MIS ONLINE – The Madness Information Service Online Newsletter
Issue Number: 903 – Sunday 28^th August to Saturday 3^rd September 2016
Web: www.mis-online.net | Twitter: @MIS_Online | iOS: https://goo.gl/7goj5z LinkedIn: Click here

 

Hello, and a very warm welcome to this Bank Holiday edition of the MIS Online newsletter.

No doubt a great many of you will be in attendance at the House of Common Festival as this issue blasts forth across the internet. If you do go along to the event then please send us a review. We’d be more than happy to feature it in a subsequent issue. So once you’ve recovered please get typing!

For those of you who aren’t at the gig, let’s get this issue underway!

Jon Young, Rob Hazelby, Simon Roberts, Paul Williams

 

 

SHOWTIMES

See below for all forthcoming Madness and Madness related gigs and events. If there’s something we’ve missed off or you feel should be added then please let us know.

 

Madness

September

Sunday 3^rd – Crammerock Festival, Belgium

Sunday 4^th – Jersey Live Festival, Jersey

Sunday 11^th – Hyde Park. Radio 2’s Festival in a Day

Friday 30^th – Sweden, Grona Lund Amusement Park

October

Saturday 1^st – Norway – Rockefeller Music Hall

If you’re attending the above gig you can find info relating to the pre and post gig parties here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1696784610576985/ *** NEW ***

Monday 3^rd – Germany – Berlin – Tempodrom

Tuesday 4th – Germany – Bochum – Ruhrcongress

Thursday 6^th – Dubai, Duty Free Tennis Stadium, UAE

November

Friday 18^{th –} Monday 21^st – Madness Weekender 6, Minehead

December

Thursday 1^st – Bournemouth – Can’t Touch us Now

Friday 2^nd – Cardiff – Can’t Touch us Now

Saturday 3^rd – Brighton – Matinee – Can’t Touch us Now

Saturday 3^rd – Brighton – Can’t Touch us Now ** Sold Out **

Monday 5^th – Groningen, The Netherlands ** Sold Out **
http://www.de-oosterpoort.nl/programma/madness/

Tuesday 6^th – Tilburg, The Netherlands

Thursday 8^th – Newcastle – Can’t Touch us Now

Friday 9^th – Sheffield – Can’t Touch us Now

Saturday 10^th – London – Can’t Touch us Now

Monday 12^th – Nottingham – Can’t Touch us Now

Tuesday 13^th – Bridlington – Can’t Touch us Now

Thursday 15^th – Glasgow – Can’t Touch us Now

Friday 16^th – Manchester – Can’t Touch us Now

Saturday 17^th – Birmingham – Can’t Touch us Now

Can’t Touch us Now tickets from: http://www.gigsandtours.com/tour/madness/

Suggs

August

Saturday 27^th – Bangor, Northern Ireland – Talking Musical Revolutions. Part of the “Open House Festival”

 

The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra

November

House of Fun Weekender

 

Rhoda Dakar

Saturday 10^th September –  The Lo Tek EP Vol 1. launch party at the Official Trojan Records Club Night at The Social in London

Also appearing at The House of Fun Weekender this year.

 

The Silencerz

Saturday 17^th September, Chandos Arms – FREE!

Sunday 18^th September, Camden NHS Fun Day, Pancrease Road, NW1 1UL (by St Pancreas Hospital) ** New **

 

 

BUY IT

Madness – New Album – You Can’t Touch Us Now – Pre Order  – October 21st

Pre order now – and get “Untouchable Madhead” Status.
http://www.madness.co.uk/cant-touch-us-now/

Potential Tracks, Based on last year’s House of Fun set, Glastonbury, and Mojo –  Grandslam, I Believe, Soul Denying, Mumbo Jumbo. Where Did All The Good Times Go, Herbet, Mr Apples, Blackbird On The Wing, Dont Leave The Past Behind You, Whistling In The Dark, Can’t Touch Us Now, Given The Opportunity, Another Version of Me. Kooks. Pam The Hawk

 

The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra – Bite The Bullet  – August 25th (available Signed from the 100 club launch on the 25th) 

Vinyl £13.55  (Includes free mp3 version)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01FEA9NYE

CD £11.37 (includes free mp3 version)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01FEA9NTY

Mp3 album also available on its own for £7.99

Tracks – Based on Amazon – Step It Up Sister, Bite The Bullet, Western Standard Time, Cuss Cuss, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, Feel a Little Better, Hongry, The Wickerman, 30,60,90 , I am King, Cry To Me, I’ll be back again.
HEAR TRACKS IN PREVIEW
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01GM41SM6/ref=dm_ws_ap_tlw_alb7

