1 – THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS – The obligatory intro.

2 – THE SKA ORCHESTRA MAY MISSIONS – In this week’s edition of the MIS
we bring you all the details for The Ska Orchestra MAY tour. Set
to debut their first album, The Benevolence of Sister Mary
Ignatius, very soon, the band head off for three dates which begin
their year touring schedule. We also have news beyond this
including radio appearances and future rumblings.

3 – THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS – This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby
goes back 5 years to issue number 460, and the week of Sunday 24th
February to Saturday 1st March 2008, and then back 10 years
to issue number 198 and the week of Sunday 23rd February to
Saturday 1st March 2003.

4 – SET THE THAMES ALIGHT – MADNESS AT HENLEY FESTIVAL – It’s been
announced that Madness are to headline the Friday night of the 5
day Henley festival, appearing on the floating stage. Madness are
to appear at 8.45pm on the floating stage, headlining the Friday
of Henley Festival on July 12th.

5 – PAUL RODGERS’ MADNESS STATS, FACTS AND FIGURES – Paul Rodgers is
back with another stat-filled lowdown, all accompanied by a little
apology.

6 – SUGGS ON CHRIS EVANS RADIO SHOW – Suggs appeared on Chris Evans’
radio show on BBC radio 2 this week. Here it is via the BBC’s,
listen again facility, available up until this coming Friday.

7 – THAT’S YER LOT – A few last minute words before we finish for the
week.

[1] – THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS

Hello, and a very warm welcome to this week’s edition of the MIS.

It’s been a quiet week in the world of Madness, and it’s meant that we’ve been scratching around with news to pass in your direction.

There’s no need to panic, though. The issue may not be as packed as some of the recent ones, but we’ve still got some exciting news to pass in your direction, in the form of new Ska Orchestra gigs and the band’s forthcoming appearance at The Henley Festival.

Alongside that little lot Paul Rodgers is here with his semi regular Madness Stats, Facts and Figures, and to round this issue off we have a transcript from a recent interview DJ Chris Evans had with the one and only Suggs.

So, without further ado, let’s dive on in!

Simon Roberts, Rob Hazelby, Jonathan Young, Liz Maher
Email us at: simon, robert, jonathan, liz @mis-online.net

[2] – THE SKA ORCHESTRA MAY MISSIONS

In this week’s edition of the MIS we bring you all the details for The Ska Orchestra MAY tour. Set to debut their first album, The Benevolence of Sister Mary Ignatius, very soon, the band head off for three dates which begin their year touring schedule. We also have news beyond this including radio appearances and future rumblings.

MAY 16th

The first gig of the year is Chelsea, London at Under The Bridge, Fulham Road, London, SW6 1HS

On May 16th the band will be playing Under The Bridge, a new venue beneath Chelsea football club’s stadium, where the tight formation of the 11 man ska orchestra promise to play better than the outfit currently playing above ground.

Should Suggs and Woody attend this one they can be thankful of attending an event there and not having to be worried about seeing a bad performance for a change.

Could this be the album launch party??
Lets hope so, it would be back of the net, for all ska orchestra fans if it is.

Tickets for the gig are available here… Doors 8pm
http://agmp.ticketabc.com/events/lee-thompson-ska-o-2/
Tickets £20 plus 1.50 booking.

MAY 24th & MAY 25th

Two northern dates round out the May Tour. Tickets are available for those from See Tickets, from Monday Morning.

http://www.seetickets.com/search?q=lee+thompson&search

Having played a blinder at Chelsea the band will take on Manchester in a united front at the city. Heading up north, are the band on the run?
Nope, they will be at…

Band on the Wall. 25 Swan Street, Northern Quarter, M4 5JZ

Band on The Wall Manchester at 9.00pm
http://bandonthewall.org/events/3917/
Tickets £13 early Bird or £15 plus 1.50 booking.

Lastly, they pay a slight homage to the sh*ttest blur album, by rounding out the bank holiday weekend playing at…

Think Tank at Hoults Yard, Walker Road, NE6 2HL

Think Tank in Newcastle at 7:30 PM
https://www.facebook.com/wearethinktankartspace

The Newcastle date was brilliant last time at The Boss Sounds festival, and sure to be a good one this time too, at the quay side venue of Hoults Yard area near Byker (Grove). Special Guests are listed for this gig. (it’s not PJ, Duncan or Spuggy)

Tickets £15 plus 1.50 booking

RADIO APPEARANCES

Before the tour a couple of appearances on Radio are happening.

