It’s not all ‘Arsequake’, Shoegaze bands and the cutting edge of art rock on Phoning It In you know – we love a bit of Classic Pop too. I’ve always had a soft spot for Madness – their airborne sax player and nutty antics are etched in the memory along with that incredible run of 80s hits – which is what tonight is all about (they’re promoting a new best of ‘The Hit Parade’). Their Psychogeographical, Prog-Rockney masterpiece ‘The Liberty of Norton Folgate’ aside they are perhaps the ultimate singles band. 31 – count ’em – Top 40 hits including an incredible run of 17 Top 10s to be precise. There’s is a great British songbook to rival The Jam, The Who, Slade for sheer singalong bounce, and most certainly The Kinks for smart, intelligent shtick full of strangely melancholy themes and kitchen sink drama.
Speaking of which, providing top drawer support tonight is another great UK hit machine, Squeeze. A band with a catalogue brimming with evocative and unflinchingly vivid songs like ‘Up the Junction’ (can you think of another song with the word ‘Smelly’ in it?), ‘Tempted’, ‘Labelled With Love’ – I could go on. They launch onto a volley of hits with Tilbrook and Difford both in magnificent, soaraway voice – the former still hitting the same notes as 40+ years ago, the latter 2 octaves lower and as rich and woody as ever – the combo of those two voices is one of the most recognisable in all Pop and what a privilege to hear them as a fantastic bonus feature to Madness. A trio of newer material creates a little mid set lull, but when you’ve got absolute gold like ‘Cool for Cats’ lined up you can afford to take it round the houses a bit. ‘Slap and Tickle’ (compete with proto acid house synth line) shows they can do a disco stomper too.
This is my first time seeing Madness – I was worried the audience might be a bit lairy but actually it’s a mix of ages and boys and girls. People have brought their kids, and Nana and Grandpa too. The vibe is a boisterous family party rather than a sweaty pub full of matchday meat-heads and, given a pint of lager in the AO Enormodome is a wince inducing £9.25 there are certainly no beers being launched skyward. Many in the packed arena have made an effort, dressed up for the occasion, lots of pork-pie hats around and yes…Manchester is going to do it with a Fez on.
Madness, sharp and suited and booted as ever with a gold lame brass section – file on to a huge ovation and launch into ‘One Step Beyond’. It’s notably slower paced than the record, and indeed much of tonight is played at a more sedate pace. This is a more elegant, swinging and loose version of Madness. Nutella boys rather than Nutty boys. It works because the songs are so flippin’ brilliant – and there a loads of them. ‘Embarrassment’, ‘My Girl’, ‘The Sun and the Rain’ – by the half way into the set they’ve already pulled out the kind of peerless classics that most bands are lucky to have two or three of never mind the 18 we get tonight.
They drop in a couple of newer ones, ‘NW5’ with it’s wistful chorus already sounding like it deserves to be in the A-list. And while the audience round us in the cheap seats are keeping their powder dry and saving their knees and elbows for later it’s just as enjoyable to sit and marvel at the stunning songs-smithery on display. It reminds me how hard it is to categorise Madness. Their roots are in Two-Tone and Ska but there’s a lot more to them than that – epitomised by Mike Barson’s barrelling, music hall piano that underpins most of the songs. Where did that sound come from?. Even a song like ‘Baggy Trousers’, on the surface a knockabout playground chant is full of weird jazz chords and off-kilter sax lines that positively reeks of 1970s Comprehensive Schools. House of Fun with its queasy fairground organ is weirdly psychedelic, avant-pop. We’re so used to hearing these songs it’s easy to take them for granted but given them a closer listen – they are truly remarkable and hard to pin down – jaunty and daft but as artfully clever as anything by Kate Bush or Andy Partridge. You could draw lines from the Bonzo Dog Band, Ian Dury, even Robert Wyatt and early 70s art rock. Have a close listen to those hits – there is so much under the surface.
The stage setting is a simple but effective mix of glittering cabaret club backdrop and giant old Radio Rentals TVs cutting between the band on stage and clips from promo vids – a reminder of how brilliant and key to their success their video and visual image was. There are huge singalongs of course – ‘It Must Be Love’, (woh-ah woh-ah) ‘Wings of a Dove’ and ending with a rousing ‘Night Boat to Cairo’ – that gets the sitters up and easy-skanking. There are so many hits they can afford to leave some out – for instance their magnificent reading of Scritti’s ‘Sweetest Girl’ or even ‘Driving in my Car’ but nobody could feel short-changed after that brilliant set. There’s is still the rockin’est, rocksteady beat – long may they Step Beyond.