Level 42 / Roachford - Usher Hall, Edinburgh 21 September 2025

Special guests on the tour are Roachford, and they were warmly received by the Edinburgh crowd. ‘The Doctor’ kicked the evening off with a bit of an indie feel to it, before moving on to more soulful material where Andrew Roachford’s vocal talents really came to the fore - particularly on a boogied up cover of Bill Withers’ ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’. The highlights for me though were ‘This Generation’, ‘Love Remedy’, an extended version of smash hit ‘Cuddly Toy’ and set closer ‘Only To Be with You’. A fine start to the evening which clearly left both the band and audience in good spirits.

After the changeover, Level 42 dived straight into ‘World Machine’, the opening track from their 1985 album and continued with the entire album in its normal running order. Having seen the band several times before, it was interesting to see them play many of these deeper cuts, in addition to the hits from it which are normally included in their sets (‘Something About You’ and the classic break-up song ‘Leaving Me Now’). But there was definitely a different feel to this part of the show, compared to what would come later - the band seemed a little more subdued than normal.

Of course, eyes are always going to be drawn towards Mark King because of his incredible bass playing. To play the way he does and be able to sing over the top of it is unbelievable, he really is a freak of nature….as perfectly demonstrated on ‘Coup d’Etat’. But Level 42 gigs are certainly not a one man show and he’s always happy to stand back and let the rest of the band, including a three piece brass section, take their share of the limelight. They’re all seriously talented musicians.

After the ‘World Machine’ set, we got a bit of jazz-funk in the shape of ‘Eyes Waterfalling’, before the atmosphere changed dramatically. “What a load of self indulgent tosh that was" joked King. “It’s time to party!”

This signalled a run of greatest hits, starting with a quick-fire double of ‘To Be With You’ and ‘Running In The Family’. By this point, many of the crowd had left their seats and headed down the front, which had become a packed dancefloor. ‘The Sun Goes Down (Living It Up)’ kept the bodies moving and ‘Starchild’ gave Mike Lindup a chance to shine on vocals. The band seemed way more relaxed by this point and the bangers just kept coming, with ‘Love Games’ and ‘Lessons In Love’ rounding off the main set.

The punters naturally demanded more and Level 42 returned for three well earned encores. The keyboard fanfare at the start of ‘Heaven In My Hands’ was a signal for the dancers to get moving again. The band were flying by this point and clearly having a lot of fun, particularly drummer Pete Ray Biggin whose smile was now beaming from behind his impressive kit. Who needs a percussionist and a drummer when one man can do both jobs at the same time?! Guitarist Nathan King provided some tasteful guitar work in ‘The Chinese Way’, while brother Mark and Biggin were egging eachother on to greater heights during this and the final song of the evening, ‘Hot Water’ - it was a joy to behold.

A superb night’s entertainment!