MADNESS AWAITS! TALKING TO SUGGS
After scoring their first studio UK Official Charts No.1 album, Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie on Friday, one of the biggest and most loved British bands MADNESS will be returning to Sandown Park Racecourse on Wednesday 31st July 2024. We caught up with the main man, Suggs, to see what’s what.
Taking you back to November last year, how did it feel when you were told that your album had gone to number one?
S: It was amazing. I mean, we were all pinching ourselves. It was very rewarding because after the pandemic, just to be able to do music and make an album was such a privilege in itself. It was just great. The record company started to suggest that we might be number one and it became very exciting. Then suddenly Taylor Swift put out an album, and then Drake put out an album, and we were like well this is a three-horse race. They had the idea of setting us up a stall in Camden Market to sell albums and said if you can just plug another 1000 albums you should be number one. The great irony of my life in full circle, that forty odd years ago I was selling down in the market, but anyway, it worked, and it was so fun. It does affect you, you know, it really does cheer you up.
I guess that’s one of the benefits of releasing an album now, a few years ago everything was so digitalized whereas now you have album release shows, getting out to see fans – it must have been really nice to be able to do something like that to connect with your fans in person over the record.
S: Exactly. Definitely. I mean, we couldn’t believe the reaction that it got you know 1000s of people turned up but also because the physical stuff is coming back like vinyl and all that. I don’t know anything about it but apparently if you sell a hard copy of your album, it’s worth 20,000 hits or something. I don’t know what but anyway it’s rewarding to know that when you sell an album, you’re knocking Taylor Swift back by 20,000 hits. It’s been really nice to see people and the reaction has been great.
I know you did the arena tour at the end of last year, but the summer tour is almost going to be a bit of a victory lap to be able to celebrate with your fans as well.
S: Very much, it’s been great because we did a couple of things with the album launch where we played the whole new album and then the arena tour we did around Christmas we did a lot of the new album, so in the summer we’re just going to have a big celebration of our entire history. Because yeah, it’s going to be a big party hopefully.
You were saying you when you did the album tour you sort of included quite a lot of songs from the new release. Are there any songs that you’re looking forward to now playing in the summer because you reckon they will go down well with the sunshine?
S: Well, I mean, we’ve got so many! Like Bob Dylan said “don’t worry kids, if you don’t like this song there’ll be another one along in three minutes”. I mean, we just have so many songs that relate to people in different ways. That’s the great thing about pop songs, they capture a moment in time for you and your friends and all relations. So sometimes people say is there any you dislike, I mean that’s a different question, but I look forward to playing all those songs, they all have a certain resonance in one way or another.
You’ve previously said that ‘Embarrassment’ was your favourite from the catalogue. Do you think that’s still your favourite play live or has any of the new album surpassed that?
S: I see what you’re saying yeah. It’s hard to say. It’s sort of like they’re too young, you know, it’s like they’re like babies. You have to sort of wait to see how their personalities develop when they get to primary school. It’s funny how it goes I suppose I really don’t know. I mean, like ‘Lovestruck’ and ‘NW5’. It’s funny with the old songs it’s only when you play them a few times that they start to resonate or connect to the audience, it’s very hard to say.
Now you’re no stranger to the Jockey Club live shows. You have performed at Haydock Park, Newmarket, Carlisle, and you last played Sandown Park in 2019. Have you ever won a bet on any of the horses?
S: Once completely by accident! I was just copying my wife and she goes about at it random and I just though well I’ve had no wins at all in the last five races. So then when she won, I won, and then my manager Hugh was behind me and he just followed us and he won too!
Hopefully this summer it will be a bit more luck. When you play these shows, the audience is completely across generations. You’ll have the people that were fans of you, 45-50 years ago and then fans that this will be their very first show. How does it feel that you still can pack out venues like this nearly 50 years in?
S: Course it is. I mean, that’s one of the advantages of the internet, because we know there are a lot of disadvantages for selling music, but it’s that kids can find out who you are. When I was young, if you liked a band it was really hard to find out anything or what they’ve put out. You’d have to go buy their singles. But I remember when we first got offered these racecourse shows a few years ago and thinking wow can you imagine, the parents might have lost all their money betting and what sort of mood are they going to be in but no they’re always in a great mood it really is fantastic. It’s just a great combination, it really suits people. What’s nice as well is the generational thing and it’s much more girls, wives and daughters, because they all get dressed up and want to go to the races, it’s a really nice atmosphere.
Live music is a really good break from the general absurdity of day to day living, which makes seeing Madness the perfect antidote. Do you feel like when you perform live you have that same sort of release?
S: Yeah we’re really fortunate in that respect. We keep getting asked back to these events, all sorts of events. Like the festivals, jazz festivals, race meetings. I mean, we just do engender a certain joy, you know. My mate came to see us a little while ago and he isn’t even a fan. But it is unbridled joy for sure that’s what we get of course. It’s like with the songs you don’t know until you do it for a while, what impact you’re having and what songs are doing that. After all these years we seem to be doing alright.
So is unbridled joy, something that you can basically expect from a Madness show in 2024?
S: Definitely, absolutely 100%. I mean, we went through all sorts of incarnations going to sort of jazz tribute band and all that but now we just play all the songs that people want to hear with enough new songs for us to keep ourselves active in the brain, and it works out alright.
For all the information and to book tickets, visit
thejockeyclublive.co.uk
