THE distinctive style of Mark King's bass playing underpinned success enjoyed by Level 42 during the 80s and provided some of the best music of the decade.

Now Mr King has been persuaded back on the road for a short tour, which he says could well be his last, bringing a mix of Level 42 hits and music from his three solo albums produced after the band wound up in 1994.

"It ran its own course, we had been together 15 years, we did a lot of good songs in the 1980s but it was very much an 80s band," he said, "By 1994 we felt it had run its course."

He said the band had to work hard to achieve breakthrough success, which came in the shape of their first top ten hit The Sun Goes Down (Living it Up).

"It goes fast, that's the amazing thing about success, it's slow to come and quick to go," he said.

Something About You, Running in the Family and Leaving Me Now continued the success, which reached its peak with Lessons in Love, No 1 in 17 countries, although not the UK.

The band sold 30 million records and notched up 23 appearances on Top of the Pops, as well as lining up alongside the likes of Eric Clapton and Elton John in the Prince's Trust concerts.

With self-deprecating humour, he talks about the vagaries of the business, public reaction to the solo work and mid-life crisis - "I have just brought a Harley- Davidson" - without a trace of regret or rancour.

The latest tour includes a gig at the Huntingdon Hall in Worcester on Wednesday, November 8, at 8pm and tickets are £22.50 from 01905 611427.

7 Distinctive style: Mark King.