Madness

A British Ska band of the 1980s.

Ska music became popular in the United Kingdom at the end of the 1970s, and one of its most popular propents was the band Madness. The band was formed by Mike Barson, Chris Foreman and Lee Thompson in 1976, under the name 'Morris and the Minors' (a pun on the name of a car). They were joined in 1978 by front-man Graham 'Suggs' McPherson, Mark Bedford, Chas Smash and Dan Woodgate, and after performing for a while as the Invaders changed their name to Madness.

Their first single was 'The Prince', a tribute to the ska musician Prince Buster. This was followed by the album 'One Step Beyond' in 1979, which stayed in the British charts for over a year, peaking at number 2.

The band's first 20 singles all made it into the UK top 20, making them by this measure more successful than acts such as The Beatles and Elvis Presley. They had limited success in the USA, with one single ('Our House') and a compilation album ('Madness') having significant sales. This was perhaps a result of their quirky style, and the limited marketplace for Ska in the US.

The group split in 1986, following the departure of the main songwriter Mike Barson. The band has reformed with various members at various points since then to perform at concerts such as Glastonbury.

C'mon, this is a candidate for parenthetical clarification if any is: someone hoping to read about "madness," insanity, will come here and be disappointed to see the article's about a band. Why not just make this a pointer page and link to Madness (band) or something like that?