IN THIS ISSUE ...

1 - THE EDITOR SPEAKS - Latest news in brief.

2 - THAT NUTTY SOUND ACROSS THE CHANNEL - For all you Madness starved
    Maddies in France, we have some news which you may find rather
    exciting!

3 - THE LOS PALMAS 6, MAY 2000 UPDATE - The latest list of news and
    tour dates from Britains newest Madness tribute band!

4 - THE BIG CRUNCH - Lee Swandale returns with what can only be
    described as major and groundbreaking news concerning a certain
    duo.

5 - BOOTS, BOWLER AND SUNGLASSES! - Finally someone has been kind
    enough to put together a top review of a recent `Los Palmas 6`
    gig. Have a read of what went on and get yourself along to one of
    their sets. You won't regret it.

6 - THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN RETURN - News just in from Jenny Payne and
    Scatty is that Madness are to appear for one night only at
    London's Brixton Academy.

7 - INTERESTING - Jenny Payne with yet more news. This time the
    re-issue of Divine Madness comes under her watchful eye.

8 - GOOD NIGHT, GOD BLESS YOU ALL - Thanks and last minute news.

[1] - THE EDITOR SPEAKS

Greetings mad-chums!

I hope everyone is now back into their working routine and has
recovered from their Easter break. If only it was a little longer,
eh?

Some people will do the nuttiest of things. In an attempt to cheer
himself up after hearing that Madstock 2000 is now a non-runner, MIS
Online subscriber, Chris Carter-Pegg has dug deep into his pockets
and has forked out for a new number plate on his car. No, not just
any old number plate, but 'M7 CCP'. As Chris rightly points out,
"I must be mad"!

Elsewhere, and Chris Byrne reports that on Wednesday 3rd May, the
legendary Suggs hosted a 3 hour radio show from 10am - 1pm on
London's XFM Radio Station - 104.9FM or www.xfm.co.uk. Thanks to
Chris for the information. If anyone out there was lucky enough not
to be working and caught the show, drop me an E-mail and let us know
what went on.

More news for you collectors now. And in a recent E-mail to the TMML,
list-maintainer, Jenny Payne reports that the classic `Seven`, `Rise
and Fall` and `Absolutely` are apparently being re-issued in the UK
with separate covers. Jenny continues by telling us to take the
information with a pinch of salt as this is the first time she has
received info from this source.

Those of you subscribed to the Total Madness Mailing List and who
contributed to Cancer Bacup in aid of the late Ian Dury can all give
yourselves a pat on the back. The TMML's Simsey reports that;

     "I have informed Martina at CancerBACUP that
      members of The Total Madness Mailing List,
      from both Britain and Abroad have pledged
      in excess of £100 to the charity. She thanks
      all the members very much for their generosity.

      If you haven't donated (if not, why not?), and
      would like to do so, credit card donations can
      be made by phoning: (+44) 0207 9207209 or
      (+44) 0207 920 7212"

Thanks to Simsey for the news.

`Madness Unsugged` editor, Vincent Carden reports that a page has
been set up on the BBC's Ceefax service where fans can write in and
discuss their favourite Madness single. You can E-mail them yours
at: Backbeat.ceefax at bbc.co.uk

Vince also tells us that;

      "Seamas 'Mad Not Mad' Beaghan was on
       Later on Jools Holland last week
       playing the keyboards for "Death In
       Vegas".

Get those blank video tapes out and those videos set. TMML subscriber
JRC reports that Ian Dury will be featured in concert tonight (7th
May) at 11.40 PM On Channel 5. Perhaps it's on a bit late for those
of us who have to work, but it's obviously ideal viewing fodder for
the students amongst us.

Time for some congratulations now. The Total Madness Mailing List's
Stuart Cook recently took part in a `Stars in Their Eyes` style
competition at Freeport Village, West Lothian. Performing as the
almighty Suggs, and wearing a pin striped suit he sang the classic
Madness single, `My Girl`. Once the results were in, it turned out
that Stuart had got himself to the finals. I'm sure I speak for
everyone when I say `We're all behind you!`. Let us know how you
get on.

Congratulations also need to go out to Vincent Carden who recently
had his excellent fanzine, `Madness Unsugged` reviewed on Channel
Four's Teletext Service. It's a shame Teletext couldn't be bothered
to get in touch with Vince to let him know that the review would be
on as he subsequently missed it. If anyone did manage to jot down
the review, please get in touch and I'll print it in the next issue.

It really is amazing how quickly things change. Rather than put the
MIS together all in one go, I try and add bits to it each day so
that by the end of the week I usually only have to add the finishing
touches to an MIS Bulletin before it goes out. At the start of this
week I was starting to wonder what I'd end up putting in this weeks
bulletin as news items were few and far between. Now, the whole
`there's no news` situation has completely changed! There's now yet
another chance to catch `The Magnificent Seven` in action, and not
only that, but a certain two members of Madness will also be teaming
back up for some live shows over the coming months!

