Madness Information Service Online Newsletter Issue Number: 852 – Sunday 6th September to Saturday 12th September 2015
Hello, and welcome to this latest edition of the MIS Online newsletter.
We start this issue with some sad news, as on Friday 4th September legendary trombonist Rico Rodriguez passed away at the age of 80.
Born in Havana, Cuba, on the 17th October 1934, Rico will probably be best known amongst Madness fans due to his collaborations with The Specials. Rodriguez also worked closely with Jools Holland, as part of the Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, and released his own material in the 1970s. Recognised for his hard work and talent, in 2007 his was awarded an MBE at Buckingham Palace for services to music.
Online condolences came in thick and fast, with Mike Barson commenting “Rest in peace Mr. Rodriguez. Hope all is you wherever you find yourself”. Mark Bedford adding.. “Very Sad, The master has left us, an honour to have shared a stage with him.” and Chris Foreman posting a picture of the 2tone bands with Rico standing over them in a happy moment from the distant past.
One of Rico’s many many fan’s hit hard by the news was our own Paul Williams. Who beyond the love of the music was also due to pick up Rico for a future appearance at the Big one4 festival (the event is now to feature tributes and DJing of his music.) Paul was shocked by the breaking news Friday, Reacting…
“Oh I cant believe what Im hearing .no no no no no. Rico Rodriguez the greatest trombonist in my eyes has died. Really upset. Part of me has gone with him. A massive part of my life. Shared drinks with him. Spoke to him on the phone not so long ago. Sleep well brother Rico. Back to the Wareika Hills. Thank you so much for what you brought into my world and for the great music. Oh no…..”
Later paying tribute from Specials2.com and Specialized Projects, Paul posted the statement..
“It is with great sadness that we have heard about the death of Rico Rodriguez. A pioneer, an inspiration and a true legend. A humble and honest man. A musician whos legacy is so vast that it will live on forever. We at Specialized and The Specials fan sites say thank you Rico. Sleep well.”
Most succinctly though, on the topic “He was a lovely man” says it all really. May all his music live on. We sat yesterday and listened to the 12″ version of Ghost Train with his extended solo, with a new appreciation for a truly classic 2tone track.
Further tributes will appear as the days go by, there is some in our sign of times section, and this weeks feature. In the meantime log in to YouTube, and raise a glass to some of his legendary performances. Here’s a few links to get you started:
Work Song – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrLc2YLZwTM
Over the Rainbow – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mt_hCu-V5IQ
Man From Wareika Live https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IviHD2Ty0jk
Suggs, Jools Holland Orchestra – Oranges and Lemon’s Again http://youtu.be/q0CF87qdBaA
Rest in peace Rico. You’ll be sorely missed.
Music must go on though, and so it does. There’s news of new Deaf School dates in this issues, and Madness’ Grandslam brings us back to the Centre of things. With a bunch of quotes from Suggs as the band soon head for their only London Grandslam date this year. Read on.
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
2015
GRANDSLAM
“Sporting theatres jumping with joy is the goal. Grandslam Madness – the greatest open air tour in the history of Rock & Roll…”
The Grandslam is now parked-up and enjoying a well-earned Summer break. The tour resumes on the 11th, but prior to that the band appear at the Gibraltar Festival on the 6th.
The full gig line-up for Madness this September is as follows…
September
11 – Canterbury, Kent County Cricket Club
12 – Bristol, Gloucester County Cricket Club
13 – London, On Blackheath
18 – Leeds, Yorkshire County Cricket Club
19 – Newbury Racecourse.
25 – Wolverhampton
26 – Chester-le-Street, Durham County Cricket Club
November 2015
November 20th – 23rd 2014 – Minehead – The House Of Fun Weekender Five
The Weekender also features sets by Woody Woodgate, Crunch!, Clang and much, much more….
