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Newsletter Contents 1. Latest News And Information 2. Madness Central “In Print” Section Gets It’s
Own Facebook Page 3. Madness auditions attract dozens of hopefuls 4. The Music Fix: Absolutely and 7 Reviews 5. Reminder: Union
Square Music Absolutely/Seven Reissue MadChart Contest 6. Contacting Madness Central 7. Madness Central
Newsletter Subscription Details
Madness Central “In Print” Section Gets It’s Own Facebook Page And Needs Your Help
Those of you familiar with Madness Central “In Print” section will know that it’s an excellent resource for any newspaper/magazine articles featuring Madness over the past 30 years – all lovingly tended and excellently maintained by Madness Central’s very own Looby Loo Buckley...
Note: The
above blog has also been reproduced in its entirety in Section 3 of
this newsletter.
2. Madness Central “In Print” Section Gets It’s
Own Facebook Page Those of you familiar with Madness Central “In Print” section will know that it’s an excellent resource for any newspaper/magazine articles featuring Madness over the past 30 years – all lovingly tended and excellently maintained by Madness Central’s very own Looby Loo Buckley who in her own words from the site has this to say:
MADNESS IN PRINT is an ambitious undertaking for Madness Central. What we’re hoping to do is collect and collate the nearly 30 years of articles about Madness and interviews with Madness that have appeared in magazines and newspapers from around the globe (and more recently in our World-Wide-Web-World, the numerous bits that have appeared on the internet). This will be one of the more active pages of the site as more and more articles are added. There are stacks upon stacks (literally) to transcribe yet and a whole seven years of archives to scour (also literally)!
Looby has now created a Madness Central “In Print” Facebook page that will be used to provide regular updates of this work in progress and links to the individual articles as they are transcribed.
What’s more Looby needs your help – if you have any Madness related articles that are not posted aready, Looby would love to hear from you – full details of how to contact her at the main Madness Central “In Print” page, via the Madness Central “In Print” Facebook group or by e-mail at: loobyl...@softhome.net
They came from far and wide and queued around the building for a shot at summer stardom – complete and utter Madness. More than 100 young hopefuls turned out for the first auditions for this year's summer youth project at the White Rock Theatre. And the chance to star in Our House, the musical which features the songs of 1970s ska supergroup Madness, proved very popular, with organisers bowled over by the amount of possible stars on show.
Tracy White, the theatre's head of education and community, put the youngsters through their paces and was delighted with what she saw. She said: "The talent on display was amazing and proves just how many talented young people there are in Hastings and the surrounding areas."
And theatre director Rob Allerston said: "This year we have even had a young person auditioning from America and one from Italy so we are truly on the international map as the south coast's leading summer youth project."
Last year's production of Fame played to packed out audiences and organisers hope this year's show will be even bigger and better. Our House won the Laurence Olivier award for best new musical in 2003 and features much loved songs such as Baggy Trousers and House of Fun. There will be a second day of auditions on Sunday April 18, from 10am, and no decisions on casting will be made until after that.
Forms can be downloaded from the theatre's website at www.whiterocktheatre.org.uk and full details of the performances will appear online in coming months.
Two more double-disc sets from "Britain's favourite band". Favourites they may be, but Salvo have roped in critical heavyweights like Paul Lester and David Quantick to write the sleevenotes in an attempt to shake off the notion they will only ever be remembered as a 'singles band'.
Of the two albums 7, their third, is the strongest. They don't escape their ska roots entirely, but the overall sound is more sophisticated, positioning them as purveyors of grown-up pop somewhere alongside Squeeze as the perfect Everyband. The singles, 'Cardiac Arrest', 'Shut Up' and the strange chime of 'Grey Day' are deeply ingrained, like memories of warm beer, bulldogs and chicken fried rice, while numbers like 'Mrs Hutchinson' display a very early 80s dalliance with different rhythms, the rhumbic swing a product, perhaps, of the recording sessions in Nassau.
Despite the weeks in sunnier climes, swirling fairground organs and a general air of English sinister pervades the entire work, cementing their position as a much more thoughtful troupe than the wacky videos suggested. 'Benny Bullfrog' showcases another key influence in the band's development: the japery of Ian Dury, while a thread of domestic surrealism runs through 'Pac A Mac', proving their evolution from the Nutty Boys of old to gifted observers of the national psyche.
The previous album, 1980's Absolutely is heavily front loaded, 'Baggy Trousers' typical of their ability to mix up-tempo ska with social realism ("All I learnt at school was how to bend not break the rule") while the more mod-ish 'Embarrassment' remains one of the truly great British singles of the era - and a reminder how quickly society can change, even in just three decades. 'Not Home Today' with its protagonist "on a short holiday" at Her Majesty's Pleasure continues the thread of gossip and shame, a theme which resurfaces on 'Overdone'. The throwaway boogie of 'Solid Gone' may have spoiled the flow somewhat and overall the album may have been slightly one-dimensional compared to what was to come, but it's remarkable to note that Rolling Stone's Greil Marcus saw fit to award the album just 1/5 on its original release, likening them to the Blues Brothers. Critics, eh? Line 'em up and shoot the buggers.
With the addition of relevant b-sides, radio sessions and live material all at a budget price, these superlative reissues do a fine job of capturing a music and time fast fading from memory.
5.
Reminder: Union
Square Music Absolutely/Seven Reissue MadChart Contest For
our second Madness Central contest of 2010, we're offering three lucky
winners a chance at three special prizes courtesy of Union Square Music.
With the 12th April release of the Absolutely 2 CD reissue and Seven 2
CD reissue, we're tying this contest in with another fan-favourite event
on Madness Central, the annual MadChart.
To enter the contest, simply choose your
top ten favourite Madness songs, send them in with your name and email
address, and your name will be put in the virtual hat for the drawing on
Monday 26th April (the contest runs for two weeks).
What are the prizes? Here you go:
First Prize - One copy
of the Seven 2 CD reissue, one copy of the Absolutely "regular cover" 2
CD reissue, and one copy of the Absolutely "withdrawn cover" 2 CD
reissue.
Second Prize - One
copy of the Seven 2 CD reissue and one copy of the Absolutely "regular
cover" 2 CD reissue
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