IN THIS ISSUE ...

1 - I'VE NOT BEEN DRIVING IN MY CAR - This weeks news and information
    in brief.

2 - LATEST NEWS FROM VIP EVENTS - Rob Lythall of VIP Events returns
    with a list of the forthcoming record fairs planned for the
    coming weeks and months.

3 - THE LATEST SET OF EBAY GOODIES - A lowdown of what's hot on the
    UK branch of Ebay. Get your bidding fingers at the ready!

4 - AN UPDATE FROM GEORGE MARSHALL - The Pulped online shop is now
    up and running, so here's George Marshall with a quick rundown
    of what's online at the moment. If you're after Madness bargains,
    this could be the place for you.

5 - IT MUST BE GOOD - With Wednesday's Madness influenced episode of
    the Young Guns documentary fast approaching, TMML subscriber Iain
    Mason has been rummaging through the TV magazines to see what
    they've got to say about the programme.

6 - THE NAME OF THE VELVET GHOST DEBUT ALBUM IS... - The competition
    to name the forthcoming album from Cathal Smyth is now closed,
    the nominations have been thoroughly looked through, and now
    Madness Unsugged fanzine editor, Vincent Carden is here with the
    results.

7 - SOME ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED - The Official One Step Behind Site
    has now reached a size where some extra assistance is needed. If
    you'd like to lend a hand, please read on.

8 - THREE MINUTE HEROES - Chris Mountain reports on his recent visit
    to The Belgrade Theatre, Coventry where the current production of
    "Three Minute Heroes" a musical / play about the 2-Tone era in
    Coventry is running. Find out if it's worth getting tickets for
    the show?

9 - WE'VE REACHED THAT TIME IN THE EVENING... - Thanks and closing
    words.

[1] - I'VE NOT BEEN DRIVING IN MY CAR

Hello Maddies,

Hope everyone is keeping well.

`The Editor Writes` has been given a rest this week. You've got MIS
subscriber, Jonathan Young to blame for it's replacement ;-)

For those of you not in the UK, think yourself lucky, as here the
great British public has had to endure a week of petrol stations
running dry as a result of the refinery blockades. Things are
slowly getting back to normal, but apparently it could take some
time. Many services up and down the country have been affected by
the crisis, but fear not, your weekly MIS Bulletin is not, I repeat,
not one of them.

So, sit back with a piping hot cup of tea and get stuck into this
weeks edition of the MIS whilst many of your friends and neighbours
queue for hours at your local petrol station in an effort to get
their petrol tanks full for the week ahead.

Moving straight on to the Madness related news now, and the big
announcement is that tickets for the next Crunch gig have now gone
on sale. The date of the concert is Saturday 14th October 2000 at
7:30 pm. The venue is The Garage (Highbury). Ticket prices are £7.00
which are available from Camden Ticket Office (020 7916 6060) or
credit card booking line (020 7344 0044). Many thanks to Chris
Carter-Pegg for the news.

Calling all Terry Edwards fans, Mr G of The Total Madness Mailing
List reports that Terry Edwards & the Scapegoats open for The Fall
and Dick Dale at the Royal Festival Hall for a special John Peel
sessions night. Drummer Ian White is unavailable for this gig, so
Woody will be joining the band as an honorary Scapegoat! The show
will be held on the 22nd September, and doors open at 7pm with the
band on stage around 7:30. Full details and online booking can be
obtained by visiting - http://www.sbc.org.uk/music

Other gig news is that Prince Buster is playing the Forum Kentish
Town on October 22nd with the Selecter among the supports and Jerry
Dammers DJing. Thanks go to Colin Hinchley for the details.

Just before I go and let you get stuck into this weeks MIS, I'd
better remind you that this week all UK MIS subscribers have a
double-bill of Madness TV coverage. First up, and on Wednesday 20th
September at 9:50pm on BBC2 we finally get the chance to see the
eagerly awaited documentary, `Young Guns`, featuring The Magnificent
Seven. If that wasn't enough, BBC2 are also featuring the loveable
Chas Smash on Saturday 23rd September 10.00pm as part of the `I Love
1970` series. This week the show focuses on 1979, and Mr. Smash
appears relating his memories of that special year. Many thanks to
Jonathan Young for the reminder!

