Mark King - aka Thunderthumbs
Mark joined Mike Lindup, and Phil and Boon Gould in 1979, forming Level 42. Over the last 30 years, the band has seen many line up changes but Mark King and his intricate and sometimes frenetic bass grooves have always endured.
Mark has also completed several solo projects.
Table of Contents
- Mark King - a quick biography
- But why 'Thunderthumbs'?
- Just beautiful!
- Thunderthumbs and the Toetsenman
- Playing style
- Sleep Talking fingerstyle
- Mark King Masterclasses
- Machine gun triplets tutorial
- And Love Games by Level 42
- The Bassography
- Mark King's basses
- Some great examples of Mark's work!
- Mark King Trivia
- The Trial of Ralph McTell
- Influences (1984)
- One Man (1998)
- Trash Demos Volume 1 (1999)
- Mark King's Trash Demos
- King links
- Mark King & Level 42 stuff
- Mark King pics
- Level 42 and bass
- Level 42 stuff on Amazon
- What are your thoughts?
- Thanks for your interest!
- Wear your bass stuff with pride
- Blogs about Mark King
- Bass bookmarks
Mark King - a quick biography
He originally wanted to be a drummer, and his father bought him his first drumkit. At the age of nineteen, he moved to London, and in 1979 formed the band Level 42 with Mike Lindup, and the Gould brothers, Phil and Boon. King was still playing drums, but out of necessity - they already had a drummer lined up - he took over on bass, turning it into a lead instrument.
But why 'Thunderthumbs'?
Perhaps this clip can offer a clue...
Mark King Jaydee Bass Solo 'The Tube' 1985
Superb rare solo from Mark King taken from an old vhs tape recording that we have had for years...the video had Go West, Cameo, Chaka Khan etc all soul/funk stuff and this was on it!! Listen to previews of my band 'SHOCK CONTENDER'; new Funk material!! http://indiestore.7digital.com/shockcontender/ www.myspace.com/shockcontender
curated content from YouTube
Just beautiful!
What two Mark Kings might sound like
Thunderthumbs and the Toetsenman
Freedom before Level 42
But the music carries on...
Playing style
a melodic world built on sixteenths
Mark King plays in a slap bass world based on sixteenth notes. An excellent example of his typical groove is evident in one of his early basslines on the single Love Games. Much of this bassline consists of alternating slap and left-hand muted slap patterns, punctuated by slap, left-hand slap, muted slap triplets and popped notes. When he plays this song live, he replaces the odd sixteenth note with a machine gun triplet. It took me years to figure out how he could play so fast!Another typical slap bass line can be heard in the instrumental track '43'. This is more melodic and incorporates a neat set of sliding tenths in the intricate main riff. The chord-like effect of these sliding tenths also appears in the B-side track 'Can't Walk You Home'.
Of course, he still manages to include some very intricate fingerstyle play, and strummed chords into his other basslines. Spanning over twenty years, a couple of nice fingerstyle pieces are the 'rap' and ending sections in 'Sleeptalking' (this from the latest Level 42 album Retroglide); and the early classic instrumental 'Dune Tune'. He is possibly one of the most underrated bass players around.
Sleep Talking fingerstyle
Not Mark but a very nice rendition!
Machine gun triplets tutorial
courtesy of Far0n
Machine gun triplets
Just a brief walk through of percussive triplets like those commonly found in Mark King bass solos
curated content from YouTube
And Love Games by Level 42
Demonstrating the subtle insertion of the machine gun triplet
The Bassography
Basses played by Mark King over his career
- Alembic - long scale and medium scale Series II, a series I and a Distillate
- Ashley Pangborn - Warlord
- Fender - Deluxe Jazz Bass
- GB - Standard GB4 and Rumour
- Jaydee - Classic Series I and Classic Series II, the 'Starchild' bass and the Calibas
- Moon - Jazz Bass
- Music Man - StingRay and StingRay 5
- Status Graphite - Series II, Series 2000, Matrix Empathy, Matrix Empathy 5, Matrix, KingBass, KingBass Princess and KingBass Black Beauty
- Wal - Midi Bass
- Zon - Legacy
For more detailed info and pictures of some of these basses, check out the Level 42 website.
