Along with The Specials, Madness were one of the leading bands of the ska revival of the late '70s and early '80s. As their career progressed, Madness branched away from their trademark "nutty sound" and incorporated large elements of Motown, soul, and British pop. Although the band managed one crossover American hit in 1983, the band remained a British phenomenon, influencing several successive generations of musicians and becoming one of the most beloved groups the country produced during the '80s.

The origins of Madness lie in a ska group known as the Invaders, which was formed by Mike Barson, Chris Foreman, and Lee Thompson in 1976. By 1978, the band had changed their name to Morris and the Minors and had added Graham "Suggs" McPherson, Mark Bedford, Chas Smash, and Dan Woodgate to the group. Later in 1978, they changed their name to Madness, in homage to one of their favorite Prince Buster songs. The following year, Madness released their debut single, a tribute to Prince Buster entitled "The Prince," on Two-Tone. The song was a surprise success, reaching the British Top 20. Following its success, the band signed a record contract with Stiff Records and released another Prince Buster song, "One Step Beyond," which climbed to number seven.

Madness quickly recorded their debut album, also titled One Step Beyond, with producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. Released toward the end of the year, the album peaked at number two in Britain and it stayed on the charts for well over a year. At the beginning of 1980, the band's third single, "My Girl," peaked at number three. For the next three years, the group had a virtually uninterrupted run of 13 Top Ten singles, during which time they were one of the most popular bands in Britain, rivaled only by The Jam in terms of widespread popularity. Where The Jam appealed to teenagers and young adults, Madness had a broad fan base, reaching from children to the elderly. Which didn't mean their music was diluted -- they continued to expand their sound, both musically and lyrically.

In the spring of 1980, Madness released The Work Rest and Play EP, which reached number six on the strength of the EP's lead song, "Night Boat to Cairo." Also during the spring, One Step Beyond was released in the United States, where it peaked at 128. Madness' second album, Absolutely, was released in the fall of 1980. The record peaked at number two on the British charts, but it stalled at number 146, in the U.S. Sire dropped the band after the commercial disappointment of Absolutely, leaving Madness without an American record contract for several years.

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Back in England, Madness continued to gain momentum, as the group began playing matinee shows on their tours so children under 16 years old could attend the concert. In the fall of 1981, the band released their third album, Seven, which peaked at number five. In January of 1982, Madness hit number four with a cover of Labi Siffre's "It Must Be Love." In March, their streak of Top Ten hits was interrupted when "Cardiac Arrest" stalled at number 14 on the charts, due to radio's reluctance to play the tune. The band bounced back a few months later with "House of Fun," their first number one single. That same month, the hits compilation, Complete Madness, reached number one.

Madness returned in the late summer of 1982 with The Rise and Fall, their full-fledged shift to pop. Like their previous albums, it was a British hit, reaching the Top Ten, but it also contained the seeds of their brief American success with the Top Five British single "Our House." The single was released in America on the group's new label, Geffen, and it received heavy airplay from MTV. The music-video television network had previously played the videos for "House of Fun," "It Must Be Love," and "Cardiac Arrest" when the band's albums were unreleased in the United States, thereby setting the stage for "Our House" to become a massive hit. With "Our House," Madness had MTV exposure coincide with a record release for the first time, which sent the single into the American Top Ten in the summer of 1983. The success of the single brought the U.S. compilation album, Madness, to number 41. Madness managed one more American Top 40 hit that fall, when "It Must Be Love" peaked at number 33.

At the end of 1983, Mike Barson -- the band's key songwriter -- left the group to settle down with his wife. Although Madness was able to stay near the top of the charts with their first post-Barson release, "Michael Caine," the band's fortunes began to decline over the course of 1984. Upon its release in the spring, Keep Moving hit number six on the British charts; in America, the record reached number 109. In June, the group released its final single for Stiff Records, "One Better Day," which peaked at number 17. In the fall, Madness formed their own record label, Zarjazz. Madness released "Yesterday's Men," their first recording on Zarjazz, in September of 1985, nearly a year after the label's formation. The record peaked at number 18 and its parent album, Mad Not Mad, reached number 16 upon its October release. Their chart decline continued early in 1986, when their cover of Scritti Politti's "Sweetest Girl" peaked at number 35. For most of 1986, the group was quiet. In September, Madness announced they were disbanding. Two months later, their farewell single, "Waiting for the Ghost Train," was released, charting at number 18. 

After staying dormant for a year and a half, the group reunited at the beginning of 1988 as a quartet called The Madness, releasing its comeback single, "I Pronounce You," in March. The Madness featured Chris Foreman, Lee Thompson, Chas Smash, and Suggs, and was augmented by The Specials' keyboardist Jerry Dammers and Steve Nieve (keyboards) and Bruce Thomas (bass) of The Attractions. "I Pronounce You" reached number 44 on the U.K. charts and its accompanying album stiffed upon its spring release. The group disbanded for a second time that fall.

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In the summer of 1992, the original lineup of Madness reunited to perform two outdoor concerts at London's Finsbury Park. The group dubbed the event Madstock and released a recording of the shows on Go! Records. Madstock became an annual event for the next four years -- every summer the band would reunite and headline an outdoor festival at Finsbury Park. Suggs launched a solo career in 1995 with The Lone Ranger, which performed respectably in the U.K. charts. In 1996, Madness played the final Madstock and announced they planned not to reunite for future concerts, but by 1998 they were back on the road, with a Los Angeles date recorded for release as Universal Madness the following year. The group also reunited with original producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley to record their first new material in over a decade. The resulting Dangermen Sessions, Vol 1 was released in 2005.

