Added: 5 years ago
From: Leetav
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  • There's no doubt that he's good. But he is as far away from a Groove as you could possibly be.

  • the cocaine will make you FLY..the tempo for this was actually. 58!!!! lol j/k

  • Mark's drumming background pretty much explains his two handed percussive solo technique. But the man's real genius lies in his ability to lay the groove, interject melodic lines AND sing simultaneously - there is simply none better.

  • This was the best-sounding bass King played, period.

  • @MomoTheBellyDancer Absolutely !!! It has such a perfect tone for him in my opinion .. his new bassed sound to thin and crispy , but hey if thats what he likes ...

    Les Claypool has changed his tone also recently wich im still not sure i like it better but oh well :P times change .

  • I remember seeing this live on TV when it was first screened on "the Tube" - I must admit as a young bassist I was gobsmacked!! I'd seen Stanley Clarke on "the old grey whistle test" and that was great...but this was even better!

  • Self indulgent bollocks

  • @Weymouth61 Self indulgent? Possibly. Bollocks? Never.

  • Thanks for video ! Mark King it´s my HERO ! I LOVE JAYDEE BASS CLASSIC CHERRY RED AND PEARL FINISHES(I SSTILL HAVE ONE TO ME ,TO PLAY STRONG SLAP´S !) . ICENALL BASSMAN FROM BRASIL !

  • @Icenall May I have it??? :D

  • @kinshasaAPP YES .. if you wanna Jaydee Bass ...YOU HAVE IT JAYDEE BASS ! i buy 11 Jaydee Bass (11 DIFERENT MODELS ) TO PLAYING WHIT MY BAND FROM R&B IN BRASIL,VENEZUELA , COLOMBIA, COSTA RICA ,EL SALVADOR AND PORTO RICO !

  • this guy is great...i was 13 when l42 broke in the states with something about you...by that time i was in orchestra playing upright bass and cello...but when i heard lessons in love i thought it was like some sort of synth arpegigator..and then when i say him play like that AND SING it made me rethink everything..he is certainly a leval to want to aspire to, people dont understand that its one thing to hit the notes what he is doing here is technqiue, he has amazing cntl and is fast ppl love it

  • You have to remember that at the time there was nobody like Mark King .He was different. This may look dated now.He was very young at the time and has matured with age.This was fresh and has influenced many a bassist, which is why everybody has heard of him and not the likes of wooten.

  • Feck, he is just awesome. Thunder Thumbs!!

  • sh*t... i just accidently removed a completely valid and constructive comment on here...so sorry to whoever posted :(

  • Jools Holland doesn't look or sound impressed

  • @baceace That's because he wasn't able to get on the piano and force his own mediocrity on the audience on this occasion

  • this was one of my favorite hbo shows when it was on - still can watch it at  rome Streams online ^ dot ^ info

  • Its gaffa tape cos his thumb used to split open all the time. Later on he had something like a plastic tube - obviously looked a lot more pro!!

  • whats his slapping thumb? is it elctric tape?

  • @FunkShitUp33 it is gaffa tape

  • He never sounded better than on that JayDee. I love that overly flanged tone.

  • He was already a monster on the bass with only a few years experience. Serious talent for it.

  • Stu Hamm is No Mark King if the same way , Stu is no Jack Kennedy If YKWIM?

  • its good but kinda gets FUCKING INTENSELY IRRITATING....stu hamm kills this already

  • are you taking the piss?

  • nah its incredibly skillfull,,,, but it gets incredibly irritating when its like a machine gun...... thats all...now caaalm the fuck down mate..!

  • He's a reall Pro! But as for me he sounds a bit ordinary.

  • Was Jools Holland disappointed at the end of the video? And for what? Envy maybe? :)

  • arrr i want a bass with that thight sound!!

  • Mark King didn´t even touch a bass until he was 21 years, He had barely played the bass for 6 years in 1985. he would propably be the best bassplayer of all time if he started as a 5 year old.

  • I only listen to metal but I think that he is the best =)

  • He was a drummer for the band, but had Phil, so Mark just say...ok..i will play bass if I have to...DEAR GODS...I bow to the bass gods that he followed thru...the man has a rare talent to be that good so quick...if you wanna be really blown away look at some concert footage from 81 or 82..holey moley

  • @SevenCircles probably not. since he started out as a drummer, he used what he knew from drumming, on a bass. the drum rhythms and 'techniques'. so if he started at 5, he could never have the experience with drumming, which he needed to perfect his slap playing. and he probably wouldn't turn out as good as he is right now.

