The Madness - The post-break-up project

I remember when Madness broke up in 1985. Following on the heels of The Specials, The Beat and The Selecter break-ups it signified the end of an era. I also remember seeing this record in the old Cheap Thrills record store in New Brunswick, NJ when it came out and buying it. It was around the time we were starting Bigger Thomas and I listened to it hoping it would serve as a doorstop (or better yet an opener) back into the 2Tone sound I loved. I was a bit disappointed, but in retrospect this is an interesting piece of music in the long and winding road that is Madness. The post-break project that leads to a reconciliation a few years later. For that its worth a listen.

The Madness is a self-titled album by "The Madness". In 1988, after the breakup of the original Madness, four of the original members (Suggs, Lee Jay Thompson, Chris Foreman and Cathal Smyth) recreated the band, adding "The" to its name. Since the new band did not include a bassist or drummer, guest musicians (mostly Bruce Thomas from Elvis Costello's backing band The Attractions but also Earl Falconer from UB40) played bass, Jerry Dammers and Steve Nieve (also of The Attractions) player piano and keyboards, while a drum machine was used in place of a live drummer on most tracks.

They released only this one album and two singles ("I Pronounce You" and "What's That"), which were less successful than the original band releases, and The Madness disbanded by the end of the year. Madness reformed with its original members for the reunion tour in 1992.
"The Madness" reached # 66 in the UK, while the singles "I Pronounce You" reached # 44 and "What's That" # 92.

Tracks:
Nail Down the Days
What's That
I Pronounce You
Oh
In Wonder
Song in Red
Nightmare Nightmare
Thunder and Lightning
Beat The Bride
Gabriel's Horn
11th Hour
Be Good Boy
Flashings
4 B.F.

The Madness - The Madness

Here is the video for I Pronounce You

Starvation - UB40, Madness, Specials, General Public

With what's going on in Darfur and now in Myanmar I thought it appropriate to post this video of "Starvation" by The Pioneers that features a cornucopia of members of 2Tone era bands including The Specials, Madness, UB40, General Public and The Pioneers along with others (check out the Trumpet solo by Dick Cuthell who toured with The Specials).

Starvation/Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie was a double A-sided charity single released in 1985, and recorded by two charity ensembles formed specially for the occasion, also known as Starvation and Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie respectively. The aim was to raise money for the starving people of Ethiopia.

The idea of gathering artists together to make a charity record was copied from Bob Geldof's Band Aid project, which was number one in the UK charts at the time Starvation/Tam Tam was recorded in December 1984. Band Aid was criticised by some for featuring very few black musicians, and none at all from Africa. The Starvation/Tam Tam record was meant to rectify this.

"Starvation", a cover version of a Pioneers song, featured a number of musicians associated with the 2 Tone era (the group were originally going to be called "The 2 Tone All Stars"), including members of The Specials, Madness, The Beat and UB40, as well as The Pioneers themselves. It was produced by Jerry Dammers.

"Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie" was recorded in Paris and featured an ensemble of African artists. Many of the musicians in question were from French-speaking countries, but lyrics in a number of African languages - including Douala, Lingala, Wolof, Malinke and Swahili - also featured on the record. It was produced by Manu Dibango.

The record was released on the Zarjazz label and reached #33 in the UK charts, marking the only time that a record to raise money for Africa actually featuring African artists has entered the UK Top 40.

Proceeds from the record were distributed to the charities Oxfam, War On Want and Médecins Sans Frontières.

Here is the line-up that recorded the song and appear in the video:

Vocals: Ali Campbell, Robin Campbell, Ray Falconer (UB40); Jackie Robinson, Sydney Crooks, George Agard (The Pioneers)
Keyboards: Jerry Dammers (The Specials)
Guitar: Lynval Golding (The Specials)
Bass: Mark Bedford (Madness)
Drums: Daniel Woodgate (Madness)
Percussion: John Bradbury (The Specials), Geraldo Darbilly
Talking Drums: Gasper Lawal
Cornet, Flugelhorn, Trumpet: Dick Cuthell (The Specials)
Trombone: Annie Whitehead
Additional vocals: Dave Wakeling (The Beat/General Public)
Toasting: Ranking Roger (The Beat/General Public)
Backing vocals: Lorenza Johnson, Claudia Fontaine, Caron Wheeler, Naomi Thomson (Afrodiziak)

Here is the video. A lot catchier than "We Are The World" wouldn't you say?

The Latest on The Specials Reunion: Jerry Dammers Says "Not So Fast"

You knew it was bound to happen at some point. Word out of the UK last week that Jerry Dammers isn't so sure the rumoured Specials reunion will come off. You have to wonder what it will take to make this happen (apparently it will take a lot more than gobs of cash). Old wounds heal slowly I suppose.

According to a story last week posted on GIGWISE Jerry has poured cold water on talk of a Specials reunion saying that it is too early to say if it will definitely happen.

Jerry still feels there are still a lot of things to sort out, including working out if the band will still be able to deliver on stage. "We've had one attempt at a trial rehearsal, which at no point was all seven people in the room at the same time. It's very early days you know we're talking but there's nothing definite at the moment at all." He added about the rehearsal: "Some elements were good, and some elements weren't so good. “There is a helluva lot of work to do. If people are willing to do the work then we can move forward, if they are not willing to do the work then we can't. So I don't know."

