Levellers

Levellers are a Brighton-based English band formed in 1988. They play alternative rock, celtic rock, folk, folk punk, folk rock and indie rock, and their sound combines punk influence with traditional English music. The group remains active and tours extensively in Britain and Europe.

The band’s name is linked to several accounts: it may refer to the Levellers, a radically democratic faction in Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army; to The Level, a flat open space near where members live in Brighton; or to a word chosen from a dictionary, as Simon Friend describes it.

The current and associated members listed for the group are Alan Miles, Mark Chadwick, Jeremy Cunningham, Charlie Heather, Jon Sevink, Simon Friend, Freeborn John Theatre Company, Dan Donnelly, Stephen Boakes and Matt Savage.

Politics and public profile

Levellers are strongly associated with green anarchism and have spoken out on anti-capitalist and environmental issues. They also campaign against the Criminal Justice Act, including its measures against rave parties. Despite a large and loyal audience, they receive little support from mainstream music critics, and they maintain a long-running dislike of the music press.