Chapter 5: Prospects

1983 got off to a slow start on the Madness front, but things started taking off when Stiff lifted 'Tomorrow's Just Another Day' from the 'Rise & Fall' album to become the bands 15th single. Available in 7", picture disc and 12" formats, it was the latter of these that really caught the eye, containing as it did a wonderful reworking featuring Elvis Costello on lead vocal.

Madness had not played a concert in the UK for over a year, so come February the 21st they began their 'Greatest Show On Earth' tour that took them through to the beginning of March.

At the London gigs Elvis Costello joined the band to give his reading of 'Tomorrow's Just Another Day', and just for good measure a string quartet joined the touring party. As if that wasn't enough to give the tour coaches wheel ache, Cornet player Dick Cuthell (he of of the silly moustache and Specials fame) also joined the fray.

During February, the band appeared live on the Tube, running through 'Our House', 'Tomorrows Dream' & 'It Must Be Love'. Only a quarter of the normal studio audience was present however as the Mads had bought along their complete stage rig and there was no room for anyone else

After the last tour date, at the Edinburgh Playhouse on March the 9th, the band were booked for a TV appearance in Germany. Things did not go to plan however when Mike Barson failed to make the show, the first time any member had missed an important date. His absence was later put down to the fact that he was moving house at the time, but this incident has since been regarded as the first signs of Mike's unrest.

'Tomorrow's Just Another Day' peaked in the singles chart at a very respectable No.8, it's 9 week run giving the band a total of 166 weeks on the UK chart. In the US however, the band had not had the chart success they deserved and their split with Sire Records had left them looking for a new US licensee. As luck would have it, John Kalodner who worked for US giant Geffen Records, happened to hear 'Our House' and the band were eventually signed up.

J.Kalodner: "In the fall of 1982, I was over here working with Asia. In fact I was in the car with Eric Wilson, who was Alan Parsons manager, and we were in the car and 'Our House' came on the radio and we turned to each other and said, that's a hit. That's a hit song, I mean that's a hit for anybody, for Madness that'll be a hit in America, it'll be a hit anywhere."

Kalodner was right. After Madness signed a deal with Geffen in April 1983, an album, simply titled 'Madness' was compiled, and 'Our House' was released as single in the US with 'Cardiac Arrest' on the flip. The album contained 6 tracks from the 'Rise & Fall' album and 6 UK singles, two of which, 'Night Boat To Cairo' and 'It Must Be Love', were slightly remixed.

After two further gigs, in aid of the Sizewell B Campaign and the CND respectively, the band retired to the studio to record a track Carl and Suggs had come up with called 'Wings Of A Dove'. To secure the gospel mood of the song, the band employed the help of the Creighton Steel Sounds steel band and The First Born Inspirational Church Of Living God gospel choir.

Meanwhile, in the States, 'Our House' was riding high on the billboard chart, eventually peaking at No.7 in July. Arrangements were made for a US tour and that August saw the Mads hit the States for a five week stint that took in 25 dates. The tour saw the band open for The Police and David Bowie at some huge stadiums, as well as headlining in their own right at some more modest venues.

Back home 'Wings Of A Dove' was released as a single on the 12th of August, 7" (in two different sleeves), 12" and picture disc editions were all released and the single rocketed up the Top 40. The record looked certain to be the bands second No.1, however, UB40's 'Red,Red Wine' held it up and the band had to settle for No.2.

Things were looking bright, the bands own studio, The Liquidator, was complete and they set about recording their 5th album. Then came the bombshell.

Chris: "We were doing 'Keep Moving', that album, and we'd been offered a TV series by the writers of Blackadder. We were talking about it and Mike said, 'Look I can't do it, 'cos y'know , I'm gonna leave the band'. He'd already told our manager sometime before, but the minute he said it, I knew what he was gonna say. I mean he was sort of on the wane a bit in the writing side of things, I mean some of his songs were ending up on B sides, which was kind of unthinkable 'cos that's were all mine used to end up!"

Lee: "Carl spun 'round and hit the deck like a sack of spuds. I remember Carl jumping up and saying 'Oh my good God no, Mike boy, reconsider. And I sort of ran up to him and said, right, let's have the...let's have him now. It was a very sad affair, but it was what he needed to do. I just thought, good on ya, if that's what you want, then do it."

The pressure of stardom had become too much for the Madness keyboard player. 4 years of constantly coming under public scrutiny had finally taken it's toll and Mike decided to quit the band as soon as the new album was complete.

Mike: "One of the things which got a bit much for me, was that I was writing songs like a crazy man, 24 hours a day. I was listening to the radio, ooh that sounds good, I could use that, I like that, I don't like that, I like that. It was getting a bit mad y'know, I was always trying to write songs, like somebody who's a pain in the arse y'know!

"You used to get the feeling you were being watched, y'know. If you're really in the limelight and they're all saying 'great', then it's wonderful, who would complain at that. But then you've got take the other side of the coin as well, y'know when people start saying, 'crap, no good', then you're also in the limelight or whatever.

"Just being in the limelight all the time, is not something which I am particuarly mad about. I like a bit now and again, definately, but constantly it gets a bit of a strain. That's one of the reasons why I left the band, going into obscurity I found quite attractive.

