Madness with special guests Squeeze performing their Hit Parade UK Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Saturday 13th December 2025.

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

You know that it is nearly Christmas when the Nutty Boys make an appearance as they did at the Motorpoint Arena on Saturday night when they brought an early festive party atmosphere to a packed crowd, as they blasted out dozens of their hit songs which have been enjoyed over the years and which form the basis of Hit Parade, their new definitive hits package.

But before the crowd were treated to Suggs and Co, it was another trip back in time as Squeeze took to the stage to get things started. A nattily dressed lead singer Glenn Tilbrook and fellow song writing icon Chris Difford, took the crowd on a tour of the band’s fifty year old back catalogue.

Opening with Pulling Muscles (From The Shell), they motored through a thirteen song set that included hits such as the beautiful Up The Junction, the country and western tinged Labelled With Love before they upped the tempo with Cool For Cats. With the crowd singing and dancing along to the likes of Goodbye Girl and Slap And Tickle, they rounded off their set with an extended version of Take Me I’m Yours which allowed each of the band’s eight members to shine with a solo performance.

Content to be Madness’ special guests this time around, when they headline at the Arena next year, it will be another trip down memory lane for this appreciative crowd.

In front of a bank of giant screens Madness took to the stage and continued with the fun that Squeeze had started. For nearly half a century they have consistently knocked out pop-ska hits that have entertained generations of fans, and from opener One Step Beyond with its iconic ‘hey you, don’t watch that, watch this…’ intro, the fez wearing crowd went wild.

Embarrassment and the The Prince had the crowd on their feet, where they stayed as the band delved into a few lesser heard songs such as Cardiac Arrest, and The Return of Los Palmas 7, intermingled with newer additions to the set list such as NW5, Lovestruck and Mr Apples, all of which went down a treat.

With Suggs mostly talking his way through the songs, saxophonist Lee Thompson and pianist Mike Barson remained a musical force driving Madness on as it was hard to defy any of the crowd not to sing and dance to hits such as My Girl, Wings Of A Dove, House Of Fun, Baggy Trousers, Our House and their cover of It Must Be Love which closed the main set.

The encore was a ska infused cover of Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day, before closing with Madness and a final glorious Night Boat To Cairo that saw balloons and confetti hailing down upon a really happy crowd.

Madness, performing with Rick Astley, The Lightning Seeds and Deco at the Derby Summer Sessions at Markeaton Park Derby on Sunday 14th July 2024.

Review by Kevin Cooper

For the third night under the Big Top at Markeaton Park on Sunday, there was no shortage of sing along songs and dad dancing as Rick Astley and the iconic Madness entertained a crowd that clearly demanded a night of hits, and who were not disappointed.

First to get the crowd moving was fairly new band Deco who have been breaking their backs on the festival circuit ahead of the release of their debut album later this year. With their huge melodies soaring around the Big Top, their use of electronics blended well with their live instruments.

As they included some classic 80’s saxophone on the likes of opener I Love That Song and Next To You, and led by the charismatic front man Max Kendall, they clearly enjoyed ripping through their up tempo pop gems such as Forever and Photograph. After getting the crowd on side with a gorgeous cover of The Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony, they finished their set with Rain after ensuring that the name Deco is one to watch out for.

With the bars and food outlets doing a healthy business, the crowd were anxious to get their refreshments and to return to the Big Top to catch the set of popsters The Lightning Seeds who started their set with the euphoric Marvellous.

They meandered through some of their original classics such as Change and Sense, the stomp and glam-rock inflections of Lucky You and their well known cover of The Byrds You Showed Me.

They closed their set with the absolute knockout double punch of Pure and The Life Of Riley which saw Broudie and his band build up the intros, taking their time before finally launching into versions of the songs that seemed doubly powerful and impactful.

But there was only one song that this crowd were waiting to hear and when the opening keyboard chords to Three Lions chimed out, the crowd went wild, arms aloft and belting out the words with genuine optimism.