A certain Paul Scatt informs us that the Madness episode of `Young
Guns` has been receiving some excellent mentions in many newspapers
and magazines, including; The Guardian, Daily Mirror, Daily Record,
The Times, The Scotsman, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Daily Express as
pick of the day. Hopefully this program will introduce a few more
people to the good ship Madness. Thanks to Scatty for keeping us up
to date, and if you'd like to read some of the comments from the
press, get along to section five where Iain Mason has painstakingly
typed-out a whole mass from the various weekly's.

And with that, I'll see you in the outro.

Enjoy the read,

Robert Hazelby (MIS Online Editor)

[2] - LATEST NEWS FROM VIP EVENTS

Welcome to the latest mini-newsletter from VIP Events.

Below is a list of all the forthcoming VIP fairs appearing over
the coming weeks.

Saturday 23rd September Norwich (St Andrews Halls). Camden
(Electric Ballroom).

Sat 30th September & Sun 1st October GLASGOW SECC GIANT FAIR.
The biggest show outside London - not to be missed if you live in the
north.

Sat 7th & 8th OCTOBER - THE ANNUAL BIRMINGHAM MUSIC FAIR.
Taking place at the National Indoor Arena in the city centre. The
second city's only annual two-day fair. EVERYBODY IS GOING TO THIS
GREAT VENUE - ARE YOU?

SAT 25th & SUN 26th NOVEMBER - THE ANNUAL WEMBLEY MUSIC FAIR.
EUROPE'S PREMIER SHOW.
400 tables including dealers from 25 different countries - put this
show in your diary.

For more information on Wembley or other VIP fairs, click
www.vip-24.com/navigation.html and then click the y2k button

ONLINE FAIR.
If you cannot get out this weekend, visit the world's only online
music and film fair at: www.vip-24.com and click the blue button.
Here you can search through and buy from the stock of many of our
traders. New traders have been added and there is now a WANTED/FOR
SALE section for your free use.

Kind regards,

Rob Lythall (rob at vip-24.com)

[3] - THE LATEST SET OF EBAY GOODIES

Following last week's article stating that a fully-signed edition of
Wonderful was up for grabs on Ebay, the price has rocketed to almost
unbelievable heights.

As I type (16th Sept) the album has currently had 13 bids and is now
going for a massive £84.00!!!! A little on the pricey side perhaps,
but if you're a die-hard Madness collector, you'll pay pretty much
anything to get something like this into your collection.

Cathy, who is selling this item was planning to put the money raised
by the sale towards a party. I think I can safely say that it's going
to be one heck of a night!

The auction ends in the early hours of the 19th Sept (UK time), so
you've still got time to have a bid. Simply click along to:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=432781893

If the £84.00 asking price is a little out of your price-range, fear
not, as there is a whole host of other Madness goodies up for
auction which cost far, far less.

Here's a round-up of the rest...

Suggs I'm Only Sleeping Cass single (Madness) - 60 pence - bids - 0
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=433423421

MADNESS.."OUR HOUSE" PIC DISC - £3.00 - bids - 1
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=437157320

MADNESS.."HOUSE OF FUN" PIC DISC - £3.00 - bids - 1
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=437157809

MADNESS.."SUN & THE RAIN " PIC DISC - £3.00 - bids - 0
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=437158233

MADNESS.."JUST ANOTHER DAY" PIC DISC - £3.00 - bids - 1
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=437158581

MADNESS 1992 UK CDS THE HARDER THEY COME - £3.00 - bids - 0
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=438376215

If you're not a member of the Ebay community, pop along to either
www.ebay.co.uk or www.ebay.com

Happy bidding!

[4] - AN UPDATE FROM GEORGE MARSHALL

The online shop at www.pulped.com is now up and running with over
1,000 CDs, books and videos - and that's being added to daily.  Loads
of Madness stuff too, including Wonderful at £9, The Lot at £21 and
The Tribute To Madness compilation at £9.50 for Pulped subscribers.

Talking of Pulped, issue 14 is out at the end of the month with
another free CD, this time the brand new album from US punk outfit,
The Derita Sisters called From Here To Obscurity.  If you like '77
style punk, you'll love it.  For £10 you get six issues delivered
direct to your door and can buy CDs, etc., at reduced prices with
FREE delivery anywhere in the world.

We have also launched a vinyl only website, www.vinylhound.com.
Like Pulped, it specialises in ska, punk, reggae, Oi!,  psychobilly
and mod releases, old and new. Keep an eye out for a lot more
Madness stuff to be listed over the coming weeks.

