IN THIS ISSUE ...

1 - THE EDITOR WRITES - Latest news in brief.

2 - VOTE FOR FRED FOR LONDON'S MAYOR - London's finest band, the one
    and only Madness, have joined the world of politics in the run-up
    to the London Mayoral election. Their new single "Drip Fed Fred",
    featuring Ian Dury, has been adopted as the campaign anthem for
    new candidate Fredrick C. Threwe. Taken from Eden Online.

3 - SO TIRED CD COMPETITION - At Suggs Online http://www.suggs.co.uk
    we're setting up a competition to design your own "So Tired
    (Dazed And Confused) single cover. The song was never released,
    but was the most likely candidate for Suggsy's next single.
    Article by Paul `Wozza` Wassell.

4 - THE DOGS BOLLOCKS - What with latest album crashing into the top
    20 at the end of last year and first single Love Struck hijacking
    the top 10 (the highest placing for a Nutty original since "The
    Sun and The Rain" way back in 1983) it has been a golden
    renaissance for one of Britain's most loved bands. Taken from
    Eden Online.

5 - THE DAY I MET MY HEROES, LEE J THOMPSON AND MADNESS - I can
    remember my 7th birthday in 1981. My dad gave me my first Madness
    single and I was over the top. Ever since then I have been a fan
    and without any doubt, my favourite member was Lee...even then.
    Then finally in 1995 I got the chance to see madness perform
    live on stage. Article written and typed-up by Jerney.

6 - NUTTY SOUNDS 3 - At last the long awaited follow-up to the very
    entertaining Madness Bootleg series of Nutty Sounds arrives in
    that of Nutty Sounds 3 (Not Only but Also). It spans a wide
    range of material from Madness to Suggs and Crunch! and beyond.

7 - AND SO, TO BED - Thanks and closing words.

1 - THE EDITOR WRITES

This coming Wednesday (16th February) would have been an exciting day
for Madness fans as the lads had organised a rally to promote the
forthcoming single (due out on the 28th of this month). As this was a
Madness related event, it was obvious that whatever was planned would
be as wild and as wacky as possible. And as such, they had enlisted
the help of a red double decker bus, a tank, placards, posters and
some bizarre ideas.

All that was missing was the fans. And so, Madness were inviting
Maddies from far and wide to come and join them on this exciting day
out across London. The only rules for attendees were that everyone
had to come wearing black suits, trilbies, black glasses, so that
they'd really look the part for Fred's heavies. Phil Jupitus, GLR
and even Capital and Virgin Radio stations were all taking part. To
make things more exciting, the BBC were also invited and would be
filming the days events.

The plans for the day were:

A procession at Speakers Corner, Hyde Park at 1.30pm before moving on
to Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Gold Square & Marylebone.

Being the generous people we know Madness to be, 40 places were up
for grabs on the bus. All you had to do was get in touch with Adele
Hargreaves of the TMML and she'd try and get you a place on board.

Things were obviously well underway in the planning stages and the
online Madness community were, as you would expect, darn excited.

A few days later, with things out of the band's and Virgin's hands
the lads had to update their site with a small bulletin:

     "Due to unforseen circumstances the 'The Vote For
      Fred' rally day on Wednesday 23rd February has
      been cancelled. Thanks for your loyal support...
      do not fear though, soon coming to the site we
      have the new Madness video as well as some
      goodies up to the release of the next single
      'Drip Fed Fred' due out on the February 28th."

Here's Adele Hargreaves with some further information..

     "Sadly, due to several unforeseen circumstances,
      the rally on the 16th February has had to be
      called off. The councils involved were rather
      off the idea & now there's the possibility of
      a march in the area, as this usually brings
      traffic to a halt, the police were
      understandably worried about the havoc that
      a cortege including a tank & bus & scooter club
      would cause.

      The band are absolutely gutted by this & the
      girls at Virgin had really poured their hearts
      into it. Everyone is truly choked by it. But
      the day will not be a complete loss & I know
      there are a lot of you still coming, & I have
      told the band that you are still coming just
      to help them out, please know that its truly
      appreciated. I will mail each of those still
      coming to let you know what we'll be doing
      instead."

