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Hey you! Don’t watch that, watch this! This is the heavy heavy monster sound! The nuttiest sound around!
So if you come in off the street, and you’re beginning to feel the heat, then listen Buster! You better start to move your feet, to the rockiest rock steady beat of Madness!
This is the nutty sound!!!
THESE words are not mine. They belong to Chas Smash, the unofficial seventh member of the North London band Madness.
Those of you lucky enough to have taken a trip to see Madness will recognise Chas as the pork-pie hatted one who introduces the group and spends a large portion of their set dancing in a most berserk fashion by the side of the stage. He doesn’t sing or play an instrument; he simply contributes to the general air of dizzy lunacy at Madness gigs and, basically, sums the whole thing up.
For, as a pure fun band, Madness take some beating, something that is largely down to what saxophonist Lee Thompson has christened ‘the nutty sound’.
As Lee himself explains: “It’s a sort of happy fairground sound with jokey lyrics. Almost like Steptoe and Son music! It’s something that we haven’t really got as yet.
“The only thing that’s really nutty about us is our act and Chas Smash.
“But the sound is not quite there yet. We ain’t quite sure of ourselves at the moment. When we’ve done a few more gigs we’ll be a bit closer.”
Madness – vocalist Suggs, rhythm guitarist Chris Foreman, bassist Mark Bedford, drummer Woods, organist Mike Barson plus Lee on sax – began life two years ago with a slightly different line-up and a different name – the Invaders.
From playing cover versions of whatever records happened to be brought along to rehearsals that week, they developed a full and distinctive sound, rooted in Ska and R and B but with plenty of unhinged edges such as Lee’s yakety sax fanaticism and Suggs’ wide-boy charm.
“I’d like to think that we’re influenced by other people,” elaborates Chris. “We’re influenced by Ska, we like a lot of Motown stuff and Kilburn and The High Roads.
“But I’d rather have our own sound than something that someone else has already got. One critic called us a rude boy ska band, but we don’t really want to be categorised like that.”
Madness, to their credit, are all too aware of the dangers that the current resurgence of interest in bluebeat and ska could be seen as no more than a passing fad.
“That’s the one thing that worries us,” grins Suggs. “We could get labelled as just another ska revival band and get our own ten minutes of fame like that.
“At the moment, it doesn’t matter what sort of music you play. You’re in vogue for ten minutes and then that’s it.
“In the last month or so we’ve got as much publicity as some bands who have been slogging around for years. It makes you wonder if you’ll be back down there again next week.”
“That’s one of the reasons,” chips in Woods, “that we don’t want to be labelled as a rude boy ska band. We want to get across to as many people as possible so that they can all come along and have a good time.”
One of the reasons for the sudden interest in the band has been the 2-Tone connection. Madness readily acknowledge that they have received invaluable assistance from their kindred spirits The Specials; a few prestigious gigs with the band who are possibly the hottest live act in the country right now as well as a single on the Specials’ own 2-Tone label.
But now, they will go their own way. With two major record labels already showing a keen interest, they want the chance to stand on their own twelve feet.
They want to work their way closer to the perfection of their sound and bring in a few more of their stage gimmicks, without getting too theatrical.
Raffles, indoor smoke bombs – if Lee can get hold of any these days – and chipmunks dangling on elastic from the ceiling are all possibilities, but don’t dismiss this group as one big joke.
As Mike concludes: “When you mess around, you’ve got to do it seriously or it’s not worth it. Like when Chas is dancing, he’s being funny, but he’s really serious about what he’s doing.
“He’s not laughing about it. And we’re all playing our instruments properly all the time. We still rehearse three nights a week!”
Lee asked me to finish the interview with the following, somewhat obscure, warning.
“Spider and Mr Bentley told me five years ago that they were going to get things organised and get back to the old sound. But since then, all they’ve put out has been a disco album and two singles.
“If they don’t buck up, me and the boys are going to take over.” This band has a bee in its bonnet. And when their day comes, you can bet it is going to last longer than ten minutes.
- Contributed by Sean Gaskin
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