Madness (band)
Madness are an English ska and pop band from Camden Town, north London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, they continue to perform with six of the seven members of their original line-up.[1] Madness's most successful period was from 1980 to 1986, when the band's songs spent a total of 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart.[2][3]
Madness
Camden Town, London, England
1976–1986, 1992–present
- Cathal "Chas Smash" Smyth
- John Hasler
- Dikran Tulaine
- Gavin Rodgers
- Garry Dovey
Madness have had 16 singles reach the UK top ten, including "One Step Beyond", "Baggy Trousers" and "It Must Be Love", one UK number-one single "House of Fun" and two number ones in Ireland, "House of Fun" and "Wings of a Dove". "Our House" was their biggest US hit, reaching number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2000, the band received the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for Outstanding Song Collection.[4]
Career[edit]
1976–1978: Formation[edit]
The 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.[5] 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 Dikran Tulaine.[5]
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.[6] Tulaine went on to be an actor.[7] Smyth, who left after an argument with Barson, was replaced by Gavin Rodgers, Barson's girlfriend's brother.[6] McPherson was kicked out of the band for choosing too often to watch Chelsea instead of rehearsing.[8] Thompson left the band after Barson criticised his saxophone playing.[8]
By 1978, the band had allowed McPherson to return as a vocalist after he had filled in temporarily for Hasler (who had taken over vocals when McPherson was removed).[8] Thompson returned after patching things up with Barson. Drummer Dan Woodgate (Woody) and bassist Mark Bedford (Bedders) also joined the band, replacing Garry Dovey and Rodgers, respectively.[8] After briefly changing their name to Morris and the Minors,[9] the band renamed itself as Madness in 1979, paying homage to one of their favourite songs by ska and reggae artist Prince Buster.[10] 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.[10]
Collaborations[edit]
Madness 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. It was Dury's last recording before his death. Ill health prevented Dury from actively promoting the single, although he did appear on the National Lottery Show, for a later performance on TFI Friday, the song was reworked to incorporate Phill Jupitus on vocals. Live, Madness have collaborated with artists including UB40 and Prince Buster, notably at their first Madstock concert. They have also played live frequently with members of the other 2 Tone bands including the Specials. In May 2008, Suggs and Carl performed live with Pet Shop Boys at London's Heaven collaborating on a new arrangement of "My Girl", as part of a tribute evening to their former minder Dainton 'The Bear' Connell, called Can You Bear It?.[84][85][86] 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" to chart above X Factor winner Joe McElderry.
Lyrical themes[edit]
Frequent 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,[87] 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.[88] Madness discussed animal testing in the song "Tomorrow's Dream".[89] The band criticised the National Health Service (NHS) 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.[90] Madness' final single prior to disbanding, "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train", commented on apartheid in South Africa.[31]
Awards[edit]
The 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".[3][25] Madness received another Ivor Novello Award 17 years later for an "Outstanding Song Collection".[3][4] In 2005, they were awarded the Mojo "Hall of Fame" Award, notably for being "an artist's artist".[91] In 2007, a campaign took place by fans of Madness for the band to be awarded a Brit Award.[92] Many fans and critics feel they have been overlooked over their past 30 years in the music industry.[92] 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.
