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Madness

Madness are an English ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s 2 Tone ska revival, they continue to perform with their most recognised line-up of seven members.Madness achieved most of their success in the early to mid-1980s. Both Madness and UB40 spent 214 weeks on the UK singles charts over the course of the decade, holding the record for most weeks spent by a group in the 1980s UK singles charts. However, Madness achieved this in a shorter time period (1980–1986).Madness have had 15 singles reach the UK top ten, one UK number one single ("House of Fun") and two number ones in Ireland, "House of Fun" and "Wings of a Dove".1976–1978: FormationThe core of the band formed as The North London Invaders in 1976, and included Mike Barson (Monsieur Barso) on keyboards and vocals, Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) on guitar and Lee Thompson (Kix) on saxophone and vocals. They later recruited John Hasler on drums and Cathal Smyth (better known as Chas Smash) on bass guitar. Later in the year, they were joined by lead vocalist Dikron Tulane.This six-piece line-up lasted until part way through 1977, when Graham McPherson (better known as Suggs) took over the lead vocals after seeing the band perform in a friend's garden. Dikron went on to be an actor under the name Dikran Tulaine. Smyth, who left after an argument with Mike Barson, was replaced by Gavin Rodgers, Barson's girlfriend's brother. McPherson was kicked out of the band for too often choosing to watch Chelsea instead of rehearsing. Thompson left the band after Barson criticised his saxophone playing.By 1978, the band had allowed McPherson to return, after filling in temporarily for Hasler (who had taken over vocals when McPherson was removed). Thompson returned after patching things up with Barson, and Daniel Woodgate (Woody) and Mark Bedford (Bedders) also joined the band, on drums, replacing Garry Dovey, and bass guitar, replacing Gavin Rodgers, respectively. After briefly changing their name to Morris and the Minors, the band renamed itself as Madness in 1979, paying homage to one of their favourite songs by ska/reggae artist Prince Buster. The band remained a sextet until late 1979, when Chas Smash rejoined and officially became the seventh member of Madness as a backing vocalist and dancer.1979–1981: Early successIn 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts at number 16. A performance of "The Prince" on popular UK music show Top of the Pops helped Madness gain public recognition. Madness then toured with fellow 2 Tone bands The Specials and The Selecter, before recording their debut album.That debut album, One Step Beyond... was released by Stiff Records. The album included a re-recording of "The Prince" and its B-side "Madness", and the band's second and third singles: "One Step Beyond" and "My Girl". The title song was a cover of the B-side of the 1960s Prince Buster hit "Al Capone". One Step Beyond... stayed in the British charts for 78 weeks, peaking at number 2. After the release of "My Girl", the band felt that they had exhausted the material from One Step Beyond..., and did not want to release any more singles from the album. However, Dave Robinson, head of Stiff Records, disagreed. Eventually, a compromise was made, and the band decided to release an EP featuring one album track and three new tracks. The result was the Work Rest and Play EP, which was headlined by the song "Night Boat to Cairo", from the One Step Beyond album. The EP reached number 6 in the UK singles chart.Live recordings of Madness performances as well as those by other 2 Tone bands were used in the documentary film and soundtrack album Dance Craze.In 1980, the band's second album, Absolutely reached number 2 in the UK album charts. Absolutely spawned some of the band's biggest hits, most notably "Baggy Trousers", which peaked at number 3 in the UK singles chart. "Embarrassment" reached number 4 in the charts, and the instrumental song "Return of the Los Palmas 7" climbed to number 7. Although the album reviews were generally less enthusiastic than those of One Step Beyond..., they were mostly positive. Robert Christgau gave the album a favourable B- grade, but Rolling Stone awarded the album just one out of five stars. Rolling Stone was particularly scathing of the ska revival in general, stating that "The Specials wasn't very good" and Madness were simply "the Blues Brothers with English accents".A drama-documentary film entitled Take It or Leave It was released in 1981, featuring the band members playing themselves in a re-creation of their early days to the then-current period.1981–1983: Change of directionIn 1981, the band's third studio album, 7, reached number 5 in the UK album charts and contained three hit