So, things all being well, it looks like something still may happen!

Those of you who are still without your copies of `Madstock 4` and
aren't after the DVD version could do alot worse than checking out
the video racks of your local Virgin Megastore where a number of
branches around the country have been spotted selling the tape for
a mere 4.99!!! It'd be Madness to miss it!

Having decided that his local US radio station just weren't playing
enough Madness and supporting the lads during their comeback, James
Clauser decided to do something about it and donate one of his
`Johnny The Horse` CD's to the station with the idea of getting the
Magnificent Seven some well-deserved airplay Stateside. It's too
early to get any reactions from the listeners at the moment, but if
we hear of anything, we'll let you know what they thought.

We knew the Official Madness website was good, and it's nice to know
that we're not the only ones who think that. John Lawrence tell us
that in issue 47 (2-15th December 1999) of `Computeractive` magazine,
they review `six of the best` websites, one of these being the
excellent www.madness.co.uk. Here's what they had to say:

     "The original Nutty Boys are back for their
      umpteenth reunion tour to promote a new album,
      and to celebrate they've produced this rather
      stylish site. For a light-hearted return to
      the days of pork pie hats and silly dancing,
      allow Suggs and Co to take you on a guided
      tour of the band and their history"

Many thanks to John for the info.

Meanwhile, on the fanzine front, I'm continuing to get some great
comments from people who have sent off for a free copy of Vince
Carden's `Madness Unsugged` fanzine after reading about it here.
Please show your support by setting up a subscription with Vince if
you liked the complimentary copy and would like to continue
getting it delivered to you doorstep.

Time to get those video recorders set-up once again as this coming
Friday (February 18th) will see Madness again playing on Channel
Four's `TFI Friday` show. Rumours are also going round at the moment
that the almighty Ian Dury will also be making a welcome appearance
with the boys to promote the new single, `Drip Fed Fred`. Thanks to
Baz and Complete and Utter Madness for the information.

Unfortunately for our non UK-based Maddies, seeing the boys on TV is
almost nigh-on impossible. However, on Tuesday 10th February, the
Spanish Mads were treated to a rare television airing of The
Magnificent Seven. Monica Palacin of the Total Madness Mailing List
reports that;

     "They made two live performances: "Johnny The Horse"
      and "It must be love". The first ("JTH") was good,
      but they played it very quickly, and I think it
      could be better. But "It must be love"... PERFECT!,
      It´s one of the best live performance that I´ve
      ever seen."

The show was aired in the early hours from 12-1:30am. Spanish Mads
who were unable to stay up to watch the show at that hour were
treated to a repeat of the nutty 7 as they had recorded performances
for another program which was aired yesterday (Saturday).

Further afield now, and Ashley Moore tells us that;

     "Suggs is getting sent by Virgin Radio to Hong
      Kong to do a roving report on all the goings
      on in the former British now Chinese run country.
      Regular reports will be broadcast from Suggs
      with the majority during Chris Evans`s breakfast
      show.  As far as I know it kicks off Monday 14th
      till the end of the week."

If you can pick up Virgin Radio it may be worth listening in this
week then!

I'm always happy to help out a fellow Maddie and helping to promote
a band is always a worthy cause. MIS Online subscriber Laila Khan
advises us to check out the website of a hot new ska/punk band. If
you pop along to www.grimace.connectfree.co.uk you'll be able to
download an MP3 of one of their tracks and see what you think. It
may not be Madness, but having a listen certainly won't do you
any harm!

Last years Christmas tour may seem like a long time ago now, but
pictures of the event are still cropping up all over the internet as
those snaps finally get scanned-in and uploaded for public viewing.
The latest batch of pictures to be zapped around the internet have
been provided courtesy of Simsey, and you can view these Wembley
shots at your leisure by clicking on: www.countrybumpkin.ndo.co.uk

Those of you who are still deciding if they should shell out on a
copy of the excellent `First Step Beyond` should stop `umming` and
`ahhing` and just shell out for the thing! I can tell you that
you don't know what you are missing out on, you really don't! For
more information, please get in touch with the First Step Beyond
Team at: dance at nijinski.com and tell them we sent you.

