From jonsmad at hotmail.com Fri Feb 3 13:43:07 2012 From: jonsmad at hotmail.com (Jonathan Young) Date: Fri Feb 3 13:43:15 2012 Subject: [MIS] Return to The House Of Fun In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Good Saturday morning, miss? Were here to help you son Are you up for more fun? Up to date and the dates today ( or well tomorrow just another day, depending when you read this.) Butlins will serve soon.. Excitement on the way... Welcome back to "The House Of Fun Weekender!!!!" Temptations on it's way. Check www.butlins.com Or F5 this page. For the presale soon. http://www.bigweekends.com/splash-pages/madness.aspx? Today we were expecting go live, Trevor McMadNut our returning News anchor today, this evening spoke to the staff at the Butlins booking centre. They confirmed for us, that mailshots to previous bookers of last years weekeender should start landing from February 4th, saturday morning with your discount. The P-P-P-P-P-P-P Party... They said is... November 23 -26. 2012. Trevor will see you there. It's going to be another exciting 9 months in the making, in what is turning out to a busy year for the band. Trevor McMadnut. Nut News. https://twitter.com/#!/TrevorMcMadnut -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://www.robomod.net/pipermail/madness/attachments/20120203/35063958/attachment.html From robert at hazelby.co.uk Sun Feb 5 16:33:32 2012 From: robert at hazelby.co.uk (Robert Hazelby) Date: Sun Feb 5 16:33:44 2012 Subject: [MIS] NEWS AND INFORMATION - SUN 5TH FEB - SAT 11TH FEB 2012 Message-ID: <72BC627A-5829-4836-A7FC-94B641BCBD41@hazelby.co.uk> M.I.S ONLINE - NEWS AND INFORMATION - SUN 5TH FEB - SAT 11TH FEB 2012 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISSUE NUMBER 665 MIS ONLINE: http://www.mis-online.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 - THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS - The obligatory intro. 2 - MEXICO MIS - VIDEO EXCLUSIVE - Thanks to Sunday Munoz, we're able to bring you an exclusive Mexican MIS video with Lee Thompson "El Bandido" talking about both his bands, ahead of Madness in Mexico in March. Some interesting album related information comes up as well as some fun distractions! and more eavesdropping on the ska orchestras dub mixing taking place. 3 - SUGGS: MY LIFE STORY IN WORDS AND MUSIC, ORCHARD THEATRE, DARTFORD OLLY MURS, MOTORPOINT ARENA, CARDIFF - Taken from the Independent web site, and written by Simon Price. 4 - MADNESS FRONT MAN SUGGS FINDS TIME TO REFLECT ON HIS LIFE - Taken from www.birminghampost.net. Written by Alison Jones. 5 - THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS - This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 405, and the week of Sunday 4th February to Saturday 10th February 2007, and then back 10 years to issue number 143 and the week of Sunday 3rd February to Saturday 9th February 2002. 6 - PREPARE FOR TOTAL MADNESS - IT will be Madness at Haydock Park this summer when the iconic UK two-tone band turn the racecourse into a House of Fun! Frontman Suggs and his bandmates Chas Smash, Barzo, Chrissy Boy, Thommo and Woody are set to take to the Haydock Park stage on the evening of Friday, July 6. From the sthelensreporter web site. 7 - A SPECIAL ALBUM FOR CHARITY - "Specialized" - the charity album of songs by The Specials covered by modern day artists with every penny going to teenage cancer trust, is almost upon us. The project, conceived and managed by paul Williams from The Specials2.com Specials fan site has an end of February release date pencilled in. Paul Willo reports. 8 - MADNESS RETURN TO MINEHEAD - You can't have failed to have missed our special edition MIS, which went out on Friday morning, following the announcement that Madness would be making a return visit to Butlins Minehead. While we await official emails and/or mail-outs from Butlins themselves you can still get in and make your booking NOW! Rob Hazelby and Jon Young report. 9 - THAT'S YER LOT - A few last minute words before we finish for the week. [1] - THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS Welcome to this, yet another edition of the weekly MIS Online newsletter. Following on from Friday's impromptue Minehead Weekender we have further information for you in section eight of this issue. Though, judging from various posts we've read over on Facebook over the past couple of days, it would seem as if many of you have already made your bookings. If you're interested in going but need further information we have all the information (well, no details on line-up yet) you need. Elsewhere we have a number of new reviews of Suggs' One Man Show, and details of Madness appearing at Haydock Park. If that wasn't enough we've got information on a new Specials related album, and we top all that off with the regular That Was The Week That Was lookback. Before all that though, it's off to Mexico. Enjoy the read! Simon Roberts, Robert Hazelby, Jonathan Young, Liz Maher Email us at: simon, robert, liz @mis-online.net [2] - MEXICO MIS - VIDEO EXCLUSIVE Thanks to Sunday Munoz, we're able to bring you an exclusive Mexican MIS video with Lee Thompson "El Bandido" talking about both his bands, ahead of Madness in Mexico in March. Some interesting album related information comes up as well as some fun distractions! and more eavesdropping on the ska orchestras dub mixing taking place. http://youtu.be/UafCFVs_VSk Filmed by Jon Young, and edited by Oscar Serrano. Huge Thanks to Lee Thompson, Darren Fordham, Mark Bedford and Mike Peliconi Aka Prince Fatty, And now a few words from some mexican fans as they celebrate just 50 days until their dreams come true, for something they prayed would happen in their life time... First up is a star of the Madness Tribute album himself... --- ?Being part of a ska band in Mexico and a great follower of Madness to learn about their visit to my country made me get filled with hope for our country to take the rhythm of ska as a stabilised one finally and not a just as a fashion. My reaction was of excitement for have the opportunity to see a band that introduced me to this lifestyle called SKA!? Big Javi ? vocals on mexican ska band Inspector --- ?I was travelling on the underground, when a received a phone call from a cousin and give me the news, at that time, being there in the car surrounded by dozens of people I imagine myself raising my arms and singing "Our House In The Middle Of The Street", now surrounded by thousands of people like me. Every time we came in with our friends we used to talk about the dream of one day listening to Madness live. What do I think ? A little Madness is going to fit in well for everyone.? David Puente Guitar and vocals on ?Los Viernes Swing Band? --- ?I still can not believe there will be a madness gig in M?xico hahahaha. It would be a real mayhem? El Pikos -- ?I had no place to fit all the joy in me! When I found out immediately told all my family and beloved ones. Tears sprang from my eyes, such is the joy of seeing them that I will take my wife daughter and my dad, I think organisers realised that good ska bands and such has many followers in Mexico. I am 100% convinced that the concert will Madness will offer will be unforgettable for the fans and for history of concerts in Mexico!? Rogelio Juarez ? Mega Fan Article by Sunday Munoz Mexican MIS http://www.radioskandalo.com/ [3] - SUGGS: MY LIFE STORY IN WORDS AND MUSIC, ORCHARD THEATRE, DARTFORD OLLY MURS, MOTORPOINT ARENA, CARDIFF Taken from the Independent web site, and written by Simon Price. Two nights, and two generations of Estuarine geezers known for their pop-reggae hits and services to the trilby trade. If a comparison between Suggs and Olly Murs feels a little crowbarred, there's more to it than you might expect. But more of that later. A dead cat and a dead dad are the twin catalysts driving Graham McPherson's autobiographical one-man show, which takes the Madness singer's 50th birthday as its starting point and zigzags back and forth through a life in which becoming a pop star at 18 and a retired one at 27 is only a small part. Strolling the stage like a music-hall MC, Suggs is an effortlessly engaging raconteur, using self-consciously fogeyish humour (he speaks of ?The YouTubes?) and unafraid of kaboom-tish asides, his story is as funny and occasionally moving as Madness at their best. We hear about his family background: a mum who was a jazz singer in Manchester, Liverpool and Soho working in clubs run my mobsters, a dad he never knew who was a heroin addict. We hear about his childhood, including a spell in Haverfordwest which, when he returned to London, earned him the epithet ?flea-bitten Jock-Welsh bastard?, and the schooldays (sample punchline, ? ... me and the other four-thirds of the maths class?) which inspired ?Baggy Trousers?. We hear about his misspent youth, running the gauntlet of London's teenage tribes and football hooligans, hanging out with the punks at the Roxy and covering Clerkenwell in self-aggrandising graffiti. And we hear about his first job as a butcher's boy, affording him the pretext to deliver an innuendo about ?delivering meat to the nuns? and the line, ?fat is impervious to cold water: that's why ducks wear it?. But it's the behind-the-scenes tales of the Madness years which are the most interesting, from sparking a Teddy Boy riot during an early gig in a florist's, through the fateful meeting with The Specials at the Hope & Anchor and the subsequent chaos of the 2 Tone tour, to a priceless anecdote about Madness hiring authentic police uniforms for a video shoot, hearing that The Clash were rehearsing nearby and deciding to make a pretend drugs raid on the studio. Cue much slamming of doors, flushing of toilets, and Strummer and Jones not speaking to Madness for years. Then there are the songs. Accompanied by a young whippersnapper on piano, he gives us Madness classics like ?Shut Up? and a semi-spoken ?Baggy Trousers?, plus a smattering of covers: The Kinks's ?Lola?, Ian Dury's ?What a Waste?, Elvis's ?Jailhouse Rock? and a certain Simon and Garfunkel song which, he tells us, caused guest ToTP presenter Chris Eubank consternation when the autocue obliged him to announce: ?The sensational Suggs at Six with 'Cecilia'!? His later years ? managing The Farm, hosting a BSB chat show with four viewers, becoming a DJ for Virgin Radio ? are intertwined with his attempts at amateur genealogy, in which he finds that his father died in Birmingham in 1975. And, of course, the Madness reunion, including the famous Madstock earthquake of 1992, when dancers in Finsbury Park caused tremors of five on the Richter scale and the evacuation of nearby tower blocks. The moral ? or, let's be honest, the excuse for a singalong finale ? is that only one thing matters, and it must be love, love, love. Funnily enough, the first video I see on the big screen, walking into the Motorpoint Arena for Olly Murs, is ?A Message To You Rudy? by The Specials. Like Suggs, Murs has got where he is by trading on his likeability, from his very first X-Factor audition, singing Stevie Wonder's ?Signed, Sealed, Delivered? and shuffling around with a length of hosepipe apparently sewn into his chinos. Rising through a trapdoor which had to be widened to accommodate his jaw, wearing a shiny brown suit and shoes as white as his teeth, he tells Cardiff ?It's the first night of the tour, and I can't think of a better place to be than right here in Waows.? The people of Waows laps up the flattery. Murs is essentially a variety act. A song-and-dance man and sometime TV presenter, he's a merely competent singer and does the kind of dancing you do in the pub to make your mates laugh, that rubber-legged sideways moonwalk, throwing in a silly walk for the kiddies and a pelvic thrust for the mums, mugging like Lee Evans all the way. His own songs, including the one with that dreadful line ?remember when that crab came up and pinched your feet? and the half-decent Rizzle Kicks collaboration ?Heart Skips a Beat?, are padded out with covers. ?Change Is Gonna Come? segues into ?We Will Rock You?, ?On My Cloud? into ?I Need a Dollar?, and there's a James Brown medley including a faked collapse. He fluffs his cue at one point, and jokes, ?You can't get the staff these days?. Wholesome, clean and a bit cheeky in a U-certificate sort of way, Murs directs the entire show at ?the ladies?, showing a teasing film of himself having a bath and brushing those dazzling teeth in a Superman dressing gown, and ascending an overhead walkway to announce ?I haven't found the right girl ? Mrs Murs could be right here tonight?. He's cheesier than a pizza, and the archetypal representative of his birthplace: The Olly Way Is Essex. Suddenly, the review starts to write itself, as he too covers ?It Must Be Love?, making exactly the same ?Bless the bees and the birds ... especially the birds!? gag his more illustrious elder had made the previous night, then breaking into ?One Step Beyond? complete with the ?nutty dance?, underneath a 2 Tone-style chequered tour poster. He's equal parts pseudo-Suggs and tribute David Essex, and the Waowsh have a wow of a time. But what stories will Olly Murs have to tell when he's 50? [4] - MADNESS FRONT MAN SUGGS FINDS TIME TO REFLECT ON HIS LIFE Taken From www.birminghampost.net. When you hit your half century, it's time to take stock. Alison Jones chats to Madness front man Suggs. When Madness front man Suggs hit 50 last year, it was, he says, a time for reflection. Albeit the kind of reflection that comes the morning after a bacchanalian party thrown by his wife Anne (formerly Bette Bright, vocalist for 1970s band Deaf School), complete with Vaudeville acts and a finale which involved her jumping out of a giant cake. ?I think when it approaches you are in a little bit of denial and suddenly you realise half a century of your life has gone,? says Suggs. Sadly it was witnessing the death of loved one which also prompted this soul-searching. ?On the morning of my birthday my favourite cat died. I was lying in the bath and it just dropped off the glass shelf. I don?t know what happened but it died. ?That sort of tipped me over the edge and just sort of got me reflecting about my whole life and the nature of existence. ?When you are bringing up your own kids you are a bit busy with other things to spend time wallowing in your own past. But my kids (Scarlett and Viva) moved out last year so there was a bit of a change in atmosphere at home.? His moment of introspection has resulted in ?a stand up memoir? ? a one man show called My Life Story in Words and Music: Suggs, which he brings to Birmingham Town Hall and Warwick Arts Centre, Coventry, this Saturday and Sunday respectively. Although Suggs claims it is a ?relatively jolly romp? through his past ? recalling how the baggy-trousered boy Graham McPherson became Suggs, front man for ska-superstars Madness ? considering its rather tragic starting point, it was inevitable that there would be a few notes of poignancy. It comes as Suggs reveals how as part of his probing into his personal history, he finally discovered what had become of his long-lost father. Photographer William McPherson had split from Suggs? mum Edith, who performed as a jazz singer under the name Edwina, when young Graham was just three. ?He left when I was very young so I started to wonder what had happened to him because it had been a bit of a sort of a mystery in our family ?That is part of the narrative really. I follow this story of tracing my father but at the same a time in parallel to telling the story of my showbiz career.? His father was a heroin addict. Although both he and Edith lived a fairly bohemian lifestyle in ?60s Soho, following the birth of their son she could no longer put up with his erratic behaviour. As part of his quest, Suggs finally spoke to his mother about his father. ?In Britain we rarely talk about something seriously with our parents. You just want to let bygones be bygones. But she started telling me stuff that she never had.? She revealed that his father had come by just once, when Suggs was 12. After that she had never seen him again. Suggs resigned himself to the thought of spending days in records offices ?plodding through dusty tomes and charming people over the phone? to uncover the full story. And then... ?It is one of those ridiculous things. My mate said ?Have you ever looked yourself up on that Wikipedia thing??. I