Hey-ho punterino's
Jenny wrote:- ****"It sounds as if you wish Madness would just hang it up and retire. Is that how you guys feel, or have I misinterpreted???" One thing I am not looking forward to will be the final gig Madness ever play, or a press statement to the effect they released last time round. I don't suppose they would ever tell us if it was their last gig though - not their style. I would just rather they (or Virgin) didn't continually trying to light the fire of a nation when - and this is the crucial bit - they just don't fit in anymore amongst popular culture. By popular culture I mean this bland meaningless crap we have to endure these days. I dont think I need to name names either. And Virgin releasing the same old stuff only harms Madness' name. Maybe it's time for some real fresh thinking. If Madness ARE serious about still being considered a force, they should announce their intention to release 3 albums and do a couple of world tours. What TV appearances galore playing loads of new, exciting stuff? But it ain't going to happen. Why? Because of the reason I gave before - they don;t fit in and there will be no return on the investment made cash-wise. It would be considered too riksy. It's a case of "The Three Pyramids Club" - art imitating life. Madness ARE special to the likes of you and me, but 500 people on a mailing list ain't gonna be a loud voice when we are constantly being drowned out by 'Ricky Martin' and those 'kids form Steps'. This isn't Madness' fault - it's a symptom of our country today. Britain died musically about the same time Mike left the band last time round! ****"If you won the lottery today, would you stop working altogether at something you enjoy? I'm sure they didn't mind getting paid for "Wonderful," but in the music you can hear the comradery and love of the work... it's part of what makes the album one of their best. They also had the honor of working with the late Ian Dury. I seriously doubt that money was on their minds as they were working with one of their heros on one of his final projects." If I won 10 million on the Lottery you are darn tootin' right I would stop work all together!! Only trouble is, I don't suppose Madness got anything like that for 'Wonderful' same as they didnt for 'Divine'. If memory serves me correctly, Madness got 2% of the take from the sales of that compilation. Divide that by 7 and it aint a lot. I believe they may have got more for Madstock that year individually. So no - I dont think Madness did 'Wonderful' for the money cos there aint any money being made (Lottery type amounts that is). I do truely believe they did it cos they wanted to do it and that they enjoyed being back together after so long. And it was a great album, as was the tour. But a lot of it was nostalgia. Thats why people go to their gigs mostly. Oasis are finding this out at the moment too. No new decent material to play so they rely on their back catalogue. People just go to say they saw them, not cos they are as exciting as they were back in 94. ****"And don't forget, "Wonderful" had the power to unite all of us as fans as well." Madness always will have a power like that not many other bands could dream of. Yes they are special to millions, and extra-special to the likes of us, but the spark has gone and there is a huge vacuum without them. I feel this Christmas has to be the last. How long can they keep it up without being bracketed alongside Status Quo and friends? Regards, Mr.G www.themagnificent7.co.uk www.mcmadmeet.co.uk ______________________________________________________________ Visit the Total Madness Mailing List website for: news, members section, madmeet info, list charter, competitions, & more... http://www.madness7.com Contact the TMML Moderators at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] and in the message body put: unsubscribe total-madness