Mark King's basses
About Alembic, Jaydee & others
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Alembic Bass Guitars
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Alembic is a small bass and guitar making company specializing in high quality, handcrafted instruments. The whole process of making Alembics is done by hand - except for placement of the fret-slots, which needs precision. About 1500 instruments are...
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Jaydee Bass Guitars
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Jaydee basses are custom hand-made basses by English luthier John Diggins (aka JD). They have a great sound and are responsible for the early Level 42 bass sound. George Anderson of Shakatak also plays Jaydee basses. Starting out by customising othe...
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Top 20 Bass Guitars
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Whether you are a bass player, or just a bass fan, what's your favorite? What's the BEST? Fender Precisions and Jazz Basses are classics, or what about Alembics, or Status basses. Here's my list of 20 bass guitars, who plays them and which models ep...
Mark King Trivia
- Originally a drummer, Mark King became the bass player, as his friend Phil Gould was already a good drummer, and because the drumkit belonged to Phil!
- Mark King split his thumb playing a gig in Holland, and has worn tape on his 'slapping' thumb at gigs ever since.
- He released his first solo album 'Influences' in 1984, while still with Level 42, allegedly because he wanted to buy a new house!
- He appeared in an episode of the UK comedy 'French & Saunders' with Mark Knopfler, Dave Gilmore, Gary Moore, Lemmy and Ralph McTell. The sketch was a courtroom scene about learning to play the guitar (see clip below).
- His previous jobs include: music shop employee, milkman, farm labourer, carpet/rug roller, pub musician, and petrol pump attendant.
- In 1982, Mark King and Level 42 keyboard player Mike Lindup released a single under the band name 'Thunderthumbs and the Toetsenman'. The single was called 'Freedom' with B-side 'Freedom-a-gogo'.
- Despite the complex and intricate basslines he plays, Mark King doesn't read music.
The Trial of Ralph McTell
From French & Saunders
The Trial Of Ralph McTell
stuff of legends - an episode of French and Saunders with dave Gilmour, Lemmy, Gary Moore etc
curated content from YouTube
Influences (1984)
Track listings
- Essential
- Clocks Go Forward
- I Feel Free
- Pictures On The Wall
- There Is A Dog
One Man (1998)
Track Listings
- Bitter Moon
- Swimming With Sky
- One Man
- Half Written Songs
- Pamela
- Take My Hand
- Love Wars
- Resupply
- If I Had Something
- Changing The Guard
Trash Demos Volume 1 (1999)
Track Listings
- Just Like That
- Outstanding
- Throwing Sevens
- Keep Climbing
- Don't Say I Don't
- Song For Ria
- Stronger
- Sooner Or Later
- Smile
- Clapped Out
- Hells Bells
- Bossa Nostra
Mark King's Trash Demos
Man of many talents
The third solo album Trash was a series of demo songs that were never finished or included in the Level 42 repertoire. It was a groundbreaking album - historic even - because it was released without a record company. Mark played all the instruments and sang, as well as writing, producing, manufacturing and distributing the album himself from his Isle of Wight home studio.The album was initially offered through the official Level 42 website to the die hard fans, but it was more popular than Mark had expected, and he sold into the 1000s eventually. He signed and numbered the early copies.
I bought my copy mid-2000 after seeing an advert in either Bass Player Magazine, or Bassist Magazine (I can't remember which one). So I sent off my cheque immediately, and got the CD along with autographed CD sleeve. For the record, my copy of the album is number 19/700.
King links
- Mark King on Wiki
- Some further information about Mark King on Wikipedia.
- Thumbsters Level42 & Mark King
- Fansite about Level 42 and Mark King.
- Question of Pop Interview
- BBC Online 'Question of Pop' interview with Mark King.
- Level 42
- The official source of Level 42 resources and information.
