MADNESS

(Some thoughts by the Prophet concerning Madness, and the release of their CD “Wonderful”, England, Virgin, 1999)

Madness are (finally) back!

(...and I finally write down a few lines about them)
There’s no rhetoric here: throughout the whole “Two Tone” era, Madness have been the most exploding phenomenon. And that’s because various reasons. First of all, obviously, because they’ve been the most successful band of that period; but most of all because they’ve always been the most creative and original band with their unique “nutty sound”; and last but not least because they’ve been able to reach the hearts of kids from the age of primary school to university telling them stories about England and a new way of life.

With Madness and the Specials, ska rebirth as a musical creed, as an image, as a way of life: the Rude Boys lifestyle. Nothing to do with those raving thieves and small gangsters heading out from the “Kingston 11” district in Jamaica, but some sort of new fashion that pushed the youth of that time to leave their leather jackets, bondage clothes and coloured hair for an elegant three piece suit, black tie and Dr. Martens shoes, the ones with that “cushion sole” that stomped on the Moon some years before. And then came long sideburns, some sort of skinhead like haircut, parka or bomber jacket, pork pie hat, Fred Perry polo shirts, braces and Vespa and Lambretta scooters. At the end, you could hardly say whether you had a Mod, a skinhead ’69 or simply a “Ska” in front of you. Those were the years when fights between those groups and other sub-cultures that were growing across Europe in the late ‘70s and the early ‘80s exploded in the streets: Punks, Boneheads (today’s nazi skins), Rockers, Headbangers.

Madness started with a different line-up and originally called themselves The Invaders. Then changed name into what we know now from Prince Buster’s song Madness from 1963.
Madness, or – as they appear in their mighty first album “One Step Beyond” – Mike Barson (Monsieur Barso) on keyboards, Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) on guitar, Graham Mc Pherson (Suggs) on vocals, Mark Bedford (Bedders) on bass, Lee “Kix” Thompson on tenor and baritone sax, and Chas Smash on vocals, chorus, yells and cool dance, owe much part of their success to their mates, The Specials.
Jerry Dammers, the brilliant and toothless Specials keyboard player could arrange a good contract with Chrysalis Records so that he could manage to put out records with his own label: Two Tone Records.

The label’s logo was designed by Dammers himself and is a black and white drawing inspired by an old Peter Tosh photograph. The first 7 inch 45 rpm record he put out was a split ep by The Specials, playing “Gangsters” on side A and The Selecter, playing “The Selecter” on AA side. After the single came out, critics and music fans knew that something new was born. Something “special” indeed. Something was going to happen in the music industry. The single had an amazing success and Madness soon released their first 45 single on Two Tone: on the 10th of August 1979 “The Prince” is out. It’s a tribute to Prince Buster and the song itself is inspired by Prince’s own “Earthquake”. So, that “Gangsters” single was still going strong (oh, by the way, Gangsters is also inspired by another Prince Buster’s song, “Al Capone”) when Madness broke in with that ode to the Prince: “Bust - er he sold the heat with a rock stea - dy beat __”. Means they were in the right place in the right time. Following the success of their first single, Madness signed for Stiff Records and in October ’79 they release a new single and their first album: “One Step Beyond”. The single reached almost every chart in Europe. “one step beyond” happens to be another Prince Buster’s cover, originally included as the B-side of the “Al Capone” single in 1963.

More singles came out from that album and most of them climbed the European charts. I guess that in France they still remember the Christmas of 1979 beacuse of the “My Girl” single;

and the summer of 1980 had a superb soundtrack with that “Night Boat To Cairo” that came along with the “Work Rest And Play” EP.

This EP came out in Italy with the Italian version of “One Step Beyond” (“Un Passo Avanti....”). And who can forget the ska version of “Swan Lake” (years before, the discomusic industry tried to put out some disco versions of classic themes), or the amazing “Bed And Breakfast Man”?
Rhythms and sounds are not those that originally were born in Jamaica. The drum beat is different as well, but the result is the same: music to dance to. Strange, funny, happy music. Crazy and so unique that soon the world was convinced that it was a modern version of the reggae beat.