singles: "Grey Day" (no. 4, April 1981), "Shut Up" (no. 7, September 1981), and "Cardiac Arrest" (no. 14, February 1982). In an article in 1979, Chris Foreman explained that the band's music would move with the times, and change styles as time goes on. This was shown to be the case, as unlike the two ska-filled, fast-paced albums that preceded it, 7 was something of a change in direction. Suggs' vocal performance changed significantly, and his strong accent from the previous albums had been watered down. The album strayed from the ska-influenced sound of One Step Beyond... and Absolutely, and moved towards a pop sound; a trend that continued with subsequent albums.Near the end of 1981, Madness released one of their most recognised songs: a cover of Labi Siffre's 1971 hit "It Must Be Love". The song climbed to number 4 in the UK, and in 1983, the song peaked at number 33 in the US charts. In 1982, Madness released their only number 1 hit to date, "House of Fun", which they played live on the 1980s series The Young Ones, and also reached number 1 in the album charts with their first compilation, Complete Madness.In November 1982, they released their fourth studio album, The Rise & Fall, which was well received in the UK, but did not get an American release. Instead, many of its songs were included on the US compilation Madness, including "Our House", which was their most internationally successful single to date. "Our House" reached number 5 in the UK music charts and number 7 in the US charts; it was also performed live on The Young Ones. Many reviewers compared The Rise & Fall to The Kinks' Village Green Preservation Society, and it is at times retrospectively considered a concept album. The album also featured "Primrose Hill", which was more similar to The Beatles song "Strawberry Fields Forever", containing similar psychedelic imagery and a layered arrangement.1983–1986: Decline and breakupIn 1983, their single "Wings of a Dove" peaked at number 2 in the UK charts, followed by "The Sun & The Rain" (no. 5, November 1983). Their following album, Keep Moving, peaked at number 6 in the UK album charts, and two singles from that album reached the top 20 in the UK music charts. The album received some good reviews, with Rolling Stone magazine giving the album four out of five stars, applauding the band's changing sound. This was an improvement as the last album reviewed by the magazine, Absolutely, was heavily criticised.On 5 October 1983 the band were rehearsing and discussing a possible television series, which was being written for them by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis. Barson then informed the band that would not be able to take part, as he was tired of the music business and wanted to spend more time with his wife. They had recently relocated to Amsterdam. Barson agreed to finish recording the album "Keep Moving", he left after playing for the last time with the band at the Lyceum Ballroom on 21 December 1983. After leaving the band James Mackie took Barson's place appearing with Madness on the US hit television show Saturday Night Live on 14 April 1984. After leaving the band, Barson returned to the UK for the filming of two music videos as he'd played on the tracks, "Michael Caine" and "One Better Day". He officially left the band in June 1984, following the release of "One Better Day". The six remaining members left Stiff Records and formed their own label, Zarjazz Records, which was a sub-label of Virgin Records. In 1985, the label released the band's sixth album, Mad Not Mad. Barson's keyboard parts were filled by synthesisers and Steve Nieve joined the band to take his place. In later years, frontman Suggs described the album as a "polished turd". The album reached number 16 in the UK charts, which was the band's lowest position on the album charts to date. Despite the poor chart showing, the album was listed as number 55 in NME's All Time 100 Albums. The singles for the album fared even worse, with "Yesterday's Men" peaking at number 18 in the UK charts. The subsequent singles, "Uncle Sam" and "Sweetest Girl", failed to make the top 20, which was a first for Madness singles.Madness were not only running their own Zarjazz Records label at the time, but also had their own recording studio, Liquidator Studios. The studio is still located on Caledonian Road in North London, in what was once the premises of their fan club office. They built a 24 track professional studio in the basement. The first floor has always been an office and chill out area, while a room upstairs is used for song mixing. The band have recorded a number of demos and b-sides at Liquidator, as well as The Madness album in 1988. Other acts to use the studio include Feargal Sharkey, The Farm, Apollo 440, The Potato 5, The Nutty Boys, The Deltones and The