said ?No? and of course it was all there: When he died, where he died. ?It was very strange. All these years it has been out there and I just never thought to look at Wikipedia.? To his surprise he found his dad had actually died in Birmingham, having moved there after a time in a mental hospital. He had also remarried but he and his wife died within a year of each other due to drugs. ?Unfortunately he met a pretty grisly end,? reveals Suggs. ?It was no great shock. The only shock was he died a lot later. I had thought he died when I was three or so and he died when I was 14/15. ?The sad thing about that was I was just becoming Suggs and starting to formulate the band. Another couple of years and who knows? Maybe we could have met because he would have known who I was.? He travelled to Birmingham to see the death certificate though he says he didn?t continue his search to discover where he was buried. ?It didn?t even cross my mind to find out. ?Seeing the death certificate for this man, who until this point had been a figment of my imagination because he didn?t really exist in my life...it was all a bit sad. You hear people talk about closure, it? s a bit of a clich? but I definitely felt something like that. Just to know what happened to him and put him in his grave.? Trying to work this into a stage show and not leave the audience a blubbering mess was, he says, something of a challenge. He eventually called in professional help. ?Originally my agent was going ?Why don?t you do something that is funny? Showbiz stories about your pals. Do you have to have the darker stuff as well?? ?That was the hardest part of the process, interweaving the two. But we have got a very good director that transformed the whole thing. He showed me it is possible to leap in time and space and mood, too. You can go from a sad story to a funny story.? Though he was used to being a lead singer and commanding the stage, it was as part of an ensemble backed up by the band of surrogate brothers that is Madness, most of whom he has known since he was a schoolboy. In a one-man show he was going to be completely exposed, its success or failure resting solely on his shoulders. ?It is that old thing that just because you can tell a few jokes doesn?t mean you can do a stand-up comedy routine. ?This is the same. Just because you can tell a few anecdotes in the pub doesn?t mean you can talk for an hour and a half. ?I tried it in front of the wife and daughters and they fell asleep. That?s when I knew I needed to get a director. ?What I had at the beginning was a four and half hour monologue and he just managed to chop it all down with theatrical tricks. ?I?ve just done a couple of weeks in a small pub in London. The first night a load of my friends who are actors all sat in the front row which was very disconcerting. But they were very impressed that I had managed to do it. ?The whole thing had been enormously challenging, but challenging things tend to be more rewarding and I have learned a hell of a lot out of the whole process.? Probably more than he could ever have dreamt of when he was lying in that bath and his cat finally exhausted its nine lives. [5] - 5 - THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 405, and the week of Sunday 4th February to Saturday 10th February 2007, and then back 10 years to issue number 143 and the week of Sunday 3rd February to Saturday 9th February 2002. 5 years ago... Issue 405 - Sunday 4th February to Saturday 10th February 2007 This issue kicked off with news from subscriber Andrew Langmead, who reported that; ?Sorry was just used on Soccer AM on Sky Sports as the backing music for a compilation of the best goals of the week. At the end it always gives the details of the song. It said Madness featuring Sway & Baby Blue and gave a release date of March 5th. So, more evidence that the 'rap' version of the song will be the one which is released. I must admit that it is growing on me :-)? Progress on the video for the forthcoming single also seemed to be going well, as the latest MySpace MadBlog announcement explained; ?MADBLOG NUMBER 22 - "SORRY" VIDEO SHOOT PICS The video shoot for 'Sorry' took place over the weekend, some shots below... The finished video will be up on Madspace as soon as it's ready.? Things moved fast in this technological age, as the video was already up on YouTube. We felt it looked very last minute, very cheap, and had few ideas. This was a Tesco Value range video. It looked very stylish, but that was about it. It was also the first Madness video without Lee in, and sadly it showed. It was over to the Independent for the first of our articles, as they'd managed to rope Suggs in to do one of their famous 5 Minute Interviews. He we learned the most surprising thing that had happened to him, what he felt people should take more notice of and more. Next, it back to Andrew Langmead, who this time reported that he'd heard Suggs mention (on his Virgin Radio show) that Madness were due to perform on Al Murray's Happy Hour. One of the things Al asked for is that everyone who appears has to perform a Queen track. Apparently the rest of the band wanted to do Killer Queen, but Suggs wasn't happy with a number of key changes in the song. He liked the idea of performing Another One Bites the Dust. It was on to episode 3, series 2, of Disappearing London as we gave a brief review of the show. The london Tram system was the opening story in this episode and a visit was made to the remnants of an underground depot from which the trams used to emerge onto the London streets back in the 1930's This was shown in archive footage. Suggs then indulged in a traditional game of Pub Skittles with one of the few remaining clubs still playing the game. The show explained how the large area needed to play the game is why most venues no longer have a room for such a past time. The final segment of the show was a piece about the manner park allotments, in the lee valley. A place for many to grow food and have a hobby since the war. The development programme for the London Olympics means this area will be compulsively purchased and be redeveloped by the building plans for this forthcoming world sporting event. We had news of a new forum next, as we discovered that when he wasn't busy uploading weird and wonderful homemade Madness videos to YouTube, Adam Nicholls spends his free time building web sites. With the diminishing number of Madness websites online over the past 5 years we were excited to see Adam's new creation, and so, we decided to take a closer look at his Nutty Forum. In the fourth episode of the Suggs hosted documentary, Disappearing London it included a small segment about Suggs visiting Liam Watson, one of the producers of the next Madness album. This was within a larger story about Denmark Street as a musical centre in London's past. Attempting to show what the Denmark Street studios might have looked like back in the 60's, the show came instead to the analogue and traditional set up of Toerag Studios. In this article we explained what the segment covered, along with a few transcriptions from there. We brought this issue of the MIS to a close with a report on just how fast tickets or Glastonbury had been selling. Why was this of interest to Maddies? Well, in the closing remarks it mentioned that Madness were one of the bands rumoured to be appearing this year. 10 years ago... Issue 143 - Sunday 3rd February to Saturday 9th February 2002 We started off by thanking the online Madness community for helping us out of a bit of a pickle. An Italian Madness fan had emailed us, and not knowing the language we had absolutely no idea what they were asking us. We posted the message over to the Madness Trading Ring, and the response was simply stunning. Not only did we receive a full translation of the original email, but people had even been kind enough to put together a reply for us to send back. It really was fantastic! This week's edition of the MIS featured a heavy dosage of Ian Dury, with the majority of articles relating the late, great singer and his band. First up was the (now) legendary Steve Turner of Madness tribute ?Los Palmas 6? reporting that he just joined the only Ian Dury and The Blockheads tribute band in the country - The Blox, and that he was inviting readers of the MIS to come along to the next gig, have a great night out, and say ?Hello?. Taking one of our irregular visits over to the Madness newsgroup over at alt.music.madness we discovered someone selling a batch of magazines that the band had appeared in over the years. Whilst the prices seemed a tad on the expensive side, there was no denying that some of the articles were well worth adding to the collection. Following our recent ?Tour Madness? competition we were pleased to announce that a fresh-faced Paul ?Birchy? Birch turned out to be the lucky winner of the special ?Tour Madness? promo. Continuing on the subject of ?Tour Madness?, and as we were in the month of February we took a jaunt back to February 1984, when Suggs and Carl co-hosted the ?Oxford Road Show?, alongside main presenter Timmy Mallet. Moving on a year we then go to February 1985, where the band, advertised as ?The Wayfarers? showcase 20 of the new songs since their return from the ?Keep Moving? tour. Back over to The Blockheads, and news reached us that Phil Jupitus and Carl Smyth would be guest performers with the band at their next gig in March. The show would mark the release of Ian Dury's last album, ?Ten More Turnips From The Tip?. Following this, we finished the MIS with an official press release promoting the launch of the new album, and a lowdown on each track appearing on the ?Ten More Turnips?. Rob Hazelby [6] - PREPARE FOR TOTAL MADNESS Published on Wednesday 1 February 2012 15:17 From: www.sthelensreporter.co.uk IT will be Madness at Haydock Park this summer when the iconic UK two -tone band turn the racecourse into a House of Fun! Frontman Suggs and his bandmates Chas Smash, Barzo, Chrissy Boy, Thommo and Woody are set to take to the Haydock Park stage on the evening of Friday, July 6. Set to play pop classics One Step Beyond, Baggy Trousers and It Must Be Love, Madness are following in the footsteps of Simply Red, Scissor Sisters, JLS and Sir Tom Jones ? who have all performed after racing at Haydock Park in recent years. Tickets are on sale now. But music and racing fans alike are urged to book soon as the event is confidently predicted to be a sell-out. Thirty years on from their formation, Madness are as popular as ever with their legions of followers after performing tracks from their tenth studio album at the House of Fun Weekender in Somerset in November. Noah & The Whale were the first act booked for Haydock Park?s three music nights in 2012. They are set to perform on the evening of Saturday, April 28. Pop group Steps have been booked for the third music night ? on Saturday, July 21. Tickets for July 6, which include both the evening?s horse racing and the Madness concert, are on sale now. Bookings can be made online at www.haydock-park.co.uk on 0844 579 3006 or from Haydock Park itself. Prices range from ?30 to ?60 for adults and ?15 to ?30 for children. All children must be accompanied by an adult. [7] - A SPECIAL ALBUM FOR CHARITY "Specialized" - the charity album of songs by The Specials covered by modern day artists with every penny going to teenage cancer trust, is almost upon us. The project, conceived and managed by paul Williams from The Specials2.com Specials fan site has an end of February release date pencilled in. The album will be available on itunes download and a limited edition double CD. There are some fantastic bands/artists on the album with Roland Gift (ex FYC), Madness' very own Lee Thompson and King Hammond leading the way. Dont expect a full album of ska. There are plenty of other genres to cater for many tastes. What's surprising about the project is the way it has grown. The project has now gone global. Album launch gigs have now turned into a tour and America and Australia have now got in on the act and are staging their owen Specialized concert. Williams said "I'm astounded at the way things have progressed and I'm so indebted to the bands and everyone who has been involved. The venues have been great and the spirit of the whole project has had a great feel good factor behind it. We have big plans afoot still so the project continues to flourish. Let's hope we can raise a lot of money for a truly worthy cause..." Thommo is contributing the track "Madness" to the album, track which The Specials and the majority of the 2Tone bands used to sing on tour under his own name and has said he is very pleased to be part of this great project. For more info- go to- www.specializedcharityalbum.co.uk, the facebook page or www.thespecials2.com..." Paul Willo. [8] - MADNESS RETURN TO MINEHEAD You can't have failed to have missed our special edition MIS, which went out on Friday evening, following the booking system going live online at Butlins.com for Madness return visit to Minehead. Mail-outs from Butlins have been dispatched to previous bookers of the weekender, mentioning the discount deal - 10% we've been told by the Butlins representatives manning the phones. As they are only targeting previous in the know fans of the weekender at this stage, online publicity from Butlins and Madness themselves won't start for a little while just yet. You can wait for the details on your postcard to get through the snow to you soon, safe in the knowledge you've a couple of weeks before the masses start to notice this news. Or you can still get in and make your booking now. Here's how you do it... - Point your web browser over to: http://www.bigweekends.com/splash-pages/madness.aspx? - This will bring you to a page featuring the poster for the 2011 event. - Click on the "Book Now" link near the bottom of the page - You'll now be taken to a "Select Your Break" page. You need to then select: - Minehead - Nov 2012, Fri 23rd (3 nights) - How long do you want to stay? 3 nights Now, just select how many people are in your party, and then you can go on and select your accommodation type. As soon as a line-up's announced we'll let you know, and we'll keep you up to date with all the Weekender news throughout the year, including an event we pitched to the organisers, which they like the sound of. If you enjoyed last year, imagine how good this year will be with all that extra experience under everyone's belts about how best to make and enjoy The House Of Fun! Rob Hazelby/Jonathan Young [9] - THAT'S YER LOT Yes, it's almost it for another week. However, before we go we do have one or two last minute bits and pieces for you... They may not be Madness, but we're certain this little snippet will be of interest to more than just a few of you. Earlier this week we received news revealing that The Blockheads would be performing on the Horseshoe Stage at this year's Rutland Music Festival. The event, which takes place on the 21st and 22nd of July will see Dodgy, Jon Allen, Nick Howards, The Blockheads, and other bands take to the stage. Tickets for the two-day event are ?75 and are available from http://www.alostweekend.co.uk/festival Back on to more Madness related info now, and following the numerous reviews featured in last week's issue, subscriber Liam Curtin got in touch to let us know what he thought of Suggs' one man show... "Further to the comments on the MIS email, I just thought I'd pass on my comments about Suggs' one man show. I went to see it on Thursday, travelling from Cardiff on the train straight from work. I thought the show was fantastic and put together very well. It was very funny, moving and informative. The bits about meeting Jerry Dammers and signing to 2 Tone were hilarious. The whole show was really well paced and really easy to follow. The music was great and really enhanced the show. I was lucky enough to meet Suggs after the show, and he was kind enough to sign some Madness records for me. Didn't get back home 'til 2am but it was well worth the trip". And finally... Here at the MIS we're pleased to welcome a new member to the editorial team. Raise your glasses to Trevor McMadnut. Trevor will be manning the MIS Twitter account, and helping to keep his fellow Madness fans up-to-date on all things M related. To follow Trev, pop along to: https://twitter.com/#!