Levellers (band)

For other uses, see Levellers (disambiguation).

Levellers

The Levellers are an English rock band influenced by punk and traditional English music. They are based in Brighton, England where they were founded in 1988. They got their name from the Levellers, a radically democratic faction of Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army; or simply, according to guitarist, Simon Friend, a word they chose from a dictionary. Strongly interested and outspoken about green anarchism issues the band have built up a strong and devoted fanbase, despite being nearly universally ignored by mainstream critics. The band have been spokespeople for a number of issues including campaigning against the Criminal Justice Act (and its measures against rave parties ) and various anti-capitalist and environmental issues. They continue to tour extensively around Britain and Europe but maintain a mutual dislike with the music press which stems from their early days.

It is a little known fact that The Levellers had more gold and platinum selling albums in the 1990s than any other UK band in that decade.

History

1988-1990

Mark Chadwick and Jeremy Cunningham met in The Eagle, a public house in Brighton known for attracting the more bohemian element of Brighton's residents, in 1988. Chadwick had just left local glam-rock act The Soup Dragons (not the 1990s Scottish band The Soup Dragons of the same name) and Jeremy was trying to sell his bass guitar in the pub, having become disillusioned with the music world.

Discovering that they had a lot in common, including a left wing view of politics and a love of being drunk, they decided to try and reinvigorate their interest in music by forming a new band. Cunningham knew Charlie Heather through their previous band, The Fence, where he had proved himself a skilled but not too showy drummer. He was promptly recruited to this new band.

With Chadwick on guitar and lead vocals, Cunningham on bass guitar and Heather on drums, it was decided that something extra was needed to make for a more interesting sound. Cunningham was keen to have a violin player on board as he was impressed by the sound of local angry-folk favourites McDermott's Two Hours. Jon Sevink, the brother of Chadwick's girlfriend, was brought in to play the violin, adding a more melodic element to the band's Sex Pistols-esque sound. Chadwick's flatmate "Bucky" was also brought in to play the guitar, but lost interest in the band fairly quickly and left after a few months.

Chadwick and Cunningham penned the songs that would become part of their first recordings (the audio-cassettes An Agreement of the People and All the Free Commons of England sold at gigs throughout 1988/89) and the band set off touring Brighton and beyond. They soon built up a large and dedicated live following with their raucous shows; a group of fans known as the "happy hitchers" would hitch-hike around the country, following the band from gig to gig and busking or begging for ticket money.

The first EP recording by the band was put out in 1989. Carry Me, which contained the fan favourites "Carry Me" and "England My Home", was a comparatively big hit, even getting Radio 2 airplay for the title track (despite the swearing in "Carry Me" which apparently went unnoticed). In order to play "Carry Me" live, the band realised they needed to bring in an extra person to play the harmonica as Chadwick couldn't play the guitar and harmonica parts simultaneously. They recruited Alan Miles to the band to play harmonica as well as guitar and mandolin. Miles also provided backing vocals for the band, being an able singer unlike Cunningham and Sevink. The lineup of the Levellers solidified as Chadwick, Cunningham, Sevink, Heather and Miles, releasing the next EP Outside/Inside and touring with this roster throughout 1989 and most of 1990.

After successfully releasing the two previous EPs on their own Hag label in 1989, a short lived contract was signed with French record label Musidisc. Their debut album, A Weapon Called the Word, was released on Musidisc in 1990 and has since become one of the few albums to go platinum without ever charting. Unfortunately, the first single from the album, "World Freak Show" had too few copies pressed by Musidisc; the record sold out but without sufficient copies existing, the song didn't chart.

1990-1994

After an acrimonious split with Musidisc, the Levellers were discovered by Derek Green (the man responsible for signing the Sex Pistols) and signed to China Records.

At this point, Miles became disenchanted by the Levellers' communist approach to money - all of the band's earnings being put together in a fund from which the members were paid the same amount every day. After being refused more money to buy food one day (having spent his day's allowance elsewhere) Miles quit the band. Finding themselves suddenly short of one member, the Levellers' manager called Simon Friend, a young singer-songwriter and at that time a roadie for New Model Army, who had played some acoustic support slots for the band in the past. Friend accepted the invitation to join the band, despite it meaning turning down a chance to be the guitarist for New Model Army.