Some news which seemed to escape last the last issue of the MIS
Bulletin for one reason or another... You may recall that Ian Dury
was due to play a show at The Palladium and that Madness were
very likely to appear for one or two of the tracks. Andrew Bisson
reports that although there were photos of Ian Dury with the boys
and `Drip Fed Fred` posters littered around the venue, the boys
failed to appear. Andrew reassures us that the gig was still
excellent despite the no-show of Madness and the expensive beer!

Onto this week's edition of the MIS Bulletin now and we have a number
of short articles from Eden Online supplied by Mike Hearne and
Complete and Utter Madness. Further on in, and the ever-active `Wozza`
has competition details surrounding the sleeve-art for the
never-released Suggs single `So Tired`. We have a wonderful story
painstakingly typed up by Jerney telling us all how she met Lee
Thompson and the rest of the band at one of this year's Christmas
shows. And if all that wasn't enough, the almighty Vince Foley is
back with further words of wisdom in his review of the excellent
`Nutty Sounds 3`.

Don't say we never give you anything ;-)

And with that, lets get on with the articles.

Enjoy!

Robert Hazelby (MIS Online Editor)

[2] - VOTE FOR FRED FOR LONDON'S MAYOR

They want Freddie for their leader!!!!

VOTE FOR FRED NOW!!!!

London's finest band, the one and only Madness, have joined the world
of politics in the run-up to the London Mayoral election. Their new
single "Drip Fed Fred", featuring Ian Dury, has been adopted as the
campaign anthem for new candidate Fredrick C. Threwe . The London
nutty boys have promised unwielding support throughout the campaign
and look forward to supporting Fred on the campaign trail:

We want Freddie For Our Leader!!!!

"Drip Fed Fred" is out Monday 21st Feb 2000. Vote with your feet.

But what does Fred stand for? Obviously we wouldn't expect to get
your X without you seeing the proof of the pudding. Check out the
manifesto www.madness.co.uk

Taken from Eden On-line (http://eden.vmg.co.uk) and kindly rooted
out by Mike Hearne.

[3] - SO TIRED CD COMPETITION

Oi Oi Nutters (and Nuttettes!) out there,

At Suggs online ( http://www.suggs.co.uk ) we're setting up a
competition to design your own "So Tired (Dazed And Confused) single
cover. The song was never released, but was the most likely
candidate for Suggsy's next single. The details aren't on the site
yet, but they will be on Friday/Saturday. If you want to send in an
entry then send it into me before the 12th of March. Here's some
more details: -

Computers or Drawn or even painted - it doesn't matter, as long as
the cover looks good and looks like something Suggs would release.

Design - has to have *something* to do with So Tired (Dazed And
Confused). Weird-art-stuff is allowed :-)

No. Of Entries - As many as you want (I mean it!) in any size,
preferably quite large.

Logos, etc - Must include a logo of some sort and the words "So Tired
(Dazed And Confused). If you want to use pictures of Suggs then go to
the gallery on Suggs Online.

Record Labels - you can make up a record label if you wish (e.g.
Wozza's  Wacky Wecords!) or use a real one (e.g. Zarjazz, Virgin,
Stiff, or  Crappy WEA).

Sticky labels - if you want to use them then you can.

Entry date - In before 12th of March 2000 - Good luck!

All the best,

Wozza (david.wassell at btinternet.com)

[4] - THE DOGS BOLLOCKS

Get down to the track to find out what is going on.

What with latest album crashing into the top 20 at the end of last
year and first single Love Struck hijacking the top 10 (the highest
placing for a Nutty original since "The Sun and The Rain" way back
in 1983) it has been a golden renaissance for one of Britain's most
loved bands.