  • @SevenCircles he started playing at 12 but pursued drumming initially.

  • @SevenCircles yeah man, mark is a beast. just like that. but hey, he was a drummer before play bass! its not like he started over the zero. he already had high dexrity in both hands (from where he created his left hand slap, that was just revolutionary!), probably high rhythm knowledge and good timing. also brobably many funky patterns he just put down on bass! see? hes a genious, not a magician! :^D

  • Nicely said. I'm a drummer and i've always got on best with the bass guitarists in any band i've been in (musically, of course).

    I never knew Mark was a drummer before playing the bass. Thanks for that info. It's funny because now i know it, it seems completely obvious. He really does 'drum' that bass.

    As for him being able to sing lead whilst playing... That's always amazed me. I only ever met one person who could do it competently.

  • Mark makes it look so easy

  • de madre..ta fuerte eso

  • Ok you guys maybe don´t like the music, but you can´t deny he is world class.

  • I Love Mark King! How can you say he's annoying!?

  • mark king........the best bassplayer in the world in all time. fullstop

  • Totally agree ... no-one better. punto.

  • yep, left channel only, but hey, i watched this live and glad someone has it posted!!!! as for cliff burton? if it wasn't for Mr Isle of Wight, Mr burton would not be doing what he does!!!! DOH!!!!!!

  • poor sound just on the left channel

  • You are joking right???

  • hahahah, Cliff wasn't bad, but man, he's nobody compared to real bassists like Claypool, Wooten, Clarke, Miller or even King himself.

    just cause you like Metallica doesn't mean everybody in metallica is the best at its instrument, lars isn't the best drummer ever, neither is kirk the best guitarrist...

  • Cliff was the exception. James is decent, but Kirk just wanks E harmonic minor with a wah and Lars is... Ok... but overplays far too much. Cliff has talent by the bucketload, just not as much as any of your favourite bassists.

  • Cliff was better pianist then bassplayer acually. he could play difficult bach pieces on piano for instance

  • The most difficult way to make slap bass look shit.

  • this guy amazes me!

  • This is not music...

  • how young does jools holland look at the end of this!

  • Comment removed

  • the best basist ever!!

  • sorry but your forgetting Larry Graham. Tops

  • mark is KING end of discussion...

  • I agree no one came close!!!!!!!!

  • Why does it have to be about competition or a "winner". Any one who plays great and has a real career in the music business is a winner. Think about it, how many people can actually say they tour the world and pay a mortgage playing bass? No matter what your preference is, just realize every top notch player has his or her specialties and strong points. They all spent many years developing it. Let's not try and sum it up in a 2 minute youtube clip...

  • just enjoy a musician doin his stuff in a style that he likes and i've never seen enwistle do slap bass imagine that with daltry singing along lol:)

  • whats an enwistle

  • entwhistle awesome but he's not the same style as wooten and mark. its like comparing death metal and country.

    and as for the whole king wooten thing its probs more preference than ability. I'd say there pretty evenly matched but wooten probs more enjoyable to watch.

  • i find mark is just pure funk carzyness while wooten has just such an describable style that cannot be matched but i agree about how you say it probly is preference over ability

  • you can, but im not going to.

  • They only thing that's "muddy" is you're argument.

  • pjhalbert I don't agree but that was a very funny comment.

  • WOW!

  • fuck wooten...can he sing and play like that?...ur da man mark!! fuk the rest

  • dude for style and an creativeness id say wootens best but as far as technical pop and slap this dudes the shit specially if you check out some other stuff...not to say wootens isnt fucking hard to play either

  • wooton doesnt stand a chance with this guy!!!!

  • not a chance... its king....claypool....wooton...

    not sayin hes bad or cos hes fuckin unreal but personaly its mark...even tho flea is my fav... not the best just my personal fav....

  • ah I see, sorry for the diss. Wooten is my favortie that's why I was offended. Great show of technical ability by King though, definently up there with the greats.

  • Haha, Mark king is far more rutined and has a better technique too

  • I dont know, wooten's insaneicus when it comes to technique. Not just speedy slap but using harmonics, tapping, thumbing techniques, etc.

  • How camp was Jools at the end?

  • stop saying "wooten is the best" , cuz its mark :)

  • I remember this clip - wow.The 1st time I've ever seen the King look nervous ...!

  • Mark King is the bass God . Nuff said

  • Larry Graham, for my money ;)

    Considering he is probably King's greatest influence

  • Nope, guess it was Stanley much more than Larry!!! Listen to Mark in the early years of Level 42 and his first solo album...