Lee will be appearing on local ‘Internet’ radio EN5 in Barnett for an ‘LTSO’ interview with DJ Toby & Aiden 26th Feb. after 8pm.

“Hope to be spinning a few tracks from the album.” He told MIS.

Second to this previously announced appearance Lee also told us he would by appearing at 8pm 5th March. On Stomp radio.

http://stompradio.com/

This would presumably by the Simon Petts show.

The band will also be returning in some form to the airwaves of The Koast train before their newcastle gig.

….

So, get booking now to be a part of the May Summer of Ska. The album is due soon, with a record label in late planning stages, and distribution due through Absolute who manage artists as wide ranging as George Michael and Dexys.

Join the facebookpage page, see the tour poster and more at…

www.ltso.mis-online.net

If you’re interested in keeping up-to-date on future Ska Orchestra gigs we urge you to follow Lee on Twitter, under the username @leethompsonska

Should you manage to get along to any of the above dates please knock up a review and send it in so those of us unable to make it can read just what we’ve missed.

Jonathan Young/Darren Dixon
Graham Yates

[3] – THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS

This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 460, and the week of Sunday 24th February to Saturday 1st March 2008, and then back 10 years to issue number 198 and the week of Sunday 23rd February to Saturday 1st March 2003.

5 years ago…

Issue 460 – Sunday 24th February – Saturday 1st March 2008

We were certain that although one or two of you may have still been there, for the majority of MIS subscribers your school days were probably nothing more than mixed memories of endlessly waiting for the end of the school day to quickly come around.

With that in mind, this issue took a distinctly school related approach as we gave a multi-article look at Suggs’ teaching challenge, where he returned to his old school to give the current pupils a taste of his songwriting prowess.

The show was aired on the since defunct Teachers TV, and provided a
20 minute showcase around the teaching skills required for teaching a music class of senior school children. Although useful for teachers it was also a fascinating 20 minutes for us Madness fans.

Elsewhere, we head how all the members of the band found their schooling days in a 1999 article from Later magazine. It was a lighthearted read, but really showed just how little most of the band thought of getting a decent education.

As well as that little lot we had news of TV’s Lorraine Kelly coming clean on her music tastes, admitting she was in love with Suggs back in the 80s.

10 years ago…

Issue 198 – Sunday 23rd February – Saturday 1st March 2003

A week after stepping on stage to receive the Olivier Best New Musical award for Our House, the show he and his fellow band members helped to create, Suggs then announced he was joining the cast of the show.

Collecting the award with the show’s writer Tim Firth, Suggs praised the young cast for their work ‘and making the award happen’.

Suggs was booked to play the role of Joe’s Dad, from Monday March 17.
The role was currently being played by ex-Eastender, Ian Reddington who would step down for a week to let his friend Suggs make his West End debut.

For those unable to watch the show for whatever reason, our largest section of the issue featured an entire transcript of ‘The Kumars at Number 42′, which featured Madness for the full duration of the programme. It took MIS co-editor, Jonathan Young many hours to put together, but for many it was well worth the effort.

Rob Hazelby

[4] – SET THE THAMES ALIGHT – MADNESS AT HENLEY FESTIVAL

It’s been announced that Madness are to headline the Friday night of the 5 day Henley festival, appearing on the floating stage.

Madness are to appear at 8.45pm on the floating stage, headlining the Friday of Henley Festival on July 12th.

The black tie dress code, charity event that follows a week after Henley Reggetta, also features on that date, band the Casablanca Steps, a fireworks spectacular, art music events, and a tribute to Tubular Bells.

Tickets for the event range from £80, to £150. With a grandstand, lawn area and promenade three level classification system lay out, as well as numerous hospitality packages.

Festival says about Madness…

Madness is a band that retains a strong sense of who and what it is.
Many of the same influences are still present in their sound – ska, reggae, Motown, rock’n’roll, rockabilly, classic pop, and the pin-sharp vernacular of their beloved London streets. It may be refined and updated, but its essence remains clear and true. This is what they do best. “You may use the same colours,” says Cathal, “but you don’t want to paint the same painting.”