The 2-tone mentalists enjoyed themselves greatly last year with a
massive UK tour which finaled in London at Wembley Arena in December.
Towards the end of last year Madness hosted a special charity night
at the Walthamstow Dogs (where else) for the Cancer Bacup charity.
Paul Weller kindly donated a Lambretta and the money pile mounted
higher and higher. And then, towards the end of the night Madness
bought themselves a greyhound who they swiftly decided to call Drip
Fed Fred!

So not only does the 4 legged wander race maniacally round
Walthamstow chasing a stuffed rabbit but is now the bands mascot!

Madness look set to continue the form this year so all bets are off
about the bands popularity

Taken from the Eden Online website at: http://eden.vmg.co.uk and
kindly dug out by www.nuttyboys.com

[5] - THE DAY I MET MY HEROES, LEE J THOMPSON AND MADNESS

I can remember my 7th birthday in 1981. My dad gave me my first
Madness single and I was over the top. Ever since then I have been
a fan and without any doubt, my favourite member was Lee...even
then.

Then finally in 1995 I got the chance to see madness perform live on
stage. It was in the NEC in Birmingham. I really enjoyed it; I'd
never seen so many people going nutty at once. I am sorry for the
rest of the band, but the only thing I can remember of that night
was that Lee was wearing a purple suit. So now they'd decided to tour
again, I wanted to go and see them..twice in fact.

The first gig was at the BIC in Bournemouth. I had no idea what to
expect exactly so I packed my bag the day before and I left the house
at 10 am on the 17th of December. "If there would be a queue, I will
be in front of it" I thought. It would not happen again that
I couldn't see a thing during a concert!

I arrived at 10.45 am at the BIC...nobody in sight!!!

I sat down at the bar and I had a drink and became increasingly more
nervous because it was 3 pm by now and there was still nobody there
...yet!

But the security guards at the BIC started setting up the barriers
that were supposed to keep the audience away from the stage. It was
really boring to see them working so I decided to go for stroll
around the place. Just as I wanted to go to the bar for another beer
I bumped into Lee Thompson. I looked him right in the eye and
surprised as I was I could only stutter a stupid sounding "Hello?!"
Lee answered me with a wink and a hello. He was looking for the
stage door and I was desperate to ask him to sign something for me,
but I could not find a piece of paper or a pen. So I started asking
around for one."Hey, Just follow me so you can meet the rest of the
boys" Lee said. Did I hear this alright??? Was I correct??? Did Lee..
"THE Lee" invite me to have a look behind the scenes???
"Are you sure" I asked him, because I still could not believe it.
"yeah, sure, c'mon!" he said.

I picked  up my bag and my coat and I told him I made a banner for
him that said "We Want Lee For Our Leader". Lee was very surprised
and a bit embarrassed maybe as well, but when I held it up for him,
his face lit up and he smiled so broadly that the corners of his
lips were nearly touching his ears. "Oh, I have to put this on film!"
he said and he grabbed his camera out of his bag and started filming
the place. He had to stand on tiptoe to film the swimming pool which
was also there. Then he turned around to film the banner. I told him
I made the banner with my younger sisters and he interviewed me for
a bit.. It was really weird to be interviewed by a member of the
band; it was normally the other way around! But I enjoyed it!

Lee took me to the door that lead back stage. The security guard
looked at me and he said to Lee:"Erhm, who is this lady over here,
has she got a backstage pass?" Lee turned around because he was
already inside and he said to the guard:"No, she hasn't but she's
my sister!" The guard led me in and halfway though the corridor Lee
and I went into this fit of giggles. "You have to be careful of him,
y'see? He's very strict! I'll make sure you'll get a pass, follow
me!"

