We may be several weeks into the new year but things are still very quiet on the Madness front.
While the first batch of Madness gigs don’t kick off until mid May, the Near Jazz Experience have just announced their first gig of the year, and which takes place on the 27th of this month. Check out our “Showtimes” section for further details.
Back to a more Madness related note now and this coming Wednesday Chrissy Boy will be climbing aboard Mr Scurf’s Koast Train for a chat. Tune in online and we’ll have a report / recording in next week’s MIS…
Elsewhere in this issue, our “MIS Feature” takes a look at the Seven Ragged Men on Buckingham Palace, and we also have news of Suggs and Snooker, courtesy of the World of Snooker web site.
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.
The idea is a simple one, that came to us one evening back in July.
Bands as Football Teams, Football Teams as Bands.
We now have over 400 badges, working with friends and guest designers, setting up an exhibition at The National Football Museum in Manchester https://bandsfc.com/”
Bands FC have given a large number of badges to the band to give away on the Sound of Madness tour. So, if you’re buying something before or after one of the gigs don’t forget to pick up your free badge.
New Arrivals at The Madstore
If you missed the House Of Fun or you need another fix get your hands on the event range NOW at The MAD STORE with 20% OFF whilst stocks last!
NEW STOCK JUST LANDED!
2018 Christmas Sweaters, track jackets, polos, fez hats, tea towels, badge sets, dekker hats, beanie hats the list goes on….!
Lee ‘Kix’ Thompson is a most unlikely character. Early career choices had him spend a year in Borstal. He still hasn’t found the receipt for his first saxophone. Luckily, he met two other unlikely characters: Mike ‘Barso’ Barson and ‘Chrissy Boy’ Foreman, who shared his interests of graffiti, train hopping and music.
One Man’s Madness, a feature length rocku-docu-mockumentary directed by Jeff Baynes, tells the story of Madness saxophonist Lee Thompson, told by Lee and his fellow Madness band mates, his family, friends and musicologists, who strangely all look a little like him! From meeting Barso and Chrissy Boy, and later Suggs, Chas, Woody and Bedders, to becoming one of Britain’s most iconic and successful bands, this joyous and light-hearted film follows the path of Lee’s life through his lyrics and songs, including such Madness classics as The Prince, Embarrassment, House Of Fun, Lovestruck and NW5.
Two CD set. Original soundtrack to the 2018 documentary about Madness saxophonist Lee Thompson. Includes tracks from Madness, Crunch, ‘Thommosina Leigh’, Ian Dury, and the Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra. Including Hidden Tracks.
Danceable and delightful, this debut album of the band’s much loved original songs pushes on through, breaking the mould of standard ska cover band. Catchy tunes and powerful brass and rhythm section make this a must-listen. Featuring Lee Thompson.
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: 767 – Sunday 19th January Saturday 26th January 2014
In this issue we brought you a mass of additions to the Showtimes section as The Magic Brothers announced a mass of gig dates at Camden’s Dublin Castle. Taking place over March and April, tickets for these events were already going to go fast.
Unfortunately, for those living outside the confines of London attending any of these gigs may not have be possible due to the mid-week placings. Hopefully the success of the listed dates would encourage The Dublin Castle and Bugbear Bookings to get Woody and Nick signed up for some Saturday night gigs. We could but hope.
With Christmas having only been and gone a few weeks prior to this issue news was very limited, and so we rounded up this issue by pointing you in the direction of the latest Teenage Cancer Trust video which was promoting the forthcoming Mad Not Cancer project.
10 years ago…
Issue 507 – Sunday 18th January to Saturday 24th January 2009
Sad news reached us earlier this week (courtesy of Chris Carter-Pegg and Emma Southerby), and because of that we did away with the usual MIS intro, and instead passed things straight over to them.
The sad news came from the Dublin Castle, Camden Town, announcing that Landlord Alo Conlon had died at home on Friday 9th January. It was Alo that gave Madness their residency at the Dublin Castle back in 1979, that launched their career.
In a tribute to all that Alo had done to help Madness we dedicated the first article to a lengthy and detailed obituary to the great man, which finished by commenting;
“Alo will be remembered with enormous fondness by all of his patrons and will hold a prominent place in London’s music history for enabling Madness and so many other bands to get their big break. He leaves North London with one of its most popular and endearing pubs that has retained its charm and character, whilst so may others have succumbed to changing fashions and pressures along the way.”
Elsewhere in the issue we also featured a full transcript of an article from The Camden New Journal, who themselves were paying respect to the legendary Alo Conlon. Entitled “Fond Farewell to King of the Castle”, it was a touching a detailed tribute to the great man.
Further on, and the Alo tributes continued with a detailed and heartwarming article from Simon Roberts detailing his own memories of the great man. Wrapping-up, Simon commented;
“I have said in the past that the DC is in fact the Church of Madness.