Around this time Friend and Chadwick played a number of low key shows as "The Levellers 2", mostly performing songs that had been in Friend's repertoire as a solo singer-songwriter.

1991 saw the release of their second album, Levelling the Land, which was a massive success, entering the charts at number 14. The anthemic single "One Way", despite not reaching the Top 40, became a popular song and live favourite for years to come among the travelling and indie community. Levelling the Land is often cited as an all-time classic amongst people who were students or travellers in the early 1990s. The Levellers began to sound more of a well-rounded folk-rock band with the addition of Friend's multi-instrumental skill and the improvements in musicianship amongst all of the band. Whereas All The Free Commons of England sounded like the Sex Pistols with a fiddle player, and A Weapon Called the Word sounded more like gentle indie-rock, Levelling the Land had a well-rounded sound including punk-rock tracks "Liberty Song" and "Battle of the Beanfield" (about the 1985 police repression against the Peace Convoy which was attempting to set up the 14th Stonehenge free festival), folk ballads "The Boatman" and "The Road" and folk-rock crossover tracks like "The Riverflow" and "Another Man's Cause". Friend's distinctively gravelly voice added depth and volume in backing up Chadwick's vocals and he began the tradition of taking lead vocals on a couple of tracks per album. Chadwick's singing also improved from the gruff shouted vocals of their early EPs to a fine melodic singing voice. The band also landed a U.S. deal with Electra, although they have since failed to make much impression in the USA. A disastrous tour of the USA in the early 1990s left the band disillusioned with America and the long-haul journeys and lukewarm local receptions endured by touring bands.

Throughout 1992 the band enjoyed a series of successful tours, particularly their debut on one of the main stages of the Glastonbury Festival (although they'd played the travellers' area previously). Mixing tracks from their first two LPs with a couple of more obscure songs (like the rock/spoken word crossover Dance Before the Storm) and a storming high speed cover of Charlie Daniels' The Devil Went Down to Georgia, the Levellers popular performance secured their place on the large Pyramid Stage for their famous 1994 set (despite jokingly calling Glastonbury owner Michael Eavis a "cunt" over the PA system when they heard he didn't like swearing). The band also scored a chart hit with the 15 Years EP, a track which was added to later repressings of Levelling the Land due to its popularity.

The Levellers generally consider 1993 to be a bad year for the band. Cunningham was becoming dependent on heroin, having first taken the drug as an alternative to his growing alcoholism. Feeling overworked and unmotivated the band nevertheless felt obliged to try and write a new record to capitalise on their growing popularity. The creative process was not particularly enjoyable for any of the band who were drifting apart as friends and commuting to the recording studio to lay down the tracks for the album. Suffering writer's block, the band filled space on the new album by covering "Dirty Davey" (an early track by McDermott's 2 Hours) and recording an old track originally written by Friend while he was still at school ("Is This Art?"). The generally gloomy atmosphere that surrounded the band is reflected in the darker tone of the resulting eponymous album (Levellers). Despite the band's dislike of the album, it was a huge hit reaching #2 in the album charts. It included "This Garden", which reached #12 on the UK Singles Chart. In fact, Levellers contains a number of songs that have stood the test of time as fan favourites, with the negativity felt by the band giving an appropriate emotional tone to the aggressive "100 Years of Solitude" (which manages to namecheck just about everything the Levellers considered wrong with the world, from Exxon to the NME) and the melancholy of "Julie" (which Cunningham wrote about the experiences of a heroin-addicted girl).

In July 1993 they released the Belaruse EP which contained a cover of "Subvert" which was originally the first single from the Anarchist Punk Band Zounds issued on the Crass Label.