/TrevorMcMadnut And with that, we're done! Until next week, take care, Jon, Simon, Liz, Rob and Trevor (With special thanks to Sunday Munoz, Liam Curtin and Paul Willo) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to MIS Online. Should you wish to unsubscribe, please visit the mailing list web server, located at: http://www.robomod.net/mailman/listinfo/madness and follow the on screen instructions. Thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From jonsmad at hotmail.com Tue Feb 7 08:04:52 2012 From: jonsmad at hotmail.com (Jonathan Young) Date: Tue Feb 7 08:05:06 2012 Subject: [MIS] MADNESS BBC QUEENS DIAMOND JUBILEE CONCERT Message-ID: Special Announcement Bulletin from Trevor McMadNut. https://twitter.com/#!/TrevorMcMadnut Good Afternoon here is the news. 60 Years in the making. It's not every day we get to tell you that Madness will be playing a concert with... Sir Paul McCartney. Dame Shirley Bassey, Sir Elton John, Brit-nominated Ed Sheeran, Alfie Boe, Jools Holland, Jessie J, Tom Jones, Lang Lang, Annie Lennox, and Cliff Richard!!!!! (just dont hum it!) But it's true. And going to be on your telly, pretty much worldwide. Cus it's for Queen and country. Madness will play at The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Concert in June. The event, which is a joint venture between the BBC and Gary Barlow was announced a few short hours ago with first line up details. Its will take place near The Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace. Take That star Barlow said the gig will "transcend multiple decades of music". A national ballot, which can be applied for online, will distribute free tickets to 10,000 people. Members of the public can also apply by post anytime between 7 February and 2 March. Tickets are being allocated randomly and not on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticket holders will also be able to attend a special Jubilee picnic, which will take place in the Buckingham Palace Garden. The full line-up with more names to be released nearer the time. "The Diamond Jubilee concert will celebrate the 60 years of The Queen's reign with an amazing line-up of world-class artists coming together to play at one of the biggest and most exciting live music shows in recent years," Barlow said. The concert will include classic hits and one-off collaborations and the stage will be designed by world-renowned architect Mark Fisher, who has worked for U2, Robbie Williams and The Rolling Stones. The concert will be broadcast live on BBC One, BBC One HD and on BBC Radio 2 in the UK and to millions around the world. US viewers will be able to watch highlights on ABC the following day. BBC One controller Danny Cohen said: "BBC One is honoured to be the broadcast host of this magnificent concert to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee. "This will be a musical event like no other, with Britain's greatest musical stars performing to celebrate this great occasion." We will bring you more information on ticket lottery application online soon. There you go. By far one of the biggest storys we have ever run. This nut is wondering if he can become. Sir Trevor McMadnut. It's got a ring to it! Trevor McMadnut (sir provisional) Nut news for MIS. From jonsmad at hotmail.com Tue Feb 7 08:16:32 2012 From: jonsmad at hotmail.com (Jonathan Young) Date: Tue Feb 7 08:16:40 2012 Subject: [MIS] Additional Queens Jubilee concert ticket application Message-ID: The ticket application link... Good luck. https://www.jubileeconcert2012.co.uk/ From robert at hazelby.co.uk Sun Feb 12 17:36:00 2012 From: robert at hazelby.co.uk (Robert Hazelby) Date: Sun Feb 12 17:36:11 2012 Subject: [MIS] NEWS AND INFORMATION - SUN 12TH FEB - SAT 18TH FEB 2012 Message-ID: M.I.S ONLINE - NEWS AND INFORMATION - SUN 12TH FEB - SAT 18TH FEB 2012 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISSUE NUMBER 666 MIS ONLINE: http://www.mis-online.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 - THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS - The obligatory intro. 2 - SPECIALIZED - LEE THOMPSON NAKED MADNESS - The last time we saw those four words together it was about his streaking at The Leeds Festival! But this time it's a much better and more musical reason we are writing them here. Paul Tadman is here with news on Lee's Solo reworking of that Prince Buster classic "Madness" in a musically stripped and soft jazz arrangement for The worthy Teenage Cancer Trust album Specialized. Some of Thommo's most keenest fans review the track for you now that Lee sent over for MIS ears last week. 3 - REASON TO BE CHEERFUL, IAN DURY SHOW RETURNS TO IPSWICH - Reasons to be Cheerful is a high-energy coming-of-age tale celebrating the infectious music of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Written by Paul Sirett and directed by the trail-blazing theatre company?s Jenny Sealey, this slightly different version of the show which premiered in Ipswich in 2010 takes us back to 1979. From the East Anglian Daily Times 4 - 2-TONE MADNESS AS SUGGS PAYS A VISIT - MADNESS frontman Suggs payed a special visit to the 2-Tone Village during a rare visit to the city on Sunday. The singer dropped by to view the village in Ball Hill which is dedicated to the genre of music he helped make popular over 30 years ago before heading off to perform his one man show at Warwick Arts Centre. From The Coventry Observer. 5 - THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS - This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 406, and the week of Sunday 11th February to Saturday 17th February 2007, and then back 10 years to issue number 143 and the week of Sunday 10th February to Saturday 16th February 2002. 6 - SUGGS - TEEN SPIRIT: THE SERIES ON YESTERDAY - In September last year Suggs presented a show on Mod's and Rockers as part of a 60's season on the TV channel "Yesterday". They must have liked it, as they commissioned a series, adding the two decades either side to expand the show out. It's now Suggs looking at The 50's 60's and 70's. 7 - THAT'S YER LOT - A few last minute words before we finish for the week. [1] - THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS Good evening and a warm welcome to this, issue number six, six, six of the MIS. To many, 666 is "the number of The Beast". Yes, we know that's Iron Maiden not Madness. But there have been plenty of Devil's in Madness' music too. Most prominently Dust Devil, and Chase the Devil, which appear in song titles. Whereas Suggs' solo track "I am" tells the tale of a man who "cannot hide from the Devil in me". Shadow of Fear from the Absolutely album might have a devil lurking around, and videos have seen Mike sporting the horns and pitchfork look. There have also been a few other demons running around in various guises, and there's a demon in Give Me a Reason. One more song to mention might be Bedazzled by Suggs. This obscure B side is modelled on the film by Peter Cook and Dudley Moore, which sees a man selling his soul to the Devil. It's one of Suggs's favourites and well worth a listen. Enjoy the read! Rob Hazelby, Jonathan Young, Liz Maher, Simon Roberts Email us at: robert, jonathan, liz, simon @mis-online.net [2] - SPECIALIZED - LEE THOMPSON NAKED MADNESS The last time we saw those four words together it was about his streaking at The Leeds Festival! But this time it's a much better and more musical reason we are writing them here. Paul Tadman is here with news on Lee's Solo reworking of that Prince Buster classic "Madness" in a musically stripped and soft jazz arrangement for The worthy Teenage Cancer Trust album Specialized. Some of Thommo's most keenest fans review the track for you now that Lee sent over for MIS ears last week. Darren Dixon writes... "When I first heard that Lee Thompson was going to do a cover for the highly anticipated charity album Specialized I was wondering how the Saxophonist of Madness would be able to put his own mark on a song which he has performed 100's of times live with his band. I hate it when an artist does a cover of a song and keeps it pretty much the same as the original, thankfully Thommo has done me proud and done a proper cover version." -- This track under Lee's own name, was recorded with three cohorts from three of his previous bands. Keith Finch ex Dance Brigade brings light piano keys, Son Daley; previous Like Father Like Son drummer, plays dust pan and brush percussion, and Crunch! bassist Paul Tadman is involved in the reworking too. In the recent video announcement Thommo talks about wanting to take the song down to simple and basic elements. Here Paul Tadman tells us more about the approach... "The idea was to give it a Havana /Caribbean Jazz Club feel from the 40's - A well respected nod to pre-ska when Jazz & Mento. Mento ruled before the population of Jamaica tuned into their crackly radios to pick up the faint R'n'B sounds blaring 90 miles away on mainland America.... and then combine the two... this is a nod to the times before Ska was even invented." "We gave Lee the character of a cross between Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits to create a Tom Cohen Jazz Club all our own..." "And of course, adding some moden Dub effects in appropriate places and vinyl crackle with a seashore.... I'm sure you get the picture." "So with so much musical heritage to choose from you'll understand recording a straight Ska version was never going to be on the cards... and we always like to do something different!" Paul also spoke to Looby about the recording day... "It was really relaxed and easy recording the track with Lee, I was done in under an hour to be honest, took longer getting the bass in and out of the case than it did to record it because we knew what feel we wanted already. And it's very subtle too. I like it." --- When we first heard that Lee was involved in The Specialized album, it was heading towards The Ska Orchestra and possibly an obscure b side written by Dammers, because nearly every famous Specials' track (written or associated cover) was taken. In fact the song Madness is already I believe on the album in a remix form from another artist. But it seemed odd to get a name like Lee Involved and not do something, forgive the pun, a bit special. So when timing and agreements in The Ska Orchestra were not working out in the very short timeframe for delivering this track for the album's February release, the ever inventive Thompson did what he does best, put another band together in record time, and took on a track that influenced him! The necessity being mother of invention, and Grand Pantalon still being in the system, a slow and stripped down cover version was on the cards for quick turn around. Like many happy accidents, this situation has brought about something rather uniquely wonderful in it's sour downbeat reinvention. The Buster tune that Suggs famously once said at a concert "all the bands on 2tone, do this one" has been reinvented to 80's uk ska and beyond many a time, so to hear it slowed down even more than Prince Buster's original and taken back a time before even he started his sound systems up, makes for something very different and new in the tunes lineage. It almost sounds as if Buster took this version and sped it up into ska. A wonderful conceit. It's not a track I'd play over and over for sure, neither I suspect would you. It's value is in being the curio. That spirit of making something totally different when doing a cover version, I think is well nailed and a real fun choice as a result. --- Darren Dixon writes... "Thommo's version of the song Madness is a very stripped down version, a very strong drum beat and excellent vocals are the main focus of the track which gave what I thought a Jazz Club sound the the track." --- Looby Says... "I'd agree with you in the fact that it's not a song that I would play again and again but that's mainly because of it's repetitive nature I suppose. Let's be honest, out of all the Madness tracks on One Step Beyond it's not one you would choose as your favourite and people tend to forget that it's a cover anyway. This version was strange but wonderful! You can almost imagine John Thomson from The Fast Show introducing it because it's so 'jazzy' and not at all ska-based. That's what is so simple about it. The vocals are immaculate from Mr Thompson as always - he puts his own personal slant on everything he does and that's what makes it stand out from all the other covers in my opinion." --- Lee when playing live with previous bands has often been known to channel other singers styles, Johnny Cash being another vocal style he's adopted on covering TRex songs, and so his vocal performance as described by Tad here is the star of this track. The fact that my dad has just walked past and said "Is that Leonard Cohen?" proves he's achieved the aim. I feel there is just a touch of how Buster sang the original too in the mix, more in style than accent, but never the less 1 more tribute leaning in the mix to do that, a nice touch. It's well distanced from the 2 times Madness themselves approached the track on record. There is a cheeky spoken intro, that I wont spoil, for his appearance on this record and one of the softest sax solo's he's ever put on a record. The dub effects are echo's and reverse lilts that add a 2nd layer of atmosphere to give the tune a bit of polish. Daley's backing keeps the slow pulse of the tune alive by the barest of heart beats. Naked Madness alludes to things like Paul McCartney's Let it be Naked, where tunes aren't grand orchestral opuses but stuff is instead taken away in the creative process. Less is more. And this tune is all about space and light. I never thought we'd end a review with these words either, but we'd love more of Lee Thompson Naked on tracks in the future! --- Perhaps the only strange thing of note is that there is hardly anything in nod to The Specials with this track, but then as the multi-styles direction of the album goes this isn't really the focus with a lot of the album. Specialized has now been tracklisted, we understand from reading Paul Willo's latest excited announcements. Here is a last word from him... "The Specialized project has really seen the best come out in people. I want to say the utmost respect to the bands/artists.These guys have done everything in this project at their own expense, they have recorded, they will travel and it will cost them to, and all because they believe in and support teenage cancer trust. So please show your support for these fine fine people and get behind a great organisation who are doing so much into making teenagers lives that are already tough, that bit easier." Buy Specialized. Because They are the ones who are gonna suffer, those teenagers with cancer, so let's ease that by doing all we can for TCT. My personal thanks to all the Madness sites and bloggers etc who have run the specialized news, thanks for having the right focus and getting behind this one. The push for the album on sale starts fairly soon. Paul Tadman/Lee Thompson/Paul Willo Jonathan Young/Looby Loo/Darren Dixon [3] - REASON TO BE CHEERFUL, IAN DURY SHOW RETURNS TO IPSWICH From the East Anglian Daily Times - http://www.eadt.co.uk Friday, February 10 Reasons to be Cheerful is a high-energy coming-of-age tale celebrating the infectious music of Ian Dury and the Blockheads. Written by Paul Sirett and directed by the trail-blazing theatre company?s Jenny Sealey, this slightly different version of the show which premiered in Ipswich in 2010 takes us back to 1979. Labour have lost to the Tories, strikes rock the nation and Ian Dury and the Blockheads? Reasons to be Cheerful (Part 3) climbs the charts. Vinnie (Stephen Lloyd) has given up college to work so his mother can care for his dying dad. He and mate Colin (Stephen Collins) want to take his father to a Dury gig, but it?s sold out. When tickets finally fall into his hands, events take a surprising turn. With laughs and tears aplenty, Dury?s music and lyrics are brought to life by a cast of 13 actors and musicians; almost all of them reprising their 2010 roles in numbers also including Plaistow Patricia and Sweet Gene Vincent. As a disabled activist and musician, Dury was a patron and staunch supporter of Graeae who put deaf and disabled artists centre stage. The main story and the songs have not changed since the show?s last visit, some of the script has been tweaked and Jenny says it?s more a play with songs than a pure musical. ?Having said this, Dury?s songs dominate the whole production, so I prefer to describe it as part play, part gig.? Reasons To Be Cheerful is at the New Wolsey, Ipswich, to February 18. [4] - 2-TONE MADNESS AS SUGGS PAYS A VISIT From The Coventry Observer - http://www.coventryobserver.co.uk MADNESS frontman Suggs payed a special visit to the 2-Tone Village during a rare visit to the city on Sunday. The singer dropped by to view the village in Ball Hill which is dedicated to the genre of music he helped make popular over 30 years ago before heading off to perform his one man show at Warwick Arts Centre. 