For more news, just keep reading!!!

All the nutty best,

Robert Hazelby (MIS Online Editor)

[2] - THAT NUTTY SOUND ACROSS THE CHANNEL

With a number of great Madness tribute bands currently doing the
rounds in the UK (and occasionally mainland Europe), it's easy for
many of us to sample that live nutty sound without too much
difficulty or travelling.

But, if you're a Madness fan and you live in France, what do you do
then? As far as I'm aware, your options at the moment are limited,
but thankfully this could be about to change.

A new band, currently going by the name of `Welcome` are beavering
away in the studio.

Here's Welcome's Ivan Riaboff;

     "We are rehearsing our set, but as we all
      fight with the schedule of our own lives,
      things are going disgustingly slowly.

      I think we should be ready with a little
      set, which I hope you'll see&hear one day,
      for this summer or in September. I'll let
      you know..."

Ivan tells me that they are not a Madness tribute band as such, but
he says;

     "We are friends, crazy to the bone of
      the 7 lads, big fans of Crunch and
      Duryholic, trying our best to make
      our own Nutty Sound at the turn of
      this century".

Obviously we await the release of their first tracks with baited
breath. In the meantime, if you'd like to get in touch with Ivan,
please drop him a line at riaboff at club-internet.fr and let him
know we sent you.

[3] - THE LOS PALMAS 6, MAY 2000 UPDATE

Hello Madness Fans

Firstly apologies for the delay in sending this, we're very, very
busy at the moment playing all over the place.

Thanks to all of you who have been to our gigs recently, we would
appreciate any feedback you may have - good or bad.

We have a new member in the band, our very own Chas Smash, in the
form of Steve Kurz who not only dances brilliantly but can sing
pretty well too. On our mini tour last weekend our frontman Chris
was rushed to hospital in Birmingham directly from the gig just
before we were due on stage, suffering from dehydration and
exhaustion, so Steve stepped in and fronted the band very well. We
had the best crowd response we have ever had, they cheered for more,
for over half an hour after we had finished playing, so a big thanks
to Steve.

We have now finished Drip Fed Fred and will be including this in our
set from now on.

Gig Guide

May
    5th  Club M                Luton
    6th  Twitten Club          Southwick
    13th The Sussex            Haywards Heath

(everyone's on holiday till June 17th)

June
    23rd  Policeman's Ball     Hertfordshire
    29th  Huge outdoor gig     Newhaven (e-mail for info/directions)
    30th  Beechams Social Club Worthing

July
    1st   Bitterne Park Hotel  Southampton
    4th   Yates Wine Bar       Worthing
    8th   The Selsey Bill      Selsey
    14th  The Firkin           Hornchurch-Essex
    16th  Hawth Amphitheatre   Crawley (see below for detail)
    29th  Seafront Fayre       Steyne Gardens, Worthing

The Hawth Gig in Crawley is an all-day charity event starting at 2pm
with four bands playing (Flairz, Beatles Tribute, us and one other)
finishing at 8pm. It should be an excellent day. Tickets are
available now from the Hawth Theatre Crawley 01293-552941 priced at
£6.00. Bring a picnic!!

The Worthing Seafront Fayre is set to be our biggest gig so far with
a huge 10000 watt PA, a magnificent lighting rig and a massive
stage. Watch out Worthing !!!!

That's it for now, please e-mail us for any further info

Stay Mad

The Los Palmas 6
lospalmas6 at hotmail.com

[4] - THE BIG CRUNCH

Following on from the recent news that Cathal is to do a solo slot
at the forthcoming Fleadh festival in June, the legendary Lee
Swandale and all-powerful `Crunch/Nutty Boys` guru reports that;

     "The good ship Crunch is about to sail. Mr
      Thompson informs me that gig/s are planned
      for the end of June / beginning of July.

      The planned Venues are still under discussion,
      but Camden and Norwich have been pencilled in
      as Possible......

      Crunch Rehearsed last week for the first time
      in Three Years. They ran through a selection
      of old favorites and some new to be classics
      (Full report from MR Tadman Soon!)

      Please reply to me if you wish to receive gig
      info ASAP... lee at crunch.uk.com

      More details to follow

      Love to all

      Swanny"

Well, what are you waiting for? Drop Swanny an E-mail now so you can
get hold of the gig details as they're announced. You can be sure
that tickets will sell fast!

[5] - BOOTS, BOWLER AND SUNGLASSES!

Well, it looks like my constant nagging for people to send in
reviews of `Los Palmas 6` gigs have not fallen on deaf ears.

Thanks to the typing efforts Caz Smash, we've got the lowdown on a
recent `LP6` gig complete with their latest edition, a Mr. Smash.

Take it away CJ....

Emma and I had been arranging to meet for the May Bank holiday
weekend down in Brighton for some time, so when we heard that the
Los Palmas 6 were kicking off their tour in The Portland on the 28th,
we thought it would be the perfect way to kick-start the weekend -
Madness style!

