LEVEL 42 could rightly claim to be among the champions of 80s pop, but don't mention it to Mark King.

I find it slightly cringe-worthy now - it makes my toes curl a bit," he admits.

And as for 80s revivals, or even the 70s variety for that matter - forget it.

Having been through it all once, I could have lived without it. We should always be trying to look forward.

When things are turned back for a revisit, it has a way of coming out all wrong.

For example, the 70s revival. Having been a kid back then I don't remember women having such big breasts. Girls chucked their bras away in my day!"

Bras and breasts aside, the Level 42 frontman is these days more preoccupied with bringing up his four children on his native Isle of Wight.

The band chalked up some 30 million album sales with hits such as Lessons In Love and Running In the Family, so it's perhaps no surprise to learn that this jocular 42-year-old hasn't felt the need to work too much since winding the band up in 1994.

He's coming to Worcester as part of a 13-date tour mainly "for the crack and the chance to play alongside his younger "squirt" brother Nathan.

King recognises he's lucky enough to be able to poke fun at the era in which his band boomed, but insists Level 42 never set out to be a pop band.

He developed his "slap bass" technique while studying at London's Guildhall School of Music, a style that harked back to an older R'n'B sound, drumming the strings rather than picking them.

He had been a drummer since the age of 11, but took up the bass to fill in a gap in the band.

The first stirrings of success began when DJs enthusiastically touted Love Games, originally pressed as a 5,000 copy white label in 1980.

They thought we were some crucial American soul band, so they played it to death and it became a bit of a club hit.

But we were a bit confused by it all. We saw ourselves as hard and fast serious musicians."

The rest is well documented in chart history: six top ten hits between 1983 and 1987, with Lessons in Love reaching number in 17 countries, though never here.

By 1994, we were an 80s band that had gone on five years too long.

He took a four-year break to enjoy the fruits of his labour and has released two solo albums in the past two years.

King says he may never play live again after this tour, simply because music isn't his first love any more.

But for someone so vehemently against revivals, he surprised himself last year by agreeing to play at a European-style Last Night of The Proms alongside the likes of Lisa Stansfield.

When I got the offer, I thought oh no - all the alarm bells were ringing. But it turned out to be fantastic.

It was sold out for 10 nights and we were playing in front of 18,000 people."

Mark King plays Huntingdon Hall on Wednesday, November 8. Fans are encouraged to email requests to www.mark-king.com