Butterfield 8. The studio is still regularly used by musicians, including members of Madness themselves.The band then attempted to record a new album, and 11 demo tracks were recorded. However, "musical differences" arose between band members, and in September 1986, the band announced that they were to split. Barson rejoined the band for a farewell single, "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train", but did not appear in the music video. The band officially split following the release of the single, which reached a high of number 18 in the UK. In 1988, four members of the band – Suggs, Chas Smash, Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman – continued under the name The Madness. After one self-titled album and two singles that failed to make the top 40, the band split.1992–2003: Reunion and Our House musicalTowards the end of 1991, "It Must Be Love" was re-released and eventually reached number 6 in the UK singles chart in February 1992. Following that, the singles compilation Divine Madness was released and peaked at number 1 in the album charts. Madness then announced plans for a reunion concert, Madstock!, which was held at Finsbury Park, London on 8 and 9 August of that year. The original lineup reunited, performing together for the first time since Barson left the band in 1984. Over 75,000 fans attended the weekend festival, and the dancing of the boisterous crowd seemingly caused an extraordinary event of ground-shaking proportions (during "One Step Beyond", according to the legends). As seismologist Alice Walker told the 1999 BBC documentary Young Guns Go For It:On the 8th of August 1992, the police phoned the British Geological Survey, and they said that people had been phoning in saying that there had been an earthquake in London. They had described some effects like heavy lorries passing outside. People were frightened. Tower blocks were being evacuated because people thought the tower block was going to fall down. It was an intensity of about five. When I told the police that I thought the cause of the disturbance was a Madness concert at Finsbury Park, they didn't believe me at first. I got a phone call the next night from the police who said exactly the same felt effects had occurred – and so they did believe me after all. So my reputation as a seismologist still remains intact!According to the UK's Health Protection Agency:One of the most bizarre investigations conducted by BGS using its seismic network, was in connection with an earthquake reported to be felt strongly in North London in August 1992 when three blocks of flats (8-9-storeys) were evacuated following minor damage that included cracked windows and a cracked balcony. Our seismic network showed that there had not been an earthquake or an explosion, and we were able to deduce that the cause was resonance set up by dancers at a Madness rock concert in nearby Finsbury Park. The resonance frequency of such dancing, in harmony, is tuned to the natural frequency of apartment blocks of this height, so that the movement is amplified.—Subsequent to the Finsbury Park comeback, a live album was released, and the associated single, "The Harder They Come" (a cover of Jimmy Cliff's 1973 song) reached number 44 in the UK, with the album reaching number 22.The band continued to reunite for annual UK Christmas season tours and held three more Madstock! festivals; in 1994, 1996 and 1998. Also in 1998, Madness returned to America for their first tour there since 1984. The live album Universal Madness was recorded at the Universal Amphitheatre in L.A. and released the following year. In 1999, Madness released their first studio album since 1986, entitled Wonderful. The album reached number 17 in the UK album charts, and the lead single, "Lovestruck", gave the band their first new top 10 hit in the UK since 1983. Neither of the two subsequent singles from the album, "Johnny The Horse" and "Drip Fed Fred", entered the top 40 of the UK charts.From 28 October 2002 to 16 August 2003, a musical based on Madness songs, Our House, ran at the Cambridge Theatre in London. Madness played a role in the executive production of the show, and Suggs played a role in the production for a period of time, playing the central character's father. It won an Olivier Award for best new musical of 2003, and the performance was released on DVD on 1 November 2004. There was also a previous musical based on Madness songs, One Step Beyond!, written by Alan Gilbey. The musical had a brief run at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in 1993 and a run at Putney Arts Theatre, London in 2012.2004–2010: The Dangermen and The Liberty of Norton FolgateIn 2004, the band played a series of low-key concerts as The Dangermen, performing covers of classic reggae and ska songs. A lot of the songs