Madness strange and unique sound and originality came out of a mix of different things. Those jumpy riffs from Barson, Suggs voice, some particular and original arrangements and melodies inspired by the recently missed Ian Dury of whom Madness were friends and fans.
Madness, since the beginning never liked distorted guitars or heavy rhythms. They write about every day’s life (in London and the UK) painting pictures you can almost see, sometimes with a dramatic irony. Songs are never alike one to another.
The more they got through the eighties, the more their lyrics dealt with social topics, while on the musical side they tend more into a genetic melancholy played with an extremely gentle groove but they abandoned the early days rhythms.
Anyway, at the end of ’79 Madness were having a great success. They greatly exploited this period and to increase their popularity they release their second album by the beginning of September 1980: “Absolutely”.

This album takes the guys in the gotha of the super stars. If people thought that “One Step Beyond” was a great album, then they thought that “Absolutely” was even better. If someone didn’t express themselves about the first LP, he had to admit the Madness were a really special band. Onstage they were absolutely great. And you couldn’t believe anything different from that listening to songs like “Embarrassment”, “Baggy Trousers”, “Return Of The Los Palmas”. Those songs came out as singles as well and the band released video clips as well. Madness videos were amazing: 100% fun and totally crazy. In the “Baggy Trousers” clip, Lee Thompson is the first flying sax player in the music video history. Even the less known songs of the album happen to be great songs. Just think of “In The Rain”, “You Said” and “Disappear”. The album is full of ska with that particular Madness touch. Madness created their own “Nutty Sound”!

After this album, Madness clearly stand as one of the worlds best bands of those years.
In spring 1981, the Madness world wide phenomenon reaches the top and the band even does a biographic film named “Take It Or Leave It”. In the same year they record their 8th single, “Grey Day”, a very particular reggae. They did a more dramatic than funny a video as well of this song. Grey Day wasn’t a new song, since they used to play this song live since the early days.
Anyway, after that they leave England for a world wide tour which will take them to Australia, New Zealand and Japan.
In the fall of 1981 Madness release their third album: “7”. The album has been announced before by a new amazing video: “Shut Up”. As soon the album is out it reaches number 9 in the charts.

Another great album. Early fans loved it since the first song, “Cardiac Arrest”. It’s a dramatic thing token with Madness own irony. To me, one of the funniest songs Madness have ever done. It’s not a ska song, though it still has that catchy rhythm. It’s not a ska album actually, and that’s why Madness are great. They’ve been able to create new catchy and jumping rhythms: “Sign Of The Times”, “Missing You”, the caribica “Mrs Hutchinson”.
Other songs, like “Tomorrow’s dream”, one of my faves and one of those songs I take as example as that “white reggae” Madness were able to create (opposite to the Police in this), are the sign that Madness are turning to a much more reggae oriented sound (was this because of the great success that UB40 were having at that time?).
Also “Grey Day” is a reggae tune, just as “The Opium Eaters” a lovely instrumental, and “Day On The Town”, with a cool dub ending.
The most ska song, well actually, the only ska track of the LP is “Promises Promises” a real energy injection.
In November they put out their 10th single. It’s “It Must Be Love”, a cover of black artist Labi Siffre. And again, it’s an amazing reggae Madness style that came along with another crazy video.

Next spring, new album. It’s the first of the Madness samplers. It’s called “Complete Madness” and it includes all their singles and two unreleased songs: “In The City” (made by Madness for the Honda City commercial), and what in my own personal opinion is Madness’ ska masterpiece: “House Of Fun”. The single reaches number 8 just as soon as it gets in the stores, then, one week later it’s number 1. In the same period, the “Complete Madness” videotape is out and reaches number one in the video sales. Still, when I look at the video I’m amazed by the incredible ideas they had concerning their video clips.
By now, Madness reached an incredible but well deserved success. Madness have been number one in charts for albums, videos and singles at the same time. Amazing!
November ’82 and Madness are out with a new album: “The Rise and Fall”.