All the best for now,

George Marshall

5 - IT MUST BE GOOD

While leafing through the TV magazines here at work, I notice that
nearly EVERY SINGLE ONE has Wednesday's Young Guns documentary on
Madness as their Pick of the Day. Here's just a small selection of
comments:

'A long-overdue look at the career of one of the most enduring
homegrown bands of all time. With their deft, daft mixture of
silliness, style and suss, these seven Camden Town boys hit the
charts hard with a mixture of Ska'd up musical hall vignettes, such
as Baggy Trousers, and thinly-veiled social comment, like the
underrated Waiting For The Ghost Train. Here Suggs, Chas Smash,
Bedders and the boys tell their teenage tales of hanging out in
launderettes ('it was warm'), playing in each other's front rooms
and what it means to be Mad Not Mad after the age of 40.'
(The Guardian)

'All seven original members recall how they were drawn together by
their love of Jamaican Ska music and skinhead style. Here they talk
about their run-ins with the National Front as well as their hits
including The Prince, One Step Beyond, Baggy Trousers and House of
Fun. The band split in 1986 when the hits dried up and despite
reforming 17 months later, they failed to repeat their previous
success. However, the band's popularity is so enduring that their
reunion concert in 1992 in Finsbury Park caused an 'earthquake'
in London measuring five on the Richter Scale'
(Daily Mirror)

'Led by musical mirth maker Suggs, Madness were simply seven mates
from Camden whose music was like no other of the 80s and remains one
of the most influential to this day. The unique and hugely successful
Madness sound developed as they added their brand of humour. But all
good things comes to an end and in 1986 Madness hung up their Doc
Martens until they toured last year. Suggs recalls the moment when he
realised their madcap music stopped being funny. He says: 'I knew
then it was really over'.'
(Daily Record)

'Madness, the kings of Camden Town, North London, belong to an
honourable tradition of truly vernacular British popular music that
includes Ray Davies of The Kinks and the late, great Ian Dury. This
coherent, comprehensive and yet still entertaining film allows all
seven members time and space to reflect on a story that is not yet
over, although the group has petered out and stuttered back into life
a few times.'
(The Times)

'Tonight's featured 80s combo is Madness, a band who combined the
likeliest bedfellows of Jamaican Ska and cockney patois to great
effect. Suggs remembers how they brought a breath of fresh air to
the po-faced 80s'
(The Scotsman)

'My, haven't they done well? The original champions of Jamaican
ska/pop, ''the nutty sound'', Madness are spotted lolling around some
very chic abodes in this penultimate show of an amiable series,
enjoying a lifestyle far removed from those early days around Camden
Town 20 years ago. The late Ian Dury pops his head in as they run
through the recording contracts, the hits, the hassles - and their
 monumental rebirth in 1992; a seismologist recalls the Finsbury Park
'earthquake' reunion concert measuring five on the Richter Scale. And
they're still at it.'
(The Telegraph)

'Just over 20 years ago, Madness were the most successful hit-making
machine in Britain. The self-styled Nutty Boys from Camden Town
became the Bash Street Kids of British pop, enjoying 20 Top Ten hits
in just five years. Their music hall humour and catchy melodies were
perfectly suited to the emerging medium of video and they attracted
love from all quarters; youngsters and parents, punks, music lovers
and skinheads. In 1992 Madness became the first band in the world to
officially register as an earthquake, as this affectionate look back
at their heady career recalls.'
(Daily Mail)

'Madness dominated the charts in the early Eighties and Suggs and the
rest recall their glory days, why they split up, and why they keep
coming back together.'
(Daily Express)

Makes you kinda proud doesn't it?

Iain Mason

[6] - THE NAME OF THE VELVET GHOST DEBUT ALBUM IS...

Ladies and gentlewomen,

The great news is that Mr. Cathal Joseph Patrick Smyth has decided
that the winning entry for the "name the album" competition is ....

"The Father, The Son And The Velvet Ghost"

Not only that, but as was not originally the plan, Carl has decided
to use this as the actual name for the album, which is an added
bonus!!!

The lucky winners are Stevie boy Chapman who gets the Madness vinyl
clock, which is made from the dutch 12" version of Complete Madness
and a 4 issue subscription to Madness Unsugged (that second part is
really sad Vince!!) and some bloke called Vince Foley who gets the
handwritten lyrics for a newly written Velvet Ghost song. I suppose
that the main thing is boasting to your friends that you've named
the album. Steve, can you mail me off-list.....