2-Tone Central director Pete Chambers said: "Way back in 1979 Suggs was frequent visitor to Coventry as the city was 2-Tone Records corporate base of course. "He seemed impressed by the 2-Tone Caf? and the 2-Tone Central area of the Village, especially some of the old photos of himself taken on previous visits. "He was happy to sign photos for the few invited guests including members of Coventry?s All Or Nothing Scooter Club and the 2-Tone Central team." An important gig to help fit out the exhibition area of the 2-Tone Village is planned for March 24 at Coventry University. Full details are online at 2tonecentral.co.uk [5] - THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 406, and the week of Sunday 11th February to Saturday 17th February 2007, and then back 10 years to issue number 144 and the week of Sunday 10th February to Saturday 16th February 2002. 5 years ago... Issue 406 - Sunday 11th February - Saturday 17th February 2007 With a mass of news to get through we dispensed with the waffle, and passed things straight over to Andrew Langmead, who got the issue underway with news that Suggs had mentioned the Al Murray show on his radio programme. What was so special about this? Well it would seem that an MIS subscriber (who we initially thought was Graham Clark), had sent our favourite frontman an email about the show. Graham got in touch to confirm that he wasn't responsible for the email to Suggs, and we never did find out who sent it. Next, it was over to Queen guitarist, who, it seems, wasn't too impressed with Suggs, as a post from his blog showed; **Tue 06 Feb 07** DISAPPOINTED Bri tired and disillusioned tonight - just went to a lot of trouble to speak at a dinner to honour our tour manager, Robbie Williams. But nobody listened. They just drank and jabbered and smoked their sh*tty cigars. Yuk. I came home with clothes stinking of smoke, and throat all messed up, eyes sore ... And the guy who was MC-ing the event (Suggs, the singer from Madness) introduced me with a sad old joke about my and Anita's hair. Ha frigging ha. How disappointing people can be. It really makes you not want to bother. For Robbie, it was worth it. But next time ... I'll stay home. Bri Single news now, and last week Radio 2 played a third version of Sorry on the Jonathan Ross show, whilst interviewing cold feet and fast show comedian John Thompson, who admitted he liked a bit of Madness and had just recently bought some of the old Specials albums. "Do you want the original radio edit or do you want one with Sway and Baby blue? who are apparently a couple of rappers" Asked Jonathan's side kick, Andy, on the show. "I'd go original" said Rossy, much to the delight of any fans that have found the rap version of this track not to their liking. "No disrespect to Mr Baby Blue or Mr Sway, but I think sometimes you know..." The MIS team felt that this version of Sorry was so good and so different from the official single version, that we all posted our thoughts on the track. Our verdict was that THIS should be the version that sees release. Next, we had some tourist news, as it was revealed that this week saw the release of a new tourist map of the British Isles featuring 200 of rock?s greatest locations. The new VisitBritain map was to provide a comprehensive guide for rock tourists including obvious locations such as the zebra crossing on Abbey Road, the Oasis album cover of Berwick Street ...and will also include Chalk Farm tube station as being the location for the cover of the Madness album Absolutely. We were told that details of the map would feature on visitbritain.com (when they could next be bothered to update the site!) The Daily Express Saturday Magazine was our next port of call, as we featured an interview they conducted with Suggs for publication in their 3rd February issue. In the interview Suggs answered questions on a possible third series of Disappearing London, hosting Suggs' Party Classics, the best place for afternoon tea in the capital, and much more. It proved to be an interesting and light-hearted read. It was over to Chris Carter-Pegg next, as he was here with the release details for the next Madness single - Sorry. Due for release on the 5th of March, it would be distributed by Vital and on Lucky 7 Records. We kept Chris on for the following article, where he broke the news that an announcement was to be made for a series of massive concerts across the world on 7th July 2007, intended to be bigger than Live Aid with an intended audience of 2 billion, to raise awareness of climate change. On the basis that one of these concerts was to be hosted in London, Chris felt it extremely unlikely that ITB would be wanting to promote a Madstock for the same day. We brought this issue to a close with a stack of "Sorry" reviews from a stream of web sites and music publications. If you wanted to know what the music press thought of the forthcoming single, this was the section for you. 10 years ago... Issue 144 - Sunday 10th February - Saturday 16th February 2002 We started off this issue with news in from Chris Carter-Pegg, who highlighted an article which originally appeared in the Metro newspaper relating to artists who had yet to collect their royalties for previous performances. The report mentioned that even those who have so much as played a triangle in the background on a hit track could be in line for a share of the ?10million of royalties that still lies uncollected. One such artist still to collect his royalty payment was a certain Michael Caine, who still hadn't picked up his earnings after his voice was used in Madness' 1984 hit 'Michael Caine'! The big news flash this week was undoubtedly the news that top fanzine Madness Unsugged was back, after a year long hiatus, with issue 6. This latest issue turned out to be yet another cracker, and just shows how much of a loss it is that the zine is no longer being produced. Whilst he wasn't performing or recording with the rest of the band, Suggs could often be found providing voice-overs for numerous TV and radio commercials. Thanks to the efforts of MIS subscriber, Andy Carlisle fans could now download a selection of Suggs voice overs, for there own (and possibly bizarre!) listening pleasure. We finished off this week's issue with a lowdown of all the gigs Madness tribute outfit, Complete Madness had planned for the rest of February. Rob Hazelby [6] SUGGS - TEEN SPIRIT: THE SERIES ON YESTERDAY In September last year Suggs presented a show on Mod's and Rockers as part of a 60's season on the TV channel "Yesterday". They must have liked it, as they commissioned a series, adding the two decades either side to expand the show out. It's now Suggs looking at The 50's 60's and 70's. The three part series has aired on the channel, and is now appearing in repeat cycles common on such hard to find digital channels. In this first episode, Suggs takes a look at post-war Britain in the 50s where the word teenager didn't even exist. It's repeated on Saturday 18th 10.00pm and on Sunday 19th at 1.00am and 11.00am. (or 1 hour later than these times on Yesterday+1) Sky 537; Virgin Media 203, Freeview 12 Episode one: Here come the Teds. Children simply left school and entered straight into adult life by getting a job, getting married and having children themselves. In an era where homes finally got the washing machine, electric fire and the telephone, young adults were also starting their own rebellious uprising. Bored of following the establishment, they decided to cry out to society by donning drainpipe trousers, drape jackets and crepe shoes to form the well known culture of the Teddy Boys. Suggs takes viewers back in time to explore the music, fashions and rebellious attitudes of the 50s teens. Don't forget your hair grease and comb. -- Episode two is the repeated: Mod's and Rockers episode, covering the 60's that we told you about last year. While Episode three: The Punk Explosion. Suggs traces the roots of the punk movement and music of the 1970's. A raw revolution that grew out of social deprivation and mass unemployment and still influences society today. The show featured interviews with Paul Morley, Viv Libertine and John Robb, As well as archive footage from Steve cook and Julien Temple about The sex pistols. Expect this episode to air again 1st weekend in March. http://uktv.co.uk/yesterday/item/aid/649375 [7] - THAT'S YER LOT This just about brings this week's edition of the MIS to a close. Don't rush off, though. The Queen has a special nutty message to pass on to her underlings, and she's been kind enough to make it available on YouTube. No talking at the back... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAoO-q-ZUlE&feature=youtu.be Goodnight! Jon, Simon, Liz, Rob (Special 666 thanks go to Paul Tadman, Lee Thompson, Paul Willo, Looby Loo and Darren Dixon) Don't forget, you can keep up-to-date with all things Madness by following MIS reporter Trevor McMadnut via his Twitter feed, at: https://twitter.com/#!/TrevorMcMadnut ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to MIS Online. Should you wish to unsubscribe, please visit the mailing list web server, located at: http://www.robomod.net/mailman/listinfo/madness and follow the on screen instructions. Thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From robert at hazelby.co.uk Sun Feb 19 16:00:00 2012 From: robert at hazelby.co.uk (Robert Hazelby) Date: Sun Feb 19 16:00:12 2012 Subject: [MIS] NEWS AND INFORMATION - SUN 19TH FEB - SAT 25TH FEB 2012 Message-ID: <00310366-1987-4B9E-90B5-486B5F74E8B9@hazelby.co.uk> M.I.S ONLINE - NEWS AND INFORMATION - SUN 19TH FEB - SAT 25TH FEB 2012 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISSUE NUMBER 667 MIS ONLINE: http://www.mis-online.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 - THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS - The obligatory intro. 2 - LANFRANCO GAGLIONE - 5/8/85 - 10/2/12 - Since their early days the MIS team has been pushing the North London band MOT whenever we can, and it's been great to read that many readers of the bulletin had subsequently gone and seen them following our positive reviews and write-ups. So, it comes with a heavy heart to report that on the 10th of February, band bassist Lanfranco Gaglione passed away at the age of 26. 3 - THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS - This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 407, and the week of Sunday 18th February to Saturday 24th February 2007, and then back 10 years to issue number 145 and the week of Sunday 17th February to Saturday 23rd February 2002. 4 - KEEP THE COLD OUT THIS WINTER WITH RETRO MADNESS - Retro-Madness have a number of pairs of official Madness socks and scarfs from the 2010 Christmas Tour to find homes for. All are brand new and still sealed in cellophane bags and at around half the price they were sold at on the tour 5 - BAG YOURSELF A FREE 2011 HOUSE OF FUN T-SHIRT - Although plans for the 2012 House of Fun Weekender seem to be at an early stage, the band are keen to help you re-live your memories of the 2011 event, or help raise a smile if you were unable to go. Here's Rob Hazelby 6 - ARISE, SIR SUGGS? - Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Tom Jones and Dame Shirley Bassey. Can you spot the connection between the headliners of the Queen?s Diamond Jubilee concert? By Neil McCormick of The Telegraph 7 - PAUL PUTNER'S MY BAND T-SHIRT MADNESS - My band T-Shirt is a blog about favourite T-shirts and the memories behind the fondness for the hallowed cloth of the pop world. Comedy TV's Paul Putner has contributed his memories about a Madness shirt.... 8 - CHANGE OF DATE - SKA ORCHESTRA ISLINGTON JUNE 2ND - Here we have news of a rescheduling for The London Ska Orchestra gig. Details courtesy of Darren Fordham and See Tickets. 9 - MANCHESTER SQUARE - SUGGS & THE AUDIO BULLYS - A few days ago a video showing Suggs once again collaborating with the audio bullys hit the internet. Jon Young and Vince Carden report. 10 - THAT'S YER LOT - A few last minute words before we finish for the week. [1] - THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS Hello, and a very warm welcome to this week's edition of the MIS Online bulletin. We've got some sad news to pass on in this week. So, without further ado we'll get the issue underway. Best wishes, Rob Hazelby, Jonathan Young, Liz Maher, Simon Roberts Email us at: robert, jonathan, liz, simon @mis-online.net [2] - LANFRANCO GAGLIONE - 5/8/85 - 10/2/12 Since their early days the MIS team has been pushing the North London band MOT whenever we can, and it's been great to read that many readers of the bulletin had subsequently gone and seen them following our positive reviews and write-ups. So, it comes with a heavy heart to report that on the 10th of February, band bassist Lanfranco Gaglione passed away at the age of 26. Lan's funeral was held on Saturday 18th February, with a church ceremony at St John Vianney Church, followed by commital and cremation at New Southgate Crematorium. Lanfranco was a big supporter of charities, so his family asked for charitable donations rather than flowers to be sent in his honour. The charity selected to receive the donations is CALM. This charity was set up to help and support the young men under the age of 35 who are contemplating taking their own lives. If you would like to make a donation, please see the Just Giving link below for details. Just Giving Website: www.justgiving.com/lanthebaron CALM website: www.thecalmzone.net Our thoughts are with Lan's family and friends during this sad time. M.O.T - Never be Another You http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3dTI2NsKyQ&feature=related Rob Hazelby [3] - THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 407, and the week of Sunday 18th February to Saturday 24th February 2007, and then back 10 years to issue number 145 and the week of Sunday 17th February to Saturday 23rd February 2002. 5 years ago... Issue 407 - Sunday 18th February to Saturday 24th February 2007 We started this issue by explaining that the date for the much rumoured Madstock concert still seemed to be up in the air, especially now, since the date for the Live Earth concerts had been announced for 7/7/07. Now, would you turn Suggs away from a party? Well, for many celebrities this year's Brits turned out to be rather humiliating. Why? Well, one after another they rolled up to the Oasis Brit's aftershow party, only to be turned away in front of scored of photographers. Among those sent packing were James Morrison (who'd just won a Brit!), Badly-Drawn Boy, Suggs, Alex Zane, Sadie Frost and Jamie Callum. It was on to some gig news next, as we reported that Madness had been booked to play at the first ever Glastondale weekend, which was due to take place at Settle, North Yorkshire, on the weekend of the 31st Aug to the 2nd Sept. Other bands booked included The Stranglers and The Levellers. Unfortunately, after further digging around we found a press release from one of the organisers, which read; ?Unfortunately, that is a piece of mis-reporting from the craven herald .. we are in negotiations with the agent about Madness, but nothing is confirmed as yet !!? The Settle Festival team promised to let us know if/when Madness were confirmed. We passed things over to The Madness Trading Ring for the next article, as they announced that they'd been in talks with Chris Foreman, who had agreed to field questions sent in by MTR subscribers. All you had to do was send your questions in to the MTR team and within a week or two you should see your response up there in bits and bytes. We brought this week's issue of the MIS with a look at Madness tribute bands, and listed the forthcoming gigs for each over the next couple of months. With Madness still not confirming a Madstock, these mimics of our favourite band may have been your only option for some live nutty music. 