Fresh from a headlining performance at Kubix Festival in Sunderland, Levellers frontman Mark Chadwick is urging fans to join them again for a very special North East date.
The band are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their seminal album Levelling The Land with a UK tour this autumn.
The folk-punk legends will play the now-classic record in full at the O2 City Hall in Newcastle on Saturday, 30 October 2021. Many of the subsequent dates have already sold out.
Formed in Brighton in 1988, the Levellers took their name from a political movement during the time of the English Civil War.
Levelling The Land, their second album, redefined the UK’s musical landscape when it was released in the summer of 1991.
Mainstream success
Entering the UK Album Charts at No 14, it transformed them from a band popular with the travelling and indie music community into a mainstream act.
Best-known for the singles One Way, 15 Years and Far From Home, it also features fan favourites such as Another Man’s Cause, Boatman and Battle Of The Beanfield, and eventually achieved platinum sales.
Frontman Mark Chadwick says it’s the record which changed everything for the band, but can’t believe it’s 30 years since it was released.
“When we first formed we thought we’d last about two years – and then 10 years passed and then 20 and then 30. The anniversaries just creep up on you.
“Levelling The Land was the record that everyone bought, one of those that every student, every kid who cared about the environment and cared about politics, had to have.
Right timing
“That wasn’t down to us, it was down to the timing, like so many beautiful things are. That album came out at just right time for all the people that felt like we did.
“I love playing Levelling The Land, because people’s faces light up when you sing their favourite song. It’s their music, not ours. We made it, but they own it.”
Levellers kept themselves busy during last year’s lockdown, finishing and releasing their 12th album, Peace, which reached No 8 – their most successful in more than 20 years.
They also launched an app to help fans engage with the band, and Mark did some solo acoustic shows from his kitchen, as well as learning to play the piano (“I’ve never had the time before.”).
Once the live music industry was allowed to open up again this year he played a couple of intimate acoustic gigs with Red Ken from Ferocious Dog, including a sold-out date in Newcastle.
The full band made a triumphant return to playing live at their own Beautiful Days festival in Devon in August, opening it acoustically on the Friday night and closing it electrically on the Sunday.
Since then they’ve played two festival dates in Belgium, then Kubix, so any rustiness from their covid-enforced absence from performing live is well worn off.
“We love playing in the North East, and can’t wait to kick off the Levelling The Land 30th anniversary tour there,” added Chadwick.
Good reaction
“There was a time when for some reason we didn’t play up there for about five years, and we really missed it. We always get a good audience reaction.
“The band are on super form right now, and I’d say to people ‘come and have a really good time, enjoy yourself and have a good singalong’.”
Levellers reached the peak of their popularity in 1994, when an estimated 300,000 people saw their headline set at Glastonbury Festival – still its biggest-ever crowd.
Despite their success, they are a band who’ve always been happy to be outsiders. They’ve never stopped writing, recording and touring, and have a fiercely loyal fanbase.
Today’s line-up includes original members Mark Chadwick (vocals & guitar), Jeremy Cunningham (bass), Charlie Heather (drums) and Jon Sevink (fiddle), plus long-time bandmates Simon Friend (guitar & vocals) and Matt Savage (keyboards).
One way of life
To them, there’s only One Way of life – and it’s their own.
Very special guests at the show will be local heroes Holy Moly & The Crackers, whose feelgood folk-rock will complement the Levellers’ indie anthems superbly.
Tickets, priced £28.50 (plus booking fees), are on sale now from www.gigbox.co.uk, www.seetickets.com and www.ticketmaster.com.
