2000-2001

The singer adds yet another string to his TV bow, becoming a regular team captain on the BBC’s new music quiz show, playing against a team led by Slade legend Noddy Holder. The show goes out on Saturdays at 6pm, while over on Channel 5 at the same time, Night Fever is still running too.

Madness perform new single Drip Fed Fred on the primetime show, but only after changing the controversial line, ‘So we’ll take pity on your souls and only cap your knees’. As in previous years, the band get in trouble with producers – Lee is told off for not wearing his Reverend Greene outfit to the dress rehearsal, while Suggs is chastised afterwards for waving a wad of cash around.

The band playback Johnny The Horse and It Must Be Love on Madrid’s TVE 1 station.

Madness perform a 30-minute session for an intimate crowd which will also be broadcast on RNE radio on November 11. All band members are dressed in black, with Woody and Lee wearing ‘Vote For Fred’ T-Shirts. The set opens with a bilingual version of One Step Beyond, and during the bridge of Johnny The Horse Suggs replaces Regent’s Park with ‘Regendos Po-cos’. During Lovestruck, he says, ‘This is a song about lamp-posts. I don’t know what they’re called in Spanish.’

Ahead of the single release, Madness had organised a day out in London to promote new single Drip Fed Fred, encouraging fans from far and wide to descend on the capital. The band planned to travel across the city on a red double-decker bus, with stops at Hyde Park, Trafalgar Square, Leicester Square, Gold Square and Marylebone. They even hired a tank and enlisted a scooter club to accompany them, with Phill Jupitus and local radio stations GLR, Capital and Virgin all on board. The BBC also planned to film the activities – but alas the stunt was cancelled after police and the council expressed concerns about public safety.

The band play Drip Fed Fred, minus Lee, who is on holiday with his family. Terry Edwards takes his place on sax, while comedian and Madness fan Phill Jupitus plays his ‘Right Honourable Reverend Greene’ part.

The third single from Wonderful, with Ian Dury’s last recorded performance, peaks at number 55 in the UK singles chart. For the video, Phill Jupitus briefly appears as a monk with a noose, while Lee is Reverend Greene, complete with the white face make-up and eye-patch from the video for Crunch! track It’s OK, I’m A Policeman. The promo is a home-made effort, with fans volunteering to appear on screen.

The singer talks to Johnnie Walker, revealing that Drip Fed Fred will be the last track released from Wonderful. He says the band may put some stuff together later in the year ‘to see if there’s any interest’.

The singer loses his long and public battle against liver cancer at the age of 57. He dies peacefully at his home in North West London with his sculptor wife Sophy Tilson at his side. He leaves behind sons Albert, two, and five-year-old Bill, plus Jemima and Baxter by his first wife Betty, who had also died of cancer.

Members of Madness are pallbearers for the emotional send-off. A plumed horse and glass-sided carriage leads the cortege from Belsize Park, north London, picking up mourners from Ian’s family home in Hampstead and passing near Kilburn High Road before arriving at Golders Green crematorium.

Mourners including Robbie Williams and Cabinet Office Minister Mo Mowlam joined 250 mourners at the funeral of rock star Ian Dury, who died last week. A traditional horse and carriage led the cortege from Belsize Park, North London, picking up mourners from his family home in Hampstead and passing near Kilburn High Road, which gave its name to his first band. A pair of Friesian horses with black plumes drew a glass-sided carriage containing his coffin, draped in a black cloth. Members of the band Madness acted as his pallbearers at Golders Green crematorium. Dury, who died after a long battle with cancer aged 57, was one of their inspirations and performed on their recent single Drip Fed Fred. Robbie Williams travelled to Sri Lanka with Dury in 1998 to work for the charity Unicef, while Mo Mowlam was a fan of the singer, who had seen him in concert weeks before he died. Other mourners included BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Nightingale, who championed Dury’s career in the late 1970s, and musician Nick Lowe, a label-mate of his on Stiff Records. Humanist Annette Furley, who conducted the service, said: “He was one of the few original personalities in the music business. He used to write music that made you want to dance and also made you laugh. He was aware that he couldn’t sing but he knew that he had a good feeling for tempo and rhythm. When told a year ago he was going to die, in true Ian style his reaction was ‘Oh blimey’.” Speaking of his love for his two youngest children, Bill and Albert, Ms Furley added: “The only time he became sad about his illness was when he knew he would not see them grow up. He inspired all those around him and changed people’s lives. Many people have said what they did because of Ian. He continued to gig even through his illness and he never lost his sense of humour. Even on the day he died he was still telling jokes.” There were more than 60 wreaths for the singer, many of them tongue-in-cheek. One was a floral tribute in the shape of a pint of Guinness, another shaped like a guitar, and one from Madness, reading ‘Uncle Ian from Madness’. Others read ‘Oi Oi’, ‘Dad’ and ‘Durex’ – a play on his name. His second wife, sculptor Sophy Tilson, was at the crematorium, along with their children Bill and Albert. His grown-up children, Jemima and Baxter, from his first marriage to Betty, were also there. Many watched the service on a TV screen outside. Dury’s band, The Blockheads, performed a song on which he had worked with them in the week before his death. After the service, Robbie Williams called him a “wonderful man”.   “Because of Ian I went to Sri Lanka with Unicef. I am off to Mozambique this year to carry on Ian’s work,” the singer said. “He’s been an inspiration – as a person and as a musician – and my thoughts are with his family and friends. May he rest in peace.”   Mourners then continued the service by heading to the Forum venue in Kentish Town, where Dury performed when it was called the Town and Country Club.