Most colourful of all is Madness’ ability to write songs that sparkle with the stuff of British life; that find poetry in everyday reality – not the faux bright lights of celebrity; songs that may not shy away from death or darkness, but retain the right to employ wit and warmth.
They are songs that have left their mark on British pop culture; their spirit endures in the music of Blur, the Streets, Kaiser Chiefs, Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, Sway and Plan B (Cathal co-wrote Great Day for a Murder on Ill Manors and appeared briefly in the film.)

In 2012 Madness are in the unique position of having their legacy celebrated by the nation – with historic performances at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert, and at the Olympic Games closing ceremony – while at the same time enjoying a creative renaissance that has led to some of their finest work. This purple patch began with 2009’s critically acclaimed album The Liberty of Norton Folgate, and now Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da. Turns out they never lost their songwriting edge after all.

Beach Boys, Madness, Paloma Faith, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra have been announced as the first headlining acts for this summer’s Henley Festival at Henley On Thames.

Henley Festival is celebrating it’s 31st anniversary this year with five nights of music, cabaret, street theatre, art, culture, comedy, and fine dining and fireworks from Wednesday 10th until Sunday 14th July 2013.

Ticket prices start from £80 and will go on sale to Friends of the festival at 10am on Monday 25th February and on general sale soon, eFestivals will have links to buy them once they are available.

E festivals / BBC / MIS

[5] – PAUL RODGERS’ MADNESS STATS, FACTS AND FIGURES

Right, first off a completely hollow and insincere apology for a blatant lie I put in one of last week’s articles. As you’ll probably know by now there was no prize on offer to the French MIS’s 200th Facebook member. It was something I made up whilst writing the article as I was staggered by how few people had ‘Liked’ their page.
I wrote the article, sent it to Rob and forgot about it. It was only on looking at Facebook after the MIS email had gone out that I realised that all these people were asking if they were the 200th member. Erm so I’m sorry for causing some people to look at a page where they’ll find loads of info and more about Madness.

So now onto the really important stuff like what records are doing what and where and in what chart. Finishing last week’s info Complete Madness rose two places to 113 in the albums top 200 in its 48th straight week on the chart. Hopefully its sales will continue to allow it at least a year on the chart.

Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da, as well as being a right pain in the arse to type, is the 68th best selling artist album of the year. Meanwhile Never Knew Your Name is the 66th song on the year to date airplay chart in the UK. With plays fast approaching 3,500 and a notional audience of nearly 92 million it is surely Madness’ best earning new single for publishing since Lovestruck back in 1999.

Incidentally I recently got a 5 track album sampler, from before the album was named. At that stage My Girl 2 was not the single. Never Knew Your Name was meant to be the first single and should have been followed up by How Can I Tell You on December 17. Hopefully the latter will soon have a release date as a single (if it doesn’t already).

The album’s reissue in France has seen it belatedly become a hit there. Helped by a whole load of gigs announced in France, TV advertising and British fans buying it to get hold of the excellent ‘Crying’ the album has now managed two weeks in the French top 100.
It was a new entry at 99 two weeks ago and has since risen to number 94. On CD it is a much more successful 62. This is in comparison to The Liberty Of Norton Folgate which didn’t manage a single week on the top 100.

On to this week’s charts in the UK and Oui Oui has fallen to number
83 on its 14th week in the top 100 and 16th in the top 200. It is down to number 9 on the indie albums chart on its 17th week. Complete Madness falls to number 20 on the same chart. Both albums will have been hit by the notable absence of Madness from the Brit Awards.
Let’s face it they are not going to get a lifetime achievement award.
At this point I was going to be glib and suggest a band who could receive the award in 2014 for some page 17 achievement in 1984, but then I realised that 1984 was Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s year and it would be somewhat curmudgeonly to deny them the award next year. But if it goes to Hazel Dean, Bourgie Bourgie or effin’ M People remember the backlash started here!

Oui Oui is now within striking distance of becoming Madness’ 11th best charting release. The album it is chasing in the lacklustre compilation album ‘The Heavy Heavy Hits’, which had a chart span of nearly 3 years. During that time it amassed 2051 points. Oui Oui already has 1996, with 117 of them being earned on this week’s chart.

