They Call It Madness

The 'Nutty Boys' from north London recently released their 10th studio album, as their 30+ year career rolls onwards. They played on the roof of Buckingham Palace during last summer's Jubilee celebrations, and through longevity and persistence, have remained a much-loved part of the musical landscape.

Their heyday of hits included:

Our House

Their naughty #1 hit was:

House of Fun

Their school-days classic remains:

Baggy Trousers

Their revival took off in the late 90's with this one:

Lovestruck

And they still continue to turn out the quality:

How Can I Tell You?

and whilst there's an audience, I'd expected there'll be madness forevermore  

They also had the honour of playing a live gig in front of the soon-to-close BBC Television Centre, last Friday night. They ran through a good setlist featuring many of their classic numbers, but also a few from their recent album (including 'Never Knew Your Name', 'My Girl 2' and 'How Can I Tell You?') They even brought Wilko Johnson on as a guest during their encore of 'Madness'

Great post ... adore Madness and always have. Sadly (yet unsurprising), "Our House" was the only song they're remembered for in the states. It peaked at #7 in 1983. Same year, they peaked at #33 for a few short weeks with "It Must Be Love". Real shame it didn't peak higher. Then again, it was pretty hard to find a bad song in the early 80's. Best years music will ever see, imho.

They were regular chart fixtures in the UK from 1980-6-ish, and then went quiet. There were some reissues in 1992 (chiefly 'It Must Be Love'), and their first 'Madstock' concert, and things went from there.

It's odd, most bands whose singles tackled such seemingly mundane subjects as school, car ownership, domesticity, etc would probably have been laughed out of town. Madness survived & thrived because they were a) likeable, b) musically sound, and c) also tackled more serious matter too (eg Embarrassment).

And it has to be said that 'House of Fun' getting to #1 will keep the affection of certain parts of the media here for all time.

Madness at Rockness 2013
A short showcase of 6 of their songs. Unlike some artists, they give as much prominence to recent material as classic stuff, which is nice.

Totally forgot I'd done this Anyway,

Madness @ Glastonbury 2016
From Saturday afternoon on the Pyramid Stage, a fairly lengthy set from the veteran London pop band who continue to thrive with new material amidst their back catalogue.

Madness - Live at House of Common
A headline gig from Aug 2016, at Clapham Common. They also have a new LP out very soon, "Can't Touch Us Now", and they played a few tracks from it, such as Mr Apples, alongside many from their classic back catalogue. They started with House of Fun, and ended with Night Boat to Cairo.

Live at Eden - Madness
Another show from this summer, they did plenty of old favourites, and encored with Night Boat to Cairo, but I was most taken by their Iron Shirt cover, from an old Max Romeo hit.

Runaround on Ice
The 1980 Christmas special of this kids show featured Madness performing "One Step Beyond" oddly enough, and there was a subsequent quiz question about Baggy Trousers. Given the presence of dreary wrestler Big Daddy, a poor chap pretending to be an eskimo, reindeer and host Mike Reid, Madness somewhat summed up the whole enterprise.

Belladrum 2016 - Cridhe Tartan : Madness
Unsure how I've missed this previously, but a welcome short set from the Nutty Boys from around the time of the Mr Apples single, and including One Step Beyond, Sun and the Rain (to an appreciative yet soaked crowd) and ending with Night Boat To Cairo. Suggs was interviewed too, he mentioned their appearance at Rockness, keeping set-lists fresh, the value of doing new material and not simply being stuck in a time-warp.

Madness Rocks Big Ben Live
The London legends get their turn to see the old year out and the new year in. They do quite a longer set, especially after 12. Suggs is in good mood, and they range far and wide from their 80s heyday to stuff from their later era. They closed on Night Boat to Cairo, of course. Another act celebrating 40 years this year (or sometime soon enough).

Isle of Wight Festival 2019: Madness
A decent enough set, Suggs bantering between songs, many of the usual old favourites, rather than more recent numbers.

Sputnik - Mike Barson
He spoke to Neil Clark about his book on the band's early days - Before We Was We - and also about their recent single The Bullingdon Boys, which didn't perhaps have quite the impact they could have hoped for. He also discussed their 2012 appearance on top of Buckingham Palace.

Madness presents - Before & After
Two gigs, one with their 1979 setlist, and the other more modern; plus chatter inbetween. Likeable guys, and most of the hits.

One Man's Madness
Lee Thompson's story, before, during and after Madness. He was a bit of a scamp when young, and somewhat eccentric during the heyday of the band too. Had saxophone, would lark. The rest of the band, plus family and friends spoke warmly in many cases. Lee dressed up to imitate many of them, though they were seen in their true state at the end.

Video Killed The Radio Star: Madness
Unsure how this one slipped past me before. Stiff Records boss Dave Robinson spoke fondly of making videos like Baggy Trousers, House of Fun, Driving In My Car, Wings of a Dove and so on. They had a style and a sound and they were full of ideas. Although people mistook them for a larky bunch, they could do serious stuff very well too at times.

My Lifestory..?
Julien Temple directed this part-performance from Suggs to an appreciative crowd, as his 50th birthday was the catalyst for him to discover the truth about his dad, and interweave this with his story of youth, of the band, and other events. They were playing the same event in Paris on the night Oasis split, amongst other snippets. Suggs also said his moniker came from an obscure jazz musician.

Isle of Wight Festival 2022: Madness
They might have a new album out soon, certainly they did some less familiar stuff here, but who can tell. They've been together a lot longer since reformation than their original run. They got through many big hits and ended on Night Boat To Cairo.