10 years ago... Issue 145 - Sunday 17th to Saturday 23rd February 2002 After a number of busy weeks issue 145 was certainly a lot slimmer than the recent batch of issues that had gone out. Rumours reached us hinting that a certain Like Father, Like Son had played a secret gig the previous Saturday somewhere in the Barnet area. We were desperate to find out if any of the MIS readership were able to confirm if there was any truth to this rumour, and if the gig did take place, what it was like? Meanwhile, we received news that Suggs would be appearing on the Saturday 22nd of February edition of music quiz show ?Never Mind The Buzzcocks?. Towards the end of January, Madness Unsugged editor, Vince Carden joined resident DJ and ska fan JB on his regular show Ska Patrol. Anyone who's met Vince or read his fanzine will know that he is both well informed on Madness trivia and highly opinionated about all their projects which made this radio show an entertaining hour. He recounted (not always favourably), Madness' recent releases and gigs, covering all the small off shoots of the band and getting some Radio play for greater rarer tracks by the band. Topics of discussion included: Ian Dury, The Madness, Crunch, Madness' changing sound on albums, Meeting Madness last time they were in Dublin, The fanzine, The Musical, Wonderful coming too late, Lee's bands, Mojo interview, Madstock, Ian Dury and John Turnbull, Zarjazz, Carl Solo, Gigs in Dublin, Madmeets & Chocolate Biscuits! With rumours of a secret Like Father, Like Son gig still bouncing around the web, co-editor Jonathan Young gave readers the lowdown on the band's recent charity gig at The Bull, on Barnet High Road. The issue continued with a lowdown of all planned One Step Behind gigs for the remainder of February, and throughout March. An ideal night out, especially with another month or two of long, cold and dark evenings still ahead. We finished off this week's issue with news from subscriber Stevie D'Arbanville, who reported that a recent episode of ?Gilmore Girls? featured a cheerleading squad performing a routine to non other than ?One Step Beyond?. Rob Hazelby [4] - KEEP THE COLD OUT THIS WINTER WITH RETRO MADNESS Retro-Madness have a number of pairs of official Madness socks and scarfs from the 2010 Christmas Tour to find homes for. All are brand new and still sealed in cellophane bags and at around half the price they were sold at on the tour: Pair of official Madness Socks: ?4.99 (Including UK p&p) Woollen style official Madness scarf: ?6.50 (Including UK p&p) You will find them here (along with 1500 other items of official Madness memorabilia). UK postage is free on all items, postage to the rest of the world is extra. http://retro-madness.co.uk/ Happy browsing! Chris & Emma [5] - BAG YOURSELF A FREE 2011 HOUSE OF FUN T-SHIRT Although plans for the 2012 House of Fun Weekender seem to be at an early stage, the band are keen to help you re-live your memories of the 2011 event, or help raise a smile if you were unable to go How? Well, currently running over on the official Madness web site is a competition for you to win one of their limited edition House of Fun 2011 T-Shirts. All you need to do is pop along to www.madness.co.uk, scroll down the page, find the competition widget and then submit your email address. You'll receive an email shortly after, asking you to confirm that it was you who signed-up. Confirm that, and you'll be in the running. Good luck! Rob Hazelby [6] - ARISE, SIR SUGGS? Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Tom Jones and Dame Shirley Bassey. Can you spot the connection between the headliners of the Queen?s Diamond Jubilee concert? I suppose if you accept a title, it would be churlish to decline to perform for Her Majesty. (I wonder if Sir Paul will actually be tempted to perform Her Majesty for Her Majesty, or would that be deemed a bit cheeky?) Among the supporting bill, Jools Holland and Annie Lennox are both OBEs, and presumably this show of loyalty won?t do their title aspirations any harm. Youngsters like Jessie J, JLS and Ed Sheeran may have been lured less by the prospect of an audience with the Queen, and a TV audience in the millions. As for Madness, well, the nutty boys have always had a streak of patriotism, though it?s hard to imagine them ever being offered official recognition for their ability to cheer up a nation in times of hardship with classic little England songs like Baggy Trousers, Our House and Embarrassment. It would be nice though, wouldn?t it, if only to hear the words ring out, ?Arise, Sir Suggs!? Rock and roll surrendered its counter cultural credentials a long time ago, forgoing the rebellious posture of its youthful origins. Yet something still recoils in my old punk?s heart whenever pop doffs its hat to the establishment. For me, against all evidence to the contrary, the romantic spirit of rock remains inherently egalitarian and underpinned by anti-establishment instincts. Yet in the recently published list of people who refused honours, there was a notable absence of musicians. John Lennon stands defiantly alone in first accepting then sending back his MBE. But then, it?s a fair assumption that the powers that be know better than to ask some of our more iconoclastic rockers. The still untitled Keith Richards relentlessly mocks his Rolling Stone partner Sir Mick, recently commenting: ?I thought it was ludicrous to take one of those gongs from the establishment when they did their very best to throw us in jail.? It?s a fair bet that New Order, The Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays, Massive Attack, Radiohead and the Libertines will never be invited to the palace, which would make an interesting bill for a rival Republican concert (though I?m less sure about the tendencies of Britpop royalty Blur and Oasis, who may well settle into a comfortable and titled old age). The headliners would, of course, have to be a reformed Smiths, storming the stage to The Queen Is Dead. Morrissey has never repented of his anti-royalist stance. As recently as last year, he was comparing Queen Elizabeth II to Muammar Gaddafi and asserting: ?The message from the Queen (is) the same as ever: who we are born to is more important than what we achieve in life." I am not sure, however, that Morrissey could count on the support of The Sex Pistols, who did their best to mar Her Majesty?s Silver Jubilee with their punk anthem God Save The Queen (?The fascist regime ... She ain?t no human being / There is no future / In England dreaming?). Last year, front man Johnny Rotten admitted that he had ?a nice cup of tea? to celebrate the union of Prince William and Kate Middleton. ?This is a beautiful love story and I like that,? quoth the former scourge of the establishment. ?People think I hate the Royal Family, but that's not true. My animosity is towards the institution, not the people themselves. What I've always resented was the austere nonsense that was being propagated. But Willy and Katy look like they are genuinely in love and that's all I look for. That's what being a human being is all about. That is what is important in life.? Arise, Sir Johnny Rotten. Neil McCormick The Telegraph [7] - PAUL PUTNER'S MY BAND T-SHIRT MADNESS My band T-Shirt is a blog about favourite T-shirts and the memories behind the fondness for the hallowed cloth of the pop world. Comedy TV's Paul Putner has contributed his memories relating to a Madness shirt.... http://mybandtshirt.tumblr.com/ Full version at the above link. Here is an edited version of his story... The Madness Christmas Party!!! Wednesday, December 21st, 1983. ?Two Pauls? stood shivering by the stage door. Now, how often did country bumpkins like us, experience the bright lights of London? Where the streets are paved with? pavements. We could be in Virgin Records...Forbidden Planet comic shop...Wendy Burger! No, what are we doing? We?re just loitering on a street corner freezing our bollo...Hold on. Policeman giving us dirty looks. A hairy man in a Motorhead T-shirt emerged from the door. ?Hello boys, comin? to see the show tonight?? ?Yeah?, Paul G grinned, showing him his prized ticket. ?Well, d?ya fancy ?elping us blow up some balloons?? Never had the inflating of a job lot of party items sounded so appealing. This was our window of opportunity. The roadie, in a spirit of misplaced trust in hooligan stereotypes and laziness, handed us self-adhesive silky AAA passes (none of your poncy laminates back then) and gave us the task of blowing up several hundred balloons with the help of one huge helium canister. Privately, our lungs wheezed a sigh of relief. The balloons were to be secreted in a giant net up in the gods and released at the climax of the gig. After an hour of tying fiddly rubber knots (and suffering minor cardiac arrests when Paul G would over inflate the bloody things) the moment we?d been waiting for had finally arrived. The Nutty boys themselves! Several members of the band sullenly drifted into the auditorium. We started trembling. Keep cool, Pauls. Chas, Mike and Suggs went into quiet discussion, surveying the space and asking the roadie questions. What?? I thought to myself. No tonic suits, no loafers, not even a fez! Where are Mike Barson?s omnipresent shades? I can see his actual eyes. This ain?t right. TRAINERS??? And they look so serious. Chas Smash seemed a bit scary in the flesh. He tugged on his cigarette and glared over at us. Us. The Two Pauls, looking like a cheap off the peg version of Suggs and Chas Smash. We immediately felt very self-conscious. ?Alright lads? Thanks for helping out,? said Suggs, wandering over. ?We should get these two geezers to fill in for us tonight, eh Suggsy?? rasped Chas Smash. He winked to reassure us but we both turned cherry red and sheepishly looked down at our Cherry Reds. Meanwhile, the sax player, Lee Thompson was busily inhaling from our helium supply and began impersonating Pinky & Perky in a squeaky voice. This act of daftness broke the ice and so we all had a gasp. I rather bravely sung a line of Chipmunks Are Go in contralto. Chas laughed. Phew! After such larks of potential brain embolism, it was time for the band to soundcheck. They kick off with a run through of a new song we hadn?t heard before called Keep Moving and their current hit single, The Sun And The Rain. Chas Smash wants to sing his bass baritone backing vocal lyric (?low...") several times and then... I really didn?t anticipate the afternoon could be more mind-blowing, or indeed balloon-blowing, than this but then I spotted a huge camp teddy-boy usher a short hobbling figure into the auditorium. Immediately, Suggs and Chas Smash leapt off the stage to greet this gentleman. Now, Madness were my favourite band but Ian Dury was my god. Five minutes later, the great man lurched between us to inspect our handiwork. He shook our hands, muttered something about Flanagan & Allen, chuckled and then disappeared with Chrissy Boy to avail himself to hospitality. Ian. Dury. A third band on the bill arrived to sound check called Bonsai Forrest. Unbeknownst to me, the guitarist transpired to be a future comedy hero of mine in the form of young Paul Whitehouse, who went on to find fame with TV?s, The Fast Show. Nigel Planer from The Young Ones also made an appearance. The hairy roadie wandered over to thank us for our efforts but it was coming up to 6pm. Gulp! We were supposed to meet my brother and his mates over an hour ago! Before we left through the tradesmen?s entrance, we were each rewarded two snow-white Madness Christmas Party sweatshirts. I used to wear mine with pride until I got too tubby and started to look like Mr Stay Puft from Ghostbusters. It kept me warm on the train journey home though and I still treasure it today, keeping it safe in a plastic box in my parents? garage with some other mildew covered t-shirts. Needless to say, it was the greatest show on earth. I sat perched on my older brother?s shoulders at the finale, leaving him with a cricked neck and me, crushed nuts. It?s amazing how hundreds of descending balloons and confetti can make one forget abject pain. Chas Smash sung The Sun And The Rain line, ?low...", pitch perfect. He and Suggs, dressed in immaculate suits and shades, danced the night away on stage, bouncing around with complete abandon. Just two young men showing off, really. Paul Putner [8] - CHANGE OF DATE - SKA ORCHESTRA ISLINGTON JUNE 2ND News of a rescheduling for The London Ska Orchestra gig... "We have had to change the date of the gig, people to JUNE 2ND. Hope this doesn't inconvenience you too much. Sorry from the band, but it was out of our control. Rumours that Lee was booked in to have an eye lift are grossly untrue" - Darren Fordham More info from see ticket. Is that the promoters have moved the date. "As the London International Ska Festival is on over 3rd - 6th May it has been decided to move this show to Saturday 2nd June 2012 so as not to clash with the event. All tickets remain valid for the new date. " Apologies for any inconvenience." - See Tickets. The event is still at Islington Assembly hall. And a mad meet at The Hope and Anchor will be taking place with the fans. https://agmp.ticketabc.com/events/lee-thompson-ska-orc/ www.ltso.mis-online.net [9] - MANCHESTER SQUARE - SUGGS & THE AUDIO BULLYS A few days ago a video showing Suggs once again collaborating with the audio bullys hit the internet. Manchester Square... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A2fUoVukrc We are not sure at this stage if it's forthcoming release or something from the archive of when they were working together previously on songs. Having previously worked on "This road" for the album Generations and "Twist me up" on higher than effiel. As well that white label..."Flowers" and "All around the world" that once featured in their online music uploads. Our thanks to Vince Carden for the heads up on this one, who said. "I Quite like it. Good vocals. Better than his LONF vocals" Jonathan Young / Vince Carden. [10] - THAT'S YER LOT We're almost done for this week, but you'll be pleased to learn that there are a few final bits and pieces to pass in your general direction. If you're one of the many people who want to keep up-to-date with the plans for this year's Madness Weekender then Facebook and Twitter are the places you'll want to be keeping an eye on. The Weekender's Facebook page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/houseoffunweekender The Weekender's Twitter feed is here: http://twitter.com/#!/madhouseoffun Those of you who have yet to book and wish to do so need to pop along to: http://www.bigweekends.com/splash-pages/madness2012.aspx? Next-up... www.wiredstrings.com report that one of the new Madness songs, first heard at Butlins, "Never knew your name", has been recorded with their participation. They are the string arrangers and session players who've recently been featured on Coldplay's number 1 album as well as Adele's recent Grammy winning album too. Stephen Street produced this track. Moving on... Madness will be performing at the Fiera Della Musica, Italy, on Saturday 14th July. Ticket prices are 30 euros plus booking fee, and can be purchased by going to: http://bit.ly/xIH0PI Now, over to Jos? Mu?oz for some Mexican tinged Madness news... "Today (15th Feb) was announced finally the schedule for vive latino Madness to Play an hour from 19:55 to 20:55 at the headline stage. It will not be the closing act but it is still a properly headliner time for the festival. Indeed a great time for those who uses the underground to get back to home!" And finally... Earlier today we received a short email from subscriber, Adam De Vere, who got in touch to let us know that Suggs is appearing on the Jo Wiley Show on Sky Arts 1 at 2:55am Monday (20th) morning. Time to program those set-top boxes. Until next week, take care, Simon, Liz, Rob, Jon (With special thanks to Adam De Vere, Chris Carter-Pegg & Emma Southerby of Retro Madness, Jos? Mu?oz and Vince Carden) Don't forget, you can keep up-to-date with all things Madness by following MIS reporter Trevor McMadnut via his Twitter feed, at: https://twitter.com/#!