Levellers expecting 'moving' homecoming concert

Members of folk-rock band Levellers have said they expect a homecoming gig in East Sussex to be "quite a moving experience".

The group – made up of Mark Chadwick, Jeremy Cunningham, Charlie Heather, Jon Sevink, Simon Friend, Matt Savage and Dan Donnelly – are to perform at Hove Park in September.

The concert will mark the 35th anniversary of the recording of the Levelling the Land album, which lead vocalist Chadwick said was intended as social commentary.

"Levelling the Land – it says it in the title. We're Levellers and we're going to tell the truth about this country. It was about some of the injustices that we saw in the world."

Bassist Cunningham said he believed the songs were "as relevant" as ever and would "go down an absolute storm" with the crowd.

Levellers, who have recorded more than 12 albums and performed at Glastonbury Festival, have been recording new music this month.

Their biggest hit, What a Beautiful Day, was penned in a matter of minutes in a Brighton studio, Chadwick said.

He admitted that he "hated it" at first but decided to persevere after being told by someone working at the studio that it was a "hit".

"I went, 'okay, I'll finish it then'," he recalled.

Cunningham said he was excited to perform in the city where the band was formed, adding that he expected it to be "quite a moving experience".

"I can't wait," he said.

For Chadwick, he said it felt like a full-circle moment.

"It's actually really quite meaningful really because that's where the majority of the album was written, it's the atmosphere it was written in – the Brighton atmosphere of that time," he said.

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