Then we went on and Lee showed me the canteen. All these kinds of
lovely foods were put out on a long table and Lee and I both had a
cream cheese and salmon bagel. Suddenly Lee said:"Hey, I have got a
BRRRRilliant idea!!" He stood up and picked up my banner, which he
had put on another table. Then he went somewhere (presumably to ask
someone for some blue tack). When he came back he put it on the back
of the banner and hung it on the wall. So whenever somebody would
come into the canteen, the first thing they got to see was this great
big banner hanging there announcing that somebody wanted Lee to be
their leader. "There," lee said" Does that look OK? Is it alright?"
"Yep" I answered back and I asked him if he could pose for a
photograph, which he did. "I have to go for the sound check now, do
you want to come and have a look?" Well, there was no need to ask me
twice, so I followed him into the hall where the stage was.

The light- and sound crew were doing their work well and Lee and I
were both surprised how small the hall was! Out in a far corner of
the hall I saw three dark figures coming over to our side. "Oh,
there are Woody, Chris and Mike!". Lee introduced me to them and I
had a short chat with Mike about Amsterdam (I was born and raised in
Holland so we had something in common I suppose. While reading the
tourbook later that evening I was relieved that I never held my hand
out to shake his hand, because he seems to hate it!).

Woody was just listening to our conversation, before Lee and he set
of to the stage to actually do some work. Then Mike excused himself
(what a gentleman!) and went to check out his keyboards. When I
finally worked out how Lee's camera was working so I could record
something of the sound check, I saw that Suggs and Mark had also
found their way up on the stage. They were busy doing their own
stuff. Lee told me to walk around and have a look everywhere and
make myself at home, which I tried to do, but I was just too exited.
I was the only one there, except from the band members and the sound
and light crew!

I was getting cold so I went back to the canteen to get my coat and
when I came back the band had started of the sound check with the
first song Lovestruck. I sat on the barrier, which was facing the
right side of the stage. The band also played Going To The Top, Dip
Fed Fred and It Must Be Love.

"Wow, they are playing just for me"... This was the only thing I
could think of while they were going through their repertoire.
"My friends and family will never believe this when they hear this
story!"

During the sound check one of Madness'crew members came over to me
and asked me if I had a backstage pass. Up until then Lee never gave
me one, but I told the man, who was also called Lee, that he should
ask Lee Thompson about me being there and watching the band. Lee T.
had told me earlier that if I had any problems with some one about
me not having a backstage pass I should sent the person to him...
which I did. I never saw this man again!

After the sound check the band members were getting ready for a well
deserved meal. I felt a bit of an outsider but I decided to sit
in between Suggs and Mark. Here I was sitting between all the members
of Madness (except Carl, who hadn't arrived yet). Mark was playing
games with Felix (Chris'son). They were drawing funny faces onto
people in the daily news paper. Felix wasn't shy what-so-ever and he
started asking me questions about who I was and what I was doing
there etc. The by now famous banner was still hanging on the wall
and everyone had seen it (I have got no clue what anyone thought of
it though!).

After a while I decided to go and get changed for the show. In the
corridor I bumped into Suggs and I asked him to sign my newly bought
programme. He gave me a warm smile, signed it and gave it back to me
and said "Alright?"  "Yeah, thanks mate!" I answered... I immediately
regretted this, because I'd never spoken to him before and probably
didn't know who I was, because Lee never introduced me to the other
members of the band (except Mike Woody and Chris). I guess this was
part of the "make myself at home" procedure... but Suggs was smiling,
so he was probably OK about the fact that I was there without anybody
saying anything about it.

I got changed into my brand new Madness 99 t-shirt and went back to
the canteen where I asked Mike, Chris and Mark to sign my programme
(Woody had gone off to eat somewhere else). Then they all left to
the dressing room to get themselves changed for the upcoming gig. I
had to go now to find myself a place in the ever growing masses
of the audience. On my way out I saw Lee in a small room on the
telephone and he gestured me to come over.  He asked a very helpful
lady to give me a guest pass and she gave me one. Now I could come
back after the gig!! To my surprise I found a very good place right
in front of the stage on Lee's side (who else?).