Ever the perfectionist Jerry is also concerned that some people may want the Specials to reform for the wrong reasons. "The music comes first to me. As soon as you lose sight of that, you lose sight of everything. People who put the money before music you are on a high road to nothing, a mad dash for cash I am not into at all. We will have to see if the music can come together properly."

Andy Partridge Interviews Jerry Dammers Circa 1984

Now this is something amazing! Again I have to thank the Blogosphere for providing more manna from heaven. If there are two musicians who have inspired me with their vision and their impact on modern music its Jerry Dammers from The Specials and Andy Partridge of XTC. Imagine my surprise then at finding this gem from 1984. Even more surprising is that both of them have always been somewhat reclusive (mad geniuses if you will) and yet here they are appearing on an MTV-style video show. Introvert interviewing introvert. You gotta love the cheesy set and the early 80's robot sidekick.

Enjoy this four part interview.

The first part includes the XTC video for "Wonderland"




The next clips include Andy introducing the Big Country video for "Wonderland" and them interviewing Jerry. It was during the time that Jerry had finished laboring over the The Special AKA "In The Studio" album and you get the sense that its a huge weight on his shoulders.



The final two clips include the interview with Jerry as well as the iconic video for "What I Like Most About You Is Your Girlfriend" where Jerry plays an alien from outer space who enters a bar, meets a guy and steals his girlfriend.

Go Feet Records

Formed by the Beat in 1980, the Go Feet label would end up releasing eighteen 7-inch singles, eleven 12-inch singles, and 6 LPs in its three year lifespan. These releases would go on to become highly significant in the worlds of ska, reggae, and pop.

As a result of the break out success of the Beat's first single which was released on the Two Tone label, the band was courted by numerous major labels hoping to cash in on the ska craze in the UK. The Beat established their own label to shield themselves from the many negative aspects of dealing with corporate record labels. In this way, the band was given more creativity to record the music as they wanted as well as to expose bands that the major labels would not take a chance on. Dave Wakeling describes the band’s inspiration for forming the label: as coming from “the Specials’ notion of Two Tone. We were quite impressed that it appeared that they had signed with a record label that could get them on the radio and that they had control of them.”

However, the Beat soon discovered, the benefits of such agreements were short-lived. They still faced great pressure to deliver hits as well as creative interference from the record executives. Arista’s promotion men had quotas to meet when they ventured out to the radio stations with their stack of records. These men gave men priority to established names that were easier to persuade the stations to play. Boutique labels, like such as Go Feet, would be placed on the bottom of the stack with far less emphasis placed on securing air time for them.
Arista distributed the label in the UK and throughout Europe, Japan, and Australia. I.R.S. distributed it in the USA the band had tried an initial run with Sire.

Cartoonist Hunt Emerson, known best at the time for his Firkin the Cat comic, is responsible for the design of the label, which has become just as memorable as the music its self. A simple palette of red, black, and white makes the records stand out. Meanwhile, feet in the style of a dance instruction chart are spread across the top. The bottom left is occupied by one of the most recognizable ska icons: the Beat Girl. Like the Two Tone icon "Walt Jabsco" who she is often associated with, the Beat Girl was inspired by a Jamaican ska photograph. She is a sketch of a girl dancing in a photograph with Prince Buster. She as well as many other elements of the design were inspired by the Beat’s first promotional poster. The poster also is the origin of the Beat’s logo, which Dave had sketched from a photograph of the Beatle’s drum kit. As sales declined, Arista made the decision to stop pressing the 7-inch singles with the traditional Go Feet paper label in favor of the cheaper (and far less attractive) molded silver label.

For more detailed information about Go Feet visit the web site devoted to the label

Ranking Roger & Neville Staples Interview

I found a great interview of Roger and Neville from just a few days ago that was broadcast on ITN in the UK. The rumoured reunion of The Specials has generated a lot of media interest in the UK. What's striking about the interview is how down-to-earth both Neville and Roger are and what good friends they are. Their bands (Neville Staple's Specials and The New English Beat) tour the UK regularly.

I had the pleasure of meeting Roger when we opened a few shows for the Special Beat in 1991. The most memorable was when he came by our tiny, decrepit dressing room underneath the stage at The Fastlane in Asbury Park to say hello. He sat and chatted with us for about 10-15 minutes. That always made an impression on me.

Enjoy the interview. It takes a bit of time to open but be patient its worth the wait.

ITN Interview with Ranking Roger & Neville Staple

UB40's Twentyfourseven: The CD and the rehearsals

As a quick disclaimer, I am not being paid by UB40 to make all these posts about the band the last few days, and I will be moving on to other bands, songs and 2Tone heroes in upcoming posts.

However I never turn down a challenge. Seek and ye shall find. Without fail the blogosphere has delivered a copy of the new UB40 album that many die hard fans (i.e., Loonies as they call themselves) have been raving over as well as a recoding of the live rehearsals featuring the new version of the band (UB40 2.0 if you will).

As a big fan (diehard would too strong a word) I have always followed the band through the ups and downs of their career. I've found the last few months fascinating and though I've read about the new songs and watched You Tube videos I've really been jonesing to listen to them like the 2 million people in the UK who got free copies of the CD last weekend. This CD contains the songs as sung by Ali Campbell. Apparently the band plans to distribute a 17 song version with these 10 plus 7 new songs sung by new singers Duncan Campbell and Maxi Priest. The rehearsal features Duncan and Maxi. Compare and contrast.

Well without further ado here they are. Please download and share any thoughts/comments you have.

UB40 - Twentyfourseven

UB40 - The Rehearsal Sessions