80's Music Junkies: Madness

Madness are an English pop ska band that formed in 1976. A prominent band of the 2 Tone ska revival of the late 1970s, Madness achieved most of its success in the 1980s, spending more weeks in the UK chart than any other group.

The band was formed in London in 1976 by Mike Barson (Monsieur Barso) on keyboards and vocals, Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) on guitar and 'Lee Thompson (Kix) on saxophone and vocals under the name The North London Invaders.

In 1978 they were joined by front man Graham McPherson (Suggs) on vocals, Mark Bedford (Bedders) on bass guitar and Daniel Woodgate' (Woody) on drums. After performing periodically as The North London Invaders and Morris and the Minors, the group changed their name to Madness. Carl Smyth (Chas Smash) joined in early 1980 on trumpet and vocals after being an unofficial member for some time.

The band's first single, released September 1, 1979 on 2 Tone Records, was "The Prince". The song, written by Lee Thompson, was a tribute to the Jamaican ska musician Prince Buster, after whose song, "Madness", the band had named themselves (and which was released as the B-side of "The Prince"). This was followed by the album One Step Beyond... in 1979, named after another Prince Buster song. The album stayed in the British charts for over a year, peaking at number 2. One Step Beyond... was released on Stiff Records, which became the band's recording label.

Since 1979 the band have released 29 singles (21 top 20 hits) and eight studio albums (and two compilation albums, both UK #1 albums) in the UK. During the early 1980s, Madness was one of the most popular bands in Britain. In 1984 the band formed their own record label, Zarjazz Records. In 1985 the album Mad Not Mad was the first Madness album released on this label. The album was recorded at their own Liquidator studios, which also used to record the demos for the 1999 album Wonderful.

The band's first 20 singles all made it into the UK top 20, as the band's self-described "nutty sound" evolved to include polished pop elements along with large doses of ska, reggae, and other Caribbean music. The band only had one UK #1 single — "House of Fun" in 1982 — and narrowly missed the top spot in 1983 with the single "Wings of a Dove". They also made two guest appearances on the BBC comedy The Young Ones , performing "House of Fun" in the first season episode "Boring" (1982), and "Our House" in the second season episode "Sick" (1984).

They had limited success in the United States, with only two singles making the top 40. "Our House" peaked at #7 and "It Must Be Love" hit #33. However, the band had a strong underground following in the US, and their videos were a popular staple of MTV. Their videos, which were also popular on BBC's Top of the Pops, included much humour and storytelling. Years later, many American third wave ska, bands such as No Doubt and The Mighty Mighty Bosstones cited Madness as a major influence on their music.

One Step Beyond... is the 1979 debut album by the British ska group Madness but was very popular through out the 1980s. The album is often regarded as their best album. It was ranked 90th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums of all time. The album peaked at number 2 and remained in the British record charts for over a year. One Step Beyond has a much heavier ska influence than later Madness albums. The title track, released as a single, was originally written and recorded by the Jamaican ska musician Prince Buster. It was their second single after "The Prince" which was a tribute song to this musician.

Bookmark this page. More albums will be featured soon.
IF YOU HATE MADNESS YOU MUST BE MAD !!!!!!