October the 28th saw the release of 'The Sun And The Rain' as the groups new single. Reaching No.5 on the chart, it was to be the bands last top ten hit until the 'Divine Madness' re-issue campaign of 1992.

The year drew to a close. On December the 21st the band played at the Lyceum in aid of Greenpeace, it was also Mike Barson's farewell gig. Having completed his Madness commitments, he upped sticks and moved to Amsterdam, where he still resides today.

His departure robbed Madness not only of their keyboard player, but also of their chief songsmith and driving force. It was Mike who made the band rehearse their parts until they got it right. It was Mike who knocked the songs into shape, and it was Mike who had penned many of the bands best songs. His descision to quit certainly worried Stiff Records boss Dave Robinson....

D.R.: 2I thought that was it really. Barson was the most important ingrediant to me. There was lyrics and there was all the other bits, not to knock anybody else, but Barson's melodies were what made everything work. Everything was fed through Barson to come out and make records, and when I heard he was leaving I thought we were really in trouble.

"It worried me that afterwards, there wasn't going to be a lynchpin, there wasn't going to be a leader and of course, they were not gonna have this melody censorship to which he performed. They relied more on Barson than anybody realised and to me it was terrible."

The band rallied, various members even tried learning the piano and it was going to be business as usual come 1984. Madness started January with TV appearances in Poland. Back home on the 30th, 'Michael Caine' was issued as the new single, a taster for the forthcoming album. The actor himself contributing to the recording, mainly because his daughter was a big Madness fan.

The video was much slicker affair than the usual Madness promo, taking the format of a mini-movie. Mike appeared at the beginning of the film to play the introduction before walking off, leaving the piano playing on it's own, quite symbolic. Suggs also only took a small part in the video, leaving Carl to take the lead role, a shame Mr Caine himself didn't appear really.

With another upcoming US tour, the band finally unveiled the 'Keep Moving' album on February the 28th. The overall tone of the album was closer to 7 than the previous 'Rise And Fall' album, but the songs were not as good. Of the tracks, 'Michael Caine', 'One Better Day' and the bizarrely titled 'March Of The Gherkins' were the best, the rest sounding like pretty good B sides.

Before the band hit America they recorded a song with ex Undertones singer Feargal Sharkey. 'Listen To Your Father' had been written by Carl, who was becoming more prolificic as a songwriter, but the Madness attempts at the track were not working out. Feargal had met up with the band the previous November, Madness were playing 'The Sun & The Rain' on Top Of The Pops and Sharkey was there to play his hit 'Never Never' (by The Assembly).

Carl invited Feargal down to listen to the song, liking what he heard Sharkey agreed to record it. The backing track was laid by Madness and the song was completed in March.

When the group returned from the US, the plan was to release a remixed version of 'Victoria Gardens' as the next single. At the last minute however, Dave Robinson changed his mind and opted for 'One Better Day', a decision that upset Madness. In fairness, 'One Better Day' was probably a better choice, but the rift between Stiff and the band had become irrepairable.

'Michael Caine' had stalled at No.11, only the third Madness single not to go into the top 10, and after it's release on May the 12th, 'One Better Day' also failed to reach the big 10, settling for a lowly No.17. The record definately deserved more, being one of the catchiest and endearing songs the band issued.

The video featured Suggs and his wife Anne, as well as the much missed Barso, playing on his last Madness outing. The B side, 'Guns', was the first song Suggs had written both words and music for, it was recorded at the newly inaugerated Liquidator and Chris played the keyboard parts.

Between April the 30th and May the 4th, Madness spent five days filming six songs for an Italian TV programme. The shoot took place all over London and left the band well and truly knackered.

On May the 21st, the contract with Stiff Records finished. Dave Robinson was not particuarly happy with the direction he saw the band going in, and Madness were not happy with Stiff. The upshot of it all was that the band refused to sign a new contract, thus ending almost five years with the label.

With their own studio and offices, it was a natural progression to set up their own label. To help find a name for the venture, Madness invited members of the MIS fan club to send in suggestions, it was however, a name that Carl came up with that won the day, Zarjazz.

A deal was struck with Virgin Records and Zarjazz was ready to unveil it's first release. As Madness themselves didn't having a new single ready to go, it was the Feargal Sharkey collaboration, 'Listen To Your Father', that emerged as Zarjazz Jazz1.

Released on the 1st of October 1984, the single hit the charts two weeks later and finally peaked at a reasonable No.23. Feargal's deal with Zarjazz however was only a one off. He signed for parent company Virgin and had top ten success in 1985 with 'A Good Heart' and 'You Little Thief', the former hitting No.1.

As the dark nights set in and another year drew to a close, one more Zarjazz project took life. One day, Madness fan Mick Tuohy walked into the Liquidator studio and suggested that the band record the old Pioneers hit 'Starvation' in aid of the Ethiopian Famine Appeal. When the idea was bandied around, everyone agreed it was an excellent opportunity to invite some other artist to help out.

Jerry Dammers was the first on the list, swiftly followed by General Public (who had previously added vocals to 'Victoria Gardens'), and UB40. As well as recording 'Starvation', a track written by Dick Cuthell called 'Haunted' was also taped. A session in Paris featuring a host of African stars, including King Sunny Ade and Manu Dibango, yeilded the track 'Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie', and with that Zarjazz set about planning a double A side single for release early in the new year.

Andy Clayden, 1999.