1993-1994:(Forever Now)
In early 1993, Gary Husband left Level 42. Various reasons for this were cited at the time—some stated that Husband did not like to play with a sequencer or click track and that the band were increasingly using more of these in their performances. Husband was also keen to continue his ongoing work with Allan Holdsworth and to develop his other career as jazz composer and bandleader (both as drummer and keyboard player/pianist).
However, some music industry rumours suggested that the record company had put pressure on King and Lindup to work with Phil Gould again, after the disappointing reaction to Guaranteed. Gould's role as co-writer on many of the bands early hits was seen as a recipe for creating a more commercial Level 42 album. Whatever the truth of this rumour, King extended an invitation to Gould, after which both agreed to put their long-running differences aside.
Gould returned as Level 42's drummer and principal lyricist for 1994's Forever Now album, which saw the group move closer to their R&B/jazz roots (especially in the lush ballad "Romance", the acid-jazz-influenced "Sunbed Song" and the dance-pop "Learn to Say No"). Further changes to the band were evident in that all guitars on the album were played by the American session guitarist Danny Blume (erroneously credited as "Danny Bloom"). Jakko Jakszyk did not play on the album, and has suggested that this too was a result of record company politics – with Husband gone and Phil Gould only formally contributing in the studio, Level 42 were now being marketed as just King and Lindup. This theory was supported by the fact that promo shots and videos for the album's singles (Forever Now, All Over You and Love in a Peaceful World), only featured King and Lindup. (The only other time this had happened was for the promo of 1987's "Children Say", which was the first promotional video shot after the Gould brothers left.) Forever Now was a critical success: and with one further album required as part of the band's three-album deal with RCA, fans saw a bright future for the band.
However, the reunion was short-lived. When Level 42 began to promote the new album (with Jakszyk returning to the live band for concerts and TV appearances) it was without Phil Gould. Dismayed at what he felt was the record company's ineptitude, Gould played only one promotional gig and did not go on the road for the Forever Now tour. He was quickly replaced as live drummer by Gavin Harrison, a widely regarded session drummer and long-term Jakko Jakszyk associate who'd previously played with Renaissance. (Harrison would later drum for both Porcupine Tree and King Crimson.)