Still luxuriously sporting a quiff after all of these years, the former 80’s pop idol may play down his new found national treasure status acquired since his fabulous appearance at last year’s Glastonbury, where undoubtedly he stole the show, Rick Astley was given a huge Summer Session welcome.

Opening with Together Forever, everyone’s guilty pleasure from the 80’s, Astley prowled around the stage like a caged tiger. From the off he not only impressed with his singing on the likes of Hold Me In Your Arms and Angels On My Side, but also with his energy and incredible stage charisma. He actively engaged with the crowd and showcased his natural talent as a performer.

The soft rock gospel of Cry For Help still conveyed a soaring power and when he stepped behind the drums for a raucous cover of AC/DC’s Highway To Hell, he showed that he is definitely not a one trick pony. Finishing with the song that topped the charts in 25 countries back in 1987, Never Gonna Give You Up, Rick Astley had set the crowd up very nicely for the headliners with his too short set.

Camden Town’s Nutty Boys brought to a close three nights of excellent music and which saw the Big Top packed with fez wearing fans. With the opening of One Step Beyond the crowd instantly knew that they were in for a real treat.

Showing that they are about large sounds and big songs, front man Suggs delivered a live set that offered hit after hit such as Embarrassment and the British classic My Girl which had the crowd jumping and singing along in joyful exuberance. The Big Top was undoubtedly full of fun and Madness were as ever, fantastic live.

NW5 was emotionally impactful and excellently performed, as was the lesser known songs such as The Sun And The Rain and Hour Of Need. A further highlight was Wings Of A Dove before they reached a searingly strong end to their main set, a four song run that started with Baggy Trousers, House Of Fun, Our House and set closer It Must Be Love that had the crowd belting the words right back at them. For the encore there was the anthemic Madness and the ska infused frenzy of Night Boat To Cairo which served to show that a Madness gig is fun from the off proving that they are still as nutty live.

Madness performing their Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Tuesday 5th December 2023.

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

Dr Feelgood’s Roxette blasted around the Motorpoint Arena on Tuesday night, and within seconds Camden Town’s Nutty Boys and the packed crowd took their positions for the traditional festive staple of a Madness December tour.

It is typical of the band’s front man Suggs, who only needs to raise an eyebrow and adjust his sunglasses to have the audience in the palm of his hand where they remained throughout the set which began with new song, Theatre Of The Absurd, the title track from their latest studio album, Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie.

The Prince and a glorious My Girl from their debut album One Step Beyond made an early appearance, setting the bar high which in fairness, they did not drop far below all night. There was no resting on their 80’s laurels as new songs In My Street and Baby Burglar fitted into the set list seamlessly with no let up in pace for the fans.

Other new songs such as C’est La Vie, Run For Your Life and Round We Go dominated the mid set, and although known to this knowledgeable crowd it was the oldies that grabbed their attention. With Suggs tending to talk his way through the songs these days, he still entertained on the likes of 1984’s Wings Of A Dove which proved to be a big hit.

For the home stretch Suggs and the very talented band delivered their unstoppable hits which began with the upbeat One Step Beyond which immediately had the crowd joining in, before they finished the main set with House Of Fun, Baggy Trousers, Our House and It Must Be Love, all of which provoked a mass sing along that enabled Suggs to take a step back.

But Madness were not quite finished as they took to the stage for an encore that included the anthemic Madness and the ska infused frenzy of Night Boat To Cairo. Delivering a set that was full of vim, vigour and vibrancy, a Madness gig is fun from the off proving that they are still as nutty live.

Madness with special guest Squeeze performing their Ladykillers Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Tuesday 14th December 2021

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

It must be nearly Christmas because Madness rolled into town on Tuesday night to start the festivities at the Motorpoint Arena. And with the brilliant Squeeze as their support act, the Arena filled up early.

