An article I came across tonight....
Robert, have you seen this?
Jenny
SONICNET MUSIC GUIDE
Madness Pull Themselves Together For U.S. Tour
Founding members of second-wave ska band to do series of shows, including
one with No Doubt.
Senior Writer Gil Kaufman reports:
Influential ska revivalists Madness are re-forming with their original
lineup to play a series of U.S. shows in April, including one to be
headlined by their most vocal fans in the industry, No Doubt.
The band's U.S.-based manager has confirmed that the founding lineup of
the group -- one of the most popular and well-loved second-wave ska bands
of the late 1970s and early 1980s -- would be re-forming for the first
time in 15 years.
The two-week "Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour" will kick off April 22 in Las
Vegas with a show featuring punk-rockabilly artist the Rev. Horton Heat
and third-wave ska-punk bands Face to Face and Hepcat.
"I think they just felt like doing it," manager Peter Rudge said of the
decision to tour by the original seven: singer Graham "Suggs" McPherson,
guitarist Chris "Chrissy Boy" Foreman, trumpet player/dancer Cathal "Chas
Smash" Smythe, drummer Dan "Woody" Woodgate, saxophonist Lee Thompson,
keyboardist Mike Barson and bassist Mark Bedford. "They're all living
comfortably, but they've just become aware of the huge resurgence of the
ska phenomenon in America."
The decision was also spurred by the vocal championing of the band in the
press by such multi-platinum modern ska acts as No Doubt and the Mighty
Mighty Bosstones, Rudge added.
Some fans are apparently willing to go well out of their way to see the
rare shows. Denver native Paul Andrews, 30, said he'll be flying to L.A.
to see the April 26 show at the Universal Amphitheater, which will also
feature ska-punkers the Dance Hall Crashers and soulful-ska bands Royal
Crown Revue and Hepcat. "I don't [normally] do things like that," Andrews
said. "I have no place to stay, will be on my own, have no idea how to get
around, and I'm still going. In my opinion, Madness was the band that
brought the sounds of ska to an American audience in the '80s."
The group -- which had its biggest U.S. hit with the pop/ska tune "Our
House" from 1982's Rise & Fall album -- broke up in 1986, with a handful
of members grouping under the Madness name for sporadic live dates. The
band, which debuted in 1979 with the upbeat collection One Step Beyond,
has also re-grouped on occasion for annual festival shows in the U.K.
In fact, 22-year-old U.K. fan Robert Hazelby wrote that "as a U.K. Madness
fan it makes me chuckle when I receive mails from Stateside Maddies asking
about Madness' recent re-formation." Hazelby reported that, in England,
the band re-formed in 1992 at the fan-appreciation gig "Madstock" and have
been together ever since, performing at such annual events as "Christmas
Madness" tours and similar events such as "Man in the Madsuit," "Mad
Dogs," and "Madstock 2 and 3." Madness are expected to be playing for the
upcoming "Madstock 4" in June.
"I think it's great that the lads are going Stateside after all this
time," Hazelby wrote. "Hopefully, it will drum it into people's heads that
the band, who have such a strong place in people's hearts this side of the
Atlantic, wrote and released more than just 'It Must Be Love' and 'Our
House.' Over here, Madness are almost an English institution!!!"
Just a month ago, No Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont described Madness as the
band with which his group is most interested in performing. "I feel like
we've pretty much played shows with everyone we've ever wanted to," said
Dumont, going on to cite the upcoming Hawaii show with Madness as a
highlight of No Doubt's schedule.
And while there are no plans for new recordings at present, Rudge said
that more U.S. dates may be added depending on the success of the West
Coast tour.
-
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