Emma already knew Steve, the saxophonist of the group, so we arrived
early to say "hi" and to meet the rest of the band. They were still
warming up and doing sound checks, so we sat down with a drink.

Being the only people who turned up to the gig in "the gear" we felt
a bit out of place to begin with, but a few drinks later, the band
came out and Suggs began the set with the legendary "M-A-D". The
place was packed, but no one seemed up for joining in at the
beginning, so we led the way at the front of the dance floor with
Chas, and eventually people caught on.

The band were absolutely fantastic - they had the sound, the
dancing, even the look spot on.  The first set was full of the old
classics that everybody knew, with a few of the earlier album tracks
thrown in as well, including Rockin in ab, In the Middle of the
Night and Mummy's Buy.  The second half was more of the classics and
then a treat of two tracks off the new album - Lovestruck and Johnny
the Horse - both off which were played brilliantly.

Personally, the highlight of the evening was seeing the new edition
to the Los Palmas - Mr Smash.  The guy who did Carl was fantastic.
Clad in velvet suit, boots, bowler and sunglasses - this guy WAS Carl
- transported from 1979!
All I can say is "feet".  There are no words for describing this
guy's feet!  It's definitely something Maddies cannot afford to miss.

An encore of Chipmunks Are Go, Night Boat to Cairo (complete with
Fezes) a fantastic Baggy Trousers and One Step Beyond brought the
gig to a close - and yes, everyone was finally on their feet.

Cheers for the fantastic night, guys!

Thanks to Emma and Scat as well - the weekend was a blast!

CJ (cazsmash at tinyworld.co.uk)

PS - Remember to nick a poster when you go - they're brilliant!

[6] - THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN RETURN

No sooner are we all predicting that the recent Christmas shows were
the last chance we'd get to see the lads in action, there's suddenly
a major announcement and the situation changes completely!

News just in from Jenny Payne and Scatty is that Madness are to
appear for one night only at London's Brixton Academy.

In remembrance of the late Ian Dury and in aid of Cancer Bacup,
Robbie Williams (with the Blockheads), Neneh Cherry (again with the
Blockheads) and the legendary Madness are to perform on Friday 16th
June 2000!

Tickets are not yet available but all proceeds will go to the more
than worthwhile Cancer Bacup Charity which Ian Dury played an active
part in promoting.

You should be able to get hold of tickets in two weeks time when they
go on sale at virgin ticket offices or through Ticketmaster and
Stargreen Box Office.

Many thanks to Jenny Payne and Scatty for the details. As soon as
anything is announced, I'll let you know.

[7] - INTERESTING

Well just after we hear that Divine Madness is on yalplay (and other
sites) listed as the newly remastered version "out now"... I get an
e-mail from Virgin about the "re-issue" being released June 5.  I
can't imagine they'd bother re-doing the "original" Divine, then
releasing another "Divine +2," but it seems as if that's exactly
what's happening.

The cover does sound like it will be interesting... read what they
had to say:

     "Everything is now in place for the re-issue.
      The tracklisting is as per the original Divine,
      but will include Lovestuck and Johnny The
      Horse at the end.  All the single versions of
      the tracks have been used, all the music is
      re-mastered (apart from the "Wonderful  tracks")
      and new video images have been taken for the
      artwork.

      Release date will be 5th June."

Jenny Payne (TMML Co-Maintainer - jpayne at mail.wrl.org)

[8] - GOOD NIGHT, GOD BLESS YOU ALL

Yet again we're at the end of another MIS Bulletin. What started
off as a quiet week seems to have exploded, with news and gossip
coming from all angles. Hopefully this will continue for some time
to come.

Many thanks to everyone who sent me bits and pieces for inclusion in
this week's edition of the MIS. It's really appreciated! Thanks also
go to a certain Cathal Smyth who recently attempted to educate myself
and a number of others in the use of `The F Word` - most, err,
`interesting`!!!

Just a few goodies to leave you with. These just missed inclusion in
the main parts of this issue.

Lee Swandale reports that www.crunch.uk.com has been updated and now
includes information relating to the pencilled-in Crunch gigs which
have been announced. Lee also says that today he went along to one of
the band rehearsals, so he'll keep us informed.

With the Ian Dury day now being June 16th. Scatty is asking if we
would be interested in a Madness auction and/or Madmeet on the same
day. If you'd like to help get something sorted out, please get in
touch with Scatty by dropping him a mail at: scat at supanet.com

And finally, Rob Lythall of VIP Events tells me that the worlds
first online record fair will be online in a mere 3 days time. On
Wednesday 10th May www.vip-24.com will be up and running for all
your record buying and selling needs.

Right, that pretty much wraps this edition of the MIS. As usual, if
you have anything you think would be suitable for inclusion in a
future edition of the MIS, please drop me a line and I'll be happy
to include it.

In the meantime, take it easy and I'll speak to you all in seven
days.

All the nutty best,

Robert Hazelby