/TrevorMcMadnut ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to MIS Online. Should you wish to unsubscribe, please visit the mailing list web server, located at: http://www.robomod.net/mailman/listinfo/madness and follow the on screen instructions. Thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From robert at bbmug.co.uk Sun Feb 19 15:57:55 2012 From: robert at bbmug.co.uk (Robert Hazelby) Date: Tue Feb 21 21:36:27 2012 Subject: [MIS] NEWS AND INFORMATION - SUN 19TH FEB - SAT 25TH FEB 2012 Message-ID: <1849FD45-6324-4906-B6E8-0AEF34B9E315@bbmug.co.uk> M.I.S ONLINE - NEWS AND INFORMATION - SUN 19TH FEB - SAT 25TH FEB 2012 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISSUE NUMBER 667 MIS ONLINE: http://www.mis-online.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 - THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS - The obligatory intro. 2 - LANFRANCO GAGLIONE - 5/8/85 - 10/2/12 - Since their early days the MIS team has been pushing the North London band MOT whenever we can, and it's been great to read that many readers of the bulletin had subsequently gone and seen them following our positive reviews and write-ups. So, it comes with a heavy heart to report that on the 10th of February, band bassist Lanfranco Gaglione passed away at the age of 26. 3 - THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS - This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 407, and the week of Sunday 18th February to Saturday 24th February 2007, and then back 10 years to issue number 145 and the week of Sunday 17th February to Saturday 23rd February 2002. 4 - KEEP THE COLD OUT THIS WINTER WITH RETRO MADNESS - Retro-Madness have a number of pairs of official Madness socks and scarfs from the 2010 Christmas Tour to find homes for. All are brand new and still sealed in cellophane bags and at around half the price they were sold at on the tour 5 - BAG YOURSELF A FREE 2011 HOUSE OF FUN T-SHIRT - Although plans for the 2012 House of Fun Weekender seem to be at an early stage, the band are keen to help you re-live your memories of the 2011 event, or help raise a smile if you were unable to go. Here's Rob Hazelby 6 - ARISE, SIR SUGGS? - Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Tom Jones and Dame Shirley Bassey. Can you spot the connection between the headliners of the Queen?s Diamond Jubilee concert? By Neil McCormick of The Telegraph 7 - PAUL PUTNER'S MY BAND T-SHIRT MADNESS - My band T-Shirt is a blog about favourite T-shirts and the memories behind the fondness for the hallowed cloth of the pop world. Comedy TV's Paul Putner has contributed his memories about a Madness shirt.... 8 - CHANGE OF DATE - SKA ORCHESTRA ISLINGTON JUNE 2ND - Here we have news of a rescheduling for The London Ska Orchestra gig. Details courtesy of Darren Fordham and See Tickets. 9 - MANCHESTER SQUARE - SUGGS & THE AUDIO BULLYS - A few days ago a video showing Suggs once again collaborating with the audio bullys hit the internet. Jon Young and Vince Carden report. 10 - THAT'S YER LOT - A few last minute words before we finish for the week. [1] - THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS Hello, and a very warm welcome to this week's edition of the MIS Online bulletin. We've got some sad news to pass on in this week. So, without further ado we'll get the issue underway. Best wishes, Rob Hazelby, Jonathan Young, Liz Maher, Simon Roberts Email us at: robert, jonathan, liz, simon @mis-online.net [2] - LANFRANCO GAGLIONE - 5/8/85 - 10/2/12 Since their early days the MIS team has been pushing the North London band MOT whenever we can, and it's been great to read that many readers of the bulletin had subsequently gone and seen them following our positive reviews and write-ups. So, it comes with a heavy heart to report that on the 10th of February, band bassist Lanfranco Gaglione passed away at the age of 26. Lan's funeral was held on Saturday 18th February, with a church ceremony at St John Vianney Church, followed by commital and cremation at New Southgate Crematorium. Lanfranco was a big supporter of charities, so his family asked for charitable donations rather than flowers to be sent in his honour. The charity selected to receive the donations is CALM. This charity was set up to help and support the young men under the age of 35 who are contemplating taking their own lives. If you would like to make a donation, please see the Just Giving link below for details. Just Giving Website: www.justgiving.com/lanthebaron CALM website: www.thecalmzone.net Our thoughts are with Lan's family and friends during this sad time. M.O.T - Never be Another You http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3dTI2NsKyQ&feature=related Rob Hazelby [3] - THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 407, and the week of Sunday 18th February to Saturday 24th February 2007, and then back 10 years to issue number 145 and the week of Sunday 17th February to Saturday 23rd February 2002. 5 years ago... Issue 407 - Sunday 18th February to Saturday 24th February 2007 We started this issue by explaining that the date for the much rumoured Madstock concert still seemed to be up in the air, especially now, since the date for the Live Earth concerts had been announced for 7/7/07. Now, would you turn Suggs away from a party? Well, for many celebrities this year's Brits turned out to be rather humiliating. Why? Well, one after another they rolled up to the Oasis Brit's aftershow party, only to be turned away in front of scored of photographers. Among those sent packing were James Morrison (who'd just won a Brit!), Badly-Drawn Boy, Suggs, Alex Zane, Sadie Frost and Jamie Callum. It was on to some gig news next, as we reported that Madness had been booked to play at the first ever Glastondale weekend, which was due to take place at Settle, North Yorkshire, on the weekend of the 31st Aug to the 2nd Sept. Other bands booked included The Stranglers and The Levellers. Unfortunately, after further digging around we found a press release from one of the organisers, which read; ?Unfortunately, that is a piece of mis-reporting from the craven herald .. we are in negotiations with the agent about Madness, but nothing is confirmed as yet !!? The Settle Festival team promised to let us know if/when Madness were confirmed. We passed things over to The Madness Trading Ring for the next article, as they announced that they'd been in talks with Chris Foreman, who had agreed to field questions sent in by MTR subscribers. All you had to do was send your questions in to the MTR team and within a week or two you should see your response up there in bits and bytes. We brought this week's issue of the MIS with a look at Madness tribute bands, and listed the forthcoming gigs for each over the next couple of months. With Madness still not confirming a Madstock, these mimics of our favourite band may have been your only option for some live nutty music. 10 years ago... Issue 145 - Sunday 17th to Saturday 23rd February 2002 After a number of busy weeks issue 145 was certainly a lot slimmer than the recent batch of issues that had gone out. Rumours reached us hinting that a certain Like Father, Like Son had played a secret gig the previous Saturday somewhere in the Barnet area. We were desperate to find out if any of the MIS readership were able to confirm if there was any truth to this rumour, and if the gig did take place, what it was like? Meanwhile, we received news that Suggs would be appearing on the Saturday 22nd of February edition of music quiz show ?Never Mind The Buzzcocks?. Towards the end of January, Madness Unsugged editor, Vince Carden joined resident DJ and ska fan JB on his regular show Ska Patrol. Anyone who's met Vince or read his fanzine will know that he is both well informed on Madness trivia and highly opinionated about all their projects which made this radio show an entertaining hour. He recounted (not always favourably), Madness' recent releases and gigs, covering all the small off shoots of the band and getting some Radio play for greater rarer tracks by the band. Topics of discussion included: Ian Dury, The Madness, Crunch, Madness' changing sound on albums, Meeting Madness last time they were in Dublin, The fanzine, The Musical, Wonderful coming too late, Lee's bands, Mojo interview, Madstock, Ian Dury and John Turnbull, Zarjazz, Carl Solo, Gigs in Dublin, Madmeets & Chocolate Biscuits! With rumours of a secret Like Father, Like Son gig still bouncing around the web, co-editor Jonathan Young gave readers the lowdown on the band's recent charity gig at The Bull, on Barnet High Road. The issue continued with a lowdown of all planned One Step Behind gigs for the remainder of February, and throughout March. An ideal night out, especially with another month or two of long, cold and dark evenings still ahead. We finished off this week's issue with news from subscriber Stevie D'Arbanville, who reported that a recent episode of ?Gilmore Girls? featured a cheerleading squad performing a routine to non other than ?One Step Beyond?. Rob Hazelby [4] - KEEP THE COLD OUT THIS WINTER WITH RETRO MADNESS Retro-Madness have a number of pairs of official Madness socks and scarfs from the 2010 Christmas Tour to find homes for. All are brand new and still sealed in cellophane bags and at around half the price they were sold at on the tour: Pair of official Madness Socks: ?4.99 (Including UK p&p) Woollen style official Madness scarf: ?6.50 (Including UK p&p) You will find them here (along with 1500 other items of official Madness memorabilia). UK postage is free on all items, postage to the rest of the world is extra. http://retro-madness.co.uk/ Happy browsing! Chris & Emma [5] - BAG YOURSELF A FREE 2011 HOUSE OF FUN T-SHIRT Although plans for the 2012 House of Fun Weekender seem to be at an early stage, the band are keen to help you re-live your memories of the 2011 event, or help raise a smile if you were unable to go How? Well, currently running over on the official Madness web site is a competition for you to win one of their limited edition House of Fun 2011 T-Shirts. All you need to do is pop along to www.madness.co.uk, scroll down the page, find the competition widget and then submit your email address. You'll receive an email shortly after, asking you to confirm that it was you who signed-up. Confirm that, and you'll be in the running. Good luck! Rob Hazelby [6] - ARISE, SIR SUGGS? Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Elton John, Sir Cliff Richard, Sir Tom Jones and Dame Shirley Bassey. Can you spot the connection between the headliners of the Queen?s Diamond Jubilee concert? I suppose if you accept a title, it would be churlish to decline to perform for Her Majesty. (I wonder if Sir Paul will actually be tempted to perform Her Majesty for Her Majesty, or would that be deemed a bit cheeky?) Among the supporting bill, Jools Holland and Annie Lennox are both OBEs, and presumably this show of loyalty won?t do their title aspirations any harm. Youngsters like Jessie J, JLS and Ed Sheeran may have been lured less by the prospect of an audience with the Queen, and a TV audience in the millions. As for Madness, well, the nutty boys have always had a streak of patriotism, though it?s hard to imagine them ever being offered official recognition for their ability to cheer up a nation in times of hardship with classic little England songs like Baggy Trousers, Our House and Embarrassment. It would be nice though, wouldn?t it, if only to hear the words ring out, ?Arise, Sir Suggs!? Rock and roll surrendered its counter cultural credentials a long time ago, forgoing the rebellious posture of its youthful origins. Yet something still recoils in my old punk?s heart whenever pop doffs its hat to the establishment. For me, against all evidence to the contrary, the romantic spirit of rock remains inherently egalitarian and underpinned by anti-establishment instincts. Yet in the recently published list of people who refused honours, there was a notable absence of musicians. John Lennon stands defiantly alone in first accepting then sending back his MBE. But then, it?s a fair assumption that the powers that be know better than to ask some of our more iconoclastic rockers. The still untitled Keith Richards relentlessly mocks his Rolling Stone partner Sir Mick, recently commenting: ?I thought it was ludicrous to take one of those gongs from the establishment when they did their very best to throw us in jail.? It?s a fair bet that New Order, The Stone Roses, The Happy Mondays, Massive Attack, Radiohead and the Libertines will never be invited to the palace, which would make an interesting bill for a rival Republican concert (though I?m less sure about the tendencies of Britpop royalty Blur and Oasis, who may well settle into a comfortable and titled old age). The headliners would, of course, have to be a reformed Smiths, storming the stage to The Queen Is Dead. Morrissey has never repented of his anti-royalist stance. As recently as last year, he was comparing Queen Elizabeth II to Muammar Gaddafi and asserting: ?The message from the Queen (is) the same as ever: who we are born to is more important than what we achieve in life." I am not sure, however, that Morrissey could count on the support of The Sex Pistols, who did their best to mar Her Majesty?s Silver Jubilee with their punk anthem God Save The Queen (?The fascist regime ... She ain?t no human being / There is no future / In England dreaming?). Last year, front man Johnny Rotten admitted that he had ?a nice cup of tea? to celebrate the union of Prince William and Kate Middleton. ?This is a beautiful love story and I like that,? quoth the former scourge of the establishment. ?People think I hate the Royal Family, but that's not true. My animosity is towards the institution, not the people themselves. What I've always resented was the austere nonsense that was being propagated. But Willy and Katy look like they are genuinely in love and that's all I look for. That's what being a human being is all about. That is what is important in life.? Arise, Sir Johnny Rotten. Neil McCormick The Telegraph [7] - PAUL PUTNER'S MY BAND T-SHIRT MADNESS My band T-Shirt is a blog about favourite T-shirts and the memories behind the fondness for the hallowed cloth of the pop world. Comedy TV's Paul Putner has contributed his memories relating to a Madness shirt.... http://mybandtshirt.tumblr.com/ Full version at the above link. Here is an edited version of his story... The Madness Christmas Party!!! Wednesday, December 21st, 1983. ?Two Pauls? stood shivering by the stage door. Now, how often did country bumpkins like us, experience the bright lights of London? Where the streets are paved with? pavements. We could be in Virgin Records...Forbidden Planet comic shop...Wendy Burger! No, what are we doing? We?re just loitering on a street corner freezing our bollo...Hold on. Policeman giving us dirty looks. A hairy man in a Motorhead T-shirt emerged from the door. ?Hello boys, comin? to see the show tonight?? ?Yeah?, Paul G grinned, showing him his prized ticket. ?Well, d?ya fancy ?elping us blow up some balloons?? Never had the inflating of a job lot of party items sounded so appealing. This was our window of opportunity. The roadie, in a spirit of misplaced trust in hooligan stereotypes and laziness, handed us self-adhesive silky AAA passes (none of your poncy laminates back then) and gave us the task of blowing up several hundred balloons with the help of one huge helium canister. Privately, our lungs wheezed a sigh of relief. The balloons were to be secreted in a giant net up in the gods and released at the climax of the gig. After an hour of tying fiddly rubber knots (and suffering minor cardiac arrests when Paul G would over inflate the bloody things) the moment we?d been waiting for had finally arrived. The Nutty boys themselves! Several members of the band sullenly drifted into the auditorium. We started trembling. Keep cool, Pauls. Chas, Mike and Suggs went into quiet discussion, surveying the space and asking the roadie questions. What?? I thought to myself. No tonic suits, no loafers, not even a fez! Where are Mike Barson?s omnipresent shades? I can see his actual eyes. This ain?t right. TRAINERS??? And they look so serious. Chas Smash seemed a bit scary in the flesh. He tugged on his cigarette and glared over at us. Us. The Two Pauls, looking like a cheap off the peg version of Suggs and Chas Smash. We immediately felt very self-conscious. ?Alright lads? Thanks for helping out,? said Suggs, wandering over. ?We should get these two geezers to fill in for us tonight, eh Suggsy?? rasped