2017-2018

MIKE (speaking in 2017): We’re very lucky to still be able to be at it after all these years; I never would have guessed it.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): We hope there’s still some new music to come too. We’ll keep writing for as long as we still have something to say, which personally I do.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): I’m very pleased with the way the band is at the moment, we’ve been very, very lucky – I’ve got a lot of contemporaries from when we were doing it the first time around who either aren’t around or aren’t doing it any more or whatever. You know, we started this band as friends, and that’s really our main focus – having a laugh together and being friends, and then making music and whatever else is required as a consequence of enjoying each other’s company.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): We are all good friends. We grew up together and that definitely helps. A lot of bands are just put together and don’t really know each other but that isn’t the case with us. We’re all different, interesting characters who each write songs and come up with ideas.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): The only downside of being in Madness is that things move slowly but that’s because some people appear in some things and not in others, but you can’t push anyone too much – it starts becoming unpleasant and the fun starts going out of it.

LEE (speaking in 2017): You definitely have to go through a democratic process to get various things done and dusted and agreed. Which is fine, it’s the reason we’ve stayed together in this marriage for nearly 40 years. We discuss things and work it out and if one or two strongly disagree, Chrissy Boy advises them to go for a long walk and have a re-think.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): The good thing about everyone having a say is that you get some positive things from people that maybe you didn’t respect or give the time of day to. But when you’re forced to listen to them you think, ‘Well maybe that’s not a bad idea.’ That’s happened a lot in the band and it’s nice that everyone has a say now. It’s important in a band that everyone feels like they have an input. If you get these Adolf Hitler-run regimes – I dunno, like The Rolling Stones – some of the band get a bit cheesed off. It’s better that everyone is a happy bunny. Nowadays, when things get difficult we use a democratic principle and the band can vote on it. Not everyone gets involved, and it’s interesting because everybody’s character comes into it. Lee doesn’t like everyone arguing and just wants the band to get on, so he makes a decision to just get everyone to shut up and get on with it. But it’s not too bad – we all get on pretty good these days.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): For me, the good thing about still being in a band is that I’m terrible at organising my own life. But this way, there’s always someone there to do it for you.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): I’m still very fond of this place. Without it we wouldn’t be standing here today.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): We found our mojo in here. It’s funny how things happen. If they’d said ‘Bugger off’ other bands wouldn’t have come and it wouldn’t have become a famous music venue.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): I still reckon they only gave us a residency because we have a thirsty demographic.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): There certainly was madness taking place in here when we played. It got to the point where you couldn’t get another person inside – it was pretty maniacal with sweat pouring off the ceiling and people collapsing and climbing on top of each other. It was a wild time.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): You couldn’t get a better feeling of live music than in a place like this, where you could almost touch the artist. Seeing a good young band starting out like that is something you remember for the rest of your life.

MIKE (speaking in April 2017): We’re all looking forward to it, everybody wants to go – in fact we’re partly going just to go to Australia. I’m staying out there for a little bit longer and some of the others are as well, so it’s great. It’s obviously very far away for us so it’s kind of exotic to go that far but at the same time, you’ve got this English sort of connection. Very similar to back home but obviously quite different, with the landscape and the environment. We’re definitely looking forward to it. It’s nice to have a bit of variation. Australia doesn’t come along every day so when it was suggested we thought, ‘Nice one!’ It’s a refreshing change and then onwards and upwards to other stuff. I remember one time, years and years ago, when we were in Australia and we were having a pretty hard time, heading on a downward tailspin, you never really know at those times that they’re going to pick up. To imagine that you’re still going to be doing it this much later is amazing.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): Hong Kong is interesting. It always gives me this feeling of Blade Runner. And it’s still got some of the old Victorian architecture down certain streets.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): When we were driving from the airport you all these huge flat blocks really, really high and hundreds of them together. It looks really otherworldly.

WOODY (speaking in 2017): I wake up every day thanking my lucky stars and thinking I’m a very lucky individual. Not many people get to do what they want to do musically and get paid for it and travel the world. When I do a gig now, I look out in the audience, I really enjoy it, and I’m thinking, ‘Wow, this is really special.’ Whereas years ago, it was all just a bit of a blur. It’s only years later when you manage to take in your achievements by slowing it down and enjoying it more.