were those played by the band when they were first forming, and the band performed the songs as a celebration of their 25th anniversary.This led to the release of the album The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1 on V2 Records in August 2005. During the sessions which produced the album, in mid-2005, guitarist Chris Foreman announced his departure, citing "the petty, time consuming bollocks that goes on in the band" as his reason for leaving. The band completed the album without him, and on release, it peaked at no. 11 in the UK album charts, which was the band's highest studio album chart position in 21 years. Although two singles were released, neither was a major success in the UK. The more successful of the two, Shame & Scandal, reached number 38, but was more successful in France where it peaked at number 12. Girl Why Don't You? did not chart and the band left the V2 record label shortly after. At this time, Kevin Burdett joined as the band's guitarist for live appearances and also appeared in the videos for both 'Sorry' and 'NW5' in early 2007.The six remaining original members of Madness began working on their first original album in seven years.In March 2007, the non-LP single Sorry was released on the band's own record label Lucky 7 Records, peaking in the UK charts at number 23. The single included a version featuring UK hip hop artists Sway DaSafo and Baby Blue.The new Madness song NW5 (then still titled NW5 (I Would Give You Everything)) and a re-recorded version of It Must Be Love were featured in the German film Neues vom Wixxer in. The two songs were released in Germany as a double A-Side, and both of them were turned into music, which – besides members of the film's cast – featured Suggs, Chas Smash, Woody and stand-in guitarist Kevin Burdette. A re-recorded version of 'NW5' was released as a single on 14 January 2008 in the UK reaching no. 24 – this recording featured original Madness guitarist Chris Foreman, who had re-joined the band in time for the 2006 Christmas tour, but had not participated in the original recording of the song.In June 2008, Madness showcased the majority of their new album The Liberty of Norton Folgate at London's Hackney Empire for 3 nights. The Hackney Empire performances were recorded and sold to fans as they left the show on USB wristbands. Madness played two dates in December 2008, firstly in Manchester on 18 December, and secondly a return gig to The O2 in London on the 19th.In December 2008 the band also announced that for their 30th anniversary in 2009, they would be staging a 5th Madstock festival in London's Victoria Park on 17 July, 11 years after the last Madstock concert. It was originally rumoured that the newly reformed The Specials would make an appearance after finishing their reunion tour. However, this did not occur, although original Specials keyboardist Jerry Dammers – who was not part of the reunion line-up – was announced as a support act with The Spatial AKA Orchestra shortly before the festival. Dammers would support Madness again during their 2009 Christmas tour, when he opened each night with a DJ set.Through late March and early April 2009 the band played a series of festival and separate headlining dates across Australia. The lead-up single from their latest album, entitled Dust Devil, was released on 11 May on Lucky 7 Records. Alfie Allen and Jaime Winstone co-starred in the music video. The single charted at No. 64 on the UK singles charts and at No. 1 on the UK Independent charts on 17 May 2009.The new album, entitled The Liberty of Norton Folgate was released a week later, on 18 May 2009. It charted at No. 5 in the UK album charts. The band continued to play various festivals, including Pinkpop, Splendour, and Glastonbury. On 27 September 2009, the band also played a free concert on a closed-off Regent Street in association with Absolute Radio.On Friday 28 August, Madness played the Rock en Seine festival near Paris, on the same night where Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher engaged in a physical altercation, resulting in the split of the band. As Oasis cancelled their headlining slot, Madness, even though having played earlier in the evening, were asked to replace them. They accepted the invitation and both of their sets during the festival were said to have been well received.As in previous years, the band embarked on a Christmas tour of the UK (also playing one concert in Dublin), playing at various medium sized venues. Bassist Mark Bedford was absent and replaced by Graham Bush for the tour – according to Madness guitarist Chris Foreman, Bedford is taking some time off from the band and has not specified a return date yet.Some members of the band appeared in Catherine Tate's Nan's Christmas Carol. They first posed as carol singers, then