Madness continue to tour.

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Paul Weller is an English singer-songwriter born on 25th May 1958 as John William Weller. Weller started his career with the world famous punk-rock band The Jam in 1976 and continued with them till 1982 before joining The Style Council in 1983 until 1989. In 1991 Weller established himself as a solo artist and still remains a respected singer, lyricist and guitarist. 2009 saw Weller win 2009 BRIT award for ‘Best Male Solo Artist’. He is the principal figure of the 1970s Mod revival and is often referred to as the Modfather.

Weller released his self titled album in 1992, which was commercially and critically successful. Next came arguably Weller’s best work with the release of 'Wild Wood' which reached No. 2 in the UK charts. The 1995 album, 'Stanley Road' was named after the street Weller grew up in and took him to the top of the UK charts and included top 10 single’s 'The Changingman' and 'You Do Something To Me'. The follow up, 'Heavy Soul' reached No. 2 in the UK charts as did the 2000 follow up, 'Heliocentric'. 2002 saw Weller release the No.1 album, 'Illumination' before cover album 'Studio 150' was released in 2004. The album included cover’s of Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Rose Royce, Sister Sledge and Gordon Lightfoot and went to No.2 in the UK charts. 2005 and 2008 saw the release of 'As Is Now' and '22 Dreams' respectively.

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Weller formed a one-off group with Noel Gallagher and Paul McCartney in 1995 called Smokin’ Mojo Filters to record a charity version of The Beatles’ 'Come Together' for Bosnian children and in 2006 declined to receive a CBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

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The Jam, were an English rock band from Surrey in Woking that had huge success from 1975–1982. The media often labelled The Jam a Punk- Rock trio, although Paul Weller (lead vocal and guitar), Bruce Foxton (bass) and Rick Buckler (drums) infused clear elements of Soul, R‘n’B, New wave as well as punk elements into there music. The Jam are closely associated with the mod revival of the late 1970’s that was inspired by groups like The Kinks and The Who (popular in the 60’s).

The band was formed at Sheerwater high school, which all three members attended; they began playing gigs in and around London in 1976. The next year they signed a deal with Universal music subsidiary Polydor records and released their debut album “In the City”, the album produced two successful singles “In the City” and “All Around World”, the success allowed them to embark on an extensive tour across the U.K.

In the following years, armed with their sharp tailored suits, Harrington jackets and penny loafers (common attire among mod-revivalist’s), The Jam had top 10 albums all the way up until 1982, when the band split after the number 1 selling album “The Gift”. The main reason for the split was Paul Weller’s interest in a different musical direction; he formed The Style council in 1983 and eventually went on to a solo career. Weller is often labelled one of the U.K’s great singer-songwriters. The other members of the group both went there separate ways and formed bands of the there own, with no real commercial success.

In 2007, The Jam reunited minus Paul Weller and minus his support, in 2006 having been asked for his thoughts on a reunion he said “ Me and my children would have to be destitute and starving in the gutter before I’d even consider that”. Un-phased the remaining members toured the U.K, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York in the United States. Ironically attaining more success in the U.S than when they were at their peak, proving that there is still a strong global thirst for the unique brand of British music The Jam created at the height of there success.

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Gene was a British indie/rock quartet formed in 1993 in London. They were popularly labelled as a Britpop band and often drew somewhat superficial comparisons to The Smiths, if only because of their slightly Morrissey-esque lead singer. Despite this comparison, there is a lot more to Gene’s music than met the eyes of their critics. Their music takes influence from punk-rockers The Jam, blues riffs from the Small Faces, all mixed in with the soulful sound of motown.

The roots of Gene lay in a band called Spin, which featured guitarist Steve Mason and drummer Matt James. Despite Spin’s split, Mason and James continued playing together, recruiting bassist Kevin Miles. The trio eventually met vocalist Martin Rossiter, and they formed Gene in 1993. Soon after forming, the quartet began to write songs, and had performed a number of shows by the end of the year. They were later signed to Costermonger, a label set up by two journalists, through which they released their debut single, ‘For The Dead’ in 1994.

After their next single ‘Be My Light, Be My Guide’ reached number one in the indie charts, the band signed to Polydor. In 1995, following this, they were named Best New Act at NME’s Brat Awards.

Their debut album, ‘Olympian’ was released in 1995. It received mixed reviews, and although it entered into the Top Ten – the band were soon overshadowed by upcoming acts such as Blur and Oasis.

Early in 1996, ‘To See the Lights’, a collection of B-sides and BBC sessions, was released in England. A new single, ‘Fighting Fit’ was shortly released as a teaser from their new album, and entered into the top ten. However, the album that followed ‘Drawn to the Deep End’ did not follow in the single’s success.

By 2000, the band was without a label. They founded, and issued the live set ‘Rising for Sunset: Live at the Troubadour’, but this went almost unnoticed among the indie scene. However, in mid-summer 2002, Gene emerged with ‘Libertine’, their strongest material since Olympian. A tour followed, but the band went their separate ways in 2003.

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