Madness and Blur Share the Love in the UK

Sigh. It sure would have been nice to be there.

Madness, Blur Wow Glastonbury Crowd

GLASTONBURY, England, June 29 (UPI) -- Fans acclaimed British bands Madness and Blur the stars of this year's Glastonbury music festival, observers say.

The 100,000 people who packed the festival grounds at Worthy Farm Sunday afternoon broke into a mass "Two-Tone" shuffle when the ska/pop band Madness played their 1981 hit "It Must Be Love" and saxophone player Lee Thompson took off into the air as he did in the band's video, The Times of London reported.

Damon Albarn and the rest of Blur made a similar impression on the massive crowd, the newspaper said, with fans -- some dressed as the milk cartons from the band's 1999 video for "Coffee and TV" -- joyously shouted "yes!" as Albarn and the band broke into "Girls and Boys."

The Times said Blur's highlight was a seven-minute rendition of their song "Tender," as well as guest appearance by actor Phil Daniels, who came onstage for a performance of "Parklife."

And...

Madness Make Glastonbury Return
Ska heroes return to Worthy Farm
Posted by Robin Murray Mon, 29/06/2009

Legendary British ska icons Madness have played a spectacular set at Glastonbury, marking their long awaited return to the festival.

Formed in the late 70s, Madness took ska and gave it a cheeky twist. In love with the sounds of Jamaica, the band were inspired by punk and soon gathered a rabid following. Releasing their debut single through Two Tone, the band soon came to dominate the charts.

Scoring hit after hit, Madness were the most successful act on the British singles chart throughout the 80s. Gaining a massive fan base, the nutty boys blended ska infected pop with lyrics that spoke of everyday life.

The band last performed at Glastonbury in 1986. Since that time the Berlin Wall has fallen, Apartheid has ended and The Specials have reformed meaning that the group were overdue a return visit.

Madness played a secret show in Glastonbury's now dis-continued Lost Vagueness area back in 2007, but this time were given an official place on the bill.

Playing a series of classic hits, the group also unveiled a clutch of tracks from their recently released album 'The Liberty Of Norton Folgate' as well as covering Max Romeo's reggae classic 'I Chase The Devil'.

Madness ended their set with a run through of some of their biggest hits, sending the crowd assembled around the Pyramid Stage into overdrive. Beginning with their number one hit 'House Of Fun' the band played a series of skanking hits.

Well known for their inventive videos, Madness saxophone player Lee Thompson was hung aloft during 'Baggy Trousers' recreating his role in the original promo. However the crowd held back their biggest reception for the 1981 classic 'It Must Be Love' which sparked a huge singalong.

Madness played:

'One Step Beyond'
'Embarrassment'
'The Prince'
'NW5'
'My Girl'
'Dust Devil'
'The Sun And The Rain'
'I Chase The Devil'
'Clerkenwell Polka'
'Bed And Breakfast Man'
'Shut Up'
'Forever Young'
'House Of Fun'
'Wings Of A Dove'
'Baggy Trousers'
'Our House'
'It Must Be Love'
'Madness'
'Night Boat To Cairo'

Is Michael Jackson Ska?

No...though RIP.

Prince Buster Hits Brighton!

From Pitchfork:

August 28-31, the English seaside town Brighton, the site of the great mod/rocker rumble from Quadrophenia, will play host to the hopefully relatively peaceful Beachdown Festival. Grace Jones, Super Furry Animals, Saint Etienne, Grandmaster Flash, Prince Buster and the Delroy Williams Junction Band, the Fall, and Ida Maria will all take part. Lord willing, Sting won't show up looking to bust heads.

Madness' The Liberty of Norton Folgate Review from the All Music Guide

Here is yet another great review of Madness' new album by the All Music Guide's chief reviewer, Stephen Thomas Erlewine (whose reviews I almost always agree with...):

Madness never disappeared but they faded away, spending years playing summer festivals and other oldies venues befitting an act specializing in nostalgia — an impression that 2005's covers album, The Dangerman Sessions, did nothing to assuage. All this makes The Liberty of Norton Folgate, the band's first album of original material in ten years, and their first in more than a quarter-century, to feel fully realized, even surprising. The element of surprise is not in the music, which is firmly within the 2-Tone tradition they laid down in the early '80s — and indeed, is produced by their longtime collaborators Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley — but rather that they've found a way to deepen their nutty sound, to offer nothing less than a mature, middle-aged spin on Presents the Rise & Fall. Like that 1982 new wave classic, The Liberty of Norton Folgate is about London and steeped in classic British pop, using the Kinks as ground zero for a series of wry, keenly observed pop songs about the people and places in London Town. Madness never try to update their sound — they never dabble in electronica or ragga — instead they dig deeper, finding new musical wrinkles within tightly written three-minute pop tunes and stretching out on the astonishing title street that concludes the record. While Madness may be trading on the sound that brought them to the top of the charts, it never sounds like a vain, desperate stab at reviving their youth; they play and write as the middle-aged men they are, finding sustenance within the music of their youth, then adapting it to their lives now, finding as much mirth as melancholy in what they see. Also befitting a middle-aged Madness, The Liberty is an album of craft — so much so that the album has no such stand-out hit single as "Our House," but then again, those were different times — but the true testament to the value of that craft is that The Liberty of Norton Folgate is as rich and rewarding in its deluxe double-disc incarnation as it is in its simpler, single-disc set, something that speaks volumes to the extent of the band's unexpected revitalization here.

Yep Roc has changed the release date of the US version of Liberty to August 18.

