Madness at Edinburgh Castle
by Richard 66 on 06/07/2024Edinburgh Castle Esplanade - EdinburghRating: 5 out of 5Brilliant night at Edinburgh Castle, the place was rocking
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Nutty ska-revivalists and 80s pop titans led by the inimitable Suggs
Madness may have been at the forefront of the late ā70s ska revival, but the band quickly moved beyond the constraints of two-tone. By the time the ā80s were in full swing, their embrace of everything from Motown to pure pop had made them one of the biggest British bands of their time.
Madnessās earliest days were as ska band The Invaders, formed in 1976 by Lee Thompson, Mike Barson and Chris Foreman. With the addition of Graham McPherson (aka Suggs), Mark Bedford, Dan Woodgate and Chas Smith, the band changed their name to Morris And The Minors before finally settling on Madness in 1978.
The newly renamed band owed a debt to Prince Buster for their first two singles. Their debut The Prince was a tribute to the Jamaican ska pioneer, while their second, the No.7 hit 'One Step Beyond', was a cover of one of his songs.
Madnessās first hit lent its name to their debut album too. One Step Beyond came out in late 1979 and proved hugely successful. 'My Girl' gave them another hit single, the second in a remarkable run of Top Ten singles that saw Madness become one of the biggest bands in the country.
The ā80s progressed at an impressive clip for the band, landing more hit singles and two albums in the top five, Absolutely and Seven. They bagged their first UK No.1 single in 1982 with 'House Of Fun'.
By the time Madness returned with The Rise And Fall in 1982, their music bore little resemblance to their ska origins. 'Our House' and 'It Must Be Love' were as purely pop as the band could get and the songs worked their way up the charts accordingly.
Mike Barson, one of Madnessās main songwriters, departed the band in 1983, marking a slow decline for the band. By 1986, they announced they were calling it a day and bowed out with Waiting For The Ghost Train in November of that year.
After a year and a half absence, Madness reunited (with a The added to the name) with a new line-up that featured Suggs, Smash, Foreman and Thompson alongside two Specials and one Attraction. The Madness released one single and one album ā 1988ās The Madness ā before splitting up again.
The original Madness eventually resurfaced in 1992 with a huge one-dayer in Finsbury Park called Madstock. The event became an annual reunion show for the band over the next four years. In 1995, Suggs stepped out on his own with a solo album The Lone Ranger and a hit single with his cover of Simon & Garfunkelās 'Cecelia'.
Despite the regular reunions, Madness didnāt manage new material until 1999ās Wonderful, folloed by 2005ās Dangermen Sessions Vol.1 and 2009ās The Liberty Of Norton Folgate. The bandās national treasure status was ratified in 2012 when they performed for both the Queenās Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games closing ceremony. Those performances coincided with their 11th album Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da. The band returned in 2016 with their 12th studio album Canāt Touch Us Now.
Following an AMC series documenting the bandās early years, Madness announced a return to the road in 2021, and in 2023 released their first ever ā and long overdue ā UK number one album, Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C'est La Vie.
Madness perform at Colchester Castle Summer Series and Margate Summer Series in August 2025 before embarking on their Hits Parade Tour that December, with the mischievous ska stalwarts bowling around arenas like Manchester AO Arena, Brighton Centre, Glasgow OVO Hydro, Cardiff Utilita Arena, Leeds First Direct Arena and Birmingham Utilita Arena before concluding with a massive show at The O2 Arena in London - make sure to don those 'Baggy Trousers'.
News
The 11 best Madness songs
Why have a top 10 when you can have one more? Here are the 11 best songs by Madness, ranked
me & my girlfriend a had a fantastic time
by rab on 06/07/2024Edinburgh Castle Esplanade - EdinburghRating: 5 out of 5it was amazing watching them I would recommend anyone to go & see them as me & my girlfriend would go & see them again 5 stare
Fantastic
by Gail R on 02/07/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 54th time seeing Madness, a must see for all fans, brilliant night
More than Fabulous
by Jo8693 on 01/07/2024Newcastle Racecourse - Newcastle Upon TyneRating: 5 out of 5Wonderful day! Lovely Fruity cider Ā£7 per pint, great staff, Madness we're excellent as always ....make sure you have access to your bar code tickets incase WiFi is poor š
Castle concert
by Wilki on 01/07/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5Wonderful night in beautiful setting, hoosiers and madness were ace. Bring more to Lincoln please.