Usually touring as a headline act in their own right Squeeze opened with a selection of their own familiar songs such as Take Me I’m Yours, Up The Junction and Hourglass, all of which were instant sing alongs. Labelled With Love, Pulling Mussels (From The Shell) and Tempted were all very well received and Glenn Tilbrook’s pitch perfect voice were offset by the gravelly growling of Chris Difford who provided the grit for Cool For Cats.

With the lights dimming it seemed that the Arena could not get any louder, but when a single spotlight highlighted a red telephone box at the side of the stage with Suggs inside, a deafening roar erupted. Not needing to complete the opening intro to One Step Beyond because the crowd did it for him, front man Suggs started the party.

Having been around for over forty years, there is no denying that they still know how to put on a show with giants like Embarrassment, The Prince and a lovely reworked My Girl all appearing within the first six songs. And with a red post box, a London Underground Tube station and a few terraced houses with videos playing through the windows, there was always something to see.

As expected Baggy Trousers, Our House and main set closer It Must Be Love received the biggest reaction from the crowd who knew all the words whilst encore song, a cover of Prince Buster’s Madness had middle aged men dancing like teenagers. And when they closed with the barmy Night Boat To Cairo, both Madness and their fans showed that they are still able to have their nutty moments.

Madness performing their Sound Of Madness Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Thursday 13th December 2018

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

The kings of Two Tone, Madness, were at the Motorpoint Arena last night to help a packed crowd begin their Christmas revelry early, and what a party it was.

To the glorious refrains of One Step Beyond, Suggs appeared dressed in a hat and coat reminiscent of Eric Morecombe as his TV show finished, the only difference being that Suggs was without a bag. But what he did have was bucket loads of charisma and as he shouted “Hey You”, this Arena audience yelled right back at him “Don’t Watch That, Watch This!”, and the fun began.

With four screens above the stage showing clips of Julie Andrews in The Sound Of Music, Suggs and Co showed why they are still popular enough to play arena tours. With the lively front man accompanied by Mike Barson on keyboards, guitarist Chris Foreman, bassist Mark Bedford, Dan Woodgate on drums, and the amazing saxophonist Lee Thompson doing just what he does, it was easy to see why they were chosen to play at Buckingham Palace, The Olympics Closing Ceremony and BBC Television Centre’s Farewell Concert.

As they brought the house down with their Sound Of Madness tour, they delivered a powerful potion of their old and new foot stomping songs. That an arena full of people of all ages knew every word to their oldies says everything about the esteem with which the Camden Nutty Boys are held by the public.

Dominating the charts between 1979 and 1986, few bands have had such a Midas touch that giants like Embarrassment, The Prince and a lovely reworked My Girl appear within the first six songs. With a huge repertoire of songs to choose from, they had to leave several whoppers out. This time Cardiac Arrest, Grey Day and Yesterday’s Men made way for Bed And Breakfast Man, a terrific Shut Up and Driving In My Car, a cheery homage to British motoring’s days of empty roads and old bangers.

And when they hit their only UK number one, House Of Fun, the party shifted into overdrive. Baggy Trousers, Our House and Labi Siffre’s It Must Be Love followed and the audience were in a crazy sort of delirium, reminiscent of those nutty days nearly forty years ago.

Wrapping up this Christmas party with a return to their ska roots, Prince Buster’s Madness had middle aged men in the audience dancing like teenagers and with evening closer, the barmy Nightboat To Cairo, both Madness and their fans showed that they are still able to have their nutty moments.

Madness with special guests The Lightning Seeds performing their Can’t Touch Us Now Tour at The Motorpoint Arena Nottingham on Monday 12th December 2016

Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

You couldn’t ask for a more perfect run into Christmas as two tone legends Madness’ Can’t Touch Us Now tour rolled into Nottingham to entertain a packed Motorpoint Arena.