 

The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra – Feel a Little Better (Luke Solomon Radio Single)

“Pre order our lead single from Bite The Bullet. It’s a radio mix of Feel A Little Better, and at 99p it’s a bargain! Buy NOW!!” Fordie

http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01JOCV2ME

 

Dance Crazy – The Best of Specialized Ska Live ** Now Shipping Orders **

Our copy of Dance Crazy, arrived with us this week. It’s a lovely looking CD that manages to feel like a link between Specialized’s own covers albums of Specialized, Beat Teenage Cancer, Mad not Cancer & Combat Cancer. (And it brings together some bands from those albums too Live) At the same time of course it looks like a perfect tribute to Dance Craze 35 years on from that original 2tone film soundtrack album linked together music by Madness, The Specials, Bad Manners and The Body-snatchers, The Selecter. and The Beat.

It sounds wonderful. A very clean production for an album made of so many bands and recorded live you wouldn’t know it sometimes on the tracks, as the audience aren’t annoyingly present over the music and the instruments and notes are very clear.

There is a version of One Step Beyond here that favours the trumpet in the band Skapital. The Prince live cover has the wonderful intro of “Do you want to be on an album in Europe? Well sing up you will be.” While Swan Lake, we can tell you, was recorded live in Ireland, as The Service features our friend Vince Foley. He tells us they did it on St Patrick’s Day.

DANCE CRAIC-ZY!!!!

It’s a party and a celebration of long lived music, and of current Skabands on the scene that followed stepping like a large boot in a very long cast black and white shadow.  No it’s not essential in terms of musical content, and yes some of the Ska and approach is somewhat tribute band predictable in its approach, when faced with the notion that some of these songs were already covers in the early 80’s when the original was made stretches this point only further that this is no reinvention. But it is NOW, and it has a sense of community about it, that is already pushing this limited release towards sell out and a profit for the charity. It’s about where you are now, but will later been seen as a little snapshot of a time. Are you going out Tonight?.   I’m off to dance in the Nite Club with Special Kinda Madness. Track 11. See you there.

http://www.specializedproject.co.uk/shop/

 

 

SIGN OF THE TIMES                               

Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra: Bite the Bullet (Axe Attack Records) Rel: August 26th

From the latest issue of Blues and Soul

That nutty boy, sax maniac Lee Thompson is back with another slice of sizzling ska to stick a smile on our post-Brexit boat races.

The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra, fronted by zany Madness saxophone player, delivers “Bite The Bullet”, follow-up to the widely-admired 2013 “The Benevolance of Sister Mary Ignatus”.

The full review can be found in the latest issue of Blues and Soul. Our thanks to Gaby Green for giving us the heads-up.

 

Suggs chats with 6 Music Breakfast about the new Madness album ‘Can’t Touch Us Now’

Madness are back with a new album, the eleventh in their forty year career. The past couple of album’s 2009’s The Liberty of Norton Folgate and Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da in 2012 were both really strong albums. This new album is called ‘Can’t Touch Us Now’ and it’s out October 28th.

It was recorded at the famous Toe Rag Studios in East London – a really old school studio – where The White Stripes’ recorded ‘Elephant’.

Singer Suggs sat down with Matt Everitt to talk about the new album – where it was recorded, the song on it about Amy Winehouse, and just what it takes to get the Madness machine into the studio and on the road…

Release date: 15 August 2016

Listen now at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p044r21s

 

 

LEE THOMPSON INTERVIEWED BY PORT MAGAZINE

Note: a cut-down version of the below appeared in Port Magazine

‘I was walking down the road the other day’….Every now & then you will see something that transforms you back to that moment (i.e. kids playing at school break, Hop scotch ,a football going over the wall, kiss chase, Bulldog. Certain smells like boot polish, petunia oil or an ex-partner. God bless radio. I would never get anything done If I sat & listened to Rob Elms for all day every day, even though he’s on the same page!

Where was I……..Lynton Kwaisi Johnson took me out one night, & not just out but, out out. I had just returned from an American tour with bags of Converse, Levis & Flip 50’s clobber that was cheap as chips. The latest accessory was the ‘Sony Walkman’. A cassette player that you could carry around with you, a stereo system in a matchbox, a ‘Beam Me Up Scotty’ in a ruck sack, heaven on the go.

