But maybe this explains why the band were relatively quiet during 1998 and 1999. China Records wanted them to release a Best Of album in order to keep the momentum going, so they grudgingly agreed. Two new songs were recorded for the package, one of them being the superb 'Shadow On The Sun', another darkly infectious folk-rock treasure that bizarrely never got a release as a single. The other song was the single 'Bozos', an odd techno punk track that was a cover of an obscure 1988 single by Flik Spatula. A couple of years later, the group would return with the strange and hugely divisive 'Hello Pig' LP, a fantastic and underrated record that split fans but received more critical acclaim than any other Levellers album.
Celebrating their 30th anniversary with this year's John Leckie-produced acoustic album 'We The Collective', the folk punk heroes will be touring the UK next month in November.
Read an interview with frontman Mark Chadwick from a few years ago HERE, where he looks back at the the history of the group. Chadwick also recently played a superb acoustic solo show in Trowbridge on October 19, and a review can be found HERE.