The long wait until 9pm could start now... At exactly 9.10 pm the
band came on stage and they all looked stunning! During the gig Lee
threw his jacket into the audience and I managed to catch it,
together with another girl. We nearly had a fight over it, but I
managed to get hold of the jacket in the end, with the thought of
giving it back to Lee after the show. But Lee shouted my name 2 songs
later and asked me if he could get it back. I threw it back after I
had quite some trouble getting it off my waist; I folded the jacket
around it so I wouldn't lose it between all the members of the
audience.

Then (far too soon) it was time for the encore. Drip Fed Fred was the
first song and Lee took the banner on stage (to my EMBARRASSMENT!!)
to show it to the rest of the audience and they went wild! Then he
hung it in his left pocket and kept singing with it hanging there for
the next 20 minutes or so. Unfortunately it was time to go now...but
not for me!

I tried to find the same door that I came into the dressing room
earlier that afternoon and waited there, together with 2 people I met
during the show. After about 20 minutes Lee came out of the dressing
room and started talking to some other guests who were invited after
the show. Then suddenly the security guard, (who still thought I was
Lee's sister!) opened the door so we could all go into the dressing
room where the whole band were waiting for their guests to arrive.

The first person I really got to talk to was Woody. His thumbs were
horrendously sore,the skin had come off during the gig because of so
much brilliant drumming. So he was waiting for some plasters to
arrive. But sweet as he is he was very willing to sign my programme.
When he opened the book onto the page that showed his main picture
he said "Just look at me! One of the worst pics ever taken of me!"
and he pulled a silly face, which was supposed to be the same as the
one they printed in the programme (he did really well actually, but
I don't think it was a bad picture at all, do you?).

We talked about the Johnny the Horse single and about the early
Madness days. We just happened to finish our conversation when Suggs
came over to us and asked us what we thought of the gig. He enjoyed
himself and then Carl came over. I'd never met him as he wasn't
there during the afternoon, so I didn't know what I could expect from
him at all, but what a BFG ( Big Friendly Giant)!!! He was ever so
nice and he gave us a drink and said we should help ourself with the
food that was placed all over the tables in the room. He posed for
some photographs and he also signed my programme, "To Jerney from
Mr. Smash 357". I asked him what the "357" meant and he explained it
to me, but unfortunately I forgot what it meant now! (If anyone knows
what it means, please e mail me!)

After about half an hour or so a loud voice said" Yep! Time to go now
everybody!" so we all went out, but not before I asked Lee for his
autograph as well. I gave him a kiss and I thanked him, he had been
so nice and so was the rest of the band! They had not only made my
day, but also my last Christmas of that last century! I went home on
cloud 9 with the intention to say a proper `Thank You` at the Wembley
gig in London some days later.

I arrived at Wembley at noon in the freezen' rain and cold! But the
security was too tight and I never had the chance to speak to
anybody. But the concert was brilliant! It's always nice to see
Madness play a gig in their home town...the audience is just so mad
about them and you can see why Madness like playing there as well.
The audience love Madness to bits and you could really see this
there.

I was standing on the right side of the stage on the first balcony.
I was really enjoying myself, Lee even spotted me from up there and
he waved, which I thought was very sweet of him. "At least he has
seen me and he knows I am having a good time" I thought. When it
was time to sing Dip Fed Fred, Suggs asked the audience to call for
Lee (who was backstage getting changed into his -by now famous-
saint suit, complete with hat and cape!)
.
Then Suggs suddenly announced: "Shall we all call Lee? 1-2-3: LEE!!!
Yeah, we want Lee for our leader, that's what we want!".....I wonder
where Suggs heard this before....hahahaha! I'd love to think Lee was
actually walking around with that banner all the time; it certainly
gave him a good feeling I think!

Madness made my 1999 Christmas one of the best ones ever and I really
hope they have enjoyed the touring as much as all the thousands of
fans have. If one or more members of the band are reading this
article, then I want to say `Thank You So Much` for letting me have
a look behind the scenes and for spending some of your time with me.
I really enjoyed myself!!!...but then, who would not with a band of
this calibre???

