A belated happy Valentines day weekend from us to all lovers of Madness. If Specialized’s current cover of It must be love isn’t enough for you, Mr Thompson’s sent you a love gift, see later in this issue!

News for the Irish is that Suggs has added two more solo shows in Derry and Belfast, to the already announced Dublin solo show. Wales gets also gets a visit with Cardiff, while the sales at Bury St Edmonds have pushed for a second return date to satisfy demands. See the dates in the showtime section.

Moving on to the Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra, and Dave Robinson tells us the release date for Bangarang is currently set for March 24th. Expect to see the edited video for the single arrive online at the end of this month. The band also have some interesting festival dates coming up, but for now Dingwalls in Camden on the 13th of March is looking like being the single launch gig. If you pop over to the band’s official facebook, and say you’ve bought your ticket there, son of the main man, young Kye Thompson is now running a competition there to draw names for a signed album, so be sure to mention there when you reply to the thread, your presence.

Further on from that, we have a ticket competition for next Saturday’s gig in Walton on Thames, South of London, by keyboard master Louis Vause, who had his Birthday this weekend.

Happy Birthday Louis.

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

July 5th 2014, en Normandie au Festival Beauregard

July 13th 2014 Festival Musilac, France http://www.musilac.com/

July 29th 2014, Theatre Jean Deschamps, 1100 Carcassonne City, Festival De Carcassonne

November 21st – 24th 2014 – Minehead – Earlybird tickets can be ordered here: http://www.bigweekends.com/splash-pages/madness2014.aspx

For tickets also see links via: www.madness.co.uk

Our thanks go to the French MIS team for the Normandie and Carcassonne dates: https://www.facebook.com/groups/frenchmis

Suggs Live

April 2014

2nd – Newbury Corn Exchange
3rd – Loughborough Town Hall
4th – Wakefield Theatre Royal
5th – Southport The Atkinson Theatre
6th – Runcorn The Brindley
8th – Mansfield Palace Theatre
9th – Stamford Corn Exchange
11th – Isle of Wight Shaklin Theatre
12th – Aldershot Princes Hall
13th – Wimborne Tivoli Theatre
15th – Bury St Edmonds The Apex
16th – Tunbridge Wells, Assembly Hall
17th – Stroud Subscription Rooms
22nd – Chelmsford Civic Theatre
23rd – Stevenage Gordon Craig Theatre
24th – Redditch Palace Theatre
25th – Malvern Forum Theatre
26th – Margate Winter Gardens
27th – Northampton Derngate
29th – Bolton Albert Halls
30th – Darlington Civic Theatre

May 2014

1st – Newark Palace Theatre
2nd – Redhill Harlequin Theatre
3rd – Watford Colosseum
4th – Yeovil Octagon Theatre
10th – DUBLIN Olympia Theatre
13th – Harlow Playhouse
14th – Lowestoft Marina Theatre
*** NEW *** 15th – Eastbourne – Royal Hippodrome
16th – Leamington Royal Spa Centre
17th – Jersey Opera House
19th – Milton Keynes The Stables
20th – Winchester Theatre Royal
21st – Epsom Playhouse
22nd – Kettering Lighthouse Theatre
23rd May at Cardiff College of Music and Drama
*** NEW *** 27th May at Bury St Edmunds The Apex
*** NEW *** 29th May at Derry Millennium Forum
*** NEW *** 30th May at Belfast Ulster Hall

The Magic Brothers

Monday 3rd March, Dublin Castle, Camden, London
Tuesday 11th March, Dublin Castle, Camden, London
Thursday 27th March, Dublin Castle, Camden, London
Thursday 3rd April, Dublin Castle, Camden, London
Thursday 24th April, Dublin Castle, Camden, London

Ticket info at: http://www.bugbearbookings.com/dublin-castle/

Suggs and Friends

The charity fund raising evening “Suggs and Friends” makes a welcome return this coming March.  The 2014 fundraiser takes place on March 20th at 6.30pm, with champagne reception and auction.

The £150 donation tickets for pancreatic cancer gain entry to the Porchester Hall event in London W2. There’s no announcement yet as to who is joining Suggs at the exclusive event.

Roger Daltrey has been added to the line-up of this evening.

The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra

Thursday 13th March, Dingwalls, Camden Town, London
More info regarding the above on Facebook at: http://on.fb.me/1mKWGkX

Ska Orchestra web site: www.ltso.mis-online.net

Deaf School

No further gigs or events at present. Keep an eye on http://deafschoolmusic.com for more information.

Near Jazz Experience

Monday February 10th, 7.30pm, University of Chicago Centre, 6 Rue Thomas Mann. 13eme, Paris.