Madness were brilliant
by Nicstvns on 01/07/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5Fantasy night out. Venue was perfect. Madness were amazing.
A Little Bit of Madness
by Squeak on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5Madness - brilliant. Hoosiers supportingā¦ fabulousā¦. Venue good but not well organised. Sadly typical for Lincoln. Accessible stand not near facilities and poorly placed for viewing. No chance to even get through crowd to access accessible stand (what a mouthful..) need to allow more seating. Ā£105 for one glass of prosecco and a pizza in seated ViP area? Ridiculous. Ā£7,50 for 6 donuts? Ā£6.50 for a tin of cheap beer? So we just enjoyed band from the floorā¦.
Brilliant night at the castle.
by Mansel on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5The concert was fabulous, Madnesd were awesome and the atmosphere was amazing. Been to concerts there before and took chairs which was perfect for me being a cancer survivor, standing that long was not great but it was worth the pain. The ice cream van was massively overpriced and wasn't great for a Ā£5 small cone. Didn't have food or drink so cannot comment on them. Madness sounded perfect and made our year as we have more yet to go to.
Madness
by Catweazle 2 on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5I've been listening to Madness for years and this was the first time I've watched them perform live. They were Awesome
Absolutely excellent night
by Elaine on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5Madness at Lincoln castle were amazing a great time had by all. Hoosiers who were supporting were also really good.
Madness at Lincoln Castle
by Nic on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5Great location ! . Madness were a class act as always . The atmosphere was amazing lots of happy likeminded people enjoying a summer evening in a beautiful city and venue. A well organised event. Will definitely be back to watch other acts in the future.
Absolutely brilliant
by Jo on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5Fabulous concert in a stunning setting. Madness we're fabulous and was well worth playing for the VIP tickets!
Best concert ever
by Kidds on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5From beginning to end, this is by far the best concert I have been too. Really well organised and Madness were even better live. The atmosphere was amazing. Definitely would watch them again
Madness have still got it!
by Dave on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5We bought the VIP package which included fast track entry, seating if required, glass of bubbly on arrival, a token for a pizza and salad and access to normal toilets rather than portaloos. Well worth the extra for these privileges, especially as there were queues for the portaloos! The band themselves were fantastic and belted out the old stuff as well as some new songs. They are as good today as they were over 40 years ago. At the end of the concert, we even seemed to get out much quicker. We were sitting in the nearby pub with our drinks, watching the crowds still streaming out 20 minutes after we had got out. Overall, a well worth experience.
Bit of chaos
by Pinch on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 4 out of 5Madness were brilliant, the venue is very picturesque, but there was pretty much one entry point in and out, which was a major getting around issue
Band fantastic played every song I wanted
by ARB on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 4 out of 5Madness were fantastic played every song lots of chat with crowd Just superb. Beer tent was woeful and incredibly expensive and very limited. 6:50 for a can of room temperature beer. Which clearly was a supermarket buy as it had the glue to hold can together still on. Ruined part of the night not being able to have a good beer.
Madness review
by Ian on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5Excellent concert. Very enjoyable. Well organised. Didn't use the hospitality tents - ridiculously expensive.
National treasures.
by Tim on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5This band never disappoint live,fun filled 90 mins and if you don't come out of a madness gig either with a smile or a little dance you are clinically dead.
Still got it
by Rob Q on 30/06/2024Lincoln Castle - LincolnRating: 5 out of 5Every band has its day but the nutty boys keep going, 6 original members plus a few extras, great show and obviously everyone had come to hear the hits Great venue too
Madness and racing
by Drama on 29/06/2024Newcastle Racecourse - Newcastle Upon TyneRating: 5 out of 5Madness were fantastic. Only complaint, needed more seating in bar as mam unable to stand for a long time (hour and half)