Suggs At The Nutty Bar
September The 8th – Marbella Spain. **THIS WEEK, SEATING SOLD OUT, STANDING TICKETS LIMITED***
The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra
January 15th 2016 – Jazz Cafe – Camden Town London
Deaf School
September
6th – Norwich – Waterfront
November
27th – Preston 53 Degrees **NEW**
28th – Newcastle Think Tank **NEW**
29th – York Duchess **NEW**
December
9th Liverpool – Kazimier
10th Liverpool – Kasimier ** SOLD OUT **
12th – London, Hoxton, Bar & Kitchen **NEW**
The Clang
11th September London – St Moritz Club **THIS WEEK**
—-
GRANDSLAM – SUPPORT ACTS
Chainskabrassika – Canterbury, Bristol, Leeds & Durham,
On Blackheath, features early set from Chainskabrassika at 13.30, just before the cast of the kinks musical take over.
Later after Kelis leaves the stage around 7pm finish, it’s likely the DJ warm up might include either Jerry Dammers or David Rodigan for an hour. As Madness don’t appear on stage until 8pm.
BUY IT
Madstock – CD / DVD Edition
Out on October the 9th. Just over 23 years after the famous comeback gigs, and just a month before the live album’s 23rd anniversary of release, Madstock is back.
Last available on DVD in the guided tour boxset only, and last on CD via a crappy on demand print service option many years ago. For around £12 you can now get both together.
The CD contains Razor Blade Alley as a bonus track for the first time on CD from the weekend’s concerts, and collects tracks previously only available from the concerts upon the CD single of The Harder They Come. These 4 bonus tracks have been included at the end of the album, Chrissy Boy has pointed out they aren’t part of the Live Album’s original mixing by Clive Langer being sourced elsewhere and masters are impossible to find nearly 25 years on, so appear as the final bonus tracks on the album.
The album features a new montage of photographs from the weekend as it’s cover, much like the recent CD/DVD edition of Take It Or Leave it.
Punch and Judy Madness Toy Theatre
A pop-up miniature theatre, in card form, featuring Punch & Judy. The collage by artist Peter Quinnell was commissioned by British band ‘Madness’ to celebrate their single ‘Lovestruck’ – it features characters from Music Hall, Punch & Judy and Madness videos. Folds down neatly to the size of a 7 inch single, it can be sent as a card. £8.95
http://www.pollocks-coventgarden.co.uk/index.php/toy-theatres/punch-judy-lovestruck-diorama.html
Jennie & The Slingers
New album from Jennie Bellstar, this time with rockabilly band “The Slingers”. Featuring on one track are none other than Chrissy Boy and Thommo. Track seven called “Better off Dead” is also available as a download.
SIGN OF THE TIMES
News and info from online and offline media sources.
The Specials trombonist Rico Rodriguez dies aged 80
“Our dear friend Rico passed away today. We offer our deepest condolences to his family. His legacy will go on forever and a day. RIP dear Rico.” The Specials.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-34165372
Speaking to the BBC, fellow band member Horace Panter described Mr Rodriguez as “a humble man” and “a tremendous musician”.
WIN TICKETS TO NEWCASTLE GRANDSLAM
http://www.newcastlegateshead.com/blog/read/2015/09/win-tickets-to-madness-b109
Which of these is a popular Madness song.
House of Love
House of Fun
House of Cards.
Answer at the above links before September 22nd.
WIN A BRISTOL MEET AND GREET WITH MADNESS
http://www.gloscricket.co.uk/competition-win-a-meet-and-greet-with-madness-on-saturday-12-september/
What is the lead singer of Madness’ real name ?
- A) Graham McPherson
- B) Stan McPherson
- C) Woody McPherson
Email your answer to: marketing@glosccc.co.uk and title the email MADNESS COMPETITION.
Competition closes at 3pm on Monday 7 September.
SUGGS GEARS UP FOR MADNESS ON BLACKHEATH
http://www.theresident.co.uk/london-culture-events/celeb-interviews/suggs-gears-madness-blackheath/
Suggs quotes.