It’s the fourth (or the fifth including “Complete”) and the most complex album ever by Barson & C. “Our House” and “Tomorrow’s Just Another Day” are the most successful songs, but there are also “Calling Cards”, “That Face”, “Mr. Speaker Gets The Word” and “Tip Toes”, where a slight faraway ska influence can be heard. I think this is the album where Madness released the less singles.
Maybe it’s because of some “hard to listen” songs like “Are You Coming (With Me)” or the title track itself that made many old time fans quit from massively buying their records. Also, the ska era is considered over and young kids are captured by Duran Duran or Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
In 1983 Madness release a new single and mad video, “Wings Of A Dove” that has quite a good success in the UK charts followed by another “amazing duo”, single and even madder video, “The Sun And The Rain”. Those single meant that a new album has being released. It was “Keep Moving”, their fifth album, out at the beginning of 1984.

In Italy there won’t be much talk about that LP, though two good singles were published, along with the video: It’s “Michael Caine” and the beautiful “One Better Day”. Other good songs out of that album were “Brand New Beat” and “Samantha”, but besides the catchy “Wings of a dove” (not the Jamaican one! I heard you rudies!), “Keep Moving” is plenty of nostalgia and melancholy.
Madness are no longer those of the first three records and of the ska sound. So, since the “Rise and Fall” LP they become part of the best British Pop bands of that time, along with Elvis Costello, The Kinks, The Small Faces.
In the meantime, the band looses a member. Sir Barson quits the band.
And the next year, the sixth album is out. It’s ironically called “Mad Not Mad”.

The first without Barson. Two great songs come to mind: it’s “Yesterday’s Men” and the reggae cover of “Sweetest Girl”. In the whole, musically it’s on the same line of “Keep Moving” and that’s the main reason why you don’t really feel like Barson’s not in the band anymore. This makes me think that even the two all-time producers, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, have always been great part in Madness works. The band sounds very creative in the brilliant reggae tune “Tears You Can’t Hide” and in “Time”. No instrumentals here. “Yesterday’s Men” is a cool single and on the B-Side “All I Knew”, Jerry Dammers appears for one of the last times ever in the band with his great skanky keys.

Time for the second Madness sampler. It’s “Utter Madness” and contains all their greatest hits out of their last four albums and the strange and great “Driving In My Car”, an 1982 single with “Animal Farm” as B-Side, and “Waiting For the Ghost Train”, another great tune that reminded me of when they were a 7 piece band. “Waiting For the Ghost Train” has another great video, included in the second video sampler also titled “Utter Madness”.
From here (it’s 1986) and for a long time, Madness are caught by oblivion. Life is strange sometimes I guess.
I don’t know what really happened: creative crisis by all the band members? the record label wasn’t interested anymore? Low sales and high promotional expenses? Problems with the producers? Who knows?
One thing for sure, “Utter Madness” is the last album produced by that duo, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley.
At that time, as far as I know, Madness are totally out of the scene and there’s now sign of the band for about two years. Madness are back with a new album, “The Madness”.

I hate to talk about that record ‘cos I had to listen to it before writing this article. Is this band still Madness? No answer, they never had the article before the name. Out of the original members of the band only Carl Cathal J. P. “Chas Smash” Smyth, Chris Foreman, the old “Suggs” McPherson and the flying sax player Lee Thompson appear. No sign of Barson, Daniel Woodgate (drums) and Mark Bedford (bass). Means the heart of Madness original rhythm section. I save only two songs out of ten in this record: “Nightmare Nightmare” and “Beat The Bride” and not because they sound in some way similar to any of the past Madness stuff, but just because in those songs there’s a sign of a comeback to old ska and reggae rhythms. And in those old style rhythms there’s Jerry Dammers playing for the last time in a Madness record. Press and fans didn’t like the record, although it included the Potato Five brass section in two songs (“Nail Down The Days” e “What’s That”, even made a single out of this song). I was very disappointed when I first heard that record. By that time I already was a heavy Madness fan, collector and connoisseur.
I don’t know what the guys in the band feel about that record, but I personally think it’s the worst ensemble of songs that they’ve ever put together.