1994-1998

1994 saw the Levellers really hit the peak of their popularity, as their appearance at the Glastonbury Festival attracted the biggest stagefront crowd that the event had ever seen. The Levellers and their friends had spent the morning flyering the crowds at Glastonbury to advertise their later show and, having already become favourites with independent music fans and travellers across the country, this tactic paid off when the crowds surged to the pyramid stage to see the band. Their performance, which finished with festival favourite "One Way", was a massive hit with the crowd and is constantly referred to as a high point of the band's career. Their landmark performance of "One Way" was later included on a video of Glastonbury's finest moments and is available online

In 1994 the band purchased a derelict factory in Brighton, the "Metway", and created a self contained headquarters. The buildings housed their offices, fan club, rehearsal area, a bar and a recording studio (initially equipped with gear bought from Tom Robinson). The move to Metway (the name of the clock manufacturer who originally built the factory) enabled the band to operate on their own terms as far as possible. Spare space was given over to other Brighton musicians and small craft businesses. Weekly anarchist newspaper SchNEWS also set up their office in the building.

"Hope Street", the lead single from the new album, was the first product to come out of Metway. The album, Zeitgeist, was released in September 1995 and became another huge hit, charting at #2 in the week of its release. Buoyed by the initial success, manager Phil Nelson persuaded China Records to advertise the album on TV and, unusually, the album hit #1 in its second week on the chart. The third single released from this album took the Levellers to their first Top of the Pops appearance, playing the tongue-in-cheek drinking anthem "Just the One" whilst dressed in tuxedos. "Just the One" was specially re-recorded for the single release with The Clash's legendary frontman and long-time Levellers hero, Joe Strummer guesting on honky tonk piano. It reached #12 in the UK.

Another extensive tour of Europe and the UK was embarked upon in the later part of 1995, culminating in a one-off "Christmas Freakshow" at Sheffield Arena on 18 December. This was recorded by BBC with eight songs being broadcast at a later date on Radio 1. The 1995 "Total Chaos" Tour effectively came to an end on 7 February 1996 at Blackpool's Empress Ballroom with a show that was filmed for the video release, Headlights, White Lines, Black Tar Rivers (Best Live).

1996 was a relatively fallow year in contrast to the Levellers' hard working career to date. Every show on the 1995 tour had been recorded with a view to releasing a genuine "live" album with no studio overdubs. Sevink tasked himself with listening back to every moment recorded on tape, picking through them for the best performances of each song they'd played. The resultant album, Headlights, White Lines, Black Tar Rivers was released simultaneously with the aforementioned video of the same name in August 1996. As the title suggests, it served as an effective compilation of the best work of the band to date, whilst not being a "greatest hits" package of previously released studio material (although the band are thought to have never been happy with the record company coined "Best Live" part of the title). The album reached #13 in the UK album charts. A less extensive UK tour was undertaken in September/October to support the record's release.

The band returned to the studio through late 1996 and early 1997 when the album Mouth To Mouth was recorded. Their first gigs in several months coincided with the Labour Party/Tony Blair's landslide General Election victory on May 1, 1997; at Manchester Academy, and a second show at London's Brixton Academy the following night). These gigs previewed several new songs, including "What a Beautiful Day". It became the first single release from Mouth to Mouth and reached #13 on the UK chart. Summer 1997 saw the band play at various festivals in the UK and Europe including a return to Glastonbury Festival, playing an afternoon slot on the Pyramid Stage. The album was finally released in August 1997 and entered the UK album chart at #5. The album spawned several more singles, "Celebrate", "Dog Train" and "Too Real" (the accompanying promo video of which was directed by cult UK movie director, Alex Cox).

One Way of Life: The Very Best of The Levellers hit the shelves in September 1998, a year which had been fairly inactive until that point. The album was a traditional "greatest hits" package of the hit singles, with two new songs, "Shadow on the Sun" and "Bozos" which was released as the first single of the campaign. Additionally, "One Way" and "Carry Me" were re-recorded and a re-mix of "Too Real" was included. A limited edition digipak format was released with an extra five-track CD of "acoustic" versions. A long and successful tour journeyed the length and breadth of the UK in November and December. However, the last two dates at Brixton Academy and the triumphant homecoming at Brighton Centre had to be pulled when Jon Sevink fell ill. These dates were re-scheduled for February 1999. The release of the greatest hits album was accompanied by a video collection of promos, also called One Way of Life: The Very Best of The Levellers, and the band's official biography written by George Berger entitled Dance Before the Storm.

