Level 42 Digest for Friday, March 12, 2004

>>In terms of record sales, hits, and weeks on chart Im sure Level 42 were a bigger band than Simple Minds

Loz, maybe a visit to the Simple Minds website may get you to reassess that thought.

>>obviously, in terms of the quality of songs and musical performance they were better

Tongue in cheek?

>>But whats so important for a band is image and gossip column inches. Having red-hot celebrity wives like that lead singer in simple minds helps a lot.

At the Mind's peak, Jim Kerr was married to Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders). Although famous in her own right, I wouldn't call her a red-hot celebrity.
Maybe you're referring to Patsy Kensit who he got together with later though.

>>All level 42 got was bad press about Marks marriage break up which is not quite the >>same.

Isn't there a saying about "no such thing as bad publicity"?
Besides Jim Kerr's breakup with Chrissie and getting it together with Patsy wasn't exactly hailed as a honorable thing, as you may well imagine. Tabloids love a good divorce.

Interestingly enough, I saw them at Milton Keynes Bowl (1986 I think). They sold out about three days in a row. The support was Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, Big Audio Dynamite and, none other than, Doctor & The Medics. The link being that a certain bass playing, digest member has been playing bass for the Medics in recent times- take a bow Nick :o)

I was a big Simple Minds fan in the 80's and I wouldn't compare them. I think it's a strange combination to play together. Level 42 seem to have suited a more intimate gig whereas Simple Minds are more of a rocky stadium band.
In terms of pulling power, I would guess that Simple Minds will attract more punters than Level 42. How I wish it were not the case though.

1. This email address is no longer in use.
From:	dsmith @ citroen.co.uk <dsmith @ citroen.co.uk>
Date:	Thu, 11 Mar 2004 10:02:26 +0000	[top]
The email address dsmith @ citroen.co.uk is no longer in use and will be removed shortly. Your email entitled:- Level 42 Digest - Thursday, March 11, 2004 that you sent on Thu, 11 Mar 2004 05:05:19 -0500 has NOT reached it's destination. Please update your records accordingly or make sure you have the correct contact details. ____________________________________________________ This message has been checked for all known viruses.

2. Simple v Level
From:	Tom Brown <tbrown @ britishsugar.co.uk>
Date:	Thu, 11 Mar 2004 11:18:55 +0000	[top]
Loz wrote : >>In terms of record sales, hits, and weeks on chart Im sure Level 42 were a bigger band than Simple Minds Loz, maybe a visit to the Simple Minds website may get you to reassess that thought. >>obviously, in terms of the quality of songs and musical performance they were better Tongue in cheek? >>But whats so important for a band is image and gossip column inches. Having red-hot celebrity wives like that lead singer in simple minds helps a lot. At the Mind's peak, Jim Kerr was married to Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders). Although famous in her own right, I wouldn't call her a red-hot celebrity. Maybe you're referring to Patsy Kensit who he got together with later though. >>All level 42 got was bad press about Marks marriage break up which is not quite the >>same. Isn't there a saying about "no such thing as bad publicity"? Besides Jim Kerr's breakup with Chrissie and getting it together with Patsy wasn't exactly hailed as a honorable thing, as you may well imagine. Tabloids love a good divorce. Interestingly enough, I saw them at Milton Keynes Bowl (1986 I think). They sold out about three days in a row. The support was Lloyd Cole & The Commotions, Big Audio Dynamite and, none other than, Doctor & The Medics. The link being that a certain bass playing, digest member has been playing bass for the Medics in recent times- take a bow Nick :o) I was a big Simple Minds fan in the 80's and I wouldn't compare them. I think it's a strange combination to play together. Level 42 seem to have suited a more intimate gig whereas Simple Minds are more of a rocky stadium band. In terms of pulling power, I would guess that Simple Minds will attract more punters than Level 42. How I wish it were not the case though. -Tom

3. BOON'S SLEEVES on LIVE AT WEMBLEY.....
From:	Michael Payne <michael @ journeyhouse.com>
Date:	Thu, 11 Mar 2004 08:46:38 -0600	[top]
I know people have mentioned it before, but after watching Live at Wembley last night, I am amazed on how many times Boon's sleeves go up and down at least 100 times, really bad edit job if you ask me, even Mark's mouth does not go with the audio in several parts. Have a GREAT weekend! MIKEY

