Madness Showcases New Songs From New Album At House Of Fun Weekender

Madness showcased songs from their brand new, as yet untitled, tenth studio album, in all its glory during their 'rehearsal set' this past Friday night at the House of Fun Weekender in the U.K. As with ‘The Liberty of Norton Folgate’ which the band performed live a full year before its release, Madness gave the new album tracks an early airing in their embryonic state for their most hardcore fans who attended the show. Quite a few of the songs have been played live during the band's summer tour, but it was the live debut for more than half the songs on the set list.

A fan in attendance at the Friday night performance reviewed the show on the Madness Central website:

"If Folgate was about grandeur and well crafted songs in a Kinks and English bands steeped tradition, this new as yet untitled Madness album is big time about pop music, All kinds, from the most upbeat and catchy new Madness bouncers I've ever heard, through themes harking back to Motown, big ballads and ages past of eras of the music they love. And it's flowing with love songs too.

Early it's a worry that the crowd wont take the new songs set with so many here to party, but we get a new spoken Chas intro, loud hailing from off stage and the heralded look behind the Madness curtain, into the machine and the workings. It's clearly explained what this is, and the band are not dressed in suits, to mark this with more casual look. Like it's a live rehearsal room? Well maybe. But man they didn't seem to need to crib off sheets much, apart from Carl seated at a stool. It's only the first song that false starts. And despite in band comments, and a lot of Woody's honest admissions that he's play some things from a box or he might need 2 goes, they all perform like hard worked rehearsals have paid off."

The set list of the 11/25/11 performance included:

Death Of A Rude Boy
Black & Blue
Big Time Sister
Deolali
My Girl II
La Luna
You Cant Keep A Good Thing Down
Kitchen Floor
I Never Knew Your Name
Misery (Loves Company)
1978
Crying
So Alive
How Can I Tell You
Powder Blue

Below are a few of the new songs as performed by the band over the summer:

You Cant Keep A Good Thing Down


Death Of A Rude Boy


1978


Madness have made a free download of 10 songs performed by support bands at the House Of Fun Weekender. Just visit the Madness website to register.