1999-2008

Jeremy Cunningham and Matt Savage, Beautiful Days Festival, Devon 20 August 2006

Save for a handful of live dates, 1999 was essentially a year-off. During this time out of the limelight there was a significant change at their record company as China Records was bought by major label Warner Brothers.

Work eventually began on a new studio album, Hello Pig. The band drafted in Mark Wallis, who had worked with Oasis amongst others, to produce the record. This was an obvious change in direction, and the resulting work confirmed this to listening ears. A complex production coloured the album, with much less of the tell-tale signs of a Levellers record as had gone before. "Happy Birthday Revolution" was released as a single, reaching #57 in the charts. Just prior to the album release the band promoted their own OTF Weekender. This was held on the Isle of Wight with two big shows at the Ryde Ice Arena and a "secret" acoustic show held at a much smaller venue . Hello Pig was released on Monday 4 September, 2000 and went to #28 on the chart. It received possibly the best critical acclaim the band had yet received, however the band's fans didn't particularly like the change in direction. With the relative commercial failure of Hello Pig, both the band and the record company had their excuses to sever their relationship. By mutual agreement, the Levellers and Warner Brothers parted company.

Despite the downturn in record sales, in the live arena the Levellers continued with aplomb. They worked through a heavy gig schedule through late 2000 and 2001. This included a return to the United States, be it as a stripped down version featuring only Chadwick, Friend and Sevink playing acoustic shows in February 2001, with the same trio returning to play a lengthier tour in June the same year.

In early 2002 focus returned once again to making new music, with Al Scott returning as producer. After the recording was completed, the band played a short UK tour of smaller venues to preview the new songs, and they were well received by the fans and heralded as a "return to form". Meanwhile, after contemplating releasing the new material on their own Hag label, the band eventually signed a new deal with Eagle Records. The "Come On" single preceded the album and just failed to make the UK Top 40. Green Blade Rising (originally a title of one of the Levellers' earliest songs) was released in September 2002 and also failed to reach the UK Top 40 Albums. Once again, the Levellers returned to what they knew best, and went on tour.

Meanwhile, the band, growing weary of the ever more commercial UK festival scene decided to put on a festival of their own. This would be a return - as far as UK legislation would allow - to the festivals of days gone by that the young Levellers had enjoyed, such as the legendary Elephant Fayre. Green Blade Fayre was the title of the first attempt, and was to be held at Bicton Park, East Devon, England in August 2002. Despite the backing of the necessary authorities, an organised local population managed to persuade the local council (East Devon) to reject the licence application.

Regardless of this disheartening first adventure, in 2003 the Levellers did create their own "Beautiful Days Festival". The festival is an annual event, taking place each August at Escot Park, near Fairmile in Devon, England.

In February 2004, the Levellers played a special acoustic gig at the Buxton Opera House. Although they had played a couple of shows in a similar format, this particular show saw the full band being joined onstage for collaborations with Maddy Prior, Nick Harper, Nick Burbridge and Rev Hammer.

The show set the tone for the rest of the year, with the band appearing at many festivals through the summer in the acoustic guise. These festival dates included their first visit to Glastonbury since 1997, where they captured another audience record on the Avalon Stage. The year was rounded off with an acoustic tour of UK theatres.

In May 2005 the Levellers 7th studio album, Truth and Lies, was released. Mark Wallis returned as producer, with Dave Ruffy, drummer with UK punk band The Ruts also contributing at the controls. The album, released on Eagle Records catches the band in an upbeat mood, highlighted by the first single "Make You Happy". A second single, "Last Man Alive", was also released. Following the previous year's acoustic live work, 2005 saw the band tour the UK and Europe as a full electric band once again, continuing through 2006.

In Spring 2007, the band went on an electric tour, visiting Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK and Ireland. The intensive touring schedule continued with the band playing a number of festivals throughout the summer, including Wychwood, Rhythm, Bestival, Fflam, Solfest and Le Mans 24 Hours. The winter touring schedule was comparatively light, with an 11 show electric tour of Europe in November and a short acoustic tour of the UK in December.