I don’t think we’ve ever played in south London before, certainly not on Blackheath. We’ll have to pack some sandwiches!
‘We were in Blackheath doing some promotional photos and Danny Baker – whose garden pretty much backs onto the festival site – said, “Get off my land you northerners!” But you’ve got to come across the waters for that lovely air now and again, you know, come and bathe in the refreshing streams and babbling brooks of south London! Blackheath is a beautiful part of the world and I’m very much looking forward to being there
‘I had a job on Blackheath when I was a kid,’ he says. ‘A friend of my mum’s had this art installation with inflatable bubbles that you could walk through. I was taking the money on the door and a load of kids came along and stabbed holes in it and the whole thing deflated. There were all these flailing bodes inside, sort of suffocating, and I was desperately trying to get them out.
‘We’ll throw in a few new numbers and a few random cover versions,’ he adds. ‘We’re very fortunate, having had a lot of hits over 30 years, that we can mix it around every night [while touring] so it keeps it a bit different for us, but I would never play a set that didn’t involve most of our hits.’
BRISTOL GRANDSLAM – PARK AND RIDE
http://www.gloscricket.co.uk/madness-concert-park-and-ride/
The best way to get to the Bristol County Ground without the worry of parking is to use one of the Park & Ride services that will be running. No parking is available at the Bristol County Ground.
Park & Ride services will run from the University of the West of England’s Frenchay Campus (Car Park 20 , postcode BS16 1QY – at the UWE roundabout take the first exit when coming from the ring road (A4174)) and the Portway Park & Ride site (postcode, BS11 9QE). The journey time from the University is around 15 minutes and from Portway Park & Ride is around 25 minutes.
There is ample parking at both sites, which is free of charge. It costs just £4 per adult (children under 15 are free) to use the Park & Ride buses, which provides travel to and from the Bristol County Ground, dropping off and picking up from right next to the main entrance to the concert.
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 592 – Sunday 5th September – Saturday 11th September 2010
We had an absolutely packed one for you this week. As well as our regular ‘That Was the Week That Was’ segment we had news explaining how you could purchase karaoke versions of various Madness tracks. Quite who would want these in their collection we weren’t sure.
Further on we welcomed the return of author John Reed who was here with a second extract of his forthcoming Madness Book ‘House of Fun – The Story of Madness’. Alongside this we had an in-depth review of the ‘Wonderful’ 2-disc re-issue, courtesy of Paul Rodgers. Such was the detail of Paul’s review that it easily took up the majority of the issue!
So, did Paul think we should add it to our collections?
“I’d urge anyone who missed out first time round to add this to their Madness album collection. The albums may come incredibly slowly these days, but Wonderful provides a brilliant bridge from Madness mk1, picking up the baton from Keep Moving and eventually passing it on to their career opus The Liberty Of Norton Folgate which followed almost a decade later.
Five stars out of five”
Further on, and onathan Young had uncovered some juicy tidbits relating to an old track by The Madness, entitled “Another World”. This had failed to make The Madness’ only album.
We brought this issue to a close with news in from Warren Moyle, who reported that an unknown Madness album titled “On Board The Nutty Express – Live at The Astoria” was listed on Amazon as being released on 6th September.
10 years ago…
Issue 331 – Sunday 4th September to Saturday 10th September 2005
We were sure you all knew people who had decided to play out their own sporting ambitions on their children, by making them take up a place in the school football, cricket or rugby team, but had you ever wondered what would happen if a die-hard Madness fan managed to get their child in the line-up of Madness?
Well, you could stop guessing, and instead head over to the MIS forums, where a number of visitors had decided to upload snaps of their little ones dressed in their nutty gear.
Moving on, and we announced that due to lack of use the MIDI section of the MIS site would be removed. Well, no sooner did we do it we started to receive emails from visitors asking where it’d gone. Well, due to popular demand, the section was re-instated.
