Madness lift spirits with a fun-filled headline show
The legendary band show put on a show to remember in Essex.
Photo: Madness
The impressive Audley End House seemed a fitting backdrop for ska royalty Madness, as they took to the stage as part of the 2024 Heritage Live Concert series. The Essex countryside transformed into a sea of Fez’s and checked print in the crowd, a look that has become synonymous with the band over the years.
The Camden boys have a reputation for putting on entertaining live shows and certainly didn’t disappoint, opening with crowd favourite One Step Beyond, which instantly lifted spirits and got everyone dancing. For a band that has been going since the 70s, you could forgive them for not performing with the same enthusiasm as they did in their younger years, but they began their set as they meant to go on, with an infectious energy.
What struck me is just how many hits they have in their back catalogue, with the setlist featuring the likes of Our House, House of Fun and, of course, It Must Be Love, their joyful love song that offers a more sentimental moment between other tracks. All their songs felt like they were made to be belted out, but a personal highlight was Wings of Dove, a catchy feel-good song that echoes a sentiment that carries through a lot of Madness songs — to be happy and look on the bright side of life.
Frontman Suggs was on top form, interacting with the crowd in between songs and telling tales to the attentive audience. He got serious for a moment as he told one young member of the audience about the importance of getting an education, before diving into Baggy Trousers, a not-so-serious song that reminisces on his misadventures at school.
He also reminded us, to a chorus of cheers, that their most recent album Theatre of the Absurd Presents C’est La Vie beat Taylor Swift and Drake in the album charts last year to claim the spot at number one. The songs they played from that album — Hour of Need, Run For Your Life and Round We Go — were just as well received as some of the older classics. Run For Your Life was particularly impressive, with an exciting lighting display to match the high-speed nature of the track.
Throughout the set, the visuals on the screens added to the narratives of each song, such as grills over the screens during Shut Up to give the effect of them being in prison cells. The band also dressed up for some moments, creating an almost pantomime feel to the performance, as they donned police uniforms, royal gowns and various other costumes and really got into character for each track.
With the music, lighting, costume and audience interaction, it was very different to the usual gig experience and made for a captivating evening. The crowd were immersed from start to end and even got a special bonus in the form of a cover of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell and an encore featuring Madness and Night Boat to Cairo.