Forces Of Victory (LKJ 2nd album) slid into the compartment, sliders went up to 11, Jazz woodbines in top pocket, a compass set southward with a push bike to get me in the groove. I had caught LKJ supporting Ian Dury & Blockheads in town. He never had a band with him, just some blokes either side vocally backing him, with a sound system. I couldn’t make out his lyrics, so when I pressed play, this album spun my nut, in a word(s)

Dennis Bovell’s mix of this album was to me something else, personally ground breaking, up there with Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust & Lee Perry’s ‘Return Of Django. So much so, I put Dennis forward to work on a Madness album many years later. This was an album of ‘All Thriller, No Filler. Check it out, Its relentless Title track ‘Forces Of Vicktry’ inspires the listener to get up & say – Keep poking me & I will have to poke back. Sonny’s lettah & the provocation, touching. I remember stopping outside the Brixton academy briefly, I didn’t hang around for long, as I wanted to cycle to the sounds of Bob Marley’s ‘Exodus’ by the time I got to Nelson’s Column. I turned the cassette player to auto pilot & headed back over the bridge, heavy was the atmosphere then.

Rico Rodriguez & Dick Cuthell supplied horns that tied together & fired off bursts of penetrating brass in all directions. Lynton had written and produced his 2nd, 8 track album in his mid 20’s by 1979, I had some peddling to do. By the time I was over Chelsea Bridge, LKJ had given me a musical lesson on what was bubbling under in Brixton & the clash were holding his hand. Later that year I was fortunate enough to jump up with Rico & Dick on the 2Tone tour, Scotty had ‘Beamed Me Up!’

LT

 

 

THE BULLET POINTS PART 8 – LOUIS VAUSE

This week we’re on to part 8 of our Bullet Points interviews. It’s over to the one and only Louis Vause

 

1. How were the recording sessions for you?

 A bloody nightmare Ha Ha!

2. Which song/s did you write and what was your approach?

I wrote ‘Wickerman’ – that is: I came in with the idea and the verse; Andy suppled the middle eight and Lee supplied a lyric. The ‘Apple Tree’ he keeps citing is in the Garden of Eden methinks. I also wrote ‘Acapulco’ which hasn’t made the album but is gorgeous – who knows – a future B side?

3. Which cover version did you choose for the album or which did you have the most hand in colaboration to how it turned out?

I think ‘Feel A Little Better’ is a great single. ‘Western Standard Time’ and ‘Bite the Bullet’ are – respectively epic and funky. ‘I’ll Be Back’ has a killer sax solo and lovely chord sequence and I really like the way ‘Wickerman’ has turned out.

4. Which tune has been the best to play live from this album?’

Bite the Bullet

5. If you had 1 bullet to sort a problem who or what would you shoot?

I’m a Conchi.

6. Bite the Bullet means to “take action now.” What do you need to bite the bullet on next?

The list goes on and on.

7. What’s been the best moment of being in the Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra so far for you?

The first sessions for this album. Joyful, productive and great playing by everyone all playing together.

8. Who is a big inspiration from Ska or beyond?

Django Reinhardt, Hoagy Charmichael and Fats Waller.

9. What’s the best scene from the movies featuring a bullet?

The Sean Connery credit sequence for James Bond.

10. Which music genre/style do you like most apart from Ska

I don’t do genres. They are for the marketing men. I love Music!

10. Which ska song or song to ska up, do you think should be on album 3?

The Magic Roundabout theme.

BONUS QUESTION. Which song from the first album, Sister Mary, still wows you after years of hearing it?

This sounds terrible but I don’t really listen to albums once they are done. I’m generally listening to other music or to work in progress.

 

 

I REMEMBER WAY BACK WHEN       

This week, MIS co-editor Rob Hazelby, goes back in time to report on what was going on in the world of Madness 5 years, 10 and 15 years ago this week.

5 years ago…

Issue Number 642 – Sunday 28^th August – Saturday 3^rd September 2011

We got this issue underway with the exciting news (courtesy of thecmuwebsite.com) that Suggs had revealed that Madness would be releasing their next studio album in 2012.

Suggs told Digital Spy: “It’ll definitely come out next year – hopefully we’ll finish it this year. We were hoping to get it done but then we decided to postpone the whole thing because we weren’t completely satisfied with what we’ve done so far.

We’re working on it and I think it’s that thing… when you’re young you have all the time in the world. We don’t spend 24 hours a day working on music like we used to when we were younger, so you have to do it in batches – sporadic, intense”.

Next, it was over to a review of the band’s recent performance at the Reading Festival. VirtualFestivals.com gave the set a glowing performance, and a very respectable 8 out of 10. Not bad at all!

Further on in the issue our very own Jonathan Young gave us his own thoughts on the Reading Festival performance. In true Young style it was lengthy, detailed and left nothing out.