On to the articles, and probably the main news this week was that during the past few days the band made a number of appearances over in Germany, in an effort to promote the new album. We had reviews from three members of the online Madness community covering the performances, giving those of us who were unable to get along to the shows an opportunity to find out just what went on.
Also, this week we had news of a possible new Madness rarity that was now doing the rounds, (this turned out to be a small quantity of the ‘Forget Myself’ 7″ mistakenly having “Shame and Scandal” on the B-side) rumours of forthcoming Stateside radio appearances, and confirmation that North London band MOT would soon be making their way up to Manchester in a battle of the bands style event.
15 years ago…
Issue 69 – Sunday 3rd September to Saturday 9th September 2000
We started off this week’s issue with news that Simon Roberts had kindly taken a few snaps of the recently refurbished Dublin Castle pub, for your viewing pleasure. The picture showed a shot of the bar with the usual Madness and Suggs framed posters above the bar.
You may recall a few weeks back that the campaign to have a revamped Upminster pub named after Ian Dury sadly failed. Well, news in from TMML subscriber Simsey was that not all was lost.
“There is a lasting tribute to good ol’ Uncle Ian in the pub. Hanging in the pub is a good sized photo of Upminster’s favourite son (although he was born in Harrow!) and the LP cover to the ‘self-titled’ (tee-hee) album ‘Lord Upminster'”.
Did you fancy hearing some of those classic Madness tunes of yesteryear re-vamped with a completely different sound? Well, you’d soon have the opportunity as Jean-Pierre Boutellier told us that;
“A Madness tribute sampler will be out before the end of the year in Mexico with a Mexican band who cover Madness songs”
Interestingly, ten years later JP would be one of those behind the hours and hours of work that went into the two disc Madness tribute album. Perhaps this is where the idea was born from?
On to the articles, and we got this week’s selection underway with a massive XFM interview with Suggs, that had been copied and pasted from his homepage, courtesy of TMML subscriber Fiona Linnell. In it Suggs explained what he was doing before his stint at XFM, why he chose to join the station, and what he wanted listeners to get from his show.
Next-up was subscriber Ashley Martin, who revealed that Channel 5 would soon be filming the next series of karaoke show “Night Fever”, and that you could be in the audience. Tickets were completely FREE, and we assured readers that those ‘randomly’ pulled out of the audience are picked beforehand, so there was no need to panic.
Moving away from Madness, and TMML subscriber Pete Gardner passed on the news that there was a recently released Specials album now doing the round;
“It’s a triple CD set called “Stereo-typical: A’s, B’s & Rarities” and features every track they ever had on a 7″ or 12″ single, plus a few extras (but only from the 2 Tone days, not including “Hypocrite” or “Pressure Drop”). It is sheer class with a class sleeve and notes. There are a couple of dodgy remixes/re-recordings of Nelson Mandela and Ghost Town (Ghost Dub ’91) though!”
Further on in was a welcome return of Scatty, who was dismayed that Madness weren’t a feature in London’s “Rock Circus”, and that petitions should be set-up nationwide in an effort to show the owners of the attraction that our favourite band should appear there. (As far as we know, this failed to get off the ground).
We finished off this week’s issue with a short review of Suggs’ XFM Radio show, kindly typed-up by Fiona Linnell. In it, the man himself revealed that his current top 10 tracks were:
- Yellow, Coldplay
- Another Pearl, Badly Drawn Boy
- Catch The Sun, Doves
- In The Name Of The Father, Blackgrape
- In Amber, Lowgold
- That’s When I Reach For My Revolver, Graham Coxon
- Barabajagal, Dope Smugglaz Allstars With Sahun Ryder and Howard Marks
- Ghost Town, The Specials
- Theme From Gutbuster, Bentley Rhythm Ace
10.Sweet Pea, My Sweet Pea, Paul Weller
Rob Hazelby
SPECIALIZED FEATURE – Rico Rodriguez the authentic pioneer of Jamaican Music
It is with great sadness that we have heard about the death of Rico Rodriguez. A pioneer, an inspiration and a true legend. A humble and honest man. A musician who’s legacy is so vast that it will live on forever. We at Specialized say thank you Rico. Sleep well.