Duff Review: Captain Black No Stars versus Rasta4eyes--Boss Sounds of the Boom & Bust

Do the Dog Music
2009

While the concept of the split EP isn't executed as elegantly as it once was in the pre-digital age (i.e.: a slab of vinyl that features one band on side 'A', then you flip over the record to hear tracks from the other one), it's still a nifty way to release material from new, untested ska bands (and massive props go to Kevin Flowerdew and Do the Dog Music for so strongly supporting the exploding UK ska scene). On Captain Black No Stars versus Rasta4eyes' "Boss Sounds of the Boom & Bust," which features four cuts from each, both bands are more than deserving of this showcase (and of your hard-won cash), though Captain Black No Stars edges out Rasta4eyes in this reggae/ska sound clash (and there's the downside of the split EP: one of the bands may outshine the other). Having said that, I eagerly look forward to hearing new material in the future from both acts...

With a singer that sounds like Mick Jones, Captain Black No Stars' style of punky dirty reggae reminds one a bit of The Clash's excellent forays into Jamaican music on London Calling and Sandinista. The great "Rivers of Blood," which versions Toots and the Maytal's "54-46 (Was My Number)," isn't as apocalyptic as its title suggests--it's about the boneheaded lawlessness in the singer's neighborhood (and government's inability to do anything about it) keeping him housebound--literally locked in like a prisoner, get it? "The Lighter Song" laments the fact that people aren't really free to do what they want in public, including smoke, drink, and enjoy a joint. "As Zac Says" is a cool, mid-tempo skank that seems to be warning everyone to be skeptical and aware of the hidden agendas behind the carefully controlled images and messages that pour out of our televisions and movie screens daily (can someone please post this band's lyrics on the net--I can't make all of their words out and think they have loads of relevant things to say). "Dub MPLA (Revolution Party)" is stellar cover of Tapper Zukie's classic track.

Rasta4eyes also turn in a good to great set of horn-filled, post-2 Tone ska with songs about seeking enlightenment ("Oscar & Arthur"); dealing with the never-ending cycles of crappy jobs and unemployment (the cutting "Good Old Rock N Roll"); the singer's over-the-top obsession with, and difficulties in, tracking down, buying, smoking, and--in an ideal world--growing pot ("The Herb"). The stand-out track is "Never Will I Pay" with its catchy keyboard and horn hooks, though the song is joyously defiant about not paying a dealer for pot or the government for taxes owed (even if it cuts into his dole payments). While the music on this track is top-notch, it may not be in your best interest to take its message to heart.

Both Captain Black No Stars and Rasta4eyes are proof positive that exciting things are happening on the UK ska scene--though based on the dark tenor of all of these songs, I can't say the same for the state of Her Majesty's nation.

Captain Black No Stars' Duff Guide to Ska grade: B+
Rasta4eyes' Duff Guide to Ska grade: B/B+

Specials (Minus One) to Tour US?

According to a recent interview with Roddy Radiation done by Glen Smyth of Dizzybeat, The Specials may do some gigs in the US by the end of this year...

Glen Smyth: I notice a New Zealand date has been added to your tour. Does this suggest other parts of the world can expect a visit from The Specials? I know the Yanks are hoping they get a visit.

Roddy Radiation: There are a few places in the world we haven't played! New Zealand will be interesting. America is calling and we may try to fit a few dates in at the end of the year if we are still standing!

Smyth also asks about the lack of new songs in the current Specials set list:

GS: Madness has had some recent success with the release of new material. Are there any plans for The Specials to do some new songs?
RR: I have plenty of new songs and I know some of the other guys have too, but we will have to do some demos and discuss what is right for the band next year, which could be problematic.

I wonder how this will work out without Dammers involved...

+ + + +

In addition to some UK dates in November, the band is doing four dates in Australia at the end of July and one in New Zealand in August:

Saturday, July 25 @ Splendour in the Grass - Byron Bay

Monday, July 27 @ The Enmore Theatre - Sydney

Tuesday, July 28 @ The Enmore Theatre – Sydney

Thursday, July 30 @ The Palace Theatre – Melbourne

Saturday, August 1 @ The Logan Campbell Centre - Auckland

Neville Staples JA Arrest Fiasco Follow-up

From today's Coventry Telegraph (UK):

The Specials' Neville Staple in Jamaica drugs quiz
Jun 19 2009
By Helen Thomas

THE Specials singer Neville Staple was left stranded in Jamaica after being searched for drugs by customs officers and missing his plane.

The 54-year-old, on a week-long break on the Caribbean island, was due to return on Monday for a couple of reunion concerts.

But just as he was about to board the plane at Jamaica’s Sangster International Airport, in Montego Bay, he was taken away by officers.

They searched his bags and questioned him but found no evidence of any illegal substances.

By the time they had finished, Staple had missed his plane back to Britain and has had to miss a couple of performances with the band.

Speaking to the Coventry Telegraph from his home in Jamaica, Staple said: “It was all a big misunderstanding. I’ve been doing a lot of travelling and have been going backwards and forwards to Jamaica since my mum died in December.

"I never have a lot of baggage because I have things over here and I must have been red flagged or something.

“I got to the airport late and I was saying things like ‘come on’ to try and speed things up so I could get on my plane and I think I attracted their attention.

“They’ve seen me travelling through customs quite often and I think they got suspicious.

"When I went through security I was taken aside to a small room.

"They had me there for a while and searched through my bags but obviously I didn’t have any drugs. I wasn’t arrested.”

After he missed his plane he returned to his home in Christiana to wait for the next flight home tomorrow.

Staple said: “I have my own house here so I’m staying here. I came over to put a new roof on it. I’d only come out here for a week.

“One of the customs guys was from England and he knew who I was and knew The Specials.

"I was really annoyed to miss the plane because I’ve missed a couple of shows.”

Staple was born in Jamaica but moved to the UK as a small child.

He joined The Specials in 1977 and is known for his vocal style, known as toasting.