Stateside Madness (the US affiliate of the Madness Information Service)

Nutty train coming through!

While at this point in time, it remains very unclear as to whether Madness' upcoming late May tour of parts of the United States (Boston, NYC, LA, Las Vegas, Oakland) will actually happen (I think the odds are most likely slim to none, sadly; Dave Wakeling, whose version of The Beat is slated to open for them, stated yesterday that it's looking like the tour will be postponed), American fans of The Nutty Boys can buoy their spirits by checking out the fantastic and relatively new Stateside Madness blog (and Facebook group), which is the United States affiliate of the Madness Information Service (the band's official fan organization).

Recent posts have included a page listing all of Madness' US releases, tours, and television appearances (they played The Mudd Club in Manhattan in 1979!); info about the new, US-only Madness greatest hits album (that will mark the first-ever physical release of "Bullingdon Boys") that is being issued to coincide with their maybe happening US tour; an excerpt from the 1982 book A Brief Case History of Madness by Mark Williams; and a great personal recollection by Stateside Madness' Donald Trull about being introduced to the band in 1983 via their smash American radio/MTV hit "Our House" and tracking down a cassette featuring both One Step Beyond... and Absolutely to hear more of the band's music.

Make sure to go to the bottom of the Madness Stateside home page to sign up for email updates, so you never miss a new post! This is essential reading!

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Also, to help pass the some of the hours indoors, Madness' newish book Before We Was We: Madness by Madness is a terrific, engrossing, and funny read--check out The Duff Guide to Ska review of it!

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