Madness !
Madness are a British pop/ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976.[2] The band continue to perform with their most recognised lineup of seven members, although their lineup has varied slightly over the years. They were one of the most prominent bands of the late-1970s 2 Tone ska revival.[3]
Madness achieved most of their success in the early to mid 1980s. Both Madness and UB40 spent 214 weeks on the UK singles charts over the course of the decade, holding the record for most weeks spent by a group in the 1980s UK singles charts. However, Madness achieved this in a shorter time period (1980–1986)
Career
1975–1978: Formation
The core of the band formed as The Invaders in 1976, and included Mike Barson (Monsieur Barso) on keyboards and vocals, Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) on guitar and Lee Thompson (Kix) on saxophone and vocals.[2] They later recruited John Hasler on drums and Cathal Smyth (better known as Chas Smash) on bass guitar. Later in the year, they were joined by lead vocalist "Dikron".[2]
This six-piece lineup lasted until part way through 1977, when Graham McPherson (better known as Lord Suggs) took over the lead vocals after seeing the band perform in a friend's garden.[7] Smyth, who left after an argument with Mike Barson, was replaced by Gavin Rodgers, Barson's girlfriend's brother.[7] McPherson was kicked out of the band for too often choosing to watch Chelsea instead of rehearsing.[8] Thompson left the band after Barson criticised his saxophone playing.[8]
By 1978, the band had allowed McPherson to return, after filling in temporarily for Hasler (who had taken over vocals when McPherson was removed).[8] Thompson returned after patching things up with Barson, and Daniel Woodgate (Woody) and Mark Bedford (Bedders) also joined the band, on drums, replacing Garry Dovey, and bass guitar, replacing Gavin Rodgers, respectively.[8] After briefly changing their name to Morris and the Minors, the band renamed itself as Madness; paying homage to one of their favourite songs by ska/reggae artist Prince Buster.[9] The band remained a sextet until late 1979, when Chas Smash (AKA Cathal Smyth or Carl Smyth) rejoined and officially became the seventh member of Madness as a backing vocalist and dancer.[9]
- Graham McPherson – Lead Vocals
- Cathal Smyth – Trumpet, Backing vocals, dancing
- Lee Thompson – Saxophone, Percussion, Backing vocals
- Mike Barson – Keyboards, Pianos, Vibraphone, Backing vocals
- Chris Foreman – Guitar
- Mark Bedford – Bass Guitar
- Daniel Woodgate – Drums, Percussio
Source : wikipedia