Along with a select few of his contemporaries, Rico Rodriguez’s inventive fusion of jazz technique, a pop accessibility, and his Rastafari affinity with the African soul imagined a popular music form, which Jamaica could claim as its own.
Both his solo efforts and extensive contributions to many of Jamaica’s formative music groups warrant the gratitude and recognition of his homeland.
Rodriguez was born October 17, 1934, in Havana, Cuba. On arrival in Jamaica, his mother enrolled him in the Alpha Boys’ School at the age of four. During the 1940s and ’50s, the school produced an unprecedented number of musicians who would later define the era’s music. Rodriguez was a product of that generation, learning the trombone from his slightly older classmate, Don Drummond.
The two would later play with the innovative Rastafarian drummer, Count Ossie, and the genre-defining set of musicians who would later form The Skatalites.
After leaving the Alpha Boys’ School, Rico apprenticed as a mechanic, and in 1954, continued studying music at the Stony Hill Music School.
Struggling for daily sustenance American jazz trombonists J.J. Johnson and Kai Winding would inspire the budding jazz musician. Then struggling for daily sustenance, Rodriguez regularly performed for fishermen in exchange for fresh fish. There, Rico developed his pleasure for performance.
“Because you were poor and had to eat, you stay down where the fishermen draw their nets so you’d have food every day. Fishermen always give you fish; they like to hear you playing,” Rodriguez recalled.
Also during this period, Rodriguez converted to Rastafari and joined the community led by percussionist Count Ossie. His exposure to the Rasta chants and African-rooted Burru drumming tradition would later influence his Afro-centric approach to popular music.
Recalling his musical education with Count Ossie and fellow Rasta musicians, Rodriguez noted that “they’re more developed, mentally and musically, than the average musician. When you play with them, you can really explore. Most of what I know I learned from playing with them”.
The Rasta foundations that infused his music would later awe eclectic jazz trumpeter Don Cherry, who once asked Rico, “How can you play like that? To play like you, I had to go to Africa to learn.”
By the late 1950s, Rodriguez had begun winning prizes from the radio talent competition, Vere John’s Opportunity Hour. This would also bring the struggling trombonist his first professional exposure.
In 1956, Rodriguez performed on the very first Clement ‘Coxson’ Dodd recording session. He played on Easy Snappin’, Theophilus Beckford’s seminal recording, considered by experts the first ska song ever.
Rodriguez also played on Rock a Man Soul, Salt Lane Shuffle, Shufflin’ Jug, Milk Lane Hop, his own first hit, Let George Do It, and many more.
With the transition from costly, live band orchestras to the more feasible sound systems on Jamaica’s dance circuit, Rodriguez delved deeper into the budding, indigenous recording scene. He performed on recordings for Count Ossie’s group, Clue J & His Blues Blasters, Drumbago and his All Stars, and the Smith All Stars under the supervision of the period’s best producers, such as Prince Buster, Duke Reid, Lloyd Daley, and Vincent Chin. It was Chin who recorded Rodriguez’s first solo effort, Rico’s Special, in 1961.
That first recording would be released in England with the then fledgling, Island Records.
Encouraged by the successful reception of his record and those of other Jamaican musicians, Rodriguez moved to England in 1961 to perform for the growing market of Caribbean migrants.
In London, he joined live bands such as Georgie Fame’s Blue Flames. He also continued recording as a popular-session man on records for such producers as Emil Shallitt on the Melodic label and Siggy Jackson on Blue Beat.
Standout trombone solos
His standout trombone solos featured on Laurel Aitken’s Daniel Saw the Stone, on old friend Prince Buster’s Barrister Pardon, and on the Sugar and Dandy’s 1967 hit A Message to You Rudy. He also began recording with his own band, Rico’s All Stars, and later Rico and the Rudies, for Island Records, Trojan Records, and Pama. Those recordings would include the albums Blow Your Horn (1969) and Brixton Cat (1969).