February 2008 saw Chadwick, Friend and Sevink participate in the "Freeborn John" tour, while in March the band played four 20th anniversary gigs in a short tour termed "Beautiful Nights". This trio of gigs began at Wolverhampton Civic Hall on 6 March, continued with a gig at Manchester Apollo on 7 March and concluded with a show at London Brixton Academy on 8 March.

Appearing once again at a host of festivals throughout the Summer of '08, they showcased tracks from their new album Letters from the Underground. Their 8th studio album, it has received much critical acclaim. Many see it as a real return to top form for the band, containing many tracks reminiscent of the material produced in the "glory days" of the early 90's. Examples include "Cholera Well" and "A Life Less Ordinary". However, the album also brings the band flying into the 21st century, with a contemporary "indie" type sound apparent on some tracks. Additionally, according to Chadwick, the album contains the band's first love song, "Before the End".

Present

The Levellers' Chaos Theory live DVD was released in December 2006. The 2 disc set features a full electric live show from Reading Hexagon and a disc of extras including the 1993 tour diary/concert "Part Time Punks", an acoustic gig at Buxton Opera house and more.

The band are a hard working live act, continuing to sell out venues and festivals all over Europe each year. Festival success continued in 2005 when, despite the continued lack of attention by the media, the band set another stagefront audience record at Glastonbury, this time on the Jazzworld stage. The band's hard work has brought them a large, committed, dedicated fanbase with a significant online presence, evident at websites such as the "Alternative Levellers Message Board".

They remain supporters of anarchist and green issues. They are strong supporters of the Brighton music scene giving local, young and upcoming bands use of their Metway studio and rehearsal facilities. This has led to a compilation CD and radio shows, Metway Sessions. Bands such as Clearlake and The Mutts have also been given support act slots on Levellers tours.

Meanwhile, the five Warner-era studio albums have been remixed, given new packaging and were re-issued on the Rhino label on 16 July 2007.

In July 2008 Levellers headlined "Doncaster Live", a was a free, outdoor music event on the streets of Doncaster. Other acts included the Rascals.

In August 2008 Levellers played the Eclectica Festival in St. Helens. This was a free open air music festival headlined by British indie band Shed Seven.

Members

• Mark Chadwick (vocals, guitar, harmonica)
• Simon Friend (1990 to present: guitar, banjo, vocals, mandolin, harmonica)
• Jeremy (Jez) Cunningham (bass guitar, vocals)
• Charlie Heather (drums)
• Jon Sevink (fiddle)
• Matt Savage (2003 to present: keyboards, backing vocals)

Sometimes supported by Stephen Boakes (didgeridoo).

Solo recordings and side projects

• Simon Friend had worked on one previous solo recording prior to joining the band: a demo cassette called "Hérne an Cara" which contained eight tracks - recorded mainly at Dog Kennel Studios in November '89 and in August 1989 at his home. Three of these tracks became Levellers songs on the next album, and three more were recorded for albums after. These tracks include "Battle of the Beanfield", "Social Insecurity", "Is it Art?" (renamed "Is This Art?" later), "Cardboard Box City", "Another Man's Cause", and finally "To Be a Freeman" (later becoming "The Boatman"). Other tracks on this tape that have never been re-recorded are "Danny's Road" and "The Deceiver". Although this tape was intended to be private and not to be released, there are occasionally copies sold on eBay.

• Jeremy Cunningham and Charlie Heather have recently worked with McDermott's 2 Hours, playing bass and percussion respectively on McDermott's albums The World Turned Upside Down, Claws and Wings and Disorder.

• In 1991 the Levellers acted as session band on Rev Hammer's recording Industrial Sound and Magic and still often support Hammer in live performances. They also appeared on Hammer's concept album Freeborn John. The story of John Lilburne - The leader of the Levellers. They sing on one song called the "Burford Stomp", and they play the part of The Leveller Mutineers. Friend sings a duet with Maddy Prior called "Elizabeth's Great Gallop". He plays the part of the Drunken Cavalier.

Rolling anarchy

"Rolling anarchy" is a trademarked symbol of the band. It is composed of three sickles placed so as to form the letter A, recognizable however the logo is rotated.