DAVE ROBINSON (speaking in 2017): The band do seem to be having a good time now and it looks good on stage. There was a period where it looked like a bit of an effort. But lately I notice that everyone seems to be getting on together and good work does come from that.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): When everyone’s feeling comfortable and happy and they’re being listened to you get something more; it’s a synergy. There’s nothing like seeing the band all getting on. When I used to go and see bands when I was a kid, the thing I really used to enjoy was seeing them smiling at each other and having a good time – it would elevate the gig. When you see a bunch of moany whatevers, who don’t like each other’s company and are ignoring each other, it’s all so sterile.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): Being in this business means I’ve been in some pretty crazy situations over the last 30 or so years, so there’s still plenty to talk about. I’m actually now in the process of writing another show, which might be a bit more theatrical.

SUGGS: We’re all fans of the programme, so the idea that Madness might appear appealed. We spent two days out there and it really was good fun – we went out the night before filming and took in all that is Benidorm with the cast, who were great people. It was so much fun I was singing in a karaoke bar at 4.30am and Chris actually wanted to stay there – he was saying, ‘Couldn’t I play an out-of-work musician who keeps trying to get a gig in the pub?’

CHRIS (speaking in May 2017): Woody and his wife came off a quad bike and literally fell off a cliff. They both spent time in hospital and are now recovering at home. He was told he’d be on his back for six weeks but I spoke to him recently and he’s now able to walk. He hopes to be back by August but the way he’s progressing, who knows? Quite a resilient man, our Woody.  

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): A little kid asked me recently, ‘Is it fun being a pop star?’ And I would have to say yes, it is great fun – and Madness are the absolute epitome of having fun.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): I’ve been offered loads of reality telly stuff, but I don’t fancy eating worms for six months. With this show, there’s a great mix of archaeology and history. So there’ll be experts talking about this stuff and I’ll wander in asking stupid questions.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): I saw Slaves on Jools Holland and really liked them so singing with them was good fun. I’ve got a reputation for being onstage with bands that don’t want me there, this desire to get attention. Even my cousin’s wedding, I managed to ruin that.

WOODY (speaking in July 2017): As predicted, I paid for it the next day with my back, but it was worth it. Anyway, I know now that nothing can hold me back and it’s only pain. I’m still getting stronger every day and in the weeks to come drumming will have less impact on my back. Considering what my injuries were, it’s not that bad in the circumstances.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): We used to find these kind of shows very difficult to perform at, but we do a few more of them now.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): It’s your attitude. If you come with a negative attitude, it’s not going to help the atmosphere.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): It’s funny, you get middle-aged business men with their wives and they get really into it. If you’re not biased, if you think they’re just the same as you and me, you get into it and they get into it. Sometimes it’s brilliant.

WOODY (speaking in 2017): I could barely walk afterwards, but I keep reminding myself I could have died, so I need to get over myself when it comes to pain. To be honest, the drumming takes me out of myself; it’s only when I stop I feel it the most. Three fractured vertebrae and two fractured ribs takes no time to heal – it’s the nerve, and muscle damage that takes the time. It’s been challenging physically, but I’m getting better every day.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): To still be doing this is a privilege. I’ve managed to temper all my success with an enormous amount of failure. It’s the old Charlie Chaplin thing – you step over the banana skin in the street, only to fall down the manhole.

WOODY (speaking in 2017): I think people connect with our honesty; we just have simple stories about normal people. We’re not pretentious, we don’t often stand there gazing at our shoes, we don’t wear flamboyant clothes that people can’t relate to. We’re just six blokes who connect with the people we grew up with.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): Certainly the broadsheets are now talking about us with a lot more interest than they did in the past, which is nice.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): The whole festival thing has changed beyond all recognition. I’ve been around for 400 years so I’ve seen the development. When we started there was just about two. Now there’s all sorts of amazing things going on all over the place and we play all sorts of festivals. There must be a lull in the conversation among the organisers and then someone says, ‘Let’s get those old farts out there’.

CARL (speaking in August 2017): In January I had a cancerous tumour removed from my daft old head and in late March began six weeks of radiotherapy. Today I got the all-clear. The many who kept me in their thoughts and prayers, I cannot thank you enough. Isn’t life a beautiful adventure?

