Mark King - aka Thunderthumbs
All about the drummer turned bass player, and singing frontman of Level 42. The king of slap bass, Mark King.
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.
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)
- Just Like That (Live)
- Keep Climbing (Live)
- Clapped Out
- Mark King's Trash Demos
- King links
- Mark King & Level 42 stuff
- 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
Mark King - a quick biography
Mark King was born in Cowes on the Isle of Wight - off the south coast of England - on October 20, 1958.
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.
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...
Just beautiful!
What two Mark Kings might sound like
Thunderthumbs and the Toetsenman
Freedom before Level 42
They've gone. They've gone! They've gone,
But the music carries on...
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!
Mark King Masterclasses
Recorded for radio in 1985
Machine gun triplets tutorial
courtesy of Far0n
A nice little tutorial on the machine gun triplet, a commonly employed technique in Mark King's repertoire
And Love Games by Level 42
Demonstrating the subtle insertion of the machine gun triplet
Mark drops in triads of machine gun triplets effortlessly throughout this bassline!
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
Some great examples of Mark's work!
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
Mark King appears with Mark Knopfler, David Gilmore, Gary Moore, Lemmy and Ralph McTell.
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.
“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
Level 42 stuff on Amazon
What are your thoughts?
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jadehorseshoe
Dec 24, 2011 @ 1:26 am | delete
- Pretty Lens!
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BoobyBits
Sep 19, 2011 @ 6:16 am | delete
- Nice work my freind! A big fab of Mark King also Victor Wooten, Stanley Clark...
Hey, pop a track or two on from Mark's limited album 'Trash Demos' - that would be cool!
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ArtSiren
Sep 21, 2011 @ 7:42 pm | delete
- Done, done and done!
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CDT
Sep 4, 2010 @ 2:42 pm | delete
- Mark King is a genius :) He's very humble too - I remember seeing him interviewed by Richard Madeley (!) and Madely gushing on about how he was the "best bass player in the world" and Mark looking like he just wished he'd change the subject! Great lens about a Great Brit - blessed by a SquidAngel :)
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TomBoyd
Jun 8, 2010 @ 10:33 am | delete
- Great lens! Mark King is an amazing bass player who has really inspired me to learn to play bass.
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- Load More
Thanks for your interest!
How about writing a review at
The Isle of Squid?
Wear your bass stuff with pride
by ArtSiren
Hi! I'm ArtSiren from England. I'm interested in art in all its forms: art, writing, literature, music, martial and healing arts. In fact, I'm interested... more »
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