Madness are an English ska and pop band from Camden Town, North London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, they continue to perform with six of the seven members of their original line-up. Madness's most successful period was from 1980 to 1986, when the band's songs spent a total of 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart.
Mad Not Mad is the sixth studio album by English ska and pop band Madness. It was released on 30 September 1985, their first release on their own label Zarjazz, a sub-label of Virgin Records. The album was recorded over a period of two months in 1985 at Westside Studios and at AIR Studios, both in London. The album was their last recording of original material until they officially reformed in 1992.
The Madness is the only studio album by the British ska/pop band The Madness, a short-lived incarnation of Madness. It was originally released in mid-1988, on the label Virgin. The album was produced by the Three Eyes, a pseudonym, whose identities remain a mystery. With the demise of Madness and the group's own label Zarjazz, the Madness were directly recruited under Virgin Records.
Wonderful is the seventh studio album by the British band Madness, released on 1 November 1999. It was the band's first studio album in fourteen years since Mad Not Mad in 1985, and also the first to feature their classic seven-piece line-up since 1984's Keep Moving. The album saw Madness reunite with their original production team, Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who had produced all of the band's previous work.
The Dangermen Sessions, Vol. 1 is a cover album and the eighth studio album by the British ska band Madness, released in 2005. The album reached No. 11 in the UK which at the time was their highest chart position in the UK since 1984's Keep Moving.
Cathal Joseph "Carl" Smyth, also known as Chas Smash, is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His career spans more than 40 years. Smash came to prominence in the late 1970s as secondary vocalist, trumpet player and dancer for the English band Madness, with whom he was associated from their inception until 2014.
"House of Fun" is a song by English ska/pop group Madness, credited to Mike Barson and Lee Thompson. It was released as a one-off single on 14 May 1982 and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending nine weeks in the charts. The song was re-released in 1992, reaching number 40. It is the band's only number one single in the UK and in 2015 the British public voted it as the nation's 8th favourite 1980s number one in a poll for ITV.
Utter Madness is a greatest hits album by the British pop band Madness, released on their own Zarjazz label through Virgin Records on 24 November 1986 shortly after the group's original split. It picks up from where the band's first greatest hits album Complete Madness left off, running from "Driving in My Car" to the last Madness single before their split, "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train".
The Business – the Definitive Singles Collection is a 3 disc box set by ska/pop band Madness released in 1993. It contained all the band's singles until that point with their respective b-sides and other bonus tracks, some rare. It also includes a 52-page booklet and snippets of interviews with people associated with Madness between some tracks. The interviews date from around the time of the Keep Moving album and were conducted by John Tobler. Among those interviewed were founder member John Hasler, former manager John "Kelloggs" Kalinowski and Dave Robinson of Stiff Records.
Total Madness – the Very Best of Madness is a greatest hits album by a British ska/pop band Madness, released in 1997. It was released exclusively in the United States and Canada.
Universal Madness is the second live album by ska/pop band Madness, released on 2 March 1999 through the Goldenvoice label. It was recorded at the Universal Amphitheater on 26 April 1998 in Los Angeles. The show was Madness' first in America since 1984.
"Michael Caine" is a song by English ska band Madness, released on 30 January 1984 as the lead single from their fifth studio album Keep Moving (1984). The song was written by Carl Smyth and Daniel Woodgate, and features Smyth on lead vocals in place of usual Madness vocalist Suggs. "Michael Caine" spent eight weeks on the British chart, peaking at number 11.
"One Better Day" is a song by English ska band Madness from their fifth studio album Keep Moving (1984). The song, written by Suggs and Mark Bedford, was released as a single in the United Kingdom, and spent seven weeks in the charts peaking at number 18.
"Uncle Sam" is a song by the English ska/pop band Madness from their sixth studio album Mad Not Mad (1985). It was predominantly written by saxophonist Lee Thompson, but also jointly credited to guitarist Chris Foreman.
"Yesterday's Men" is a song by English ska and pop band Madness, released on 19 August 1985 as the lead single from their sixth studio album Mad Not Mad (1985). It was written by Graham McPherson and Chris Foreman, and produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. The song spent 7 weeks on the UK Singles Chart peaking at number 18. The song was edited for release as a single, the album version being some thirty seconds longer. A music video was filmed to promote the single, directed by Chris Gabrin.
"What's That" is the second and final single by British band The Madness from their 1988 eponymous album. It was released in the UK only on 7" and 12" vinyl, and also as a 10" vinyl picture disc. It was the first release by Madness or any of its spin-off bands not to reach the top 75 in the UK. It peaked at No. 92 and lasted two weeks on the chart, dropping to No. 98 the following week after its debut.
"I Will Be With You" is a song by British band T'Pau, released in 1988 from the seventh and final single from their debut studio album, Bridge of Spies (1987). It was written by Carol Decker and Ron Rogers, and produced by Roy Thomas Baker. "I Will Be with You" reached No. 14 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the charts for six weeks.
Forever Young: The Ska Collection is a compilation album by English band Madness, released in 2012 by Salvo/Union Square Music as part of their re-issues of the Madness back catalogue. The album consists of a selection of the band's ska sounding songs, including singles, b-sides and album tracks. In addition to the classic Madness tracks, the album contains two previously unreleased covers: Jimmy Cliff's "Vietnam" and Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King". Both of these bonus tracks were originally recorded for the 2005 Madness album The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1. The album includes a fold-out poster booklet with liner notes by Record Collector's Ian McCann, including new interviews with guitarist Chris Foreman and saxophonist Lee Thompson. Foreman said of the album: "It was our take on ska, and the songs on this album have ska as their basis. Not all are full-on; I wanted it to be called The Ska and Reggae Collection, but The Ska Collection it is."
The unreleased Madness album was to be the seventh studio album by the English ska/pop band Madness. In early July they returned from a long, grueling tour incorporating Australia and America culminating with some European and UK festivals. Between July and early September they recorded demos for this new album at their Liquidator Studios in North London. From these demos they selected a sequenced track listing of 11 songs to be produced for the finished album. At least one other track was also demoed, indicating there may have been others additionally recorded.
Can't Touch Us Now is the eleventh studio album by the British band Madness, released on their Lucky 7 Records label through Universal Music Catalogue (UMC) on 28 October 2016. The album marked the return of founder member Mark Bedford but the departure of Cathal Smyth.