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): When we play these festivals, you see these little grandchildren that have been dressed up by the grandads in all the 2-Tone Fred Perry gear. Sometimes it’s a bit worrying because you see these old guys who were obviously around in 1979 and haven’t danced like that for 30 years. You start to worry that there might be a few collapses in the front row.

LEE: Jamie Oliver and the cheese fella from Blur were there, so the food and the backstage area were second to none. They had big Chesterfield sofas, Doom Bar on tap and a Jack Daniel’s bar in the corner, so it was a bottomless pit of drink; a never-ending glass.

NORMAN COOK (DJ): At one point there was a big roar and I seemed to take the crowd higher than usual, without really intending to or knowing what I’d done.

GARRY BLACKBURN (Madness manager): We looked across the stage and there’s this guy climbing this diagonal lighting rig. And of course, it’s Lee.

NORMAN COOK: My production manager had to argue with the health and safety people not to have the gig stopped.

LEE: It near enough cost me my final cat life. It was really bad and could have been terrible – I had nightmares for days after. I think it was the last time I took my feet off the ground.

SUGGS: Lee will insist on climbing up the lighting rig, even though he’s not as slight as he used to be. So he’s dangling over your head and you’re thinking, ‘I am going to catch you if you fall, but I know I’m going to die if you land on me. You big fat fuck.’ Then he can’t move for two days because he’s pulled all the tendons out of his arms.

CARL: It’s just typical Lee through. I remember sitting in a 30-storey hotel in Australia with Suggs and suddenly he appears. He’d jumped across a gap of maybe four-and-a-half feet from one tower to the next and he was like some sticky frog on the window.

WOODY: Giving out free tickets was a nod of appreciation to the people who are not normally acknowledged. We just wanted to say thank you because they really do the most amazing job. It must be tough to find the money to go and see a concert these days on the wages they’ve got, and they’ve done so much for us, so we said, ‘Here, have a freebie’.

SUGGS: We just thought we should do something nice for people who are overworked and underpaid. OK, it won’t change the world, but maybe it will make folk think about the people who look after us. It just helped make it a beautiful day out for everyone.

WOODY (speaking in 2017): A warts-and-all film about a band that are still together might be a little awkward. It’s easy to slag each other off when you’re not together, isn’t it? I’m neither for or against the film at this moment in time, I’ve got a severe fence stuck up my bum, very uncomfortable. Besides, there’s still life in the dog yet and there are some people that think, maybe it’s a little premature to be doing a film when our career hasn’t even ended.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): It’s just a rumour that’s been going around, but there’s definitely a story to be told there. I couldn’t see myself in Hollywood though – more like Holloway.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): I still get a lot of kids coming up to me saying stuff like ‘Oh my God, on the weekend I was so embarrassed because I was at a wedding and I’ve never seen my dad dance before. Night Boat To Cairo came on and my dad and uncles all jumped up dancing like they were 18 again!’ Young kids seem to really identify with the stupidity. We made those videos to have a good time; we were dressing up and messing around just like kids. I think that is still attractive to kids today.

JEFF BAYNES (director): I’d been the cameraman on Baggy Trousers and House of Fun, so I already knew that Madness were interesting people and I was fascinated by Lee’s versatility as an actor and the characters he created in the videos. I also live in NW5 and used to bump into Lee and Chris quite a lot, so got to know them quite well, and ended up making some of their videos for Crunch! I’d heard about a similar project on the radio, where a woman was doing a lot of interviews and then playing all the characters herself and thought, ‘That sounds good.’ I checked with Lee and he said he was up for it.

LEE: Jeff just rang me up and said, ‘I’ve had this idea about filming all the people you know – band members, friends and family. And then you dress up as those people in front of a blue screen and we’ll put images on it, and you’ll play them as you see them.’ I thought, ‘Ooh, quirky, different. Let’s have a go, it doesn’t sound like it’s going to be too time-consuming and it won’t get in the way of any Madness stuff.’ To be honest, I was more concerned about who it would appeal to. I mean, obviously the Madness camp, but why me? Why not pick on one of the other band members? I asked Jeff why I’d been chosen as the main focus of the film and he said it was because I was a bit of a show-off – a Phil Mitchell-meets-Bob Hoskins type. He just said that, judging by past interviews and stories and what people have told him, he thought I’d have a bit more of an interesting story to tell.