Jerney (jerneylewishopkin at yahoo.co.uk)

[6] - NUTTY SOUNDS 3

Hey Now!
At last the long awaited follow-up to the very entertaining Madness
Bootleg series of Nutty Sounds arrives in that of Nutty Sounds 3
(Not Only but Also). It spans a wide range of material from Madness
to Suggs and Crunch! and beyond. Overall the quality of the
recordings are by in large top notch with the odd one in need of
some re mastering, yet and welcomed addition to the now bursting
Madness CD collection. So let us take a look without further adieu
at whats in store in this third instalment of those Nutty Sounds.

1. Shoparound
This Smokey Robinson cover goes back to 1985/86 and it is a hidden
gem. On the Mad not Mad tour, which must now rank as one of their
worst, this classic steals the show and was definitely the best
thing they done live at that time. Its catchy, simply and really gets
away from the over produced and now dated performances on the rest
of the set list from that era. This is what Madness do best live
and like all other covers, they make it their own.

2. Our House (Extended Dance Mix)
Of all tracks on parts 3 & 4, this ranks as number one for me. To be
honest I haven't been able to listen to the original track for years,
perhaps I played to death, yet this mix really makes it a pleasure to
listen to it again. I am normally good at finding out the sources of
tracks that be rare, but am damned in working out where this mix came
from. I suspect it was for foreign consumption and is a lot better
than the stretch mix or extended mix on the UK 12 back in 1982. Some
really enjoyable production and very clear in the contribution each
instrument makes to making the song, perhaps their fullest work yet.

3. Blue Beast (Warp Mix)
This one originally popped up on TJAD 12 from 1983. I always liked
this mix better from the Rise and fall version specifically for the
stereo effects. Its great to get this kind of stuff on CD now and is
this material that should have been put on The Business first day.
No doubt taken from a vinyl source, yet you will not notice this as
the sound quality and stereo effects are second to none.

4. My Guys mad at me (Tracy Ullman)
This version was released on Stiff records (buy 197) back in 1984
and features one Mark Bedford on bass if memory serves my correctly.
Okay so its not the best, yet disregarding Ms. Ullmans vocals, the
string arrangements and music make interesting listening.

5. Madness (live at Madstock 1992)
I remember hearing this when it was actually played and to be
honest, rates as the worst moment of the Madstock years. Joined by
one Prince Buster on stage, the song is hopping from here to there
with no real click between the band and Buster. Maybe I am being
harsh here, but the Prince misses his queue on a number of occasions
and this makes it very confusing indeed, especially for El thommos
sax break. Anyway, just remember Madstocks are not to be judged by
this performance!

6. Green Eyes (Suggs on Later BBC 2 October 1995)
Taken from Jools Holland excellent show, Suggs only real live
performance of the Lone Ranger track, is a gem. This was always my
favourite track on the album, and this very acoustic version
certainly delivers. Again I have had this on video since its first
show, yet now, as part of the CD collection is great. Mr. Hollands
own talents are apparent with his own distinctive twinkling of the
ivories. Oh yes for you anoraks, the guitarist, John Feasly (I
think) is now playing for Culture Club!

7. Off on Holiday (Suggs on Later BBC2 October 1995)
I'm sorry but this track is not the best ever. This is the reason
why the 3PC kicks the first albums ass, because it is not on it.
I was never a fan of this track, its very childish and almost
corny. As much as I love ya man, sorry Suggs don't do this stuff
again. Oh yeah the old head of Kinsale is near my house! Rico joins
on trombone, as does Jools on piano, which does enhance it to some
degree.

8. Ticket To (Live 1993)
The first of Crunch tracks from a live session and indeed a welcomed
addition to the collection. Lee is very aggressive in vocals here
and the beat is thumping. Actually reminds me of Sid Vicious version
of Shes Something else. This is a rare one, as it has never made it
onto record yet.

9. Night Boat to Cairo (live at BRITS 1993)
Performed on ITV back in February that year, when hosted by the awful
Richard O Sullivan (or is it O Brien) the performance is snappy and
quite quick. Lees sax is at times off tune, but hey shit, he can do
that anytime. What can I say about this track live that hasnt been
said already? Nothing. Classic Madness and their best track played at
any gig perhaps!

