Madness - Madness, Madness we call it Madness!!!

July 14th 2024

Derby, Summer Sessions, UK

****1/4

One step to Derby

(Derby - Summer Sessions Festival)

In the centre of England, Derby hosted its second TK Maxx - Summer Sessions Festival on the weekend of the 12th – 14th of July. It ran Friday to Sunday with Sunday having the times rescheduled as revellers (and acts) were clearly going to be torn between music and football. The venue for the festival is under the big top in Markeaton Park, which really made a great venue for a selection of the charts biggest acts.

Madness ****1/4 - Before Madness come on they play a video with them in, inspired by the Thunderbirds... which is really funny. Before the opening number 'One Step Beyond', which is one of my personal favourites. It has a really long Sax solo, and you have to love a Sax solo. Their Prince Buster cover's are just brilliant, and this one starts the set off in the right way. Before they burst inot the infectious and catchy 'Embarrasement', which everyone is bobbing their head to.singer Suggs has not lost anything, he still has the character of a great frontman and knows how to command the stage and audience. Pointing his finger out at them, as he moves back and forth. Actually a lot of pointing goes on, like you can see in the pictures. What frontman can go on about the biggest alotment competion, and get away with it.

I don't know about any other, he can be very silly. And it is seen as something else, and the band actually don't seem silly even thou they are. Yes! the Fez hats are even cool, and you can see quite a few of these in the audience.There is a little lull before they ring things back up with the chart hits 'My Girl' and 'Wings of a Dove', which are always fan favourites. They are good sing-a-long tracks like 'Shut Up', 'Our House' and 'House of Fun'. Not to mention the get up and dance sounds of 'Baggy Trousers', a song that can fill any dance floor on any night. I would like them to have done a little more with their stage show, it is just them playing the hits. In the past they used to do a lot more crazy things, like flying through the air and weird costumes. This always made their set a little more interesting, and I always like a band to do something unusal.

Well the set did include a version of 'Three Lions', because of England being in the Euro 2024 final. Missing a trick with The Lightning Seeds being on the bill today, they could have brought Ian Brodie on to sing it with them. I have to say Madness do what you want them to do, a set of funny Ska / 2-Tone songs. That always delight the audience, and give them lyrics and melodies to sing-a-long to.The Nutty Boys of Camden close their main set with 'It must be Love', before returing for an encore of Madness and 'Night boat to Cairo' . Ending what had been a great weekend of music, maybe I will get my Madness records out now. And go down Camden, and give them a little spin.

Review by Faye Stacey and Michael Bennett and Photos by Faye Stacey (View from the Pit)

Madness - Setlist
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One step Beyond (Prince Buster cover)
Embarrassment
The Prince
C'est la vie
NW5
My Girl
Three Lions (Baddiel and Skinner Feat. The Lightning Seeds Cover)
The Sun and the Rain / Singing in the Rain (Gene Kelly Cover)
Hour of Need
Wings of a Dove
Lovestruck
Run for your Life
Bed and breakfast Man
Shut Up
Mr. Apples
Baggy Trousers
House of Fun
Our House
It Must Be Love (Labi Siffre Cover)
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Madness (Prince Buster Cover)
Night boat to Cairo