Levellers: A Beginner's Guide

For over 30 years, the Levellers have entertained and inspired their legion of loyal fans in equal measure, tapping into a long tradition of socially motivated folk music and adding elements of punk, pop and rock. Now, a new live album, recorded at London’s Hackney Empire, sees the band rework their back catalogue in acoustic form, but to really understand this unique group, you need to revisit their origins. 1988 in the UK was a year full of strikes, the year in which Margaret Thatcher became the longest-serving Prime Minister of the 20th century and in which Pan Am Flight 103 exploded over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. “It was a very political time for everybody,” explains founding member of the Levellers, guitarist and singer Mark Chadwick, “people weren’t afraid to voice their concerns or their feelings about the world, musically.” The Levellers formed in Brighton in that year. “We were inspired by the politics of people like [anarcho-punk band] Crass,” he goes on, “getting out there and telling it like it is.”

Yet the Levellers possessed a double advantage over their punk idols – melodic hooks and an approachable persona. “We always carried on that idea of being political,” affirms Chadwick, “but our music – it’s not ranty. It just comes from the point of view of the everyman in a world that can be scary at times.” The core of the band is Chadwick, Jeremy Cunningham (bass), Charlie Heather (drums) and Jon Sevink (violin). David Buckmeister and Alan Miles played a part in the earliest days, while guitarist Simon Friend featured for over 20 years, and Matt Savage has provided keyboards since 2003. “We didn’t even know what we were going to sound like,” smiles Chadwick, reflecting on the band’s beginnings, “my songs are sort of like a cross between Roy Harper and Nick Drake. Then we added bass and drums, and then a fiddle, and that led us towards the folky, sort of like the Irish thing, and the Celtic.”

The Levellers released two self-funded EPs before coming to the attention of French label Musidisc, who financed a debut album, 1990’s A Weapon Called the Word. That record displayed a remarkably assured and polished set of folk-rock songs, its call for working-class solidarity sneaking in under the slick melodies and joyful delivery. For their follow-up, the band moved to the bigger, but still independent, China Records. “It was really important that we weren’t dictated to by a label”, says Chadwick, “that’s why we’d never sign to a major. China Records saw potential in us, and they had more money than most.” Not that money was ever a driving force. From the start, the band shared everything equally, with all funds going into one pot from which they paid themselves a weekly wage (and still do).

1991’s Levelling the Land elevated the group to a new level of fame, entering the charts at number 14. “It came as a bit of a shock,” remembers Chadwick, “but as we were a hard-touring band, we noticed we were having a sort of grassroots effect that really picked up. It’s one of those records that chimed with the era,” he continues, “the sort of record that everyone was listening to at the universities. We just got lucky with the timing.” A work of hard-edged beauty, Levelling the Land balanced bleak stories of alcoholism (‘15 Years’), war (‘Another Man’s Cause’) and social tragedy (‘Battle of the Beanfield’) against themes of hard-earned hope (‘The Road’, ‘The Boatman’). In what was now typical Levellers’ fashion, even when at their most downbeat lyrically, swirling fiddles and thumping percussion put the listener in mind of a celebration. The following year, the group appeared on the main stage at Glastonbury. “What do you say to that many people?” muses Chadwick, “It’s very distancing. I still prefer playing to smaller crowds.”

The Levellers released a self-titled third album in 1993, which hit number two on the album chart. In 1994, they returned to Glastonbury, this time as a headline act playing to 300,000 people. 1995’s album, Zeitgeist, reached number one, its sound epitomised by the single ‘Hope Street’, which veered from heavy rock to light, folksy beauty, weaving a poignant tale of working-class life, strife and dreams. Both these records balanced accessibility with earnestness and authenticity, which was also true of their business practices. “There were times when we had to make some really quite difficult decisions”, reflects Chadwick. “For example, Reading and Leeds [festivals] wanted us to play there. They kept offering us more and more money. But we wouldn’t play because we thought that they treated people, punters, abysmally.”

In 1994, the band became involved in the campaign against the Criminal Justice Act, a bill primarily designed to clamp down on unlicensed mass parties and festivals, which many saw as a dangerous restriction of rights. “We were the hub, as it were, between various different organisations”, Chadwick explains, “and we spoke at meetings in London, at community offices and various squats, and organised demos and media, just to get the message out there.” Despite many protests, the bill passed into law in November. That same year, the Levellers purchased an abandoned factory in Brighton. Naming it the Metway, they transformed the space into a nexus for independent creatives. “It’s still there now,” enthuses Chadwick, “we’ve got all kinds of people – lots of funky businesses.”

While continuing to release albums throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the group found time to establish their own festival, Beautiful Days, in 2003 – now an annual event, and their own record label, On the Fiddle Recordings. Across three decades, the Levellers’ musical output has retained a consistently high standard. More importantly, they have demonstrated that it is possible to ‘succeed’ without sacrificing your principles and that as part of that success, you should strive to bring others along with you. “We’re always there for people,” reflects Chadwick, “we gained people’s respect.” When asked if it has been difficult to keep the music fresh, Chadwick laughs: “No, not at all. It’s probably better now than it was then. The band used to get in the way of our social life. Now it is our social life!” After all this time, the Levellers continue to both entertain and inspire

+ Levellers Collective begin a UK tour on March 6. Their album Collective / Live is released on March 7