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Madness
- 2. MADNESS Current members: Graham "Suggs” McPherson Chris Foreman Mike Barson Lee Thompson Chas Smash Daniel Woodgate Mark Bedford
- 3. SINGLES IN THE UK TOP TEN • One Step Beyond (7) • My Girl (3) • Baggy Trousers (3) • Embarrassment (4) • Return of the Los Palmas 7 (7) • Grey Day (4) • Shut Up (7) • It Must Be Love (4) • House of Fun (1) • Driving in My Car (4) • Our House (5) • Tomorrow’s Just Another Day/ Madness (8) • Wings of a Dove (2) • The Sun and the Rain (5) • Lovestruck (10)
- 4. GENRE: SKA
- 7. THE MUSICAL
Editor's Notes
- ‘Shut Up’ by Madness discusses petty crime and sung in the point of view of the band trying to explain to the police why they are supposedly innocent for multiple wrongdoings as shown in the lines; ‘pass the blame and don’t blame me’ and ‘it wasn’t me either I’m just his mate, he told me to stand here and watch the gate’. Despite this topic, the song is upbeat and catchy, similar to a silent movie soundtrack. The video matches this cheerful tune and silent movies by featuring the band as comedic cops and robbers; exaggerating their actions, chase scenes and pulling amusing faces throughout. This is considered Madness’ typical childish and joking behaviour, and they even had the nickname of ‘The Nutty Boys’. It’s possible that this song and music video could relate to some of the band members’ youth, and could have been involved with petty crime. For example, the lead singer Suggs discusses his comprehensive school in his autobiography ‘That Close’. He mentions how rough the students were and how he fell into the wrong crowd.
- One Better Day is one of Madness’ more serious songs. The music video is intended to make people aware about homelessness, featuring the band members doing stereotypical things homeless people are associated with. This includes: busking on the underground, and being ignored and pushed out of the way by commuters; drinking and dancing cheerfully while seeming drunk; sitting and sleeping on the side, and even the middle, of the road; and huddling round a fire. You can immediately tell this is a different tone to their usual lively music as the tempo is slower and the video is mostly in black and white. The lyrics also show this; ‘he’s trying to remember one better day’. However, it is balanced well with the idea of love hope of a better future with the happier parts in colour, for example, a homeless couple dancing, with the lyrics; ‘walking round you sometimes, hear the sunshine, beating down in time with the rhythm of your shoes’. The description for the YouTube video states: ‘This self-funded video was filmed mainly in Arlington Road in Camden and, more specifically, Arlington House, a homeless refuge which appears in the first line of the song. A bittersweet track about hope and despair, the video sees the band members depicted mainly as homeless people and features Suggs dancing with his "homeless" wife, Bette Bright.’