Louis Vause – Midnight in Havanna

Saturday 22nd Feb, The Riverhouse Barn, Walton on Thames
Wednesday 26th Feb, The Speakeasy downstairs at Aces and Eights, Fortess Road, Tufnell Park, London NW5

BUY IT

If money’s currently burning a hole in your pocket then perhaps we can help with your dilemma.

The Specialized EP Featuring Lee Thompson

A 4 track vinyl EP featuring Lee’s track from the first specialized album and tracks by the Valves, Rhoda Dakar and Nick Welsh.

Should be in stock this coming week.

Thanks go to Chuck Wren and Jump Up Records, Stan from A&R Texas (pressing plant), and Mike Schneider of Indigo Iguana (design).

LOOK SO GOOD YA COULD LICK EM…. Will be available via

www.specializedproject.co.uk

The Specialized Big One 2. Live DVD.

For those wanting a copy of the DVD of the Big One 2 event we can reveal that you can now pre-order your copy. This will be limited edition and available into the new year. As is the normal spec with Specialized, all proceeds go to the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Welcome to Specialized Project official website

LTSO, Bangarang, Featuring Dawn Penn

*** UPDATE *** Single release date March 24th.

The Magic Line Album * Out Now! *

Signed T-shirt packages and a deluxe edition.

http://www.magicbrothers.com/topspin-store/all/

A range of Magic Brothers T-shirts, Polo Shirts are now available to buy.

The CD album is available via Amazon and the download via iTunes contains an interview with Phil Jupitus talking to Woody about the album.  But if you buy the album via the official band site you can choose a signed option or bundle.

If you’ve a spare £75 and are really into the magic, then there are 25 packs going fast that include all of this….

The Magic Line Collectors Pack – Limited Edition of 25 includes; The Magic Line Signed CD Album. The Magic Line Digital Download. The Magic Line T Shirt. Woodys Drumsticks Signed. Nicks Guitar Paick Signed. Copy of Album Lyrics. “Thank You” Phone Call From Woody & Nick.

Our thanks go to Paul Smart for the above

Suggs “The Close” Signed Book

Suggs is one of pop music’s most enduring and likeable figures. Written with the assured style and wit of a natural raconteur, this hugely entertaining and insightful autobiography takes you from his colourful early life on a North London council estate, through the heady early days of Punk and 2-Tone, to the eighties, where Madness became the biggest selling singles band of the decade. Along the way he tells you what it’s like to grow up in sixties Soho, go globetrotting with your best mates, to make a dead pigeon fly and cause an earthquake in Finsbury Park.

Suggs is a singer, songwriter, DJ, actor and TV presenter. He is perhaps best known as lead singer with Madness, who have had 24 top-twenty hits and continue to tour. Suggs lives in Camden, London.

– Features unseen and exclusive lyrics.
- 352 pages.
- Hardback.

http://www.recordstore.co.uk/search.html?term=suggs

Louis Vause – Midnight in Havana

“Oh dear. I’m alive..!” Pianist Louis Vause has always said that his albums are “Gouged out of him by circumstance” but his third album ‘Midnight In Havana’really is a case in point.

Recorded as a valedictory set, a swansong if you like, after he was told that the onset of cancer meant that he had mere months to live, the completion of the work coincided with his liver transplant and the all clear. He was in the pink. The same could not be said for his credit cards which had covered Louis’ uncharacteristically cavalier spending on recording costs.

http://www.cadizmusic.com/2007/index.php?location=/web/Catalogue/CADIZCD119

Mark Adamson of the Deaf School Website gives us an exclusive quote or two from Suggs, on the forthcoming Deaf School Book.

Deaf School – the story is told at last!

“For me, the gigs Deaf School have done recently have been some of the best I’ve seen by any band.”

So writes Suggs in his foreword to a book, published this month amid a flurry of Deaf School gigs and other Book Launch events, charting the creation and career of a band that influenced so many artists that followed – and that still fills venues 40 years after their debut at the Liverpool School of Art Christmas Dance.

Deaf School had a huge impact on Madness (Suggs: “Back in my youth I met some characters who were a right bunch, but what we had in common was that we loved Deaf School.”) – not least, of course, because guitarist Clive Langer’s became Madness producer and because Suggs married Deaf School singer Bette Bright!

Written by leading rock music writer, author and broadcaster Paul du Noyer, a lifetime Deaf School fan, Deaf School: The Non-Stop Pop Art Punk Rock Party, is published later this month by the Liverpool University Press, priced at £14.99. Accompanying the publication of the book is a Deaf School exhibition, featuring original art works by band members, posters, photos, rare films of live performances, band stage costumes and much more.

