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Bluebeat and ska '79 style as explained to Robbi Millar
WE'VE HAD punk and funk, pub rock and disco. We've got mod and ska. Well, what's next then? Make way for the 'nutty sound' of Madness! What's that ya say? 'Aven't seen Madness yet? Where have you been, reader?
It's the Hope and Anchor tonight. So humid that even the walls are sweating and a heat haze hangs over the six incredibly energetic performers. Odd, mixed bunch, the audience. Punks and students and mods and skins. And they're all dancing. In spite of the risk of annihilation by evaporation.
It's not surprising though, 'cos this is the purest form of dance music that I've heard for many a long gigging session. It's totally irresistible. Take a sound of the Specials, fairground-style, and add some cockney Kilburn ('High Roads' type) vocals. Throw in a saxophone for good measure to pick out a spine-tingling melody along the way, and you've got it. Madness!
Of course, the press and the record companies have been raving about Madness for some time now. (Lotsa people have given me the 'hot tip' to "go see Madness"). And it's rumoured that their gigs are so packed with A&R men that it's nearly impossible for the ordinary punters to get through the door. And now I've seen them (twice), I know why. It's that 'nutty sound'.
Chris explained: "The nutty sound's something that Lee Thompson, the sax man thought up. It's 'cos our music sounds like fairgrounds and organs and things. It just sounds nutty!" And it does original despite the obvious comparisons (Specials), and the link-up with the ska/bluebeat revival.
THE INDIVIDUAL sound of Madness has been brewing in its present state for about a year. The band began with Lee and Mike Barson, the piano and organ expert, plus various friends. Changes, changes and changes passed.
"No-one was much good for us," said Mike. "We needed people who could actually play their instruments."
Suggsy joined as the obvious lead singer and the rest fell into place. Chrissy Boy on guitar (looks amazingly like Barry Sheene), Woody (not to be confused with the BCR's) on drums and Mark Bedford on bass.
Who writes the songs?
"We all do really, though reading and writing music isn't a strong point," explained Mike. Suggsy intervened to point out that as he doesn't play anything, he writes words. But it is all done together. That's one of the strongest feelings about the group. Though they don't really socialise together, they're a working team. They really want Madness to be successful.
It's gonna happen, and soon.
"There's lots of record companies interested in us at the moment," said Mike, who seems to be the most sane and sensible of all. Sire and Virgin are mentioned in particular, but no definites as yet. The choice is up to the boys. A first single's due out on August 10 on 2-Tone Records called 'The Prince', the band's tribute to their greatest influence, Prince Buster. The flip-side's one of their few covers (few because "We prefer to play our own stuff" of course), 'Madness'.
Incidentally, Madness inspired the only name that all the group would accept. Previous to the sudden suggestion of Chris, they'd been known as the North London Invaders. But Madness certainly captures the spirit of the proceedings.
Tour-wise, Madness have already done the sweaty pub circuit, and they're supporting the Specials at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, on Saturday July 21st. They've got a request for a decent danceable venue for a gig.
Suggsy told me: "At first just our friends came to our gigs, but over the last two months the audiences have just got bigger and bigger and now they're 'aving to turn people away from places like the Hope 'cos there's not enough room. We play dance music but there's never enough space to dance to it in." So if the manager of the Music Machine happens to be reading this ......
Madness are quite aware of the problems of being fashionable. Along with the mod revival, there's a return to bluebeat and ska and Madness are in the thick of it. But it worries them.
"We want people to talk about the Madness sound in years to come," said Chris. "We don't like to be thought of as part of any revival 'cos after that fashion's dead, the groups that rely on the fashion aren't heard of anymore." Madness will, they say, move with the times and they've a good deal of new songs in the making.
BY NOW, we were all sitting on the roof of a photographer's studio in darkest Islington, pot plant and all. Inside, male and female models were swanning around snowy white sets. All very glamorous and I thought that Madness looked just a tiny bit uncomfortable. (Correct me if I'm wrong!) I asked them if they wanted to be famous.
"Yes, of course," grinned Woody. "But really it's the music that we care about most of all. We want it to be really good." You've got to hand it to him, he's the Jimmy Pursey of the group who's willing to say lots and lots but never actually says that much. But he is 'profound' and he means what he says. I think they all do.
So there's these five ordinary kids (the sixth, Lee, was away on a private assignment that was very secret and he sent his best wishes) and musically they're very much better than they realise (I think). They do ordinary jobs like gardening, which seems very popular, painting and decorating and making tea. Some of them haven't even got jobs. And they all live in North London.
There's a bit of a problem with the fans 'cos some skins have sniffed the trail of the bluebeat and come to watch and maraude.
"The last thing we want is to get a violent reputation for us or the fans," explained Suggsy. I remembered the problems that the Merton Parkas had at the Moonlight, but Madness are going to deal with their own problems. They're even going to do their own publicity in the future.
Last bit's by Chris. He said that when you're tuning a guitar, if you look after the thin strings, the fat ones will take care of themselves. A pretty true comment on the music business really, especially the way Madness are going about it.
So, if you still haven't got round to seeing this splendid sextet, get going quick! It'd be Madness to miss 'em.
- Contributed by Fredd Boeuf
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