Madness

The highly ranked pop/ska British band Madness was built out of the ruins of the London-based ensemble Invaders. There were seven musicians who constituted the lineup of the new group. The Madness first officially produced composition was The Prince, a tribute to Prince Buster, whose song Madness gave the outfit its name. This track entered the UK’s top twenty and helped the group soon sign up a contract with Stiff Records. After that, Madness release one more single, One Step Beyond, a remake of Buster’s song. This hit outdid its predecessor and landed on the seventh position in the charts. The same year, the musicians hit the stores with their debut self-titled album to the astonishment of the listeners and surprise of the critics. During the following two years, eight Madness songs had their run into the UK’s top 10.

Although Madness were considered an act for the young audience with their established reputation of fun loving musicians playing cheerful and inspiring songs, their repertoire included also the compositions devoted to serious issues. For instance, Grey Day, and Our House disclosed the realities of the working class life. Gradually, Madness became known for the unsurpassed skill to conceal the subtle notes of melancholy behind the lively rhythms, which was the most peculiar and notable feature of their 1982 album, The Rise And Fall. The same year, their composition House Of Fun was the twelfth to enter the charts and the first to top them. In 1984, the musicians founded their own label under the title Zarjazz. In the mid eighties, Madness kept producing hits, yet often copying their self of the past times. Finding themselves amidst the writer’s bloc, the musicians made in 1986 an announcement about their soon splitting-up. Seventeen months later, four of the collapsed band’s participants restored the project renaming it to the similar The Madness. The realization of this idea left much to be regretful about. Following that, the musicians parted their ways and got occupied with their own plans. In June 1992, Madness reunited once again to give two concerts in London documented in the shape of the Madstock live album.

These performances opened the streak of several other gigs by Madness in their full lineup, but it never crossed their minds to record new material. In the late nineties, the members of the group finally decided to go to the studio. The first result of their labor was the single Lovestruck, a hit that invaded instantly the UK Top Ten and reminded the audience of the once mega popular band. Yet it was just a minor success on the background of the long player’s major failure. The fresh Wonderful album confused the listeners who did not see the reason why the band decided to come back to the stage with such material. Madness looked lost in their helplessness and took one more enduring break. In 2005 they surfaced with the unexpected record called The Dangermen Sessions Volume One, featuring the songs from the group’s early years. It took Madness as long as four years to get ready with the subsequent album, but it was worth waiting. ?? ??????? ???? ???????????? ?????, ? ??????? ???????? ??????? ???? ?????????? ????. Released in 2009, The Liberty of Norton Folgate appeared the Madness longest, strongest and smartest work ever done. Now that the group has gone through highs and lows, it is again on the roll and seems willing to carry on. The record One Step Beyond (Deluxe Edition) was also released in 2009.