Madness Biography

Overview

Biography

Songs

Similar Artists

CDs

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Movie Cast / Crew

The Best of Madness

It's...Madness Too [Import]

It's...Madness [Import]

The Dangermen Sessions, Volume 1

Ultimate Collection

This highly regarded UK ska/pop band evolved from the London-based Invaders in the summer of 1979. Mike Barson aka Monsieur Barso (Michael Wilson Barson, 21 May 1958, London, England; keyboards), Chris Foreman aka Chrissy Boy (b. Christopher John Foreman, 8 August 1956, London, England; guitar) and Lee Thompson aka Kix/El Thommo (b. 5 October 1957, London, England; saxophone) had been playing together since 1976, and were joined in 1978 by Suggs (b. Graham McPherson, 13 January 1961, Hastings, Sussex, England; vocals), Mark Bedford aka Bedders (b. 24 August 1961, London, England; bass), and Dan Woodgate aka Woody (b. Daniel Mark Woodgate, 19 October 1960, London, England; drums). Following a brief period as Morris And The Minors the band changed their name to Madness, and the classic line-up fell into place in late 1979 with the recruitment of Chas Smash (b. Cathal Joseph Patrick Smyth, 14 January 1959, England; vocals/trumpet).

By this point Madness had already signed a one-off contract with 2-Tone Records and, in September 1979, issued "The Prince", a Lee Thompson penned tribute to blue beat maestro Prince Buster (whose song "Madness" had inspired the band's name). The single reached the UK Top 20 and the follow-up, "One Step Beyond' (a Buster composition) did even better, peaking at number 7, the first result of their new contract with Stiff Records. An album of the same title revealed Madness" charm, with its engaging mix of ska and exuberant pop, a fusion they humorously dubbed "the nutty sound". Over the next two years the band enjoyed an uninterrupted run of UK Top 10 hits, including "My Girl", the Work, Rest & Play EP (lead track "Night Boat To Cairo"), "Baggy Trousers", "Embarrassment", "The Return Of The Los Palmas 7", "Grey Day", "Shut Up" and "It Must Be Love" (originally a hit for its composer, Labi Siffre). All the members contributed to the songwriting, although the bulk of the writing was done by Barson, Foreman and Smyth. Producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who would work with Madness on all their albums between 1979 and 1986, were also instrumental in allowing the band's pop zeal to shine through.

Although Madness appealed mainly to a younger audience and were known as a zany, fun-loving band, their work occasionally took on a more serious note. Both "Grey Day" and "Our House" showed their ability to write about working-class family life in a fashion that was piercingly accurate, yet never patronizing. At their best, the band was the most able commentators on London life since the Kinks in the late 60s. An ability to tease out a sense of melancholy beneath the fun permeated their more mature work, particularly on the 1982 album, The Rise & Fall. That same year Suggs married singer Bette Bright and the band finally topped the UK charts with their twelfth chart entry, "House Of Fun" (which concerned teenage sexuality and the purchase of prophylactics).

More UK Top 10 hits followed, including "Driving In My Car", "Our House" (which won an Ivor Novello Award), "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)"/"Madness (Is All In The Mind)", "Wings Of A Dove" and "The Sun And The Rain", but in late 1983 the band suffered a serious setback when founding member and main songwriter Barson quit. They continued to release some exceptional work in 1984 including "Michael Caine" (featuring Smash on lead vocals) and "One Better Day". At the end of that year, they formed their own label, Zarjazz. Its first release was Feargal Sharkey's "Listen To Your Father" (written by the band), which reached the UK Top 30. Madness continued to enjoy relatively minor hits by previous standards with the contemplative "Yesterday's Men", the exuberant "Uncle Sam", a cover version of the former Scritti Politti success, "The Sweetest Girl", and the downbeat "(Waiting For The) Ghost Train" (taken from the compilation Utter Madness and featuring Barson) In the autumn of 1986, they announced that they were splitting-up. Seventeen months later, McPherson, Smyth, Thompson and Foreman reunited as a four-piece under the name The Madness, but failed to emulate previous successes.

One of Bedford's projects was a collaboration with ex-Higsons member Terry Edwards in Butterfield 8, and he also joined Woodgate for a spell in Voice Of The Beehive. Thompson and Foreman later worked under the appellation the Nutty Boys, releasing one album, Crunch!, in 1990, and played to capacity crowds in London clubs and pubs. In August 1992 the original Madness re-formed for two open-air gigs in Finsbury Park, London, which resulted in Madstock!, a "live" document of the event. The band's renewed public image was rewarded with four chart entries during the year; three reissues, "It Must Be Love", "House Of Fun", and "My Girl", and a live cover version of "The Harder They Come". In 1993, a "musical about homelessness', One Step Beyond, by Alan Gilbey, incorporated 15 Madness songs when it opened on the London fringe - further evidence, as if any were needed, of the enduring brilliance of Madness" irresistible songcraft.

Following further Madstock concerts, the original line-up returned to the studio in the late 90s to record new material. "Lovestruck" indicated their enduring popularity when it entered the UK singles chart at number 10 in summer 1999. A credible new album, Wonderful, followed in September, containing in addition to "Lovestruck", the rousing "Johnny The Horse" and a guest appearance by Ian Dury (to whom the album is dedicated) on "Drip Fed Fred". In 2002, the band contributed two new songs to Our House, a musical written by Tim Firth and based around the band's music. Three years later they emerged from the nostalgia circuit to release the wonderful cover versions album, The Dangermen Sessions, Volume One. Foreman announced his departure from the band during the recording sessions for the album, but returned at the end of 2006 to join their Christmas tour.

Madness has no enemies; the band is a rich part of the UK's musical heritage.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.