The symbol is often featured on Levellers merchandise and at concerts. It is usually surrounded with the text "Whoever puts their hand upon me to govern me is a usurper, a tyrant, and I declare them my enemy." These words (originally by the French anarchist philosopher Pierre-Joseph Proudhon) had previously been used by the band Zounds who originally released their single "Can't Cheat Karma" featuring this quote on the Crass records label.

Discography

Albums

• A Weapon Called the Word (April 1990)
• Levelling the Land (October 1991) 14
• See Nothing, Hear Nothing, Do Something: UK Singles and Live Collection (1992)
• Levellers (September 1993) 2
• Zeitgeist (August 1995) UK 1
• Headlights, White Lines, Black Tar Rivers (Best Live) (August 1996) UK 13
• Mouth to Mouth (August 25 1997) UK 5
• One Way of Life: The Very Best of The Levellers (October 1998) UK 15
• Hello Pig (September 2000) UK 28
• Special Brew (May 2001)
• Green Blade Rising (September 2002) UK 77
• Truth and Lies (May 23 2005) UK 102
• Letters from the Underground (August 11 2008)UK #24

RE-ISSUES (all remastered with new artwork and released 16 July 2007):

• Levelling the Land (2 disc, with BBC's recording of Glastonbury 1992)
• Levellers (with additional tracks)
• Zeitgeist (with additional tracks)
• Mouth to Mouth (with additional tracks)
• Hello Pig (with unreleased tracks)

Singles

• "Carry Me" (5/1989)
• "Outside/Inside" (10/1989)
• "World Freak Show" (5/1990)
• "Together All the Way" (10/1990)
• "One Way" (16/9/1991) 51
• "Far From Home" (2/12/1991) 71
• "15 Years" (18/5/1992) 11
• "Belaruse" (5/7/1993) 12
• "This Garden" (25/10/1993) 12
• "5 songs" (1993)
• "Julie" (9/5/1994) UK 17
• "Hope St." (7/8/1995) UK 12
• "Fantasy" (9/10/1995) UK 16
• "Just the One" (18/12/1995) UK 12
• "Exodus" (live) (5/7/1996) UK 24
• "What a Beautiful Day" (4/8/1997) UK 13
• "Celebrate" (13/10/1997) UK 28
• "Dog Train" (15/12/1997) UK 24
• "Too Real" (9/3/1998) UK 46
• "Bozos" (19/10/1998) UK 44
• "One Way '98" (1/2/1999) UK 33
• "Happy Birthday Revolution" (9/12/2000) UK 57
• "Come On" (16/9/2002) UK 24
• "Wild As Angels" (13/1/2003) UK 34
• "Make U Happy" (18/4/2005) UK 38
• "Last Man Alive" (12/12/2005) UK 147
• "What a Beautiful Day" (25/6/2007)
• "A Life Less Ordinary" / "The Cholera Well" [download only single] (03/03/2008)
• "Burn America Burn" [download only single] (02/06/2008)
• "Before the End" (28/7/2008)

Videos and DVDs

• The Great Video Swindle (November 1992) - live gig recorded at Barrowlands, Glasgow, Scotland in May 1992. The gig is interspersed with band interview footage. (VHS only, deleted)
• Best Live: Headlights, White Lines and Black Tar Rivers (August 1996) - live gig recorded at the Empress Ballroom, Blackpool, England on February 7, 1996. (VHS only, deleted)
• One Way of Life: The Best of The Levellers (October 1998) - collection of videos to the band's singles.
• Chaos Theory (October 2006) - recording of a live gig at Reading Hexagon plus extras including acoustic performances with Nick Burbridge, Maddy Prior and Rev Hammer and a tribute to the Clash with Billy Bragg.

Notes and references

All facts on the band history taken from the official biography: Berger, G. (1998) Dance Before the Storm: The Official Story of the Levellers. Virgin Publishing, London.

See also

• Dan Donnelly
• The Wonder Stuff
• New Model Army
• The Outcast Band
• 3 Daft Monkeys
• Los Salvadores
• McDermott's Two Hours
• The Fish Brothers
• Night-life and popular music of Brighton and Hove

External links

• Official website
• Levellers' official Myspace page
• Levellers Interview
• Beautiful Days Official Website