EIGHTIES funk band Level 42 are to play York Barbican on October 15 on next year's Eternity Tour when The Blow Monkeys will be their special guests.

Tickets go on sale on Friday at 9am on 0844 854 2747, at yorkbarbican.co.uk or in person from the Barbican box office.

York will be the only Yorkshire destination on a 19-date tour that will open in Glasgow on October 2 and climax at the Royal Albert Hall in London on October 25, with tickets available from aegpresents.co.uk.

Led by Isle of Wight-born slap-bass guitarist and singer Mark King, Level 42 have sold more than 30 million albums and notched up such hits as Lessons In Love, Something About You, Running In The Family and It’s Over in a career spanning almost four decades. In 2016, the band completed a sold-out 37-date Sirens II Tour, having played York Barbican in October 2014 on the original Sirens tour.

York Press:

Level 42's Mark King playing York Barbican in October 2014

"We can’t wait to get on the road again in the UK in 2018; it’s always such a hoot, and our fans are always a joy to play to," says King. "The band is ever evolving, and reinvention, both musically and in the way we present ourselves, has become something of a tradition for Level 42.

"The Eternity Tour will be a chance for us to showcase this once again, and we’ll be playing all our best material as well as some new tracks, and maybe a few deeper cuts too. We are also very happy to welcome The Blow Monkeys as special guests for the tour; how cool is that!”

The Blow Monkeys, fronted by Dr Robert, will perform the likes of Digging Your Scene, It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way and their cover of Lesley Gore’s You Don’t Own Me, from the Dirty Dancing soundtrack in 1987, plus songs from this month's new album, The Wild River, their fifth studio set since re-forming in 2008. Released on Monk's Road, the record marks the band's return to their soulful roots in songs of redemption written, recorded and produced at Dr Robert's Andalusian home.