JEFF BAYNES: Having worked with Lee and the boys before, I knew that he would bring loads of ideas to it. They always dreamed up loads of new things for every video and were adding to it as we went along, and Lee was a central part of that.

LEE: I think the other lads in the band were a bit suspicious about it at first and only really saw it had legs after Jeff sat down and had a chat with Chris. After that, they seemed to come on board and we duly started filming.

JEFF BAYNES: Most of it was shot in my front room and kitchen…

LEE: …and his wife was very tolerant.

JEFF BAYNES: When we were filming, I’d write down the words and tape them above the camera, and within three or four takes we’d get it. Lee would add little details and gestures and always found a little something to lift it.

LEE: It was as simple as Jeff pointing the camera and me putting the costume on. It was all very nice and casual; no one was cracking the whip so it was very enjoyable. There was only us two to answer to, so if something did go wrong, it was down to us. Luckily, nothing did go wrong at all other than putting filming off now and again because of other duties with the Ska Orchestra and Madness. The only really difficult part was some of the tongue-twisting mouthings.

JEFF BAYNES: One of the early characters we did was Dave Robinson. Lee said, ‘Give me that shirt… and that hat…’ and we sort of created the character like that, with the glasses and the pencil behind the ear and all that stuff. If you ever met Dave, there’s definitely bits of him there.

LEE: I did Dave as this mad, bully-ish Irish navvy type. He wasn’t keen on how I perceived him and was gonna ask to have it pulled. But he watched it a few times, we had a beer, and he then calmed down and he was fine about it. Once he got into it, I thought, ‘This has got legs. If he likes it, anyone will.’ Out of the other characters,  I loved playing Mike’s mum, but portraying the musicologist, Neil Brand, was the most fun, as was the woman who talks about my split personality. On the flip side, it was quite difficult to do Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, but we got there in the end.

JEFF BAYNES: Watching Lee’s facial expressions and hand movements unfold was just magic. He’d always find something relevant to match the dialogue.

LEE: The only real hiccup came when the BBC wanted something like £30,000 for us to use ten seconds of the Olympics footage. Mike suggested we use someone’s phone footage but in the end we just used a puppet, so that’s why that’s in there.

JEFF BAYNES: Because Lee doesn’t like to hang around, we didn’t spend too long on each scene, but it still ended up taking around three years to do.

LEE: We originally thought we could do it in about a year, but with Jeff’s patience and perseverance we got there eventually. He makes a fantastic cappuccino and his wife was also most patient with my array of props, wigs and slap. It meant the whole experience was a sheer joy and, for once, I didn’t get bored. I was really pleased with how the whole thing turned out.

MIKE: It’s very interesting and very different film; I think it’s kind of a window into the band.

SUGGS: Absolutely – by looking through Lee’s eyes you do get a good insight into the internal workings of the group.

TRACEY BELLAND (Voice of the Beehive, speaking in 2017): This is the last thing I expected too. A lot of it had to do with Woody agreeing to play with us again.

WOODY (speaking in 2017): It’s been a real buzz. At first there was a lot of reminiscing and middle-aged men stories of aches, pains, bad eyes, gratitude for regaining our hair, relationships, properties and kids. Then it was down to work. It took a bit of time re-familiarising ourselves with the songs, but once we were back in the groove the songs sounded massive. I’d forgotten how powerful we were.

WOODY (speaking in 2017): We’ve changed the set around over the years. We’ll say, ‘Oh, we’re going to play this song for a while, we’ll stick it in.’ But generally, there’s a rule of thumb that the cream rises to the top. We’re very, very sensitive to any song that doesn’t go down well; if people aren’t bouncing up and down and enjoying it, then it’s gone. It’s down to the audience, you know, ‘Oh, not everyone was singing along. That bloke in the third row looked a bit miserable. We’ll drop it.’ It’s a bit like that.