Where does that put the Alo?
Higher than God I think.
God bless Alo.
You will be missed.”
On a happier note, we moved on to Chrissy Boy, who was asking us to contact the band via the official web site with comments on what content we’d like to see on there. All you had to do was simply drop the band your suggestions and they’d be considered.
Calling all keyboardists – Madness tribute outfit Los Palmas 6 were desperately seeking a dep keyboard player. Why? Well, the band had so many gigs booked in that keyboardist Bosky, who also played for the Hotknives needed someone to fill in when he wasn’t available.
Potential applicants were warned that this was a challenging role and that whoever was interested and up to scratch must have all the required equipment and reliable transport.
On to what was the most bizarre article of the week, and it’s here that we passed the reigns over to Owen The Nutter, and his crystal ball. Here, Owen took a light hearted look at the year ahead and what it would deliver to us, the Madness fan. Yes, it was completely daft but it would certainly raise a smile to anyone who read it.
We brought this issue to a close with a reminder from Chris Carter-Pegg who pointed out a very important part in the small print that you really needed to be aware of before purchasing your Madstock 5 tickets.
“For anyone who hasn’t read all the terms and conditions about buying the Madstock tickets (I don’t usually bother), its worth noting that if you don’t opt for the ‘secure postage’ option and your tickets get lost in the post, the promoter will accept no responsibility whatsoever, you will receive no refund and no replacement tickets…if you’re buying say 6 tickets at approx £250 that’s quite a risk to take!”
15 years ago…
Issue 245 – Sunday 18th January to Saturday 24th January 2004
On 22nd January 1979 the world witnessed the first ever gig by pop group Madness. Now, 25 years later, the Madness web site received its first proper update of 2004. Entitled `IT WAS 25 YEARS AGO TODAY”, the article was taken from Mike Barson’s diary, and charted the life of the band back during January 1979.
The short entries from back then captured the early days of the band, and although it would still be some months before The Prince would see the light of day in the charts, you could tell that things were already starting to pick up, and that fame wasn’t too far away.
We were hopeful that this January web site update signified the start of many great things that would happen from then until December. Rumours of a possible concert or two later in the year were already circulating on the Madness Trading Ring, but there was nothing concrete at the moment.
Following a recent exclusive interview with Terry Edwards, we had the MIS interview seat wheeled-out once again, and this time we filled it with the Los Palmas 6’s Steve Turner, who revealed what it had been like to tour with Madness in the run-up to Christmas.
On Friday the 16th of January Woody was the special guest on BBC 6’s “Lunch with Liz Kershaw”. For the final hour of the show Liz Kershaw ‘invited’ herself to Woody’s party where she chatted to our favourite drummer about the early days of Madness, and what guests he’d love to have along to his party.
We finished off this week’s issue with an apology to those people who had emailed us to say that we’d missed out this or that from our 12 month lookback. The problem was that the article was already huge, and that with so much going on during 2003 it was impossible to document ‘everything’ that had taken place during the year.
The Madness frontman reveals his lifelong interest in snooker, and a fascination with war history, which has shaped his current television role.
Suggs knows Jimmy White. Of course he does. Both grew up in the 1970s, both would frequent the snooker clubs of London Town throughout their teenage years (when they should both have been at school). Sometimes on the baize, sometimes at the bar. Both support Chelsea. Both were working-class heroes and, perhaps, still are. And both were, on occasion, susceptible to a bit of fun on a night out.
The next chapter in the Madness story is now live at Seven Ragged Men – and what a belter it is too!
The year 2012 was an epic one for the Nutty Boys, and this is an epic instalment to match. Performing on the roof of Buckingham Palace… enduring a Spice Girls soundcheck… fighting over the album name… it’s all here in the band’s own words.
As always, it’s packed with tons of detail and plenty of great quotes from the band and their wider circle (we particularly like Thommo being told off for strolling into Buck House with a Budweiser).
Of particular interest is Suggs, Carl and Woody explaining how they found working with several different producers, rather than relying on Clive Langer. And young knob-twiddler Charlie Andrew also gives the inside track on working with the band.
2013 to 2015 is already progressing nicely too. Before you know it, they’ll have caught up with all the many goings-on in 2019…
Iain Mason
Time
The year of Madness XL has begun…
There are many more fun “house” parties coming in this exciting 40th anniversary year of Madness.
To find out about events first and for more info for this year go to www.madness.co.uk/madnessXL and make sure you’re registered
The next official announcements are due soon as the band revealed alongside their 40 songs XL Spotify playlist, that SOME celebrations would be revealed for this year.
We’ve been given a small peek by the band and are very excited for 2019. Beyond that, we’re unable to say much else as things are very much in the planning stages.
It’s purely our speculation now, but we may have an MIS event in June on North London, and we think some of you readers will likely be around the capital at a similar time.