The other entries were............

In the beginning                           The Communicator
Reflections of tomorrow                    Goosebumps grooves
Walk with the ghost                        Chips and gravy
Whenever                                   Today is a gift
Holiday in Holloway                        The first shout
The ghostly geezers                        Diary of a madman
Quietman                                   The velvet mafia
Magic in the air                           The church of.....
A Lil' Smash                               Vaporous
Good to see you                            Sweet soul brother
Forget the madness                         Phantom fantastic
Time out                                   Path with a heart
The iron fist in the velvet glove
Velvetghost.com                            The spirit of Ireland
(Waiting for the) velvet ghost train
When pieces of rind get lodged in the mind
The weak and the strong                    Welcome to the darkside
The first ghost                            Smooth manifestations
Insights to my soul                        Drunken whispers
On to the ground                           Paranormal activities
The man who haunted himself

Hopefully, we can do the same again one day, hoping that the Velvet
Ghost album will not be a one - off.

Not only thanks to Cathal for letting me run the competition but
also for letting me be the first to announce the name of his debut
album. I am unworthy....

Vince Carden (dripfedvin at yahoo.com)
Madness Unsugged........great read if you're totally bored!!

[7] - SOME ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED

I'm sure many of you have popped-along to the Official One Step
Behind website at http://www.jabba.demon.co.uk/osb/ and have looked
through the numerous goodies that are already online.

Currently the situation is this; band member and the most computer
clued-up person of One Step Behind, Brendan Phipps sends me items or
makes requests for items that he would like added to the site. When
the next chunk of spare time comes along, I then design and upload
these new features.

This system has worked without any problems, but I feel that now
another pair of hands is required to help out with the next stage of
the development of the site.

The following features are planned for the site, but help is
required;

Website Counter - The band want to see how popular the pages are. I
                  am unable to implement this as my counter is
                  already being used on the MIS pages. I need help in
                  setting up one of those `free` counters that I see
                  on many of the pages out there.

Site Guestbook - Ok, so you've got people to the site, but the band
                 would like some feedback. As with the counter, I
                 know that there are `free` guestbooks out there, but
                 I don't know where to get one from or how to set one
                 up.

Web space for MP3's - The band are considering making a small
                      selection of their tunes available for
                      download. I just don't have the web space
                      required for this type of thing. Any offers to
                      host the tracks would be most appreciated.

If you can help with any of the above it would really be appreciated.
Perhaps you can jump on board and be a co-maintainer of the website,
as any assistance would help to ease the pressure.

Drop me a line at: robert at jabba.demon.co.uk if you're able to lend a
hand.

Thanks for listening,

Robert Hazelby

[8] - THREE MINUTE HEROES

Mountain Boy Reporting In ,

I went to The Belgrade Theatre , Coventry last night to see the
production of "Three Minute Heroes" a musical / play about the 2-Tone
era in Coventry.

Now, they had loads of posters/photos/memorabilia on display and up
on the walls in the theatre all of our 2-Tone favourites.  I must say
if you are going as a Madness fan only you will be un-happy because
its based completely around Coventry and The Specials/The Selecter.
There are of course refs to Madness/Bad Manners in the play, but, no
music.  However , if you ( like me ) are a 2-Tone nut then its a MUST
GO. It is fantastic! the audience were out their seats dancing in the
isles and down the front.

At the end there was even an audience invasion of the stage ( Just
like the good old days ! ) and it was one huge party! People were
dressed up in their gear - I cannot recommend it enough.

Rumours are about that there are plans or thoughts of a Madness
musical. If this is anything to go by, it will be MASSIVE.  I do
think that if the play had a stint in London with music by
Madness/Specials/Beat/Selecter.......etc it would easily match the
likes of Mamma Mia that bloody Abba musical.

It finishes its run at the end of this month , so be quick !

Chris Mountain.

[9] - WE'VE REACHED THAT TIME IN THE EVENING...

No, not for cabaret, but to say thanks to everyone who has helped to
supply bits and pieces for this edition of the bulletin, and a big
thanks to everyone who's material appears in this weeks issue.

Next week should feature a review or two of the Madness documentary, so
if you miss the programme, the most important bits and pieces will be
here for your reading pleasure.

Don't forget to get the blank tapes at the ready, and to set that
video recorder!

Until next week.

All the nutty best,

Robert Hazelby