- Amazon UK ArtSiren
- Amazon link for UK readers.
- Level42/Mark King Website
- A Level 42 and Mark King fansite, with loads of great information.
- The Basics of Slap Bass
- An article about the basic techniques employed by slap bass players.
- Advanced Slap Bass Techniques
- An article following on from 'The Basics of slap Bass' which gives some insight into the special techniques such as fast left-hand slap triplets - used frequently by Mark King - and also double popping and double thumbing and more.
- Forever Now
- Another Level 42 fansite!
- Level 42 Web Digest
- A great web forum all about Level 42 - the music, the band and much much more!
Mark King & Level 42 stuff
UK readers use the Amazon UK link above.
Influences
Amazon Price: $10.98 (as of 12/20/2009) 
One Man
Amazon Price: (as of 12/20/2009)
Retroglide
Amazon Price: $14.98 (as of 12/20/2009)
"Sorry, we're having terrible problems tuning, but it's only in front of 15 million people!"
Level 42 and bass
and other bass players
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Victor Wooten
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Victor Wooten redefines the word musician. Regaled as the most influential bassist since Jaco Pastorius, Victor is known for his solo recordings and tours, and as a member of the Grammy-winning supergroup, Béla Fleck & The Flecktones. He i...
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Level 42 Virtual Concert
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The original Level 42 line-up consisted of Mark King (bass, drums and lead vocals), Boon Gould (guitar), Phil Gould (drums), all from the Isle of Wight off the south coast of England; and Londoner Mike Lindup (keyboards and vocals). It could be argue...
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Marcus Miller
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Marcus Miller is one of the busiest musicians/bassists out there, having participated in over 400 albums so far. Marcus has performed with many music heavyweights spanning various styles, including Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, McCoy...
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Bass Playing Styles
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So you play bass guitar. Well, are you a slapper? Or a tapper? Do you play with your fingers? Or do you pick with your pleccie? Whether it is slap bass, tapping, fingerstyle or plectrum playing, let me know your favorite bass style. This lens showc...
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Stanley Clarke
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Exploding into the jazz world in 1971, Stanley was a lanky teenager from the Philadelphia Academy of Music. He arrived in New York City and immediately landed jobs with famous bandleaders such as: Horace Silver, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon, Joe Henders...
Level 42 stuff on Amazon
What are your thoughts?
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Reply
- mulberry mulberry May 13, 2009 @ 3:01 pm
- I'm not familiar with him, but after watching some of the video, I can tell he's extremely talented!
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Reply
- J-J-J J-J-J Mar 23, 2009 @ 6:07 pm
- Hey, nice lens you have here, just to let you know I think it is great and have also bookmarked. Something you may be interested in Play-bass.
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Reply
- howtoplaybass howtoplaybass Feb 7, 2009 @ 7:54 am
- Mark King is an inspiration to us all, he is a true genius
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Bass Tuner
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Reply
- howtoplaybass howtoplaybass Jan 18, 2009 @ 6:00 pm
- Haha, Mark King is god
Wikipedia
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Reply
- WorldTravelers916 WorldTravelers916 Oct 2, 2008 @ 2:52 pm
- This makes the world go around, his music is moving!
how to
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Thanks for your interest!
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Wear your bass stuff with pride
Skeleton Bassist (White) Women's Dark T-Shirt
Price: 24.99
Daddy Plays Bass Kids Light T-Shirt
Price: 19.99
I'd rather be playing bass Dark T-Shirt
Price: 22.99
Bass Fish Bass Clef Organic Cotton Tee
Price: 24.99
Blogs about Mark King
Bass bookmarks
- Online Bass Lessons at StudyBass.com
- Play Bass Now with MarloweDK - free bass lessons, funk bass exercises, bass guitar lessons, bass tutorials, electric bass lessons, learn to play funk
- Bassjump - Bassjump - Twelve South
- Loud bass music ‘killed student’ Tom Reid | Metro.co.uk
- How to play bass guitar by learning songs not scales!
by ArtSiren
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