We brought this week’s issue to a close with the news that Bedder’s mum (well, his Take it or Leave it mum) had been appearing in Eastenders playing Dot Cotton’s long lost sister.

10 years ago…

Issue 382 – Sunday 27th August to Saturday 2nd September 2006

We kicked off this week’s issue with news on Franz Ferdinand’s performance on the 23rd of August. What did this have to do with our favourite band? Well, during Franz’s song “Outsiders” Woody came on to play drums, and Steve Turner and the rest of Madness’ brass section aso made an appearance.

We also discovered that Franz had cut their set list short so that they could go over and watch Madness play. Band member Alex Kapranos reveals that the first album he bought when he was a lad was Absolutely.

Next, we passed things over to Ricardo Parracho AKA Nutty Rick, who was kind enough to regale us all with a review of the band’s recent performance at the Sudoeste festival, on the Zambujeira Do Mar seaside resort in Portugal.

“Every year, a couple of days before, and during the first weekend of August a four/five day festival takes place at Zambujeira do Mar. It’s one of Portugal’s biggest festivals with over 70 bands playing live over the four days.

This year names like Daft Punk, The Prodigy, Goldfrapp, The Kooks, Jimmy Cliff & Skin were on the line up, and to put the icing on the cake the legendary Madness played on Saturday night (always the most crowded day)”.

Following this, we decided to take this a little more sedately as we looked at the new Radio Four sitcom/sketch show, called Not Today Thank you, which the theme was sung by non-other than Suggs

The lyrics to the short theme were as follows…

“Brian Hughes is, all washed up.

The state pays for his groceries

While he acts like a poser, he’s

A preening faded radio star.

If this was your life you’d say not today thank you.

If this,

was your life,

you’d say,

not today,

thank you.

Not Today Thank you!”

Following this we featured a transcript of an article which originally appeared on the EITB24 website.

The article reported that Madness had replaced the Prodigy at the Bilbao festival, but then they too cancelled, and now the organisers were desperately looking for a replacement.

The article was difficult to translate, but it looked as if there was a verbal contract was made and then the gig was not possible for Madness to play due to personal problems for one of the band.

Nearing the end of this issue we reported that in the Virgin Radio tent at the V Festival (Chelmsford site) on Saturday the 19th of August, Suggs joined a pub band. Dressed in keeping with Al Murray’s pub landlord character Suggs was wearing a white shirt, Tie and blazer badge combo. Even more bizarrely he was wearing what seemed to be a road sweepers’ jacket over this.

We brought this MIS to a close with a short review of Monaco from the official Madness message board, posted by “McMartinsson”.

15 years ago…

Issue 120 – Sunday 26th August to Saturday 1st September 2001.

The previous week we’d reported that Chas Smash had been playing with the Blockheads (along with Mark Lamarr) in Camden’s Jazz Cafe. We also reported that we at MIS knew absolutely sod all about it. Not one bit of information apart from that it had happened. But we kept our fingers crossed that someone would jump to our rescue and said we would have the details for you this week. Thankfully someone did. None other than BRENDAN PHIPPS of tribute band ONE STEP BEHIND.

“I happened to attend the Tuesday night Blockheads gig at Camden, and what a show it was. I’m not very good at reviews, so I won’t write one, but an all-star line was what the crowd got.

Mark Lamarr sang lead vocals on Sweet Gene Vincent and one other. Chas Smash sang on Hit Me with your rhythm stick. Sam Brown sang Wake Up and Make Love     to Me. Wreckless Eric did his support set and guested on a few numbers. Courtney Pine was on stage to do the “two saxes at once” bit in Hit Me.

The whole show ended with all the guests on stage encoring for Sex and Drugs and Rock n Roll.

All in all, a breathtaking show, I wish I’d noted what everyone sang, as they each did at least two numbers, but the Blockheads were on top form – Norman Watt-Roy is still in my view up there with the world’s greatest bassists.”

Next, and we were sure you all noticed that after the recent mailing list server problems, last week’s MIS arrived in mailboxes with no problems at all – all three of them!!!

Yes, the mailing list server was back up and running perfectly, but unfortunately just after last week’s completed MIS was sent out to the list server to be automatically posted out to subscribers, Demon Internet started suffering major problems with its routing and mail server. This, ladies and gentlemen was the cause of your MIS trio.

After two weeks on the trot of MIS distribution problems, we were hopeful that this issue landed in mailboxes as normal.

Moving on, and it was over to Dave Gorman who was a subscriber to the MIS, and who was kind enough to sit in the interview chair while we grilled him on all things Madness.

