Madness

The core of the band formed as the North London Invaders in 1976. It included Mike Barson (Monsieur Barso) on keyboards and vocals, Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) on guitar and Lee Thompson (Kix) on saxophone and vocals. They later recruited John Hasler for drums and Cathal Smyth (Chas Smash) for bass guitar. Later in the year, they were joined by lead vocalist Dikran Tulaine.

This six-piece line-up lasted until part-way through 1977, when Graham McPherson (better known as Suggs) took over the lead vocals after seeing the band perform in a friend’s garden. Tulaine went on to be an actor. Smyth, who left after an argument with Barson, was replaced by Gavin Rodgers, Barson’s girlfriend’s brother. McPherson was kicked out of the band for choosing too often to watch Chelsea instead of rehearsing. Thompson left the band after Barson criticised his saxophone playing.

By 1978, the band had allowed McPherson to return as a vocalist after he had filled in temporarily for Hasler (who had taken over vocals when McPherson was removed). Thompson returned after patching things up with Barson. Drummer Dan Woodgate (Woody) and bassist Mark Bedford (Bedders) also joined the band, replacing Garry Dovey and Rodgers, respectively. After briefly changing their name to Morris and the Minors, the band renamed itself as Madness in 1979, paying homage to one of their favourite songs by ska and reggae artist Prince Buster. The band remained a sextet until late 1979 when Chas Smash rejoined and officially became the seventh member of Madness as a backing vocalist and dancer.

During 1979, the band began to attract a live following in London, being regulars at the Dublin Castle in Camden Town. The band’s first commercial recording was the Lee Thompson composition “The Prince“. The song, like the band’s name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of the Specials founder and keyboardist Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts at number 16. Madness toured with fellow 2 Tone bands the Specials and the Selecter, before recording their debut studio album.

That debut studio album, One Step Beyond… was released by Stiff Records. The album included a re-recording of “The Prince” and its B-side “Madness“, and the band’s second and third singles: “One Step Beyond” and “My Girl“. The title song was a cover of the B-side of the 1960s Prince Buster hit “Al Capone”. The One Step Beyond… album stayed in the British charts for 78 weeks, peaking at number 2. Smyth performed on the album but was not an official member of the band at the time of the album’s recording or release. He would formally join Madness a few weeks after One Step Beyond… was issued in October 1979.