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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | erhoek@comcast.net |
| Subject | Re: Madness |
| Date | Fri, 23 Sep 2005 23:57:42 +0000 |
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It is good to see someone rediscovering (or discovering) a great group like Madness.
Unfortunately they did very little here in the states. Most people know them for House of Fun ,One Step Beyond and possibly It Must Be Love but they were known more for the image of the group as a silhouette from the side jerking and skanking in unison.
But in Europe and especially Japan they were quite a success. If I remember correctly they were signed with Honda to promote scooters and small cars in ads.
I think your reference to the Kinks is spot on and can definitely see how they could have been an influence on Blur as well.
It Must Be Love surfaces occasionally in movies (Mel Smith's Jeff Goldblum/'Rowan Atkinson/ Emma Thompson vehicle the Tall Guy comes to mind) and is currently being used in some commercial (Levi's...maybe?) and has probably been added to some radio format that also includes I Melt With You and This Is the Day. What a great song!
Madness also made many creative videos. Even though only about six of them received airplay here and are still aired occasionally on VH1 Classic there were probably at least that many more that never were run here or if they were it was a one time thing.
I anxiously await a dvd release that collects them all in one package.
It just might happen . Cherry Red Records' wonderful softpop collection called Pillows and Prayers just came out with some bonus material including an interview with Ian Mc Nay and Mike Alway. yay!
-r
> Lately I've been absolutely obsessed with the Madness catalog. I ignored
> them for many years before reading a book last year about 90s Britpop that
> pointed to Madness as having such a huge influence on the movement,
> especially on Blur. I picked up a best-of and was hooked, and recently
> bought "The Lot", which collects all six albums released during their
> original run. I know it's old news to most, but to all of you who are fans
> of Britpop but who have skipped over this fantastic band, I'd recommend
> going back and revisiting. They're far better songwriters than I ever knew
> (I thought "nutty" skank-fests like "One Step Beyond" were what made up most
> of their catalog, but in fact most of it is well-crafted, Kinksian British
> pop of the highest order). The best way to get acquainted, I think, is the
> killer 1999 best-of "Heavy Heavy Hits", which collects all of their singles
> (including a handful that were never on albums) until 1986 chronologically
> and has great cover art. --Jason
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