Dave told us;

“When I met Suggs in the back of that Ford Fiesta he bet me £10 that I couldn’t do a show about Baggy Trousers. I haven’t done so, so maybe I owe him a tenner”.

Chris Foreman took the reins for the next article, as he gave us a short history lesson on the classic track Night Boat to Cairo, and revealed that Dave Robinson had to pay over the odds for the music video due to the fact that arguing and wrangling amongst the band had meant that filming had to go on late into the night.

Following this we took a look at episode two of Radio 2’s Ska Train, presented by the one and only Suggs. Reviewer and subscriber Phil Pugh described the series as very informative and entertaining, and remarked that it was definitely worth a listen. The show was due to run for another 5 weeks.

We continued with Phil Pugh, who, for the next article gave us a bit of background history to the classic Madness track Rockin’ in Ab.

It turned out that this wasn’t originally a Madness track at all, and was credited to Wurlitzer. This was in fact Willie Wurlitzer, the individual credited with writing the song “Rockin’ in A-flat”.

Here’s what Chris Foreman said about the song in the booklet that came with the album box set the lot:-

“Rockin’ in Ab was one of the rock’n’roll covers we played live in the early days of the band.

We used to rehearse in Mike’s house. His brothers were in bands, so there were instruments lying around.

Rockin’ in Ab was a song that one of his brother’s bands played.

Those old songs were the first to go once we started writing our own stuff.”

Rob Hazelby

 

 

THE BULLET POINTS PART 9 – SUMUDU

Moving on to part 9 of our Bullet Points interviews, and Sumudu steps into the hot seat.

1. How were the recording sessions for you?

Very quick. Layer upon layer of backing vocals. I love harmony so it’s always fun for me.

2. Which cover version did you choose for the album or which did you have the most hand in colaboration to how it turned out?

I think probably Wickerman. Lee knew he wanted backing vocals on it but he wasn’t sure what exactly. It was at the end of a session and time was limited so we ended up pressing record and I just had a go. I came out with all this New Orleans Mardi Gras voodoo type haunting death vocal stuff and Lee was really surprised and chuffed so he kept it. He’s a theatrical chap. 🐣 

3. Which track is your favourite on the album, and why?

Bite the Bullet. Love a bit of spy music.

4. Which tune has been the best to play live from this album?

Step it up Sister and Feel a Little Better always go down well.

5. Bite the Bullet means to “take action now.” What do you need to bite the bullet on next?

I’ll do anything to avoid doing my accounts. It has to be the worst thing about being a grown up.

6. What’s been the best moment of being in the Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra so far for you?

The first rehearsal I went to. I stood next to Lee and he started playing his sax – completely unplugged. It was amazing hearing his raw unamplifed sound – beautiful. I saw how he completely commits to it even in rehearsal. He’s so real and surreal at the same time which is a magical combination. I like standing next to Lee in general as he makes me laugh all the time! He’s so unpredictable it’s hard to sing through the giggles sometimes. I like fun and funny and Lee is both.

7. Who is a big inspiration from Ska or beyond?

When I do the Ska Orchestra bvs I often think of Bob Marley’s amazing backing singers The I Three. Just beautiful. So heartfelt and dreamy.

8. What’s the best scene from the movies featuring a bullet?

Jaws. “Smile you son of a b?*t£!” One of my favourite films. I hope they never remake it.

9. Which music genre/style do you like most apart from Ska

Impossible question. All genres with good songwriting as the common denominator. I get obsessed with different artists at different times but I am always a Beatles baby. At the moment though I am obsessed with The Kinks and Dolly Parton.

10. Which song from the first album Sister Mary, still wows you after years of hearing it?

Although I wasn’t on the first album I love Napoleon Solo. It’s Bedder’s bass playing. Kills me every time.

 

TIME…

That’s almost it for this week, but before we go you may be interested to lean of the rather odd, but amusing press conference held by Madness this week just gone.

Hosted by the Chelsea Pensioners at their headquarters in Chelsea’s Royal Hospital, 30 veterans quizzed the band on such topics as memories of Amy Winehouse and how they could get free tickets to future gigs.

Explaining the press conference, Suggs told the NME; “We wanted to find an institution even older than Madness. The only other one we could think of was The Rolling Stones, and we didn’t want to do a press conference with them.”

Check out the Can’t Touch us Now Chelsea Pensioners press conference video at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Ex7RBFk0M&feature=youtu.be

Have a great week, and don’t forget to send us in your reviews of the House of Common gig.

All the best,

Jon Young, Rob Hazelby, Simon Roberts, Paul Williams

(With thanks to Gaby Green)