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Madness Strikes America by Chris Morris
Britons revive ska
Something curious is transpiring up on the stage of the Whisky a Go-Go. A pack of porkpie-hatted wraiths, their arms pumping and their legs twisting and shaking, are bouncing, pouncing and even cracking their skulls in time to the rapid clip of a primitive reggae beat and the bleatings of a sonorous baritone sax. Madness clearly has struck.
In England, Madness is fast becoming a way of life. The group Madness, that is. This manic, boisterous aggregation has excited British audiences with its lively stage shows and wacky, raucous reworking of Sixties ska, Jamaica's rhythm & blues-inflected precursor to reggae.
Now, with two singles ("The Prince" and "One Step Beyond") on the English charts, its Stiff album (One Step Beyond) in the U.K. Top Ten and a riotous thirty-city tour with fellow ska revivalists the Specials and the Selecter under its belt, Madness is ready to conquer America. Its album has just been released here by Sire, and last December, the U.S. got a taste of Madness during a five-city jaunt that wound up at the Whisky in Los Angeles.
Sitting by the pool of West Hollywood's tacky-comfy Tropicana motel a couple of days after the first L.A. performance, keyboard player Mike Barson reminisces about the group's exposure to ska in North London. "We used to go around to a mate's house, and he's got a record player," Barson says. "He's got loads of old records and stuff, and we used to sit around and listen to 'em." Inspired by their discovery of the raunchy Jamaican singles of Prince Buster, the Skatalites and others, Barson and his pals, saxophonist Lee "Kix" Thompson and guitarist Chris Foreman, formed the nucleus of Madness more than two years ago.
The group's current lineup (all of the members are still in their late teens and early twenties) solidified a year ago with the addition of vocalist Suggs (a.k.a. Graham McPherson), bassist Mark Bedford, drummer Dan Woodgate and honorary member-toastmaster-dancer Chas Smash. The band attracted a pub following in London with its anything-goes showmanship; a highlight of the group's performances is a bizarre head-banging contest between Smash and roadie Chalk, done to the tune of "Swan Lake."
While Madness was making its mark in London, its fellow ska band, the Specials, was surfacing in Coventry. "It's just a coincidence that the Specials were going at the same time we were," says Suggs, "'cause they were in Coventry and we'd never heard of 'em until we'd actually met 'em."
Jerry Dammers, the Specials' keyboard player, formed Two Tone Records in 1979 to expose some of the new ska bands and Madness was signed to do a single, "The Prince." A Two Tone Tour followed last fall, with a package of Madness, the Specials and the Selecter jamming houses throughout England and Scotland. The three groups were also showcased together on Top of the Pops, and with the release of One Step Beyond and the Elvis Costello-produced Specials LP, England seems on the verge of ska hysteria.
About this revival, Mark Bedford says, "I think the wheel just goes 'round, fashions just go 'round and 'round. I think it's just another notch in the wheel."
- Contributed by Steve Bringe
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