SUGGS: One night on that tour we were trundling around northern Europe in this tour bus and we’d had a few cold drinks too many and we started talking about politics and it all went a bit haywire. ‘Fake news this, fake news that…’ I was arguing with pretty much everyone and anyone.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): There’s a feeling that it’s ongoing now. Without being arrogant, we can sort of do what we like, when we want, and the pressure comes from us: ‘Can we do something that’s a bit better than the last thing we did?’ So someone sends the Mad signal into the sky, like on Batman, and we come back to the Mad Cave in Camden, and so it goes on.

WOODY (speaking in 2017): We’ve been through a lot, and the whole fact that we’re still together I think says a lot. I think we all become a little less tolerant of things as we get older and more stuck in our ways. But I do think that’s our strength; love and tolerance. For us, we speak our minds, and it’s like a family. Of course we fall out and we come back together again. But it’s like, ‘I can have a go at one of my band members – but no-one else is allowed to have a go at one of my band members.’

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): You start off and you’re happy to get a gig at the pub, then you have to make a record and you think that’s enough – but it keeps rolling along and here we are playing the closing ceremony at the Olympics, on the roof of Buckingham Palace and so it keeps on going. We’re very privileged and we do appreciate that it’s a great job being in a band – we’ve gone through enough up and downs to appreciate the ups.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): I think we still put on an entertaining show. We’re certainly better than some bands, where it’s really serious and intense all the time, like Paul Weller. And then you get the other end, like Kylie Minogue, where it’s all plastic and fabricated and the music is almost incidental. But with us we’re doing the whole circus – we’re making the music and we’re putting on the show.

WOODY (speaking in 2017): I reckon people still like us because on the surface our stuff is all nice, danceable pop music, but it’s also got an undercurrent and a depth and a different meaning. And that has a certain longevity to it.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): It’s embarrassing; I get people stopping me in the street crying, saying, ‘Me and my mates played that record over and over. We know every single word of every single track.’ It’s humbling but you can’t have false modesty.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): They used to say back in the old days, ‘Careful or you’ll end up playing at Butlins’ which was a massive criticism but in actual fact they really are the most fantastic thing. Butlins is part of all of our firmament and everyone who I talk to, if I ask them if they want to come down and play at our weekender, they all say the same thing, ‘Oh yes, Butlin’s, that would be brilliant.’ Butlin’s is great; it gives us the chance to spend some time with our fans in a very relaxed atmosphere which is unusual for us to be in a position to get that experience. And it just keeps getting better and better. On the Friday night we also play something unusual which is for us a bit of a challenge, maybe an old album or some new songs and then on the Saturday we play all the hits so everyone is happy.

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): It’s good listening to your old stuff like this again and being reminded that you did actually do some good things.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): These songs have been a big part of our life, so things like this bring memories of the bloody weeks and months in the studio, the rehearsing, the recording, the overdubs, the arguing…

SUGGS (speaking in 2017): The only thing is, in my house, being caught listening to your own music is worse than being caught watching porn: ‘Mum! Dad’s downstairs listening to his own albums again!’ But once or twice a year, when the family’s out, I might play one of our records. It’s certainly good to listen to how we developed over the years. I also watch the odd video of myself on YouTube. To be fair, I never get to see what the audience sees, so it’s an interesting experience.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): This year’s Friday setlist was a joint thing, although there was a bit of an argument, which we don’t need to go into. It was enjoyable and Chris got his way, to an extent, and I got mine. It was a good show but we always enjoy the Friday night because we can do something a bit different. A Place In The Sun was one that I chose; it’s a great song, with a lovely melody. We also did some B-sides, which Chris is always keen on doing. I thought we’d done a lot of B-sides already, but Chris is a pedantic fellow, so he sent me a list of what we’d done on the Friday nights. Me and Suggs wanted to do more of a Dangermen-type thing again, but it ended up being a real mixture that we certainly enjoyed. I know if I was a fan of a band, I’d love to go and see them do all sorts of different stuff.

MIKE (speaking in 2017): We don’t really know what we’ll be doing in 2018. We’re talking about doing some recording and we will do another album at some point I suppose. I wanted to have a bit of a break, but then again you start thinking, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t mind going in the studio.’ It gets a bit boring doing the same thing for a long time, and that includes playing live. That’s why it’s great to go to the studio. It’s like the weather you know – it’s good to have different seasons and it’s nice to change things around. Next time round I fancy doing a few covers, but apparently Chris doesn’t like them and says they never come out good. But I think it’s nice doing other people’s songs as there’s no pressure – it’s quite relaxing. Plus when you pick a song you like, it’s usually because it’s a great song in the first place.