The popular show involves the singer’s wider family as well as band members Woody, Lee, Bedders and Chris. Other guests include Hope & Anchor landlord John Eichler, Boy George, Jools Holland, Phill Jupitus, Noddy Holder, old school friend Richard Dickson, Clive Langer, two members of The Farm, Night Fever conspirator Tony Blackburn and various Chelsea footballers. Mike and Carl don’t appear.

Suggs tries out a three-hour late morning show on XFM. As a result, he’s gifted the slot from Monday to Thursday. Over the ensuing months, the singer shares a studio with the likes of Maxim from The Prodigy, The Charlatans, Space, Mark Thomas and David McAlmont.

The band are honoured for their song writing at the 45th awards event organised by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. After a lunchtime ceremony at the Grosvenor House in London, they celebrate well into the night.

Lee and Chris reunite with their side project bandmates to rehearse for upcoming gigs. Among the tracks are three new numbers – Can’t Touch Us Now, Given The Opportunity and You Can’t Keep A Good Thing Down. The first two appear 16 years later on Madness’s 10th studio album, Can’t Touch Us Now, while the latter turns up on the special edition of Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja da Da in 2012.

The Ghost is a nine-piece collective fusing Celtic folk, glam and rockabilly. Carl’s cousin, lawyer Sean MacGloin, plays violin, harmonica and bagpipes. (Sean’s father was Tommy MacGloin, who’d been name-checked on The Return of the Los Palmas 7 as ‘Tommy MacGloin and his combo’). Musical director and guitarist is ex-Polecat Martin ‘Boz’ Boorer, while other band members are David Ruffy (drums), Jason Wilson (double bass), Damian Hand (saxophone), Jason McDermid (trumpet), Louis Vause (keyboards, accordion) and ex-Mike Barson stand-in Seamus Beaghen (piano).

Virgin Records put out the reworked Greatest Hits collection, with digitally remastered versions of It Must Be Love, Driving In My Car, House Of Fun, The Sun & The Rain, Wings Of A Dove and (Waiting For The) Ghost Train. The tracklisting is as per the original Divine, but with Lovestuck and Johnny The Horse added. This time, all the single versions are used instead of album mixes, apart from a heavily edited version of Shut Up, which fades out more than 30 seconds short of the actual single version. All the music is re-mastered, apart from the Wonderful tracks, and new video images are also taken for the artwork.

Carl makes his one and only appearance with his new outfit at the Celtic music festival in Finsbury Park, minus Seamus, who is unavailable. The set features The Alligator Song, AKA Alligator With A Stanley Knife, which Carl had performed at Madness’ Red Wedge dates in 1986.

The Wizard / We Are Love / Johnny The Horse / You’re Wonderful / Light Of The Way / The Communicator / The Alligator Song / This Friend I Know / Hoodle La La / Welcome To The Dark Side

Madness join Robbie Williams, Joe Strummer, Mick Jones, Kirsty MacColl, Kathy Burke, Tom Robinson, Keith Allen, Phill Jupitus and Mark Lamarr as part of an all-star cast paying tribute to the man and his music. Madness perform four songs, including the Kilburns’ Crippled With Nerves and It Must Be Love. In addition, Suggs teams up with The Blockheads for My Old Man while Carl sings What A Waste and Lee takes the mic on Plaistow Patricia. Glen Matlock also performs the Ronnie Lane song Debris with Lee, Davey Payne, Terry Edwards and Mick Jones.

