the giant who built a great big wall around his garden?mmmmm....maybe it's crockford's(MONEY GRABBER) fault,Ha,(awful taste in clothes,used to have a big fat wallet). what is all this "semi - retired" nonsense?(Pants excuse if I ever heard one).Oh I fancy getting the bass out today,I think I'll come out of retirement,pass me the electrical tape dear.slapping furiously follows.I though he'd given that up ?On One Man.If he carries on,he will be on his own. Just a question also how can this be the trash tour 2000,when its just a re-hash of songs that are at least 15 years old? makes me wonder,something went wrong in the marketing dept.Why not just call it.. "I am knackered for ideas,so Iam doing songs that I couldn't be bothered doing the first time around but we may throw in some crappy new stuff that nobody really likes tour 2000"-bit too long for a t-shirt though. Or "I am sorry but the new stuff is shite so I am doing the old stuff Tour 2000" Oh well tum, te tum. Is It really Over. p.s mikey,Robbie Williams is much nicer anyway.I think He would have invited everyone upstairs for a pint ! _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Subject: Bass Players for sale!!! From: "Joseph Smith" Date: Sun, 26 Nov 2000 21:46:12 -0600 Greetings all. Sorry for advertising on the digest but I thought someone one the digest might like to consider these before I put them on E-bay. I have 41 Bass Player magazines for sale as a bunch. They are as follows: 1991-July/August 1992-March(Mark King issue), May/June, July/August, September 1993-September/October, January/February 1994-March, April, May/June, July/August, September/October, December 1995-Jan/Feb, March, April, May/June, July/Aug, Sept/Oct, Nov, Dec 1996-Every Month (12 issues) 1997-Jan, Feb, March, May June 1998-July 1999-Jan, June Bass Frontiers-Volume 5, Number 5 (Michael Manring) I am asking $5 per issue, which I believe is less than you can get them from Bass Player (if you can get them at all) for a total of $205 plus shipping. If anyone is interested, please e-mail me and we'll talk about it. Thanks and again, sorry for posting this on the digest. By the way, anyone heard from John Venzon lately????? Joseph Smith _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Subject: Mikeys comments From: "Desmond Lynch" Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 03:57:48 -0000 Well, I have to agree with Mikey here, sad but unfortunately true, There seems to be this fanaticism surrounding Mark whereby he is put on this pedistal, but if you take the Bass away from Mark what have you got. Just a regular person like the rest of us, Ok so we admire what the guy can do with his instrument, but then again so do I admire lots of other people like Clapton, Marcus Miller, Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughan, etc, etc, But as Mark once so aptly said, he does not really enjoy meeting his heroes because he has built up such an image of them in his head of what he percieves them to be like, that once he does meet them he is inevitably dissapointed. can you imagine for one second what it must be like turning up to work, and as soon as you show up being hounded by a bunch of people, who all want to be your "Best Mate"...and time after time being asked the same old questions, if we are all totally honest about it, it would drive us all completely mad, he is a bass player, a good bass player, but when he takes off that bass, he should be allowed to return to normality, I played in a band for five years, and to be totally honest with you all, even though i thorougly enjoyed playing, as soon as the set was finished, all i wanted to do was to get the hell out of Dodge, I had done my job, Honoured my part of the deal, and it was time to go, "ELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING"..Jesus it will be a sad day if they ever are forced to play that at the end of one of marks gigs, but if they do, that will be the end of the road for me at least. the motto behind all of this is, we all go the shows to see Mark King PLAY, that is the deal, your ticket gets you into the a venue, Period. Not to see mark king and then feel we have the automatic right to go and have unlimited access to pester the poor sod, have him autograph everything in sight, do a photo shoot with all and sundry, and then be hit with a load of bullshit questions, requests for gaffer tape, and can i have your strings please?...screw that guys Mikey is Dead right, i would much rather have a few beers with my pals from the digest and talk at the worlds end pub anyday, than be caught in the middle of a scrum to grab a bit of gaffer tape, tell you what, go to your local diy store, buy a few rolls of gaffer tape, and tell your mates it came off Marks thumb, they will be none the wiser, and it looks exactly the same! Sometimes I think that Wally Badarou had the best deal in the band, I'll bet you any money that that guy can walk anywhere and not get any shit whatsoever, he was in the band from day one till the end, He gets royalties, he wrote the songs, but who has ever had any contact with him at all, got his autograph, mobbed him for a snapshot, Just because Mark was the voice of Level 42, he seems to have to take all of this crap ALL THE TIME...Why? At the end of the day these people just happened to be in a band that we liked listening to, so get this into your heads folks. they are not your "MATES" and they never ever will be, Question..Why the hell do you think that not one member of the band EVER has published their private e mail address to anyone on this digest Answer...Because they would be bombed with a lot of bollocks e mails from arseholes who want a piece of them...Face the facts folks..TRUTH Go out there and find your own "MATES" and if you want MATES who are into Level 42, Believe me there are Loads of really great people right here on the digest to serve this purpose. The next person who asks mark for a bit of gaffer tape, or indeed to sign an autograph, ask yourself this one question will it really improve the quality of your life? will you go to the grave happy then. if so i feel really sorry for you Food for thought Des Lynch _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Subject: Mikey's Comments From: "Mark M Walsham" Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 08:34:08 -0000 Mikey, Thought your post of Sat was quite refreshing! It's interesting to see both sides of the fence, the people whom never have the courage to push themselves forwards, and the others whom are so in your face, that you mistake them for a pair of glasses! This whole meet the band/do not meet that band has been a rather good topic of discussion, and has brought out some really great views. I think we all have to remember that Mark and the guys are under no obligation to meet the fans after shows, if they want to they will, but if not, then sorry. I do find it disappointing that the band would in effect 'promise' to meet the fans after a show, then not do so, it is a little rude. How difficult would it be for Mark/Band to let the fans know that they are unable to make it via their tour manager? I also find it annoying that 'selected fans' were invited to the party, this is unfair. At least if the band come out to the bar, everyone "potentially" has the chance of saying hello, but in this case, it was not possible. Anyway, let's all hope that there are more shows, and that the fan's whom have not been able to meet the guys will be able to do so, and the fans whom have already met them 20 times before are a little more considerate (like some of them already are). TCOY, Mark. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com ------------------------------ Subject: Model Firned* From: "Nigel Collier" Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 08:58:56 -0000 Mark is a human being - no better than you, me, my wife, or anybody (except maybe Andy Smith). He is a highly talented musician (Mark, not Andy) - there are loads of them about - who happens to have hit all the right notes - literally - for millions of fans (us). He owes the Digest (no offense Eric) and all of its subscribers absolutely nothing and being on first name terms with Mark just isn't going to happen, nor should it be a healthy goal. I don't know what has been specifically said by Mark to giggers but you shouldn't really hold him to his casual remarks - or infer any promises of his personal time from them. Ask yourself a question - why should Mark feel obliged to talk to you or any fan? Because you flew/drove a long way to see him play? So what? Great - then you got what you came for: to see him play. And he will have said 'thanks' to you during the set when he addressed the crowd - end of story. If you _expected_ more than that and feel agrieved that you didn't get it - then your expectations are way off - as is your sense of importance. Just because Mark doesn't give YOU his personal attention doesn't mean he's rude, inconsiderate or uncaring. How many fans do you think he's talked to over the years (wanting to ask the same anal bass questions - despite him not being particularly interested in the subject)? Toying with or basking in the adulation of fans will be meaningless to him now. His ego will be satisfied by the appreciation of fans - of course it will, he's a human being and a performer - but do you honestly think you're important enough to warrant a boost to his ego if he snubs you? That's laughable. Mark's career is stellar - he has achieved more than most other bassplayers, even musicians, could dream of. Does anyone seriously think that this career can be changed significantly for the better or worse by the help or gesture any Digester or fan could offer? I have the greatest, greatest respect and admiration for the work done by some Digesters - I really do think many people have a lot to be proud of. But does Mark 'owe' anything to anybody for it? No. And I'm sure any kind of payoff from Mark by way of personal favours or special treatment was a thought furthest from Eric, Carl or many other people I could mention. I just don't see the connection between enjoying his music and wanting to be his personal friend - it's babyish. If Mark does choose to make himself available to 'you' (as far as he's concerned that's you "the homogenous fan at the gig", not you "personal friend Nigel Collier from Newcastle who's collected all his records and bought one of his old basses") then you're lucky - you caught him on a night when he's in the mood to make some time for you. If he shoots off out of the side door - it's nothing personal - just accept that speaking to you personally isn't high on his list of priorities. Why should it be? If going to a gig, or even being happy to say thanks to him in person when he chooses to see some fans after a gig isn't good enough for you then you have an inflated sense of self importance and probably have something missing elsewhere in your life that you hope this delusional fantasy friendship will fill. I hope I don't sound rude but get real and appreciate you're one fan of thousands and Mark's just 'one man' - it's just not practical nor realistic for your misplaced, suffocating and overwhelming expectations to be satisfied. Nigel -------------------------------------- *'Firned' (c) copyright Winston Walker ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Level42 Digest V2000 #278 From: "Laurence F. GREEN(SED)" Date: Mon, 27 Nov 2000 10:28:44 +0000 Hi, I don't know what all this fuss is about. I went to see Mark twice on the recent tour, and I thought he was amazing. Possibly the best I've seen him, and certainly the best set he's ever played. I met him once after the gig at Billingham, there was only about 4 people waiting to see him. I spoke to him for about 30 seconds and got him to sign a couple of things, then he dashed off. I wouldn't have been remotely dissapointed if I hadn't got to see him. I've only ever spoken to Mark personnally 4 times, three of those times for about 30 seconds, the other time I won a competition to meet him. Personnally I think this thread is a bit weird really. As far as I see it, if you get to meet him good for you, if you're too shy, that's too bad, survival of the fittest and all that. It's not Mark's fault. You can hardly expect him to ignore everyone at the front and wade through to the quiet fans hanging around patiently at the sides. There are always going to be a select few fans who get invited to after gig parties and stuff, this happens for all bands, invariably the same fans too. But come on everyone, I like Level 42 for the music, not the free drinks in the bar afterwards. As for Mark not getting by without the help of the fans, I don't believe that at all. We're the people who'll find out about the stuff and buy it anyway, whether there are websites or not. It's the 'general record buying public' who make the difference. But I guess that's not true when you consider Trash and Trash live, in that sense, mark is using mainly the internet community to make his living. Still, good luck to him. L()Z ------------------------------------------------------ Laurence Green Research Assistant Sheffield Hallam University School Of Environment and Development City Campus Advanced Construction Research, Room 302 Sheffield S1 1WB TEL: 0114 2253368