The book is available from Deaf School’s website at www.deafschoolmusic.com

MIS COMPETITION

An Evening With Louis Vause – Win Tickets

Keyboard Master Louis Vause, currently known for his appearances with The Ska Orchestra, but also of a long list of appearances with Madness and many many solo off shot projects, from Crunch to Butterfield 8, is performing his new album Midnight in Havanna this coming weekend, at The RiverHouse in Walton on Thames, South of London.

On the 22nd, these evocative piano moods will be brought to life by Louis and his band.

If you’d like to win two tickets email Jonsmad@Hotmail.com and your name will be entered into the MIS competition.

The draw will be this coming Friday.

LIVE INTENSIFIED

Hammond Raises Caine

A few days ago I went to a quirky concert at London’s Barbican masterminded by the versatile musician Terry Edwards. It was music from Michael Caine’s 1960’s/1970’s movies including Alfie, The Ipcress File, The Italian Job, and Get Carter. Nothing from John Barry’s Zulu score but you cant have everything.  Seamus Beaghen was on Hammond Organ. Is there anything more evocative that a Hammond? burbling up from the deepest pit of pop, majestic, vibrant, beloved by prog rockers, psychedeli-acs and conjuring up an era like nothing else. Play it again Seamus.

Jennifer Selway’s Daily Express column, February 15th 2014

SPECIALIZED VALENTINE’S RELEASE

Tis the weekend! Tis Valentines Day – so you lovers out there have a nice time what ever you’re doing.

Here’s one thing to do- DOWNLOAD SPECIALIZED’S SPECIAL VALENTINES DAY RELEASE I CONJUNCTION WITH THE Specialized 3 – Mad Not Cancer ALBUM. 
SANNA PEKONEN’S “IT MUST BE LOVE”……Links below for iTunes and Amazon;

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/it-must-be-love-single/id813518723

http://www.amazon.co.uk/It-Must-Be-Love/dp/B00I8I84X6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1392368699&sr=8-1&keywords=it+must+be+love+pekonen

Meet the Artists!

Specialized are very pleased to announce that AMELIA SCALIES & BILLY BROWN will be performing a duet on the Specialized 3 – Mad Not Cancer album! These guys are going to be performing the track ” Blue Skinned Beast” -Real…ly looking forward to their take on this one.

Specialized are very chuffed, nay THRILLED, to announce the addition of some of ska & reggae’s legends will perform at Parkdean Sandford in Dorset for THE BIG ONE 3 with the arrival of THE ORIGINALS. This will be a true lesson in craft and …please make these legends welcome! Winston Francis, Tony Washington, Count Prince Miller & Carl St Clair of Desmond Dekkers band The Aces! WE have been promised some other big names but we’ll announce them as and when- Gals n guys going to Sandford..you are in for a treat! The Originals will also be performing on Specialized 3 with The Skamanians so watch this space.

Specialized are very happy to announce that GRADE 2 will be performing on the Specialized 3 – Mad Not Cancer album! The lads will be performing “E.R.N.I.E” – Now this will be made that little bit special by the fact they a…re only 16 years of age and very relevant to the Specialized ethos. Hailing from the Isle Of Wight and signed to Contra Records in Germany, they play a mix of Oi/Punk which is really refreshing to see. So meet Sid Ryan, Jacob Hull,& jack Chatfield who will be adding some welly to the proceedings!. Cheers boys!

More BIG ONE 3 news. For the event at Sandford in Dorset in November.

RODDY RADIATION AND THE SKA BILLY REBELS are appearing on Saturday the 15th.

We are very pleased to announce a rare UK appearance by reggae royalty and long standing UK artist KING HAMMOND & SKAVILLE UK! Expect thumping reggae and one hell of a show! Mr Easy Talk, with an eye for tattooed girls and monkey boots will be in residence with his band, the rhythm machine that is Skaville UK. The days for everyone appearing aren’t finalised yet but we are just letting you know what to expect. Book on 0844 335 3501 Mon-Fri 9am-5pm.

“very pleased to say ,with massive thanks to Alison McNamara, we will be receiving a donation from Sainsburys this year! Cheers all!”

https://www.facebook.com/specialized3madnotcancer

Don’t forget- FEBRUARY 24th is the deadline for your SPECIALIZED – DESIGN-A- BADGE COMPETITION

Fantastic offer from one of our Specialized supporters, Mike from …The Special Brew band has generously put forward this great offer!