4. RE: Gary Husband Gig - QE Hall, Southbank
From:	Terry_Arnett @ ryder.com <Terry_Arnett @ ryder.com>
Date:	Thu, 11 Mar 2004 17:53:39 +0000	[top]
My only grumble was Garywasn't playing a huge kit per the old L42 days " I beg to differ! I think it's great seeing Gary and Phil work out on small kits! The footage from Mike's wedding was great and I've seen Gary on video on a 4-piece kit. What says Terry on ye olde subject...? My BIGGEST grumble about the whole Force Majeure tour was that Rhythm magazine published a Liverpool date that never happened >:-( Hi Nick! I also beg to differ!!! You can have all the drums in the World (if you are Terry Bozzio), but if you can't play with just bass drum & snare, it counts for nothing! But, Terry B is brilliant at what he does. Mike Portnoy is another. However, MP can also play a small kit (especially for the tribute bands he plays). My all time fav - John Bonham had a small kit as well - but BOY could he play it! That kit sounded like a massive rig, and what a fast right foot! It sounded like he had two bass drums!!!!! You can get so much out of just one drum! Knowing where to hit it, changing head tension by depressing the head with the other stick and so on. Tony Thompson (RIP) once said something similar. And it ain't grooving, it will never happen! Gary H plays a small kit wonderfully, and so does Phil G. When you listen to the later albums, a majority of the sounds you hear are just bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat/ride and cymbals. What I'm trying to get at is that you don't have to have a big kit. I've even started trimming down my set up. When I played a gig with YCB in London last year, all I used was a four piece kit, one set of hi-hats, two crashes, a splash, a ride and a china - and it still sounded full! It's not quantity - but QUALITY! And - from all accounts, Gary had that (and more) during the FM gigs. Terry

5. A Simple Plan
From:	=?iso-8859-1?q?Andrew=20Goodwin?= <thenightfly83 @ yahoo.co.uk>
Date:	Fri, 12 Mar 2004 00:38:03 +0000 (GMT)	[top]
> 1. Simple minds etc > From: Green, Laurence < > > Laurence.Green @ carillionwsp.com> > > In terms of record sales, hits, and weeks on chart > I’m sure Level 42 were a bigger band than > Simple Minds Hmm, let's see. Simple Minds had 24 Top 40 hits, eight of which made the Top 10 including one number 1; Level 42 had 20 Top 40 hits, six of which made the Top 10 and none of which hit the top. Simple Minds have racked up 187 weeks on the singles chart to Level 42's 177. As for albums, no contest. Simple Minds had eight Top 10 albums to Level 42's seven, but of those eight five went straight in at number 1. But hey, never let the facts get in the way of a good story! > But what’s so important for a band is image > and gossip column inches. Having red-hot celebrity > wives like that lead singer in simple minds helps a > lot. All level 42 got was bad press about > Mark’s marriage break up which is not quite > the same. Strange how there's always some non-musical reason why a band would be bigger than Level 42. Don't get me wrong, I could never stand Simple Minds - all that po-faced, self-important bombast. A quick trip to simpleminds.com reveals that little has changed in 20 years: "For Simple Minds, in music as in life, the journey, not the destination, is what is important. Characterised by a restless energy, the band is an allegory of perpetual motion, its manifesto defined in its seminal classic I Travel." It gets worse. "Musically, physically and spiritually Simple Minds are on a quest in which the odyssey is it own reward. The panoramic soundscapes of the Minds' albums perfectly convey the sense of endless possibility and shifting frontiers in the world according to Jim Kerr." Later on they even refer to themselves as Stakhanovite, no less. That said, I did allow myself a wry smile at this bitchy line: "While contemporaries of the Minds from the 1970s and 1980s have joined the cabaret nostalgia circuit, the Minds continue to stretch themselves." Cabaret nostalgia circuit? Whoever could they mean? AG ___________________________________________________________ Yahoo! Messenger - Communicate instantly..."Ping" your friends today! Download Messenger Now http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com/download/index.html

End of Level 42 Digest (web edition)	Help support the Level 42 Digest:
Please note: you are viewing the web version of today's Level 42 Digest mailing. This content was distributed via email to subscribers at approximately 10:00 GMT (5:00am EST/EDT) this morning. -- To post a new message email level42 @ Level42Digest.com (make sure to remove spaces in this email address). You must be a subscriber to post a message. Please also note that all MIME attachments will be automatically stripped from messages before posting on the Digest (this is to prevent computer viruses, huge Digest emails, etc.) -- To subscribe to the mailing list email level42 @ Level42Digest.com with SUBSCRIBE as the subject (make sure to remove spaces in this email address). Digests are mailed out every day at approximately -0400 GMT (5:00am EST/EDT). -- To unsubscribe from the list email level42 @ Level42Digest.com with UNSUBSCRIBE as the subject (make sure to remove spaces in this email address). -- Find information in the Level 42 Digest and ILF archive search engine. -- Any questions, comments or suggestions for the Level 42 Digest? Email us at admin @ Level42Digest.com (make sure to remove spaces in this email address). Related web sites: Level42.com, Forever Now, Mike Lindup, Boon Gould, Gary Husband, Jakko Jakszyk, Level 42 Web Digest Please note that by viewing or posting messages to the Level 42 Digest, you agree to be bound to the terms and policies located at the Terms Of Use web page.