LEVEL 42: Mark King: ‘My three million pound thumb’

Lorraine McBride (The Daily Telegraph): Fame & Fortune: Level 42 singer and bassist Mark King talks about nights spent partying with Tina Turner and Madonna – and the truth about his £3m thumb

What was your first job and how much did it pay?

I played drums in a band called Pseudo Foot when I was 11 for £5 a gig.

We played every weekend and I do remember losing one fiver. My dad said “Where’s your money, nipper?” and I did a frantic search only to realise that I must have dropped it. Five pounds was a lot of money then and I just remember that scathing look that only a dad can give a son.

Because I played nights a lot, I had a lax attitude to my studies and by 17 I ended up with no qualifications. Soon afterwards I became a milkman, earning 16 quid a week. My outstanding memory was that despite busting with testosterone, bored housewives never lured me into their home. It probably didn’t help that I had a thing about Clint Eastwood so I’d do my milk round wearing a stetson like “The Man With No Name”, only with a milk crate to replace the gun, which was a bit pathetic.

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