Madness go XL for landmark shows
Madness are marking their 40th anniversary with two major concerts. Last month, Classic Pop revealed how they were working on new music to mark the occasion. Now Suggs has confirmed that the band will “go XL” with two special shows in London, first at Kenwood House on 15 June, before their House Of Common festival pitches up on Clapham Common on 26 August. “Forty years at the coalface of modern popular culture,” the frontman reflected. “Man and boy. Dedicated to the purveyance of popular music of quality and distinction to the people. Dedicated in our selfless quest to have the nation singing, dancing and making merry through some of the darkest times of the last four decades. There will be feasts, street parties, extraordinary concerts of every shape and size up and down the nation.”
On top of that, a new Madness autobiography, Before We Was We, will be published on 26 September by Virgin Books. Suggs continued: “We saw off eight Prime Ministers, 12 England managers and a nasty bout of lumbago. But it’s not the endless achievements, not the unforgettable memories, it’s the fact we’re even still alive! (And miraculously in the rudest of health, thanks for asking.) Raise your glasses, lower your swords, ‘Arise, Sir Madness!’ Get stuck in! Here’s to the next 40 years.”