JULIEN TEMPLE (director): I’ve known Suggs for a long time. Clive Langer was at William Ellis School with me and I knew Mike’s older brothers, so I was aware of the band early on. I later tried to cast him in Absolute Beginners. He said he had a broken toe and couldn’t do the dance audition, which was his way of getting out of it. Suggs is kind of a music hall character – you have this great juxtaposition of this 55-year-old man singing the same songs as his 18-year-old self. It’s a shame, because Madness have been dismissed as yobs, yet they’re an interesting record of the emotional history of the late 70s and 80s. People should understand there is a lot of politics in their songs, lots of layers, lots of information on the world they came from and told in a very contagious way. They were pioneers of celebrating the London we live in and embracing it.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): My first show was about me getting to 50 years old and starting to think about my life and looking for my dad. This second part is what happened to Graeme McPherson after he climbed the ladder of success to become Suggs. Without getting too morbid, fame has given me everything I’ve got but it’s also a very dangerous substance. You only have to think of people like George Michael and Amy Winehouse who were moths to the flame and got burnt up. Luckily, because of wife and kids, I’ve always had three voices telling me when it’s time to go home — although it used to be kind of embarrassing when my 17-year-old daughter was telling me I’d had enough to drink. However, it’s probably saved me from jail or, worse, death.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): Mum had a Facebook friend request from someone she didn’t know saying, ‘I think you’re my mum.’ This woman, Julie, had seen a repeat of my This Is Your Life on which my mother was introduced by her maiden name, Edith Gower. Julie recognised the name and spotted the resemblance so she got in touch five years ago. Mum flew to Dublin to meet her and when she came back she was different. It was as if she’d carried a tension inside her every day since she’d been forced to part with her daughter, but her shoulders had dropped and an innate sadness instantly disappeared. It was a marvellous surprise – a very miraculous thing for sure.

EDDI (Suggs’s mum): At the time she was born I wasn’t even coping with myself and was coping very badly with Graham, so I couldn’t have managed with another child. People would say, ‘How could you give up your baby?’ But to me, she wasn’t my baby, so I made the decision to have her adopted while I was pregnant. I felt no regrets since it was the best thing for all of us. I had thought of finding her over the years, but part of me always said, ‘Not yet.’

LEE (speaking in 2018): It’s starting to fire back up. Everyone’s put their head above the parapet and is writing now – even Bedders. Chris and Mike are bang at it, plus Suggs has a book of lyrics ready.

CHRIS (speaking in 2018): Everyone has a few songs knocking around but there’s nothing concrete yet. We need to get in the rehearsal rooms.

LEE (speaking in 2018): I’m working on one myself called British Film Standards, which is all to do with TV programmes. It was inspired by this Channel 4 show called Cucumber, which had a picture of a cucumber to advertise it. So I sat down with a cup of tea to watch it, and there’s two blokes sat on chairs, and all of a sudden one of them throws the other to the floor and starts taking the other from behind. And this is 5 o’clock in the afternoon! I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ Another song is called Wild Card, which is about megalomaniacs and big horrible bullies.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): When my mum was ill, I went to see her in hospital with my long-lost sister, and we were both standing there beside her bed, and suddenly my mum knew that her adopted daughter was alright. It was a great privilege. Some time afterwards, I was sitting outside a pub by Mornington Crescent tube station. I’d just picked up my mum’s ashes from the funeral directors; they were in a carrier bag on the table beside me. I ordered Mum a glass of prosecco and I had a pint. Then I spotted one of my contemporaries who’d obviously fallen on hard times, having an argument across the road. So I went to lend him a bit of support and, when I looked back, there was some druggie polishing off the prosecco, about to sink my pint and with my mum’s ashes under his arm. When I shouted at him and told him what was in the carrier bag, even he was a bit ashamed. It made me realise, though, that there but for the grace of God go I; I wasn’t that druggie or the one having a row about a tenner.

