The Liberty of Norton Folgate

In March 2007, the non-LP single "Sorry" was released, peaking in the UK charts at number 23. The single included a version featuring UK hip hop artists Sway DaSafo and Baby Blue. Both artists were included on the music video which accompanied the hip-hop version of the song, but not on the original music video.

Decline and breakup

In October 1983, the band's founder, keyboardist and prominent songwriter Mike Barson decided to leave the band, partly because he had relocated to Amsterdam, Netherlands.[20] He officially left the band in June 1984, following the release of "One Better Day".[21] The six remaining members left Stiff Records and formed their own label, Zarjazz Records, which was sub-label of Virgin Records.[21] In 1985, the label released the band's sixth album, Mad Not Mad. Barson's keyboard parts were filled by synthesisers and Steve Nieve joined the band to take his place. In later years, frontman Suggs described the production as "polished turd".[23] The album reached number 16 in the UK charts, which was the band's lowest position on the album charts to date. Despite the poor chart showing, the album was listed as number 55 in NME's All Time 100 Albums.[24] The singles for the album fared even worse, with "Yesterday's Men" peaking at number 18 in the UK charts. The subsequent singles, "Uncle Sam" and "Sweetest Girl", failed to make the top 20, which was a first for Madness singles

Early success

"The Prince" (1979)
Sample of the original recording of "The Prince". The song was the band's first single, released on Two Tone.
"One Step Beyond" (1980)
A cover of a Prince Buster B-Side. The song was Madness' first single to enter the top 10 of the UK singles chart.
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In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince".[9] The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers.[9] The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts at number 16.[9] A performance of "The Prince" on popular UK music show Top of the Pops helped Madness gain public recognition. Madness then toured with fellow 2 Tone bands The Specials and The Selecter, before recording their debut album, One Step Beyond..., which was released by Stiff Records.[9] The album included a re-recording of "The Prince" and the band's second and third singles: "One Step Beyond" and "My Girl". The title song was a cover of the B-side of the 1960s Prince Buster hit "Al Capone". One Step Beyond... stayed in the British charts for 37 weeks, peaking at number 2.[10][9] After the release of "My Girl", the band felt that they had exhausted the material from One Step Beyond..., and did not want to release any more singles from the album.[11] However, Dave Robinson, head of Stiff Records, disagreed.[11] Eventually, a compromise was made, and the band decided to release an EP featuring one album track and three new tracks.[11] The result was the Work Rest and Play EP, which

1976–1978: Formation

The core of the band formed as The North London Invaders in 1976 (although their name was often shortened to The Invaders), and included Mike Barson (Monsieur Barso) on keyboards and vocals, Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) on guitar and Lee Thompson (Kix) on saxophone and vocals.[2] They later recruited John Hasler on drums and Cathal Smyth (better known as Chas Smash) on bass guitar. Later in the year, they were joined by lead vocalist "Dikron".[2]

This six-piece lineup lasted until part way through 1977, when Graham McPherson (better known as Suggs) took over the lead vocals after seeing the band perform in a friend's garden.[7] Smyth, who was poor on bass guitar, was replaced by Gavin Rogers, an acquaintance of Barson.[7] McPherson was kicked out of the band for too often choosing to watch football instead of rehearsing.[8] Thompson left the band after Barson criticised his saxophone playing.[8]

About Madness

Madness is an English pop/ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976.[2] As of 2008, the band has continued to perform with their most recognised lineup of seven members, although their lineup has varied slightly over the years. They were one of the most prominent bands of the late-1970s 2 Tone ska revival.[3]
Madness achieved most of their success in the 1980s. Both Madness and UB40 spent exactly 214 weeks on the UK singles charts over the course of the decade, holding the record for most weeks spent by a group in the 1980s UK singles charts. However, Madness achieved this in a shorter time period (1980-1986).[4][5][6]