Post by prende on Nov 16, 2012 18:07:50 GMT
Ska Legends enjoy their unlikely revival
MAD FOR IT by Tanya Sweeney
The Olympics closing ceremony this summer was a bewildering hodge-podge of British national treasures - just ask Madness front man Suggs.
The singer of the Ska legends- formed 30 years ago in London - found himself sandwiched between newbies One Direction and fellow veterans Pet Shop Boys at the glittering ceremony.
Of the former, he bellows " I didn,t even know who they were! They were on the performing lorry next to us.
It looked like they were having a great time , just like we did at that age, just having fun, shagging loads of birds... not that we ever did that.
Earlier, we,d heard the Spice Girls in singing practice, and Pete Townshend ( of The Who) roared in at them " God,s sake, will someone feed them!"
After three decades on pop,s heady carousel, it,s safe to assume that Suggs has more than his fair share of juicy gossip morsels.
Yet with many bands of similar vintage opting for the shut-up-and-play-the-hits route, Madness have just delivered their 10th studio album.
This bold move has paid off handsomely. Far from being denounced as long-ago-rans, Madness have been hailed for delivering their most vital album yat.
In fact, Oui Oui, Si Si ,Ja Ja, Da Da is being as the album of their career.
"It,s amazing, hearing people say that", admits Suggs. " In the early 2000,s, we were heading for cosy 80,s revival hell,on one of those package tours with another band. We had to use warp factor 8 to get away from that, and we end up with this crictical
acclaim that we never got in the 80,s.
And yet the average Madness gig now boasts a largely young crowd.
"Jesus, where have all the old people gone?" laughs Suggs.
"Dead i suppose.There are a lot of girls coming to our concerts.
I think it may be because we,ve done a lot of festivals recently.
It,s clear Madness have put plenty of effort into getting themselves to this enviable point in their careers. Yet with seven people in the band, and a couple of splits behind them, the road hasn,t always been smooth.
In fact, this latest album title was born out of a tough process of elimination. The process of choosing a title went on for so long that the album,s cover features some of the alternatives they considered crossed out.
" We,re all strong willed, so it,s an effort to get anything done", admits Suggs.
"It,s weird, we love each other, but when we fall out we really fall out.
Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da is out now.
Madness play The O2, Dublin on November 28th.
MAD FOR IT by Tanya Sweeney
The Olympics closing ceremony this summer was a bewildering hodge-podge of British national treasures - just ask Madness front man Suggs.
The singer of the Ska legends- formed 30 years ago in London - found himself sandwiched between newbies One Direction and fellow veterans Pet Shop Boys at the glittering ceremony.
Of the former, he bellows " I didn,t even know who they were! They were on the performing lorry next to us.
It looked like they were having a great time , just like we did at that age, just having fun, shagging loads of birds... not that we ever did that.
Earlier, we,d heard the Spice Girls in singing practice, and Pete Townshend ( of The Who) roared in at them " God,s sake, will someone feed them!"
After three decades on pop,s heady carousel, it,s safe to assume that Suggs has more than his fair share of juicy gossip morsels.
Yet with many bands of similar vintage opting for the shut-up-and-play-the-hits route, Madness have just delivered their 10th studio album.
This bold move has paid off handsomely. Far from being denounced as long-ago-rans, Madness have been hailed for delivering their most vital album yat.
In fact, Oui Oui, Si Si ,Ja Ja, Da Da is being as the album of their career.
"It,s amazing, hearing people say that", admits Suggs. " In the early 2000,s, we were heading for cosy 80,s revival hell,on one of those package tours with another band. We had to use warp factor 8 to get away from that, and we end up with this crictical
acclaim that we never got in the 80,s.
And yet the average Madness gig now boasts a largely young crowd.
"Jesus, where have all the old people gone?" laughs Suggs.
"Dead i suppose.There are a lot of girls coming to our concerts.
I think it may be because we,ve done a lot of festivals recently.
It,s clear Madness have put plenty of effort into getting themselves to this enviable point in their careers. Yet with seven people in the band, and a couple of splits behind them, the road hasn,t always been smooth.
In fact, this latest album title was born out of a tough process of elimination. The process of choosing a title went on for so long that the album,s cover features some of the alternatives they considered crossed out.
" We,re all strong willed, so it,s an effort to get anything done", admits Suggs.
"It,s weird, we love each other, but when we fall out we really fall out.
Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da is out now.
Madness play The O2, Dublin on November 28th.