LEE (speaking in 2018): We were a bit concerned that the soundtrack was just going to be yet another compilation of Madness hits, so we put on a few tracks from the Ska Orchestra, a few from Crunch! and a demo version of Drip Fed Fred, which I’m really glad we got on it. Originally the artwork looked awful, like it had been done by a little kid, so we had it changed and now it looks like a cross between something from Monty Python and Yellow Submarine.

BEDDERS (speaking in 2018): There are a few album tracks that are quite dear to the band that we try to shoehorn in, but when you’re playing in the summer, you’re just flying in to play festivals, so you don’t have time to rehearse much or throw new things into the set. If you do play something new, it’s because you’re confident of knowing it. It’s always difficult because you just don’t have the time.

BEDDERS (speaking 2018): To this day, when we’re playing live, Lee is still off to one side, fiddling round and talking to someone, not doing his backing vocals like he should. We all say that he’s the most natural performer in the band and there’s always something going on with him when we’re playing. Out the corner of your eye you can see him picking up bits of equipment and throwing them off the stage, or jumping in and giving things to people, like hats and jackets. Even after 35 years, his legend still precedes him. If you haven’t seen him for a little while, there’s always a story doing the rounds about what he’s been up to.

LEE (speaking in 2018): I’m seriously enjoying it more now than ever before. We know how to take the piss out of each other, sit back and then laugh it off. It really is a charmed life; I’ve been in a gang since I was a kid and I still am, and it’s wondrous and joyful.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): I feel the same way. I would certainly rather be surrounded by this noisy, violent, frustrating gang of fools than be here on my own.

LEE (speaking in 2018): At the moment, it’s all red-carpet treatment and we’ve even got carers on board to give us our medication when we need it. We’re wearing neck braces and leg braces, and while the other 22-and-a-half hours is a fucking pain, for the one and a half hours we’re on stage it’s sheer joy. So I won’t be retiring just yet.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): Being on stage is the main thing; that’s what touring is all about. I think it was Charlie Watts who said, ‘The only problem is the hanging around. I’ve been on the road for 40 years but only actually worked for four of those years.’ The key is ensuring you’re with people you get on with, and doing things that are entertaining and that will occupy your mind. The whole thing revolves around that two hours on stage, which is the best job in the world as far as I’m concerned.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): Next year will be the 40^th anniversary of our first record, so we’re planning some big things and maybe a new album. We’d started to think, ‘Shit, if we want an album for next year, the big one, we had better get on with it.’ So we got in the rehearsal room and wrote four songs in a week.

LEE (speaking in 2018): I don’t know exactly what we’re doing for the 40^th yet; I probably won’t know until the day before, but I know it’ll be good.

CHRIS (speaking in 2018): We’d like to do an exhibition in London, and hopefully a  new album, but we have to get together and write it first. I’m always writing loads of songs, and have been writing some reggae-type stuff, so hopefully something will happen. I just need the others to start writing some lyrics.

LEE (speaking in 2018): Chris has sent me one called Prove Me Right, which has been hanging around for a few years and I need to finish off. There’s also some other material in the mix that we’re hoping to play later this year, and we’re hoping to maybe have an album out next year.

LEE: After the Eindhoven gig, we went back to the hotel, got a taste for it, and I said to Suggs, ‘Fancy having a late one?’ As we left, we passed these bowls of fruit and veg for juicing, so we grabbed a carrot each, I stuffed mine down my trousers, and we went running off to the town centre. We had a few beers and then went for a hot dog and got talking to a couple of women. And when I stood up one of them went, ‘Ugh!’ I’d forgotten about this carrot, which had slipped down my trousers and was poking out the bottom. I think I said to her, ‘You want to see it when it’s hard – you’ll faint.’