No matter how many stars pack the stage tonight, you can’t shake the sad, overwhelming sense that there’s something missing. When Ian Dury died of cancer in March, thirty something rock fans felt their first great loss. And they’re here in their thousands at this sell-out celebration. Though his career peaked in the early 80’s, Dury’s warm, earthy Essex brogue, his saucy poetic postcards from the edge and his love of the music hall, bolstered by the Blockheads’ quirksome funk, won him many friends and influenced a generation of bands. Many of whom are here. Sets by Madness, Wilco, Chas and Dave and former Clash man Mick Jones {Strummer didn’t turn up} warm up the masses, while The Blockheads smile as they work their faultless magic behind the parade of guests. While the star of the show isn’t here, his timeless tunes are. And his mates do them justice. The comedians acquit themselves well. Kathy Burke grins through the rude reminiscences of Billericay Dickie. Mark Lamarr throws himself into a riotous version of Blockheads. Cocksure Keith Allen does a Dury shout for Blackmail Man. And Phil Jupitus runs through Reasons to be Cheerful before hailing the Blockheads as “the best fucking band in the world”. Madness play their part. Suggs does My Old Man, Chas Smash gets tender on What A Waste and Lee Thompson, donning a dusty suit and a comedy false nose and moustache, thrusts through Plaistow Patricia. Mick Jones returns for I’m Partial to Your Abracadabra. Saffron from Republica bounces through Mash It Up Harry. Kirsty MacColl makes her shaky way through Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick and in a supreme piece of ironic casting, Tom Robinson sings I Want to be Straight. Meanwhile Humphrey Ocean, bassist with Dury’s earlier outfit Kilburn & The High Roads, does There Ain’t Half Been Some Clever Bastards. Robbie Williams is joined by the entire cast for the grand finale, and in a great performance pays his respects to his friend with Sweet Gene Vincent and Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll. A fine send-off, then, for one of British rock’s truly individual greats. Goodnight, Ian, God Bless. You clever bastard.

Gary Crossing, MOJO

In lieu of anything else to do, and after doing part-time work for a pest control company to make ends meet, the drummer forms his own company called Woody’s Floors.

Suggs appears at short notice, performing Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick and It Must Be Love. Also appearing are Bon Jovi, Elton John, Queen and Travis.

Another new TV gig for the Madness frontman. This time he presents alongside Julia Bradbury, with the six-part series recounting car stories with a twist.

One Step Beyond / My Girl / Johnny the Horse / It Must Be Love / Baggy Trousers / Lovestruck / The Communicator / Drip Fed Fred / Madness

The five-day sessions features most of the tunes performed at the Fleadh, along with other tracks As Stars Above, My Heart Is True, This Friend I Know, Bewdley Street, Why Be Brutal and I’m Going Mad Again. Another track, Viva Londinium, is later re-fashioned as Mk II on The Liberty Of Norton Folgate. After an online competition, an album title is chosen – The Father, The Son And The Velvet Ghost – after a suggestion by fan Steve Chapman. However, after the rough album is hacked and bootlegged from Carl’s website forum, the project goes no further.

All seven members take part in this worthwhile programme, which boasts unique archive footage of The Invaders from 1977, plus numerous interviews with the band and their associates. The show ends with each member leaving separately outside Camden tube station and the open-ended statement, ‘The band are currently unsure of their future.’

The singer pops up in London’s Soho for an NSPCC charity event. He is presented with the first pint ever poured at the famous boozer, which normally only ever serves halves.

During A Beginner’s Guide to Reggae, Suggs says he’s thinking of doing some more solo stuff in a reggae style and adds that Cecilia killed off The Lone Ranger as ‘it had too much candy floss on it’.

The venue holds its farewell bash exactly 18 years since it doors opened. To mark its move from Harlesden to the West End’s Astoria, the Last Tango In Harlesden sees Carl play a short acoustic set – Johnny The Horse, This Friend I Know and Hoodle La La – before reciting the poem The Weak and The Strong.

Entitled Don’t Watch That, Watch This, and already delayed from autumn 2000, the authorised biography was to be written by journalist and long-time fan Adrian Thrills.

Also starring Bob Monkhouse and Phil Cornwell, the BBC Radio 4 musical sitcom runs to four episodes, followed by a second series in spring 2003.

Carl performs an acoustic set of Velvet Ghost material as part of Louis Vause’s regular Big Chill slot on Sundays.

The Wizard / This Friend I Know / Johnny The Horse / As Stars Above / Why Be Brutal / I’m Going Mad Again

The six-piece includes Lee and son Daley on drums, singer/songwriter Kevin Burdett and his son Danny (both guitar), and 70s rocker Nick Judd (bass) and son Alex (piano). The setlist mixes Ian Dury, The Beatles, Alex Harvey, glam rock and 60s classics with Madness songs. The outfit play sporadically before splitting in 2004.