Currently there are official Specialized Mad not… Cancer logos (see below). But if you could design it, what would it look like?? So the Competition is as follows, Enter your design for the logo and the Top 5 entries will not only be chosen as winners but Mike will make up 100 of each of the 5 chosen into actual pin badges. These badges will then be up for sale at £1 each. Thats a further £500 to Teenage Cancer Trust!!! An amazing offer from Mike as he will not be charging us for this so its full profit for us, Total win win situation. Get designing folks……..

Entries can be made at – Specializedlogo@yahoo.com

Closing date Monday February 24th!

SIGN OF THE TIMES

Articles that have caught our eye over the course of the past week.

Near Jazz Experience

Here’s a link to the latest NJE ResonanceFM broadcast with special guest James Kyllo; https://soundcloud.com/resonance-fm/20-00-00-clear-spot-near

“How do we cope with the Music Business?” asks Mark Bedford, with guest James Kylo record releaser, a man who released Norwich a Fine City, the first appearance of Terry Edwards in The Higson.

Mark talks about 2tone and the Stiff Tours packaging of bands together, and rough trade.

Suggs talks to MAGIC Book Club about his autobiography  – win a copy

Madness frontman Suggs talks candidly about his life to Magic – where he chats about his childhood, being in Madness and dealing with fame.

http://www.magic.co.uk/whats-on/book-club-suggs/

Win That Close by Suggs.

Question: What is suggs real name.

Possible Answers: Graham McDowell. Graham McPherson or Graham McTavish?

Suggs on “The Line”

BBC News – http://youtu.be/3gyxeKFCVLM

Sky News – http://youtu.be/ZpxgCHUsYs4

The Line will be a world-class sculpture walk in London. The route broadly follows the line of the Meridian, linking two of the iconic sites of East London: Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the O2.

Subject to raising the necessary funding, The Line will open this summer (2014)! It is a bold and ambitious project but with your help, we will be able to make it happen…

http://www.spacehive.com/theline

MIS FEATURE

Valentine’s Gift From Suggs and Co – C/O Cliff Richard

Here’s a belated Valentine’s gift for your weekend from Suggs & Co c/o Cliff Richard. With love, Mr Thompson and the band would like to entertain you in the loose sense of that word, with some audio from The Premises Studios 2012.

Lee sent this over;

Did Cliff Richard need a backing band for the Diamond Jubilee concert? Did Gary Barlow see Madness there lurking in the shadows? Was the Impossible asked? Maybe. Allegedly. Sort of. Perhapsish.

Madness – 2012 Jubilations??

If this leaves a terrible ringing sensation in your ears and you feel like Madness are cruel to do that to you on Valentines weekend, then here is something else more enjoyable, from the same day in the studio working up songs for the Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da special book edition which is still available to buy now from Amazon etc, though stocks are limited.

Ladies have a man of steel for Valentine’s day.

Here is a version of Deolali from that album, the band rehearsing the shape and sound of that song.  Enjoy.  Much love from Madness and MIS.

I REMEMBER WAY BACK WHEN

This week, MIS co-editor Rob Hazelby, goes back 5 years to issue 511, and the week of Sunday 15th February to Saturday 21st February 2009, and then back 10 years to issue 249 and the week of Sunday 15th February to Saturday 21st February 2004.

5 years ago…

Issue 511 – Sunday 15th February to Saturday 21st February 2009

We began this week’s issue with doubts that the Julian Temple Madness film would ever make it to a DVD release following this message over on the Madness Central Forum;

“Last I talked with Chris on the subject, he was saying that there’s something about the Hackney footage being relegated to TV broadcast so it can’t be used for the box set, and that some of what Julian Temple spliced into the concert footage made no sense (like an elderly black man sweeping up during the line “In the beginning was a fear of the immigrant” in Norton Folgate – which incidentally is about Irish immigrants).”

News also came in regarding the M Society announcing that those who were members could now enjoy £5 off standard Madstock tickets. This discount would only be available for those not wanting to get into the much complained about golden circle.

Probably the most exciting news this week was the announcement that the band would be touring Australia for the first time since 1986. Four dates were announced for the month of September, which would see the band appear in Sydney, Merrimac, Ascot Vale and Claremont.

There were gaps between the various announced dates, so we urged Australian fans to keep their eyes peeled for a number of smaller gigs that may be announced as the tour go closer.

Box set news now, and we were informed that there would be a slight delay with the release, and that all being well the sets would start to be dispatched from the 2nd of March onwards. Unfortunately, a few days later we had to issue a special edition of the MIS as it was revealed that Trinity Street, the company behind the box set, had gone into administration.

Madness’ management proved to be really on the ball, releasing their own press statement, which finished with;

“Please rest assured that our primary concern right now is you the fan… making sure your orders are dealt with.