These early recordings would begin to feature his combination of classic jazz and Afro-consciousness, Midnight in Ethiopia and Soul of Africa being prime examples.
At the brink of reggae’s emergence, in the late 1960s, Rico joined the British reggae band The Underground, where he first delved into the new genre. His distinctive trombone solos would also make their presence felt in reggae recordings for Island Records.
In 1975, he was hired at Island as a studio musician, contributing to the recording of Jim Capaldi, Toots and the Maytals, and Burning Spear. This work with the era’s great reggae artistes would influence his 1976 definitive album, Man from Wareika.
An artistic breakthrough for Rodriguez, the album is an original union of jazz, Afro-drumming and reggae. The album would also be released on the prestigious American jazz label, Blue Note.
The music from that album is considered pioneering work of Jamaican jazz.
Rodriguez began performing with the new generation of Jamaican musicians. He performed with Bob Marley and the Wailers through their European tour. His major collaborative success, however, would come from joining The Specials and their 2Tone Records label. The immense success of their cover of A Message to You Rudy launched the label and their featured music of ska, reggae, and African pop to British and European audiences.
Rico’s soulful trombone added authenticity to The Specials’ combination of punk and reggae. Rico released two solo albums during this period: That Man is Forward(1981) and Jama Rico (1982).
In 1982, Rico returned to Jamaica to retire from professional performance.
The Heart Beat Band would later convince Rodriguez to reconsider retirement and inveigled him back into music in 1987 for a tour with the group. He also joined Jazz Jamaica, a band founded by bassist Gary Crosby in 1991 – a group inspired by Rodriguez’s fusion of mento, reggae, ska, and jazz.
Rodriguez also released two more collections: Roots to the Bone (1995) and Tribute to Don Drummond (1997).
For more than a decade, this ska legend has been associated with Jools Holland and his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra working 40 weeks a year in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Asia and making numerous television appearances. He again announced his retirement from music in 2007, the same year that he was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by Queen Elizabeth for his significant contribution to music.
Music would call on him again. As further testament to Rico’s stellar contribution, the Barcelona-based musician and filmmaker Jep Jorba produced The Legacy – The Rico Rodriguez Story, a fitting documentary honouring the trombonist.
The MBE particularly recognises not only his musical invention, but also Rodriguez’s importance to music fans beyond the Jamaican diaspora. Rodriguez is a man of Jamaica that enveloped himself in the global music memory. When Rodriguez left in 1961, intending to tug at the homesick hearts of Jamaican expats, he also gave our indigenous music audiences all over the world, provoking the emergence of foreign artistes in all the Jamaican popular genres, from British punk rockers to Swiss reggae bands.
His contribution is indicated by a collection of 50 songs on the CD Rico Rodriguez and Friends – Trombone Man: Anthology 1961-1971. As one Internet reviewer says, “Rico is a great and gifted musician and a worthy role model for anyone taking up such a wonderful instrument.”
Specialized Projects. / Paul Williams
TIME…
That’s just about it for this week.
Happier times are coming, tonight Gibraltar hosts Madness rocking out to the population, travelers and maybe a few of the monkeys,
then the Grandslamming massive summer tour takes it’s September bow with more sports grounds this month starting with Canterbury and ending in Durham month end. The new album tentatively also titled Grandslam (expect that to change) continues to develop it’s shape. We are hearing Mumbo Jumbo has been taken apart and possibly morphed into a completely different song, and more new tunes have been shaped for a possible innings in the live arena. Heading towards that big play off match Friday at Butlins.
Enjoy this month of Grandslam season. The band are match fit and ready for the kick off.
Grandslam. Am I everything you think I Am? It’s back. The Grandlsam continues… Be there and send us your reviews in this month.
Until next week, have a good one!
Jon Young, Rob Hazelby, Simon Roberts, Paul Williams
(With thanks to Specialized)
The Author