Chas Smash. He winked to reassure us but we both turned cherry red and sheepishly looked down at our Cherry Reds. Meanwhile, the sax player, Lee Thompson was busily inhaling from our helium supply and began impersonating Pinky & Perky in a squeaky voice. This act of daftness broke the ice and so we all had a gasp. I rather bravely sung a line of Chipmunks Are Go in contralto. Chas laughed. Phew! After such larks of potential brain embolism, it was time for the band to soundcheck. They kick off with a run through of a new song we hadn?t heard before called Keep Moving and their current hit single, The Sun And The Rain. Chas Smash wants to sing his bass baritone backing vocal lyric (?low...") several times and then... I really didn?t anticipate the afternoon could be more mind-blowing, or indeed balloon-blowing, than this but then I spotted a huge camp teddy-boy usher a short hobbling figure into the auditorium. Immediately, Suggs and Chas Smash leapt off the stage to greet this gentleman. Now, Madness were my favourite band but Ian Dury was my god. Five minutes later, the great man lurched between us to inspect our handiwork. He shook our hands, muttered something about Flanagan & Allen, chuckled and then disappeared with Chrissy Boy to avail himself to hospitality. Ian. Dury. A third band on the bill arrived to sound check called Bonsai Forrest. Unbeknownst to me, the guitarist transpired to be a future comedy hero of mine in the form of young Paul Whitehouse, who went on to find fame with TV?s, The Fast Show. Nigel Planer from The Young Ones also made an appearance. The hairy roadie wandered over to thank us for our efforts but it was coming up to 6pm. Gulp! We were supposed to meet my brother and his mates over an hour ago! Before we left through the tradesmen?s entrance, we were each rewarded two snow-white Madness Christmas Party sweatshirts. I used to wear mine with pride until I got too tubby and started to look like Mr Stay Puft from Ghostbusters. It kept me warm on the train journey home though and I still treasure it today, keeping it safe in a plastic box in my parents? garage with some other mildew covered t-shirts. Needless to say, it was the greatest show on earth. I sat perched on my older brother?s shoulders at the finale, leaving him with a cricked neck and me, crushed nuts. It?s amazing how hundreds of descending balloons and confetti can make one forget abject pain. Chas Smash sung The Sun And The Rain line, ?low...", pitch perfect. He and Suggs, dressed in immaculate suits and shades, danced the night away on stage, bouncing around with complete abandon. Just two young men showing off, really. Paul Putner [8] - CHANGE OF DATE - SKA ORCHESTRA ISLINGTON JUNE 2ND News of a rescheduling for The London Ska Orchestra gig... "We have had to change the date of the gig, people to JUNE 2ND. Hope this doesn't inconvenience you too much. Sorry from the band, but it was out of our control. Rumours that Lee was booked in to have an eye lift are grossly untrue" - Darren Fordham More info from see ticket. Is that the promoters have moved the date. "As the London International Ska Festival is on over 3rd - 6th May it has been decided to move this show to Saturday 2nd June 2012 so as not to clash with the event. All tickets remain valid for the new date. " Apologies for any inconvenience." - See Tickets. The event is still at Islington Assembly hall. And a mad meet at The Hope and Anchor will be taking place with the fans. https://agmp.ticketabc.com/events/lee-thompson-ska-orc/ www.ltso.mis-online.net [9] - MANCHESTER SQUARE - SUGGS & THE AUDIO BULLYS A few days ago a video showing Suggs once again collaborating with the audio bullys hit the internet. Manchester Square... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A2fUoVukrc We are not sure at this stage if it's forthcoming release or something from the archive of when they were working together previously on songs. Having previously worked on "This road" for the album Generations and "Twist me up" on higher than effiel. As well that white label..."Flowers" and "All around the world" that once featured in their online music uploads. Our thanks to Vince Carden for the heads up on this one, who said. "I Quite like it. Good vocals. Better than his LONF vocals" Jonathan Young / Vince Carden. [10] - THAT'S YER LOT We're almost done for this week, but you'll be pleased to learn that there are a few final bits and pieces to pass in your general direction. If you're one of the many people who want to keep up-to-date with the plans for this year's Madness Weekender then Facebook and Twitter are the places you'll want to be keeping an eye on. The Weekender's Facebook page can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/houseoffunweekender The Weekender's Twitter feed is here: http://twitter.com/#!/madhouseoffun Those of you who have yet to book and wish to do so need to pop along to: http://www.bigweekends.com/splash-pages/madness2012.aspx? Next-up... www.wiredstrings.com report that one of the new Madness songs, first heard at Butlins, "Never knew your name", has been recorded with their participation. They are the string arrangers and session players who've recently been featured on Coldplay's number 1 album as well as Adele's recent Grammy winning album too. Stephen Street produced this track. Moving on... Madness will be performing at the Fiera Della Musica, Italy, on Saturday 14th July. Ticket prices are 30 euros plus booking fee, and can be purchased by going to: http://bit.ly/xIH0PI Now, over to Jos? Mu?oz for some Mexican tinged Madness news... "Today (15th Feb) was announced finally the schedule for vive latino Madness to Play an hour from 19:55 to 20:55 at the headline stage. It will not be the closing act but it is still a properly headliner time for the festival. Indeed a great time for those who uses the underground to get back to home!" And finally... Earlier today we received a short email from subscriber, Adam De Vere, who got in touch to let us know that Suggs is appearing on the Jo Wiley Show on Sky Arts 1 at 2:55am Monday (20th) morning. Time to program those set-top boxes. Until next week, take care, Simon, Liz, Rob, Jon (With special thanks to Adam De Vere, Chris Carter-Pegg & Emma Southerby of Retro Madness, Jos? Mu?oz and Vince Carden) Don't forget, you can keep up-to-date with all things Madness by following MIS reporter Trevor McMadnut via his Twitter feed, at: https://twitter.com/#!/TrevorMcMadnut ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to MIS Online. Should you wish to unsubscribe, please visit the mailing list web server, located at: http://www.robomod.net/mailman/listinfo/madness and follow the on screen instructions. Thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From robert at hazelby.co.uk Sun Feb 26 15:33:20 2012 From: robert at hazelby.co.uk (Robert Hazelby) Date: Sun Feb 26 15:33:33 2012 Subject: [MIS] NEWS AND INFORMATION - SUN 26TH FEB - SAT 3RD MAR 2012 Message-ID: <1D1DD44F-0A77-4A2F-B408-FE0C95221016@hazelby.co.uk> M.I.S ONLINE - NEWS AND INFORMATION - SUN 26TH FEB - SAT 3RD MAR 2012 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ISSUE NUMBER 668 MIS ONLINE: http://www.mis-online.net ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1 - THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS - The obligatory intro. 2 - LAST NIGHT OF THE SUGGS TOUR - Here's a review from the Bristol Evening Post, of the last date of Suggs' theatre tour. Such is the success of the string of completed dates, the Suggs Live website are already announcing that autumn dates will be announced soon. So, there is more to come from the main man. But here is how his near sell out Tour ended... 3 - THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS - This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 408, and the week of Sunday 25th February to Saturday 3rd March 2007, and then back 10 years to issue number 146 and the week of Sunday 24th February to Saturday 2nd March 2002. 4 - MADNESS TO PLAY BELFAST - Belsonic 2012 has just been announced. A follow up to 2011?s hugely successful event. This year one of the concerts will be a headline from the fun ska stylings of Madness on August 17th. Article credits: Patrick Murphy/BBC NEWS/ shine.net 5 - NUTTY AND GROOVY TRAINS - FARM'S SPARTACUS SONGS ALL TOGETHER - This year marks just over 20 years since Suggs produced the debut album for Liverpool band The Farm. Now, they are touring the album Spartacus in full to celebrate, and MIS is involved in a mad meet and a gig gathering too for the Islington appearance. Jonathan Young and Cheryl Hagger report. 6 - SUGGS WITH SUGAR T AND THE SWELLS - News has reached us revealing that Suggs was recently spotted guesting, probably impromptu, with a Rhythm and Blues band in Islington. Article courtesy of MIS / Scotty Oates / Vince Carden 7 - A SPECIALIZED UPDATE - Here we have news on the charity album of Specials songs redone or recovered, (featuring Madness (Naked Mix) by Lee Thompson) including a Koast Train podcast. News courtesy of MIS / Mr Scurf's Koast Train / Paul Willo 8 - KING OF THE UNRELEASED DANGERMEN TUNES - We review the new Madness CD - Forever Young - The Ska Collection album, getting mostly excited about the amazing final track that could blow the socks off a man who wasn't even wearing any. Here's Jonathan Young 9 - IN THE HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING LYRICS - Lyrics? Here's Jon Young 10 - THAT'S YER LOT - A few last minute words before we finish for the week. [1] - THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS Evening all, If you've cast your eyes at the above contents list, you'll see that yet again we've got another packed issue for you to plough through. This week we bring news that future dates to Suggs' one man show may soon be announced, Madness will be playing in Belfast, and that Suggs has been spotted singing some covers which the band performed way back in their early days. Along with that we have the usual blast from the past in 'That Was The Week That Was', an in-depth review of the forthcoming compilation album 'Forever Young - The Ska Collection', and much, much more. All that remains is for us to say - Enjoy the read! Rob Hazelby, Jonathan Young, Liz Maher, Simon Roberts Email us at: robert, jonathan, liz, simon @mis-online.net [2] - LAST NIGHT OF THE SUGGS TOUR Here's a review from the Bristol Evening Post, of the last date of Suggs' theatre tour. Such is the success of the string of completed dates, the Suggs Live website are already announcing that autumn dates will be announced soon. So, there is more to come from the main man. But here is how his near sell out Tour ended... THE day after his 50th birthday party, celebrated in style in an East End concert hall, Suggs is mulling over the festivities in the bath. Then his cat dies. This is the beginning of a fabulous evening's entertainment, in which the former Madness frontman talks us through his career so far in his own inimitable style. Those who were expecting a full-blown gig would have been disappointed, but there was certainly much music here, with piano and guitar accompaniment provided by what the programme notes described as "a loyal pianist-cum-manservant". A finely honed routine meant that Suggs and his manservant worked in perfect harmony, the occasional notes from the piano turning this performance at times into something like a Buster Keaton silent movie, especially with Suggs' funny walks. Suggs is a superb raconteur with a knowing twinkle in his eye. The underlying theme of the show was the search for his father, interspersed with vignettes from his life, which has taken him from living with cousins in Wales to causing a mini-earthquake in London when Madness played their first reunion gig. A stripped-down version of It Must Be Love finished the evening on a high. Other musical interludes included solo track Cecilia (imagine it being introduced as "by the sensational Suggs at six" on the charts by Chris Eubank) and a cover of Lola by The Kinks. Baggy Trousers was sung after fond remembrances of his school days. One of his best stories told of the time a taxi driver whisked him to a radio studio with seconds to spare for his live show, Suggs not having the heart to tell him it was pre-recorded. It may have been verging on hagiography, but Suggs, My Life Story in Words and Pictures, to give it its full title, was witty and charming, our genial host turning St George's into a house of fun. Bristol Evening Post. [3] - THAT WAS THE WEEK THAT WAS This week MIS co-editor, Rob Hazelby goes back 5 years to issue number 408, and the week of Sunday 25th February to Saturday 3rd March 2007, and then back 10 years to issue number 146 and the week of Sunday 24th February to Saturday 2nd March 2002. 5 years ago... Issue 408 - Sunday 25th February to Saturday 3rd March 2007 With the Summer getting ever closer, the thoughts of outdoor gigs were surely in the minds of many a Madness fan, and whilst we'd yet to hear if a full tour or even a legendary Madstock would take place when those temperatures would hopefully be a little higher, it was already clear that this was going to be a busy year for the band. The official Madness page on MySpace - MadSpace, had announced that 2 digital download bundles would be made available for the forthcoming release of the new single, ?Sorry?, whilst legendary clothing company, Fred Perry had teamed-up with the band to promote the new track. To celebrate the release of the new single, ?Sorry?, Madness were offering 2 very special exclusive bundles that were only available for a limited time, and only available from the 7 Digital store. These bundles were available to pre-order ONLY, and you could download your purchase on or after the day of release, 5th March 2007. To secure the exclusive bundles, you had to pre-order before this date, or order on the day of release. The files would be deleted at midnight on 5th March! It was over to the Fred Perry press release next, as we featured the text announcing their teaming-up with Madness, which was originally posted to their web site. The text gave a brief history of the band before diving straight on in with a lowdown on the forthcoming single, Sorry. The press release finished by telling us; "2007 has plenty more in store for both Madness and Sway. Following the release of Sorry on 5th March on Madness' Lucky Seven imprint, the band will begin to unveil material from their new album and announce some very special live plans. Sway is currently preparing to release a new EP and is also hard at work in the studio on his second album release, which is set to feature a further Sway and Madness collaboration". Moving on, and we hopped over to the Camden Gazette, who had just run a story revealing that Camden's Crown and Goose pub was due to be demolished to make way for a block of expensive flats. Celebrity drinkers at the Crown and Goose in Arlington Road included Kelly Osbourne, Madness singer Suggs and one-time Big Brother contestant Bez from Happy Mondays. Jim Kyriakos, a carer who lived on Arlington Road, said; "Out of all the pubs in Camden the Crown and Goose is the last one they should get rid of. It's a lovely pub - if they knock it down a bit of Camden will have died. There are already too many wine bars around here and we don't need another load of flats that are too expensive for anyone to buy. The bottom line is: keep it Camden." We brought this issue to a close with news in from Chris Wardell, who reported that The Beat had recorded a new album, and had announced tour dates through March and April. 