Madness (band)

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Madness are an English ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s 2 Tone ska revival, they continue to perform with their most recognised line-up of seven members.

Madness achieved most of their success in the early to mid-1980s. Both Madness and UB40 spent 214 weeks on the UK singles charts over the course of the decade, holding the record for most weeks spent by a group in the 1980s UK singles charts. However, Madness achieved this in a shorter time period (1980–1986).

Madness have had 15 singles reach the UK top ten, one UK number one single ("House of Fun") and two number ones in Ireland, "House of Fun" and "Wings of a Dove".

Career

1976–1978: Formation

The core of the band formed as The North London Invaders in 1976, and included Mike Barson (Monsieur Barso) on keyboards and vocals, Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) on guitar and Lee Thompson (Kix) on saxophone and vocals. They later recruited John Hasler on drums and Cathal Smyth (better known as Chas Smash) on bass guitar. Later in the year, they were joined by lead vocalist Dikron Tulane.

The Madness (album)

The Madness is the debut, self-titled studio album by the British ska/pop band The 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 (although they may very well be Madness themselves, or individual members of Madness). With the demise of Madness and the group's own label Zarjazz, The Madness were directly recruited under Virgin Records.

When the album was released in early May 1988, it received dismissive reviews and peaked at #66 in the UK, lasting within the Top 100 for only one week. Two singles, ("I Pronounce You" and "What's That"), were released from the album, although like the album these were less successful than the original band releases. "I Pronounce You" was the lead single, released in the UK and Portugal on 7" vinyl, as well as 12" vinyl and CD in the UK. Receiving lukewarm reception from the music press, it peaked at #44 in the UK, lasting on the charts for four weeks after originally debuting at #48. "What's That", the album's second and final single, 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 #92 and lasted two weeks on the chart, dropping to #98 the following week after its debut.