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): Being in a pop group is no better than being a fucking milkman. All we do is supply something that people want or need or like, but when you start taking yourself too seriously, that’s when it becomes a problem and that’s what leads to fucking danger. I don’t feel badly about people who take that attitude, but I just don’t like it myself.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): Doing this second show has been really interesting and I’ve really enjoyed it. I like having the chance to sing a few songs in a different acoustic fashion, and then explain how I wrote them and what they’re all about. It’s been a huge challenge but deep down I sort of knew I could perform like this. I’ve done a bit of TV and radio, so I had a vague idea that I’d be able to wing it, but it’s still been a big learning curve. Originally I thought that I’d just go onstage and tell a few funny stories but you have to write it, and you have to learn it, which all involves self-discipline. However, it’s very helpful because it means that now I’ve got the confidence where I can ad lib and mess around a bit.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): I’ve come to all these things later in life as I’ve got more interested in history. I suppose I’ve found myself a niche, although I’m still not quite sure why they chose me: ‘We need someone to talk about the restoration of Victorian steam engines. Oh I know, how about the singer from Madness?’

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): We spent 20 years wondering why people didn’t take us seriously, as we were singing serious songs. But then someone would say, ‘Would you mind dressing up as the Foreign Legion?’ And we’d say, ‘Oh go on then.’ Because we were such extroverts, all fighting for the limelight, we could never say no.

CHRIS: We were under rehearsed on the Friday night because Suggs had been doing his one-man show and the day that finished, Mike went to India with his son. So all we had was three days in London and a day in Butlin’s. OK, some of it was iffy, but are we not human?

MIKE: It was kind of my fault because I went on holiday to India with my youngest, Joey, who lives with my ex, to spend some time together. It was a bit of a ‘now or never’ trip which I felt I had to go on, and I only came back two days before we went to Minehead. Despite my suggesting we do something simple, we ended up doing new songs we were still working on and 12 covers because each band member chose two. So it was a bit on the complicated side rather than simple.

CHRIS: We were under par for sure, but then Friday night is always difficult. We’re under no contractual obligation to play twice, but we like to do something extra and different. I know there are some people that would be happy for us to just do the same greatest hits set twice, but on this occasion we picked songs from our many influences and it didn’t quite come off.

MIKE: Ultimately, it was a too short a time to rehearse properly and it was possibly a rare occasion that we bit off rather more than we could chew. We weren’t at our best and it also didn’t help that my keyboard stopped working for half a song.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): Here we are – all stuck together like fucking Steptoe and Son. We’re all stuck in that house moaning at each other; we’ll most probably all be there until we die. 

LEE (speaking in 2018):  I looked out at one gig recently and I could see this dad putting his son on the grandad’s shoulders, and that’s when it really hit home to me. I just loved that – I was all choked up.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018):  We do get a lot of kids coming to see us now who’ve obviously seen those funny old videos and, to them, it’s the best kind of kids’ TV there is.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): I never stop being grateful for what I’ve got, and my family have always kept my feet well and truly on the ground. I was very lucky that a lot of the other band members got married and had kids at the same time, so there was a lot of normality around. Unlike solo stars like Boy George or George Michael, we didn’t get into that surreal trajectory of people saying yes to you all the time. We’d come back from Hollywood and just have to do normal stuff, like put the bins out and live family lives. And it’s still the same now. If I started getting ideas above my station, Anne or the girls would just tell me to shut up. We have a family WhatsApp group full of sarcastic rubbish and I get the rug pulled from under my feet all the time. I’m definitely not the one who wears the trousers, baggy or not, in my house. That’s Anne. So whenever I complain about my one-man show or something she says, ‘How can you sit there and complain about getting paid to talk about yourself? You’ve got to be joking.’ There’s no sympathy there, that’s for sure. The other thing is, I’ve lived in the same house for years, so I know everyone in my street and they all know me and are bored of me, so they never talk to me about what I do for a living. It means I can act in a relatively normal way.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): Because of the link to my dad and his family, I genuinely do feel something when I go to Scotland. I don’t want to sound like Rod Stewart and all that shit, but there’s definitely a connection in my blood. When I go back there is something about that crazy place which stirs me.

SUGGS (speaking in 2018): Touring these days is still like being plunged into a lunatic asylum. Most of the crew are friends we’ve had for a long time, so we all get along very well; it’s a bit like going on holiday or getting on the school bus.

LEE (speaking in 2018): We do still socialise with each other sometimes when we’re on the road, but mostly it’s a case of ‘Get up on stage, do your thing, then have a quick drink together afterwards.’

BEDDERS: That gig was a funny one. Because it was in a Methodist hall, they were very funny about having drink in the public areas. They wouldn’t allow spirits to be sold, only beer and wine.