  • Actually, yeah - you're probably right! But I'm still holding firm that Larry was the slap godfather, while others may have pushed the boundaries of 'slap' (^^clearly from this vid!) like Stanley

  • He slaps far better than any black bassist!

    Much smoother, cleaner, and I love his tone!

  • is this improvised?

  • im gunna practice my ass of to be like this guy hes amazing

  • wouldnt that kinda hurt??? just imagine missing your ass

  • yes it would be missed but it would be worth it

  • good old jools at the end there lol

  • nobody will ever be better than the king...

  • Play that funky music white boy!! Absolutley awesome funk speed.

  • i actually taped this at the time and still have it. what i love about mark is, he is using his technique to play music, not like most players today where its all technique and no substance. to answer iluvem, mark was a gifted musician from an early age playing guitar and drums. without that musicianship he would not be where he is today.

  • yeah i remember watching this,mark plays so many instruments,not many musicians can be on a par with the king...

  • mark had his influences of course, stanley clarke being the most obvious. but, technique aside, mark seemed to come from another planet!

  • ..Though he took up bass at 21.

  • so the legend goes. but my point was, and any budding mark kings out there would do well to remember, we are only as good as our musical ability and experience. it really doesnt matter what instrument it is expressed on. he was already talented with harmony and melody having played guitar. as i said mark king is NOT just about bass technique.

  • I saw this at the time,i was laughin cause he's SO good,he must have got r.s.i in later life surely or a dead thumb.

  • Mark King has done more for the bass guitar in popular music than anyone else,he writes and sings all level 42 songs and didn't even pick up a bass until he was 21 yrs old.Incredible really.

  • hello mate most of the songs were written by phil boon and wally badarou mark and mike had a hand in but mark does most of the new stuff,

  • not true - mark wrote most of the music in those early days. Phil and boon wrote the lyrics predominantly

  • not true - Mark wrote pretty much the vast majority of music whereas Wally was involved at the beginning and Boon wrote lyrics not music

  • Blimey! Mark's as fast as greased lightning! How on earth does he keep up his energy?

  • is mark using some kind of effect? or is it the sound quality?

  • Probably some chorus is on there,he uses it often to lift his sound up a bit.

  • What's the thingie around he's right thumb? is it some kind of slap band? is it something to improve his playing at all?

  • he cut his thumb during a show pretty bad once. That's a piece of tape he uses to make sure it doesn't happen again.

  • he liked how it sounded thats why he has used it since

  • mark was 20 or 21 when he frist picked up a bass.

  • mark was 20 or 21 when he frist picked up a bass.

  • Too quiet. For full appreciation of Mark King, we need better volume.

  • Seinfelds bass is actually a keyboard played by Jonathan Wolff. Check the credits. The Southpark theme is Claypool (and primus)

  • king in name king in nature when he dies he'll be sitting on his cloud slapping a harp,and god will say do you want my job?and mark will reply "no give it to claypool he fucks everything up just like you".

  • no it is virtuosity the mad...

  • Do it in e flat

  • Stfu Mark King can kick his ass

  • whoa whoa whoa who says he would wipe the floor with claypool??? you gotta be nuts to say such a thing. i love them both dearly, but niether is really better than the other. mark may be the fastest single stroke slapper out there, but les is insanely creative...even more so than mr. king.

  • i could've not said it better myself.. i surly agree..

  • I say it wipe the floor and use him as the rag.Claypool is to Mark King like Jeff Lacey was to Joe Calzaghe same game different league.

  • claypool can go nearly at his speed with just as much efficiency. what you say is completely unwarrented and incorrect.

  • well you are all way fucking wrong

    my dads been playing for 24 years and he knows how to play and he also knows who else can play well, in 1988 mark king was considered tthe best bass player of all time.

  • maybe in 1988 he was, but we're talking about claypool and king. they're both excellent. end of story.

  • ye your right lol

  • i remember watching this,its called virtuosity the mad.

  • Is ths the guy that did all the seinfeld bass work??

  • nope. the guy who did all the Seinfeld's Bass work is Les Claypool... the bassist of the Band Primus..and I hate to admit that Mark king is better than him... LOL

  • The guy would wipe the floor with Claypool

  • mark king is the best in the world of all time. forever. mark and jaco n1....

  • You stupid idiots. Mark King not only wrote UK hit singles, but could sing them as well as play them.

    He fronted a top UK band, not only played the bass like he does, but sung the frigging songs at the same time live on stage.

    Sly and the Family Stone, Marcus Miller haven't done what Mark King has done.