We really appreciate your patience in this difficult time. More news to follow soon.”

For those of us who had parted with our hard earned cash, this was now time to cross those fingers!

On a brighter note, we were able to reveal (thanks to Dicka) the full tracklisting for the box set. Now, we just had to hope that we’d actually receive our copies.

Dance Brigade news now, and the band this week announced that the forthcoming album of theirs was back on track and due to be finished in the next couple of months. They were also working on putting up a few tracks to their MySpace page, which they were declaring was a gift to the fans for being so patient.

Elsewhere in this issue Jonathan Young reported that Mike Barson would be the next member of Madness, following Suggs and Lee, to appear on an Audio Bullys track. The track called “Twist me Up” would feature Mike on piano and Suggs on backing vocals.

On to Blockheads news, and we, courtesy of BritFilms.tv, were able to announce that it was looking like actor Andy Serkis would be appearing in a new Ian Dury biopic as the man himself. According to Serkis filming would begin in April.

It was over to North London band MOT next as Jonathan Young reviewed their recent gig at The Dublin Castle, where the band were booked in for a residency. A number of new tracks were aired during the evening with “Nobody Knows” and “Another Day” being Jon’s favourites.

Jon finished off by saying;

“Alongside classics like Uptown Miser, Faces, I must be paranoid, Can’t take anymore, their own Sign of the Times, and newer tracks, Spinning Around, Going Crazy and Staring into space, it was a foot stomping, pogo jumping, dance along fun evening in the DC’s back room, showing old fans and new comers alike why they are the new kings of the castle on a Camden Saturday night.”

We brought this issue to a close by revealing that the French MIS team and Big 8 Records would be announcing the final track list for their Madness tribute album on the 27th of the month.

10 years ago…

Issue 249 – Sunday 15th February to Saturday 21st February 2004

It never ceases to amaze us where some of the Madness rumours start, and this issue was a prime example, as it was there that we learned, from the ‘Salvage Squad’ web site no less, that the ‘Our House’ musical would be going on a full UK tour from this coming July.

On the Madness website message board the fans were unsure as to whether the musical would tour or not. Was the information from ‘Salvage Squad’ reliable? We’d just have to wait and see.

Always one to rummage through the vast depths of the Amazon web site, Jonathan Young had un-earthed a new music DVD that had only recently been released. Entitled “80’s DVD Jukebox”, the disc featured over 80 minutes of live television performances with such bands as Duran Duran, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Madness, and many more.

Continuing his ‘Tour Madness’ sneak preview was one Jermaine, who treated us to his fourth and final part of his latest Tour Madness update, which featured complete track listings and detailed lowdowns of the recent Christmas tour. This week we featured The Brighton Conference Centre (December 16th 2003), Cardiff International Arena (December 18th), and Birmingham (December 19th – venue not listed).

We finished this week’s issue off with an update (courtesy of Chris Carter-Pegg) on the current situation with regards to the Camden Tube redevelopment public enquiry.

Under the proposed scheme we would not only lose the tube station as we knew t (the location for parts of ‘One Better Day’, ‘Camden Town’ and various other bits of footage. We would also lose the HSBC building (back drop for the Embarrassment intro), Camden Market and most tragically, the Electric Ballroom, Holts shoe shop and the shop formerly known as Rock On. All of these famous locations faced compulsory purchase and demolition under Transport and Works Act powers, unless the scheme could be rejected.

Rob Hazelby

TIME…

The Magic Brothers are now working on the string arrangements as part of the production on their second album.

Last night Woody posted a video to his Facebook page, showing a 1 minute clip of the string session for the forthcoming second album “In your Mind”, with Mike Kearsay present with the brothers working on the arrangements with a quartet of string players working in the booth. It sounded great.

News in from Steve Farthing of Mad Chat reveals that the facebook group at www.madchat.co.uk (link takes you to Facebook) this week celebrates reaching 5,000 members.

The group are currently fundraising for Cancer Research, and the amount rasied is set to reach over a whopping £1500. There are a number of auctions on the group’s page which end Monday. Amongst the items is one with a unique goody, a unique portrait of Suggs. It measures 16 and a half inches by 14 inches. The painting has been donated by Neil Jimmy Warren. It’s taken Neil about a week to paint, and would look great framed up and on a wall. This is to be auctioned off, in aid of the nominated charity.

The auction is currently up to £70, and will run run until midnight on Monday.

Please leave your bids and remember, this is for charity so please be generous!
The winning bidder will need to make their payment as a donation on their Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/madchat1

Until next week, take care,

Jon Young, Rob Hazelby, Simon Roberts, Paul Williams