10. Camden Town (live Rickety Wheel TV Show).
Suggs here doing his bit on Patrick Keiltys show a few years back. I
have seen him play this live before and I always feel hell run out
of breath in his vocal deliverance of this one. I suppose its good to
have considering his tour never came to fruition. I liked this track
and felt it as one of the better releases from the Lone Ranger. Sing
up!

11. Boy in the Box (live London 1993)
Again Messers Thompson and Foreman do their thing with Crunch in a
very Madness sounding piano style. It plods away up beat in its verse
and then changes key for a quite cool build up to the chorus. I think
Lee always sounds better live as at times his vocal range is quite
monotone in deliverance. Yet here he does move up and down to good
effect. I wonder will this kind of stuff ever make it onto LP or CD?

12. House of Fun (Jungle Version)
I remember watching this on the Comic Relief show back in 1997 and
actually being odd with the Suggsmeister for what he was doing. Dunno
who came up with this idea, but it without doubt the worst piece of
trash I have ever heard in my life from any Madness/spin-off project
yet. I may sound to be very critical of him here, I apologise if so,
but with my hand on my heart, I cannot defend this sacrilege. I
wonder how the rest of the band felt when they heard this? I suppose
for sheer curiosity, its worth having.

13. Straight Banana (Original Demo)
>From 1998, this became track 3 on the excellent Three Pyramids Club.
Suggs gives his best here and it is great to have, again how the
source got it is beyond me but well don't. The real difference here
being that of the vocals Nuclear weapon at the chorus. The rest of
the track is very similar to what we are accustomed to now. A fine
treat from the man himself.

14. My Old Man (Live Sheffield 2nd October 1999)
Recorded live at the Billy Bragg Roadshow, the band does a fine
rendition of this Ian Dury classic. Its a very honest tale of Durys
own father but I cant help but think of the emotion going through
Suggs voice here. Honestly at one stage he sounds almost as if there
is a tear in his eye; all the best mate from your son. It is a slow
paced ditty, very cockney yet a true gem and the Maddies do it
justice.

15. The Prince (Wubble U Mix With Dubs)
After the debacle that was the Paul Gottel Night Boat to Cairo
versions back in 1993, I have been very dubious to listen to this
sort of stuff. I really don't like modern mixes of Madness tracks,
but it is actually the most bearable of them all. You can actually
still hear semblance of the original track here, mixed amongst the
90s beat and toasting done throughout the song. Very ragga-based
stuff.

16&17. One Step Beyond (RIP mixes)
To be honest these are not to my liking. The original and the best
still rule. To be honest there is simply very little trace of the
original track here on both these, very similar tracks. Chas Smashs
shouts of Madness would only suggest so, as the rest completely
veers off the Madness sound.

All in all this is a very eclectic mix of madness and related tracks.
I know I have been quite critical here and there, yet I feel that
this only emphasises the diversity on the CD. It has something for
everyone and is definitely well worth the listen.

Nutty Sounds 4 next week folks!

All the best,

Vince Foley

[7] - AND SO, TO BED

Yes, once again the end is nigh.

As the curtains of another edition of the MIS Online Bulletin come
to a close I'm already scouring the Madness newsgroups, lists and
websites for anything Madness related. If you stumble across anything
on or offline, please send it my way and I'll be more than happy
to include it in next week's edition.

Special thanks this week go to Jerney and Vince Foley for their
massive typing efforts, Complete and Utter Madness for picking up
snippets of information from various websites, and to `Wozza`
showing to us all that he never rests!

Simon Roberts is still beavering away on the MIS Online website.
Just as it seemed that all was ready and we could start uploading
the site, we noticed that we had a major problem with the main page
and some of the text wasn't appearing correctly. Simon is looking
into this at the moment so hopefully it'll be `all systems go` within
the next week or so.

Until next week.

All the nutty best,

Robert Hazelby