Mark King was born on 20 October 1958, in Cowes, Isle of Wight, England, and is a musician, best known to be part of the band Level 42 as the bassist and lead singer. He has helped popularize playing the bass using slap style, but all of his efforts have helped put his net worth to where it is today.
How rich is Mark King? As of early-2017, sources estimate a net worth that is at $16 million, mostly earned through a successful career in the music industry. Aside from Level 42, he’s also had a lot of solo work, plus numerous collaborations. As he continues his career it is expected that his wealth will continue to increase.
Mark King Net Worth $16 million
At a young age, Mark’s father bought him a drum kit, and so he aspired to be a drummer. At the age of 11, he started learning the guitar, and would then meet future bandmate Phil Gould whom he considered a drum rival during that time. He attended Cowes High School but was asked to leave school after wearing denim jeans in class. He would then go and work several jobs, and at 19 moved to London to pursue a career in music. He played drums for the band Re-Flex and would then transition to bass guitar. His net worth was established.
In 1979, Mark formed Level 42 with Phil Gould, Mike Lindup, and Boon Gould. He would also start playing the bass as he worked for Macaris which didn’t have any drum options. During one of their first gigs they were discovered by Andy Sojka, who would invite them to sign with the small independent label called Elite. The following year, they signed to Polydor and would go on and make albums for the label during the next nine years, also touring extensively while under contract with Polydor. In 1981, they released their first Top 40 single entitled “Love Games” which led to an appearances on BBC TV’s “Top of the Pops”. King found himself being sought after by numerous bands due to his distinct bass playing style, and appeared on the Nik Kershaw album “The Riddle” and the Midge Ure album “The Gift”. In the same year, Level 42 supported The Police on tour as well as tours by Queen and Madonna. They continue to be active, releasing an album in 2006 entitled “Retroglide”. They also went on tour in 2008.
Aside from his work with Level 42, King has had a very successful solo career, starting with his 1984 album “Influences”. This was followed up by “One Man”, and in 1999 he released a collection of unused songs entitled “Trash” which proved successful, and led to King producing a lot of live recordings. Mark continues performing with Level 42 as a frontman, and they usually perform in various festivals.
For his personal life, it is known that Mark was married to Pia, but they divorced in 1990. The couple had three children and it is known that King previously owned a pub called “Joe Daflo’s”. The pub was sold in 2000 and it has become a franchise in England. He is now married to Ria and they have a daughter. Aside from these, King is a supporter of The Prince’s Trust and is a tourism ambassador of Isle of Wight.
