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Sire Records Press Release (January 1980)
"This may not be uptown Jamaica
but we promise you a treat."
-- Madness/"The Prince"
"Hey you, don't watch that, watch this...
this is the heavy heavy monster sound,
the nuttiest sound around..."
-- Madness/"One Step Beyond"
Just what is this "nutty" sound that's already taken England by storm and is about to win over the Colonies? It's the special sound of Madness, a six-man band from Northern London whose music has a strong ska* feel featuring punchy keyboards, screaming saxaphones and rollicking vocals. It's a sound that gets you up and dancing -- "a sort of happy fairground sound with jokey lyrics," explains the band's ace saxophone player, Lee Thompson.
To call Madness strictly a ska band is a mistake. While most of their music has a definite rock steady beat, there's also a strong R&B and even straight rock edge to several of their songs. And the band doesn't ignore the classics - one of the highlights of Madness' debut album and live show is a surprising rendition of "Swan Lake."
Madness - who are Mike Barson on keyboards; Chris Foreman on guitar; vocalcite Suggs; Mark Bedford on bass; Lee Thompson on saxophones/vocals/ and Woody Woods Woodgate on drums/percussion -- began with a slightly different lineup and sound as the North London Invaders in 1977. Mike, Chris and Lee belonged to the same Camden Town youth club and started the band, playing mostly cover versions of whatever was popular at the moment. Their distinctive "nutty" sound began to develop with the later addition of vocalist Suggs, who claims Prince Buster and the early Sixties ska singles as his prime musical influences.
After several more personnel changes and local club dates, the present group made its debut under the name Morris and the Minors at the Music Machine in September 1978. With their wholly original and danceable sound they soon attracted a large following. Their stage show -- where they are aided by the seventh "unofficial" member of the group, Chas Smash, whose riveting skank danching onstage keeps audiences on their feet -- had brought a touch of cabaret and a bit of much needed polish to the rock circuit.
Finally, ex-Deaf School member Clive Langer, a friend of Mike Barson's older brother, agreed to produce a demo tape for the band, which was sent off to the Specials, another Englih ska-oriented band that was attracting much attention. The Specials had their own record label, 2-Tone, distributed by Chrysalis. They were so impressed with the tape that they put out Madness' debut single -- the A side a homage to Prince Buster called "The Prince" and the B side a cover of one of his first hits, "Madness," from which the band took their current "official" name -- in August 1979 and took the band on tour with them. Madness was launched -- playing SRO club dates, getting front page press coverage and appearing on national television.
The band decided to fin their own record deal for the release of their debut LP and signed with Stiff worldwide and Sire for North America. Madness' album One Step Beyond and title single came out shortly thereafter, quickly finding their places high on the British charts. And even though the record wasn't yet available in America -- Madness came over for a short five city tour in November, playing New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Francisco. They attracted such an enthusiastic following that in many of the clubs where they first appeared as a support band -- LA's Whiskey and San Francisco's Mabuhay Gardens -- popular demand brought them back as headliners.
With the domestic release of One Step Beyond on the Sire label everyone now can catch the "nutty" sound of Madness. Not only will their underground fans be able to enjoy such upbeat songs as "Madness," "The Prince," "My Girl," and the whacky "Chipmunks Are Go," music lovers coast-to-coast cna discover the "old" but incredible sound of bluebeat/R&B/rock performed by Madness.
0180
* ska: a pre-reggae form of Jamaican music, also known as bluebeat, skank and rock steady.
- Contributed by Steve Bringe
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