Two years later, in 1990, it was terrific to me to read on the record sleeve of the Nutty Boys (Lee Thompson and Chris Foreman and Suggs “guest star”) album “Crunch!” what follows: “This work Is dedicated to the good ship madness (1979 – 1989 R.I.P.) and all who sailed in her”. Tragedy! The Madness has been fatal to Madness!! “Crunch!” was published by Dojo Records and it sounds very close to the latest criticized “The Madness” album, although it has some more ska/rocksteady groove that makes the album deserve a listen. They even had a single out of it. It was called “Hello Mr. Policeman” I guess. Well, if this album had been published under the name of Madness, it would surely have had more success than “The Madness”, considering that the only promotion that the Nutty Boys had was the one on the “Skinhead Times”.
Time for a new Madness sampler, it’s “Divine Madness”. The album has a quite unexpected sales success all throughout the old time fans.

And in 1992 Madness have a reunion mega show at Madstock, Finsbury park, London. That show will always be remembered because Madness’ music caused some kind of seismic wave that caused panic across the neighbourhood. A live record and a live video show how the guys were in great shape. 100% energy, people going crazy in each of their shows. I had the pleasure to see them with three friends of mine in Bern, at a Swiss festival and it was simply unbelievable. I still got the pictures of that evening. Madness were back, and that was a great thing, but no new records were seen or heard. I had to wait until 1999 to know that Madness had a new album and a new single out. Nobody talks about it, so I decided to wait a little bit before go out and buy a copy. I’m a bit lazy you know, but also I didn’t want to hear another sampler, or another album like the infamous “The Madness”, or techno stuff that Suggs did. I found the album on sale (you never know...) in September 2000.

And it sure was a good surprise since the first song. “Madness are back! And they’re back with new, great, original stuff”. That’s what I thought when I heard “Wonderful Madness” enthusiastically the first time. Too bad this album didn’t get the promotion it deserved. I definitely think it’s way better than “Mad Not Mad” or than “Keep Moving”. It’s more ska, more nutty!
Since the first track, “Lovestruck”, it seems like the guys have put together the best parts of the influences, the sounds and the rhythms they had from their early days, since 1989. This is true both for the ska tracks like “The Communicator” and the non ska songs like the second piece in the album, “Johnny the Horse”.
In this record I still found those reggae rhythms that Madness played here and there in other albums. Think of 4A.M., obviously the fourth song of the album, that reminds me of some of the atmospheres I found in “The Rise And Fall”. There’s reggae and there’s that Madness unique R&B I always loved since the beginning, and I particularly love in “The Wizard”, one of my favourite.

Great ska with a special guest, Ian Dury, in “Drip Fed Fred” somewhat like a pub-ska tune which has cool bass riff and amazing brass section. I felt great emotions listening to this and more new ska song by Madness. And the emotions were growing listening to songs like “Going To The Top” that sounds like a link between two Madness masterpieces like “Bed & Breakfast Man” e “Our House”.
Some non-ska melodies that I found in Rise and Fall e Keep Moving can be found here, again in tracks like “Saturday Night Sunday Morning”, “Elysium” and “No Money”. Those tracks are very far away from being in some way ska influenced, but still, those are absolutely brilliant songs. The strangest song out of the whole album is definitely “If I Didn’t Care”, a song with dark atmospheres and even some funky beat.

So, I guess I’m coming to an end, so let me wish my beloved Madness.......
1. to keep on moving on this excellent way
2. to be supported by Virgin Records in a proper way
3. to have the same success they had in the ‘80s.

I also wish that Madness will play soon in Milan and that they will soon do a new album.
Ska needs Madness!!!

[here you can read about Madness Live at London Arena, 2002]