played 'Baggy Trousers' over the credits. On 18 January 2010, Madness released a fourth single, Forever Young, from The Liberty of Norton Folgate. The single failed to chart.During an interview with RTÉ 2fm radio host Dave Fanning on 24 May 2010, drummer Daniel Woodgate stated that the members of the band are currently finalising songs for the follow-up to The Liberty of Norton Folgate. The band hope to be able to start recording the album later on in 2010.In September 2010, Madness were awarded the 'Idol award' at the Q Awards in London. Guitarist Chris Foreman, stated in his acceptance speech that Madness were recording a new album.Madness toured the UK throughout November and December 2010 with their final show at London's Earl's Court, where they played a new song from their upcoming album. However, two concerts, in Hull and Sheffield were cancelled due to the extreme weather conditions caused by heavy snowfall, although they were later rescheduled for 5 and 6 February 2011 respectively.2011–present: Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da DaIn June 2011, the band performed at Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall, curated by inspiration Ray Davies, who also introduced the band on stage. The concert served as the premiere of three new songs – "1978", "Can't Keep a Good Thing Down" and "Death of a Rude Boy".The summer of 2012 saw two notable performances. In June, the band performed at the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace. The band performed "Our House" and "It Must Be Love" from the roof of the palace with accompanying animations projected onto the palace front.Later, in August, the band was the first to perform at the closing ceremony of the London Olympic Games. Departed bass player Mark 'Bedders' Bedford rejoined the band for both performances. In August 2012, Madness released "Death of a Rude Boy" as a free teaser track from their new album. Madness' 10th studio album Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da was released on 29 October 2012 and entered the UK album charts at no.10. In January 2013 the album re-entered the chart at no. 16 on the back of the airplay success of the single 'Never Knew Your Name'.From the start of 2013 Mark Bedford increased his performances with the band building to his full-time return to the group, which meant a close to the 4 years Graham 'Bushers' Bush had spent with the band.On 22 March 2013 the band performed outside the BBC Television Centre in a live broadcast for BBC Four. This was followed by Goodbye Television Centre, a celebration of 50 years of the television centre, marking the closure of the grade II listed building and the last show to be broadcast from it. Following that the band was the closing act to the new year celebration of 2014 in Dublin, Ireland.On 22 March 2014 Suggs confirmed to music-news.com that Madness were writing a new album which he stated " the band plan to record in the summer and release by the end of 2014 ".The Fink BrothersThe Fink Brothers were a short-lived alter ego created by Madness members Suggs and Chas Smash, working under the aliases Angel and Ratty Fink.SingleThe MadnessThe Madness was in fact a line-up of Madness without Mark Bedford, Daniel Woodgate and Mike Barson, active between 1988 and 1989. Formed by Suggs, Chas Smash, Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman in 1988, they distinguished this line-up from the previous Madness line-up only by adding the word "The" to the band's name. The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles and many on-line discographies consider this band to be the same as "Madness". Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman also alluded to this view on their album "Crunch!", which was dedicated to "the good ship Madness and all who sailed in her (1979 to 1989)".SinglesAlbum1988: The Madness UK No. 65The Nutty BoysThe Nutty Boys were Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman of Madness. The name "The Nutty Boys" was actually the name of their album, while the new band was called "Crunch!". The posters for their first concert mistakenly listed the band as "The Nutty Boys" instead of "Crunch!", and the name accidentally stuck. While the members of the band Madness were nicknamed "The Nutty Boys" as a whole, this section lists only the work released by Thompson and Foreman under "The Nutty Boys" name in the early 1990s.SingleAlbum1990: Crunch!Crunch!Crunch! were also Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman. At this point, the band formally corrected the earlier mistake and officially adopted their original name of "Crunch".SingleCollaborationsMadness collaborated with Elvis Costello in 1983 on a version of their song "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)". It was released as a bonus track