Here’s hoping a timely and fan-pleasing release of How Can I Tell You will allow Oui Oui to continue its success story both here and abroad.

Ooh before I go away I should remember to tell you that my seasonally adjusted figures suggest that Oui Oui sold around 2,400 copies in the week when it was number 58. I estimate this means its sales are now through the 60,000 barrier in the UK.

Now go away!

Paul Rodgers

[6] – SUGGS ON CHRIS EVANS RADIO SHOW

Suggs appeared on Chris Evans’ radio show on BBC radio 2 this week.
Here it is via the BBC’s, listen again facility, available up until this coming Friday on the following link.

http://tinyurl.com/amtbppy

Suggs talked about Madness, the new album, and his live solo show.
His appearance begins at 1.54 mark.

The interview began with Chris Evans recounting the story of when he was working on the Oxford Road show TV show in the early 80’s and Suggs was someone who guest presented the show, and afterwards he took Chris, a 19 year old at the time, out to the Hacienda night club in Manchester, which impressed him.

Suggs talks about the last two albums as being an escape from a black hole of 80’s tribute tours that he felt the band was before the success of Liberty of Norton Folgate. This record is a record by a band who are doing it because they enjoy it says Suggs.

A Version of How Can I Tell You was played and described by Chris as brand new from Madness. It started at 10 seconds out as a radio edit.
Could this be the new single?

Mad Life Crisis was a title that Suggs considered for his one man show. Chris was impressed that his one man show has been such a success to support such a large tour. Calling it gangbusters.

The show played a montage of 80’s Madness hits.

The record that kept wings of a dove off number 1, was UB40’s Red Red Wine. This is stated as songs that shouldn’t have stopped Madness rising to the top.

Suggs talks about story writing in song, and Ian Dury and Ray Davies are praised for this. Suggs says there are only two things in life that are good, love and telling a good story.

Suggs has to listen to the true or false texts, as people texted in to Suggs, saying which are true or not. Suggs denies most of the drinking stories while confirming they did advertise for Sekonda once.

Jonathan young

[7] – THAT’S YER LOT

We’re almost done for this week’s issue of the MIS. But before we go there’s one or two last minute bits and pieces to pass in your general direction.

First-up, and whilst we realise it’s not Madness, we’re certain that this will be of interest to more than a few of you.

News has reached us that the legendary Bad Manners (with support from Mak Splodge and The Pukes) are performing at Clapham Grand on Friday 7th June at 7:00pm.

For more information and to book tickets, point your web browser over
to: https://agmp.ticketabc.com/events/bad-manners-2/

Next, and this is just a quick reminder to MIS readers who are fans of Man Like Me. The band’s next album comes out on Monday 4th of March and is available for pre-order now.

Take a look at the following Amazon pre-order link at:
http://amzn.to/YuGxTx

Back to more Madness related matters now, and here’s a little gem that we’ve (well, Simon!) managed to save from the old MIS media server. It’s an old project that we thought was long lost, but thankfully Simon’s managed to rescue it.

Using footage from an episode of ITV show “Press Gang”, where Suggs appears as musician Jason Wood, and the “Waiting For The Ghost Train”
video, it’s a nice twist on the music video we’re all so familiar seeing.

To take a look, get over to http://www.madness-mis.com/?p=694

Moving on, and some Madness related cake news. Yes, you did read that correctly. Madness fan Tracey Sprigg decided to knock-up a cake inspired by The Magnificent 7, and we reckon she’s done a rather splendid job.

Take a look for yourself by going over to: http://on.fb.me/XPAEDh (You may need to be logged in with a Facebook account)

And finally, although Paul Rodgers openly admitted he told a small white lie in an effort to get more people to ‘Like’ the French MIS Facebook group (see section 5), it did actually benefit the group.
Paul tells us that its membership has increased by 28 people since this time last week, which equates to a 15% uplift in membership.

Not bad for a small fib.

And with that, we’re done!

Until next week, take care,

Rob, Jon, Simon, Liz
(With special thanks to Paul Rodgers, Darren Dixon and Graham Yates)