10 years ago... Issue 146 - Sunday 24th February to Saturday 2nd March 2002 We started this issue off with news in from MIS subscriber, Muzzer, informing us that the BBC had returned to form once more, with consumer affairs programme, ?Watchdog? featuring ?Baggy Trousers? and ?House of Fun? and ?DIY SOS? also using ?Baggy Trousers? for background music. Also this week, Suggs was spotted making an appearance on the Oliveieres (an English awards ceremony for theatre) where he announced that the forthcoming Madness musical, entitled `Our House`, would be opening in London in September. The Suggs coverage continued with a lowdown on his recent appearance on lighthearted sports quiz show ?They Think It?s All Over?, as a member of Gary Lineker's team. One of Suggs' questions involved Chris Eubank, and Suggs told the story of the unfortunate chart position he had with Cecilia the week he had hosted Top of the pops. Further Suggs related news items arrived this week with the news from Simsey that he'd picked up a Suggs rarities bootleg that had started to do the rounds. Entitled ?The Return of The Lone Ranger?, this unofficial release seemed to be a collection of rare live tracks taken from television, as well as a number of demos. This 19 track album is certainly worth tracking down, but make sure that no money changes hands. Lining the pockets of bootleggers is never a good thing if you can avoid it. Elsewhere, and March seemed to be an extremely busy month for Madness tribute ?Complete Madness?, who were performing a whopping 19 times in the space of 4 weeks. Following the rumours that Like Father Like Son played a secret gig, Crunched fanzine co-editor, Jerney contacted us with a brief lowdown. It turns out that the gig was a private event for friends and family of the band, and was staged for Kevin's dad who turned 60 that week. Always keen to sniff out a Madness related story, Chris Carter-Pegg had contacted Haringey Council, with regard to the licence applications they have received for the use of Finsbury Park that coming summer. Sadly the list of events so far applied for did not include a Madstock and they were not anticipating any further applications at that stage. Things were also looking a little uncertain with regards to the next Madness weekend. Co-organiser, Cheryl was encountering difficulties in trying to find a hotel in Great Yarmouth keen to have a hoard of drunken Maddies descend on them for the weekend. Cheryl would continue to search for suitable venues (that were interested in hosting the event), but asked for feedback and suggestions from those interested in attending. Having attended the recent Like Father, Like Son gig at the Felix and Firkin, messers Young and Swandale teamed-up to provide those of us who missed it, a detailed lowdown (complete with full tracklisting) of the night. The issue finished off with news that the forthcoming re-released Crunch! album would see its release date slip. The delay was apparently down to difficulties encountered in cramming the live videos on to the disc. Rob Hazelby [4] - MADNESS TO PLAY BELFAST Belsonic 2012 has just been announced. A follow up to 2011?s hugely successful event. This year one of the concerts will be a headline from the fun ska stylings of Madness on August 17th. Their first Belfast appearance since headlining at The Odyssey Arena in December 2009. Belsonic 2012 will return to it?s familiar home of Custom House Square in Belfast and once again is sponsored by Absolut. Tickets for each of the event go on sale Monday 27th February at 9am. Tickets for Belsonic are priced at ?28.50 + booking fee available from Ticketmaster.ie Other headline and support act announcements are expected in the coming weeks. Patrick Murphy/BBC NEWS/shine.net [5] - NUTTY AND GROOVY TRAINS - FARM'S SPARTACUS SONGS ALL TOGETHER This year marks just over 20 years since Suggs produced the debut album for Liverpool band The Farm. Now, they are touring the album Spartacus in full to celebrate, and MIS is involved in a mad meet and a gig gathering too for the Islington appearance. Here are the details... "An old fashioned Mad Meet during the afternoon and early evening. Where else but in The Dublin Castle. Jonathan F Young, Cherly Hagger, and some usual friends of MIS, invite you to join us all on a hopefully wonderful spring day in Camden, from around 2pm, for the usual fan chat..., drinks and jukebox hogging. Come and catch up. If you're a veteran mad fan we'd love to see you again, or join anew with the mad crew. Come along just for a beer. Then in the evening if you wish you can also swap Nutty for Groovy, and join those going to see The anniversary of Spartacus. (The album not the movie!) The Farm are performing their No.1 Suggs & Paul Heaton produced debut album in full, at the 02 Academy in near by Islington. From about 8pm. 20 years since they supported Madness on their 1st Christmas Tour after reforming. Yes it's really nearly been that long! Get on get on get on get on The Nutty and/or Groovy Trains. I'm Spartacus, No, I'm Spartacus, No I'm Spartacus, No I'm Brian and so's my wife." Join the event page here... http://www.facebook.com/#!/events/342717625738819/ Here is rare video clip from MIS, of Suggs with the band on BBC 2's DEF II strand back in the day. http://youtu.be/VMs1vr1CpnU Jonathan Young/Cheryl Hagger [6] - SUGGS WITH SUGAR T AND THE SWELLS News has reached us revealing that Suggs was recently spotted guesting, probably impromptu, with a Rhythm and Blues band in Islington. A youtube user has uploaded footage of the band Sugar T and Swells at a kings head gig in Islington. Quite fittingly Suggs is joining in on... See you later Aligator (Bill Haley) http://youtu.be/OCKFWnOnr08 &... I'm walking. (Fats Domino) http://youtu.be/QYHvQomYM84 Both of these titles happen to be songs with a very strong significance to early Madness, when Suggs first joined his own band The invaders back in the day. Nice. MIS / Scotty Oates / Vince Carden [7] - A SPECIALIZED UPDATE Here we have news on the charity album of Specials songs redone or recovered, (featuring Madness (Naked Mix) by Lee Thompson) including a Koast Train podcast. Mr Scurf's Koast Train interview with Paul willo, we've got for you as a podcast here... http://jon.mis-online.net/KoastTrainWillo080212.wav The many gigs in Support of the project, started this week. With news from London that Darren Fordham joined Swagger for their cover of Stupid Marriage, and gigs in both Australia and Edinburgh went off great, too. The most exciting thing for us to see was the specialized facebook page uploading the back cover, showing the full tracklisting, which places Lee Thompson - Madness (Naked Mix) as track 19 on CD1. You can see it here... http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Specialized-A- Modern-take-on-Specials-classics/175080209251983 Meanwhile producer Paul willo has announced... "Due to circumstances beyond our control- we will miss the scheduled released date of feb 28. However - it's all in hand, the artwork is being prepped and the album is having a full master in london as we speak before it goes to press. Please bare with us and rest assured the album will be out asap. Not much longer, but hey! It's all rock n roll lol these things happen! There will be more news on Monday with regards to other items of the project. thank you for your rock solid support, long may it continue" MIS / Mr Scurf's Koast Train / Paul Willo [8] - KING OF THE UNRELEASED DANGERMEN TUNES We review the new Madness CD - Forever Young - The Ska Collection album, getting mostly excited about the amazing final track that could blow the socks off a man who wasn't even wearing any. The sighs of "oh no, not again" could be heard across the online Madness community on facebook, as the back catalogue was milked one more time, like a sore nipple. Why? is the kind of question that gets asked by fans who've bought it all before. The why turned quickly to "not ska?" calling of certain track listing choices of this new album concept next. The answer to why is always " ? " plus the clear targeting of sales into another perceived market too, which does widen appeal. The answer to "not ska" sees the band in agreement of this within the sleeve notes quoted in an article written by Ian McCann editor for Record Collector. Seems the concept of the title doesn't last even as far as slipping off the nice cardboard sleeve and opening the thing up for a read then. The crow bar (or crow ska) with it's "Ah but's" of explanation stretch the ska tag beyond snapping when the band themselves explain "The Nutty Sound" idea and the false "pigeon holing" that people do. Well the pigeon's back in the false loft then with this for the first time since The Dangermen. (More of which later) To be fair though, taking a wide approach to reggae being part of the influence, (as a post ska music), the tracklisting here is 70% there for choosing the most Jamaican influenced Madness songs. Yes to One Step/Madness (ska covers), Prince (ska tribute), Communicator/Dont Quote (full skank), Tarzan's Nut's/Swan Lake/Night Boat (themes in ska) Grey Day/Day On The Town (dub reggae) Forever Young (reggae), a few more easily fall into the "beat" or "underpinning influence" tagging quite well too, certainly Dust Devil (which is talked about by Chrissy boy in the sleeve notes) and In the rain I'll grant. The mix of Victoria Gardens even is of course the one featuring more of General Public on vocals than not. It's probably the early inclusion of House of Fun and Baggy Trousers that seems Hit inclusion lead rather than musical style highlighting. Equally Not Home today and Prospects while great tunes fall as more debatable inclusions. The two new tracks fit like a glove being the latest Dangermen try outs to be released, like recent B-sides before them. These two are here to drag in and please diehards into the buying of the album, it's perhaps questionable at this stage if two tracks is enough though, I've just recently enjoyed a new collection by Jesus Jones where they unearthed a 2nd cd of entirely rare tunes, and I kind of feel Madness are long overdue at least 1 rarities CD, even if it' s only fan targeted. Dug up from The Dangerman sessions, Vietnam is perhaps a cover version best left in the bodybag they buried it in after it failed to be enlisted onto the album sessions. Although Jimmy Cliff's protest song has an overseas element to his story telling about the senseless death of a solider, when I hear it coming from a black man in 1969 it means so much more to me about the then ongoing conflict where his afro-american brothers were combat fodder on the US side, than it does coming in the mid 2000's from my favourite band singing "please stop a war" that's already over except for PTSD. Yes war is hell, When Madness sang about the Falklands the song had meaning and relevance that this their tribute to Jimmy Cliff can't. They've doffed their hats to him better on The Harder They Come, (which by the way shouldn't be absent from this Ska/reggae Collection!). So they chose right I think to go with the more universal "So Much Trouble in the world" message on Dangermen than this which they rightly relegated. It's a curio track, nice to hear, nice backing vocals. Suggs cant really get around the word "Vietnumamnum" enough to not make it sound like a song by the Muppets. Which is kind of a thing, when its the song title, and when this 4 minute version is crying out for an early fade on a song Mr Cliff didn't give enough chorus variety too in the 1st place. It's better than I thought it might be, it does lift the song from being roots to being a bit more pop with Madness at the wheel, I know this b-side like throwaway wont get many replays from me. But none of all this nitpicking and disillusion matter, as much as 2 other points about The Ska Collection. 1st It looks beautiful :-) Like All of USM's reissues, the loving care of sourcing photos and original design just looks delightful, a few strange choices aside pictorially there is a lot for the eye. A poster of Clare Muller's back of House Of Fun single photo, only in full, I kind of want to frame it, the cheeky youthful smiles of the boys in their prime makes you want to run out and join any kind of gang for that spirit of unity and fun. The interviews on it's reverse I think are wrongly billed, in what really is a scene setting sleeve note with quotes. But I love that USM make the effort of these things with music priced here at just ?8. It would be easy aiming at The Ska market to over black and white cliche everything, but this actually adds colour bubbles and style to make a holistically warm but classic feel. The choice of front cover photo with a mixture of starting block poses cool stares and laid back grins, just seems to say "we are ready to take over, cus we are the business" It has to rank next to the covers of the first three albums. So let it sit there looking cool on your shelf. Cus you've got to get it and hear the last track. 2nd IN THE HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING ROCKS! King it says, and King it is. Swan lake is the water body that sits at the foot of this Mountain. A reworking of classical musical, but with Madness stamped all over it. It's beyond that power piano sound of the former though. There is Torriano like wild guitar stabs, Night boat Baratone intro reverb and punchy sax bouting, an interesting setting of keyboard backing, that adds a touch of Disney's Fantasia to my mind in terms of grandeur building, and the drums are kettle to make this Los Palmas 7 meets the intro to 2001: a space odyssey. It's got a false ending or two, quicker on returns than On The Beat Pete's feet can mangage. It's got a crescendo build up to full stop that makes Clerkenwell Polka look like an afternoon nap. You going to want to play this up loud and dance in the hall of the maddy kings, it's a peak summit of flag in the top now glory, worth the entry price alone, in the loop playing you'll do to it. Drop Tarzan's Nuts and play this in the 1st encore, at Butlins. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaasssssse! Here is an amusing factoid for you, of all the bands that have covered Hall of the mountain king, Savatage reworked the track under the title "Prelude to Madness", I guess with this release Salvo just proved them right! This song now belongs to Madness. If that's Ska Music. So be it. Jonathan Young [9] IN THE HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN KING LYRICS Do do do do, do do do, Do do do, Do do do, Do do do do, do do do, Do do do do do do Da na na na, na na na na na na na na na Da na na na, na na na Na na na na na na Do do do do, do do do, Do do do, Do do do, Do do do do, do do do, Do do do do do do Da na na na, na na na na na na na na na Da na na na, na na na Na na na na na na Yeah ok so it's an instrumental, but you will end up singing it anyway. ;-) All hail King Madness. Forever Young Ska Collection is out April 2nd. Coming shortly we will have a competition for you to win the album... The nut will be announcing it at some point first... https://twitter.com/#!/TrevorMcMadnut Jonathan Young [10] - THAT'S YER LOT We're almost done and dusted for another week, but before we go there are one or two last minute bits to pass in your general direction. News in from Chrissy Boy via his ever informative 'Cupboard', points to it being likely that Bedders will be playing at the Queen's Jubilee BBC concert. Note that this doesn't suggest any other involvement from him at this stage. With Blur (supported by The Specials and New Order) now being a sold out gig we are keeping an eye on London live to see if any other concerts or involvement from Madness spring from the recent Sun rumours or not. Next, and The Ska orchestra have just announced details of a Brighton gig in May. More info at: www.ltso.mis-online.net And finally, in last week's final credits run we forgot to thank Paul Rodgers. So, ummm, thank you, Paul. Until next week, take care, Simon, Liz, Jon, Rob (With special thanks to Mr Scurf's Koast Train/Paul Willo/Scotty Oates Vince Carden/Cheryl Hagger/Patrick Murphy) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- You are receiving this email because you are subscribed to MIS Online. Should you wish to unsubscribe, please visit the mailing list web server, located at: http://www.robomod.net/mailman/listinfo/madness and follow the on screen instructions. Thank you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From jonsmad at hotmail.com Sun Feb 26 17:20:35 2012 From: jonsmad at hotmail.com (Jonathan Young) Date: Sun Feb 26 17:20:44 2012 Subject: [MIS] NEWS AND INFORMATION ADDITIONAL Message-ID: News Just in... The V festival have announced Madness as part of the line up of acts across the two day, two site weekend at Chelmsford and Staffordshire, on the weekend of August 18th & 19th. The 2012 line up was announced in this video. Madness appear at 8.11. http://youtu.be/djzIYQXPE6Y http://www.facebook.com/vfestival Or see the line up on facebook. http://www.vfestival.com/ No news yet on which time slots and days Madness are at the festival. Tickets are on sale Friday. 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