to the 12" copy of the single. In later years, Barson stated that Costello's "Watching the Detectives" was the main influence on the song "My Girl". For Wonderful in 1999, Ian Dury laid down vocals on the track "Drip Fed Fred" which was released as the last single from the album. Subsequently it was Ian's last recording before his death. Ill health prevented Dury from actively promoting the single, although he did appear on the National Lottery Show, but for a later performance on TFI Friday, the song was reworked to incorporate Phill Jupitus on vocals. Live, Madness have collaborated with artists such as UB40 and Prince Buster, notably at their first Madstock concert. They have also played live frequently with members of the other 2 Tone bands, such as The Specials. In May 2008, Suggs and Carl performed live with Pet Shop Boys at London's Heaven collaborating on a new composition of My Girl. A few days afterwards, Pet Shop Boys posted their own version of the track on their official website.In late 2010, the band collaborated in the Cage Against The Machine project, in which numerous artists "performed" John Cage's 4'33? for a charity single intended to prevent the winner of The X Factor claiming the Christmas Number 1. The title refers to the previous year's successful campaign to get Rage Against The Machine's Killing In The Name Of to chart above X Factor winner Joe McElderry.Lyrical themesFrequent themes in Madness' songs included childhood memories (e.g., "Baggy Trousers", and "Our House") and petty crime (e.g., "Shut Up", and "Deceives the Eye"). Although Madness were seen by some as somewhat of a humorous band with catchy, bouncy songs, many of their songs took a darker tone (such as the singles "Grey Day" and "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)") and they sometimes tackled what were, at the time, controversial issues in their lyrics. "Embarrassment" (from the Absolutely album) was written by Lee Thompson, and reflected the unfolding turmoil following the news that his teenage sister had become pregnant and was carrying a black man's child. Madness discussed animal testing in the song "Tomorrow's Dream". The band criticised the National Health Service in "Mrs. Hutchinson", which told the story of a woman who, after several misdiagnoses and mistreatment, became terminally ill. The story was based on the experiences of Mike Barson's mother. Madness' final single prior to disbanding, "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train", commented on apartheid in South Africa.Skinhead controversyEarly in their career, Madness was linked to skinheads; members of a British working-class subculture that the media often stereotyped as racist (although many skinheads, including the original generation, are non-racist or anti-racist). Not only was Madness, along with other 2 Tone bands, popular with skinheads, but it was said that the band members themselves were associated with the subculture.The band's relationship with the skinheads varied at times. Barson was particularly displeased with the band's skinhead association, often finding it disappointing that so many were present at performances. Prior to becoming a full member of the band, Chas Smash had been involved in fights with skinheads at performances. In one particular incident on 18 November 1979, Madness was supported by Red Beans and Rice, who featured a black lead singer, and the band was prevented from completing the performance due to the racist chants from certain members of the skinhead filled audience. Suggs later came on stage to show his displeasure at their behaviour, but this did not stop much of the audience from Nazi saluting at the end of the show.In a 1979 NME interview, Smash was quoted as saying, "We don't care if people are in the NF as long as they're having a good time". This added to speculation that Madness was a racist band supporting the National Front, although the band members denied those allegations, and Smash responded to the NME article in the song "Don't Quote Me on That". Eventually, band members denied their skinhead roots.AwardsThe band's first notable musical award came in 1983 when Chris Foreman and Cathal Smyth won an "Ivor Novello Award" for Best Song for the international hit "Our House". Madness received another "Ivor Novello Award" 17 years later for an "Outstanding Song Collection". In 2005, they were awarded the MOJO "Hall of Fame" Award, notably for being 'an artist's artist'. As of 2007, a campaign is taking place by fans of Madness for the band to be awarded a Brit award. Many fans and critics feel they have been overlooked over their past 30 years in the music industry. In July 2009, Madness were awarded the 'Silver Clef' Icon Award. In September 2010, Madness were awarded the 'Idol Award' at the 2010 Q Awards in London.