    He wrote music and lyrics and sang them all live while playing the best bass with the rest of them.

    You have no idea what the guy has done and never will.

  • You`re absolutely right...=]

    (pause it at 1:07 lol! )

  • Ehmm...dude before you make accusations, do your homework. Ever heard of Graham Central Station?? who do you think does the singing there? BINGO the bass player, Larry Graham.

    Mark King is not the only bass player in the world who have had hits and does the lead singing. don't get me wrong i'm a long time fan of Mark King and level 42, his the reason i went from playing drums to play bass, but it's not fair to the "founder" of the slap style to make those kind of accusations...

  • Yes agreed I was a bit heavy and I do admire Larry Graham. I am not hero worshiping MK, I admire many other bass players.

    But MK does put in a hell of a lot more effort and work into show man ship compared to most good bass players.

    Cheers

  • .....point well noted.....Larry Graham does deserve the credit there.....along with Geddy Lee.

  • You mean Spa-Geddy Lee? Please. He's a good finger-style bassist, and I love Rush. But I wouldn't put Geddy in the same league as MK, Jaco, Stanley, Vic Wooten, or even Les Claypool.

  • I meant in reference to performing by writng the music, playing the music, and singing. I mentioned Geddy Lee because he is quite a multi-tasker on stage. He plays bass, operates Taurus pedals, plays keyboards, and sings. Hardly any bass players have done that. Mark King can play bass, guitar, and drums, great singer too. Lots of talent in one 5'7" tall package.

  • Oh, most definitely -- Geddy is quite multi-talented in that respect. Great to watch on stage!

  • "the same league"

    Which league is that? The fastball league?

    This is music, not a race.

  • It's a figure of speech, dickweed.

  • Is that the same mouth you kiss your mother with?

  • No, my mother's dead, fucktard. But I'll kiss your mother's mouth with it. Big sloppy tongue, too -- all slobbery with lots of nasty slurping sounds. That's what she says she likes.

  • Big man with the big words.

    While you rage with anger I laugh at your idiocy.

    Hey, your mom's calling - gotta go.

  • Okay, you win.

  • ....and not to mention while chewing gum all at the same time.

  • Larry Graham (Sly and The Family Stone) is the Literal father of the Slap Bass Technique and Style so stop with all the debating over Victor Wooten et al.

  • Is It Quiet For Anyone Else?

  • its cool that he mixes slapping and regular playing up, so awesome! tho.. i personally think cliff burton is... WAS better... but thats my opinion ^^

  • cliff burton? ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ahhhhhhhhhhhhh

  • Mark definately put Jaydee basses on the map.

  • Jools holland?! :O

    He's soo slimmm haha,

    must be a very old video.

    What a solo

  • bloody hell ur as good as flea

  • No disrespect to Flea who is a great bass player in his own right, However, Flea plays a kind of 'punk funk' and Mark King plays a more funk,jazz,pop style. Mark will always be the fastest bass player alive.

  • N1 mark is the world please do not compare to mark dummies, but was joking? Mark is the god of low there is no one like him to the world. Do is laugh about flea? Ah Ah Ah.

  • Faster than Vic Wooten? I dont think so...

  • wooten is a children, come on to school ignorant

  • u cant compare mark king with vic wooten.. both are great but they play with different methods.. and both are incredible so u cant say who is better =)

  • my friend, please stop with children's. this wooten is a children compared the best bassplayer in the world: mr mark king. stop.

  • you either dont speak english or are retarded

  • z z z zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz,....  zzzzz... zzzzz.

  • exactly

  • We all now the truth that Vic Wooten is better than this gay...I meant guy. Pippoformaggio is a lifeless fan or Mark King himself.:)) He's on all his videos

  • Flea is maybe better in taking drugs but never on bassguitar.

  • Flea is OK, just not ambitious and rather overrated.

  • flea? who is flea? silent please. you are ridiculos. the children at house, please.

  • wow that wasn't even funny

  • Wake up!!!

  • what a dumbass

  • I beg to differ on that one.

  • what does he have on the thumb??? it's weird.

  • That's tape he wears on his thumb....Back in the early days he was at a show in Holland and he was playing so hard that he literally split the side of his thumb. So he has worn tape ever since to keep eliminate soreness from doing relentless shows.

  • Ah! :-O

    I think that it gives also a different sound.

  • Thanks for posting this..........I remember seeing this on The Tube..good memories!

  • ALL HAIL THE KING !

  • The Buddy Rich of Bass Guitar!!!

  • gianfranco spagnulo(you tube) come on

  • ALL TOGETHER NOW!