Hey Now!
At the beginning and indeed end of every year, we can
all reflect on the year gone by and the year ahead,
remembering the better moments and forgetting the
worst. 1999 was certainly a year for that and one of
the more pleasurable things was the REAL return of
Madness.
Not in almost a decade and a half has there been such
an eventful year in the land of hope and glory. There
is so much to remember from the past twelve months and
being honest, nobody could have foreseen this one year
ago. So without further delay, let us now look back on
some of these wonderful moments of �Ordinary Magic� in
the year of Madness!
The dawning of 1999 greeted us with news on the
forthcoming release of the live album, �Universal
Madness�. Primarily for U.S. consumption, this
recording was hailed by some as �better than Madstock�
and to others �a good quality bootleg�. It did though
provide an enjoyable hour in the company of the seven
and a few more at the Universal Amphitheatre in the
spring of 1998. A well worth addition to the Madness
back catalogue.
Around the early spring then from the dedicated work
of a few, the internet fan base was delivered
priceless interviews with Messrs Langer and Winstanley
to the first real concrete news that the band were
once again about to enter the studio and actually
record a new album. Finally years of hopes and dreams
seemed likely, but we wouldn�t believe it until the
album was firmly in our grasp.
The months from February through to April were then a
time of sporadic news on the lad�s progress at
Westside Studios in London where the band was actually
recording. An �album full of singles� was promised and
the numerous titles for the album had already been
circulating, from �Nice One� to �Run Away Train� to
�Wonderful� all cropping up. Then a rainy day in April
saw the band go on a bus around London to do the photo
shoot for what now makes up the album.
The end of April saw the boys jet-set over to the U.S.
once again for a commanding and memorable performance
on �The Late Show with David Letterman� on April 29th
to drop in for performances at the Irving Plaza,
Philadelphia, Washington D.C., then back to Conan O�
Brien and of course the intimate settings of the Sonic
Sessions. State-siders would be first to hear new
material as part of the tour to promote the new live
album and they were warmly received, again warming the
appetite.
The summer months would arrive then with the news that
the first new single in some 14 years would be titled
�Lovestruck�. Was this really happening we all
thought? The radio waves around London welcomed this
news with much pre-playing from Virgin and Capital fm
and indeed nationally by BBC Radio 2. Infact they also
presented �Total Madness� an in-depth rockumentary in
late May on the story of the band so far, and giving
fans the first opportunity to here the newly produced
tracks.
The end of June then saw the band play an impromptu
performance on a barge down Camden Lock to promote the
singles� launch. The lucky few hundred at Dingwalls
that summer eve were indeed receptive of the new
material on show.
July 1st saw then a most memorable performance of the
song on TFI Friday with Chris Evans evening tipping it
to be a number one! This too was followed by
performances on This Morning, CD UK and two triumphant
appearances on Top of the Pops. To everyone�s delight,
the record public responded generously with a Number
10 placing on the UK charts. It was 1982 all over
again. Madness back and better sounding than ever.
Sadly promises of a twentieth anniversary date at the
Hackney empire in august never came to fruition.
Instead the summer saw the band play in the Party at
the Park to perhaps their biggest audience yet and the
following week in Birmingham for another festival type
setting. The band would be at times lacking all seven
on stage as the boys took their various holidays
taking time off the nutty train. They would be
assisted by such names as Norman Watt-Roy, Seamus
Beaghan and Terry Edwards with only the hardcore
probably noticing the difference!
As the sounds of fallen lamposts were heard all over
and anticipation grew the album was gearing up to
their best yet and the excitement mounted. The
euphoria even gripped the fashion world as the
legendary Doc Marten label now decided to pay homage
to the nutty seven and their contribution to pop
culture, with the unveiling of a classic ox-blood boot
and a �Slice of Madness� later on all in aid of the
Big Issue and Shelter charities. September 30th was
the setting with the band generously giving their time
autographs and friendship to the healthy crowd who
gathered at Covent Gardens Doc Marten shoe stores to
buy the boot. That evening then the band really
returned home to play to a few hundred in the Mecca of
Camden Town�s Electric Ballroom to one of their
greatest performances yet (and the best day of my
life!).
The Autumn time was then however beset by altering
days of the albums release date and the news that
�Johnny the Horse� would be the second single to be
released from the now decided �Wonderful� titled LP.
This seemed a promising follow-up with its catchy
chorus and a good choice for single number two....or
so we thought. For a myriad of reasons, the song
failed to catch the imagination of the public and
crashed in and indeed out at an abysmal number 44. It
would be the most commercially unsuccessful of the
bands 26 singles in the UK under the Madness name. So
unfortunate for a promising track. Radio 1 prejudice,
Woolworth�s shelving policy bias and a dodgy PR
machine meant that only two breakfast television
performances did not warrant enough to gain a higher
position.
November 1st then would prove the most historic day in
1999. �You waited long enough� and the day of
reckoning had finally arrived. The ever faithful
bought that long-dreamed about, often promised but
never realised (until now) dream and were not
disappointed. Nor were the music press, never had a
Madness issue received such a positive response with a
unanimous thumbs-up for the return of the Nutty Boys.
The legacy would be intact no fear and tracks like
�The Wizard�, �Going to the top� to �No Money� have
rarely left the CD Carousel since. It went in at a
respectable #17 but fell to #43 a week alter to depart
from the Top 75 the following week. Regardless of the
mediocre sales, the band could be happy in the fact
they had done themselves, the fans and the Madness
name a world of good with these �eleven tracks of
Ordinary Magic�.
The week of release also saw the band pop in and out
of Ireland to play on the Late Late show to promote
the album and the forthcoming �Maddest Show on Earth
tour�. Dates would be spread from Dublin to Birmingham
to Bournemouth to London and a few more in between to
get the UK into a Mad-Millennium buzz. Sadly though
the Irish fans would be deprived of this due to
�upstairs jiggery-pockery� with the unlikely venue of
the Stafford Rex then failing to materialise.
However the disappointment was soon dispelled with a
tasteful reissue of the back catalogue of the original
six studio albums under the title of �The Lot�. It was
a fitting way to join all these memories into one
priceless yet essential item to any one�s record
collection. Definitely worth a listen!
The first date of Cardiff was the first date and from
December 15th to the 23rd the band bade a
fond-farewell to the millennium and rounded off a
memorable year to the masses both far and wide in the
land of Britain. It was the culmination of a truly
great twelve months and set up the next in good state
of affairs.
The New Year promises the release of �Drip Fed Fred/
Elysium� no doubt Madstock 2000 and a few surprises
thrown in for good measure. Is it time to finally get
off the Nutty Train or will we see the same amount of
myth, magic and music in the new century? Who knows?
Whichever the case may be, the Madness machine
provided itself, its fans and the world with a feast
of memories and happiness to cherish for a long year
to come, not to be forgotten.
We have �fallen for lampposts�, �waited long enough�
and perhaps �died for entertainment� but I wouldn�t
have done it any other way. Madness 1999, one word:
WONDERFUL!
All the Best
Vince!
=====
"If it ain't Vince, it ain't worth a F*CK!"
ICQ 46099201
NEVER SAY NO TO A MAD IDEA!
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