But first up was Ian Broudie’s Lightning Seeds, who have always been an understated, undemonstrative band who may not have generated the headlines of their brasher peers, but last night’s ably executed set was stuffed full of instantly recognisable tunes. They turned out to be the perfect warm up act, who steadily won over the initially reserved audience but with their deluge of pop exuberance in Lucky You and Change, they had those who had come early on their feet.

With The Byrds cover of You Showed Me and the The Ronettes Be My Baby their set was pure class. By the time we had got to The Life Of Riley (named after Broudie’s son) and arguably the most perfect pop song in Pure, the audience were just waiting to have a sing along to set closer Three Lions.

Madness are some of the best showmen in music and are not afraid to show it off. Now in their fifth decade together and with some having been friends since they were twelve years of age, they have lost nothing of the character that has made them so much fun to see and endeared them to their fans. Entering the stage behind a row of convicts, bursting through a constructed jail cell, Suggs commanded the stage with opener Can’t Touch Us Now. It was a gentle start to the evening but the confidence that Madness have in their new batch of songs is clear as they embark upon their first major Arena tour for two years, to promote their eleventh studio album.

The Prince followed Embarrassment before they delivered a euphoric rendition of 2008 single NW5 which was a shining light in a set which was pure nostalgic fun. There were poignant moments as pictures of Amy Winehouse accompanied the beautiful Blackbird, whilst Lee Thompson had to limp to the side of the stage for some treatment, only to shuffle back for Mumbo Jumbo.

With the concert being in danger of petering out with the likes of The Sun and The Rain and Yesterday’s Men, they woke up the crowd with an onslaught of greatest hits like the snaking reggae groove of One Step Beyond which remains as beguiling fresh nearly forty years on, whilst their final few songs caused the entire Arena to erupt as the whole crowd stood and stomped along to Our House, Baggy Trousers and It Must be Love.

With this Camden gang’s enduring popularity often being underestimated, Suggs and his band’s humour reminded us why they have become part of the British Institution, as the between songs banter just flawlessly flowed between tracks.

With shouts for more, Mr Apples from their latest album was the first encore followed by Prince Buster’s Madness. When the powerful horns that introduced Night Boat To Cairo heralded the end of the night, the whole crowd left the Arena singing to the taped Monty Python’s Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life, and it was difficult not too as the nostalgia that Madness had brought was pure fun and an absolute pleasure.

Madness performing their All For The M.A.D.H.E.A.D Tour at the Capital FM Arena Nottingham on Thursday 4^th December 2014

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Images and Review by Kevin Cooper

They came in their thousands, Nottingham’s greatest collection of Fred Perry polo shirts, Doc Martens, shaved (and plenty of bald) heads together with the odd fez. It is a measure of the passion the Camden nutty boys still command that the uniform has changed so little, even if the hairlines have, both on and off stage.

Having first seen them perform at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal over 30 years ago, it is good to see that so little has changed. Whilst Madness have been together for 38 years (including the six years that they took off from 1986-92), the line-up has barely changed. So it was with some sadness that we learnt that recently, trumpeter Chas Smash has left to pursue a solo career.

But this was clearly to be a night of fun. Two saxophones mirrored the video backdrop and met in the middle. They were closely followed by the rest of the nine piece group and with a deep honk of the saxophone from Lee Thompson, they lunched into their opener, Night Boat To Cairo, which had the audience instantly bobbing around gleefully like so many dads down at the nostalgia disco.

Genuine pop classics like Embarrassment and My Girl all got an airing within the first fifteen minutes and Suggs was in fine form, bantering with the crowd and strutting around whilst Lee Thompson raced from side to side of the stage with his trademark madcap energy.

That they are still writing new songs must be the key to this band’s longevity, and tonight some of the new material was showcased. The set followed a rough pattern of hit followed by a lesser known number or a new one. For instance, My Girl was followed by a recent My Girl 2. A lovely The Sun And The Rain led into the promising new The Last Rag And Bone Man, a number which continues the bands fine tradition of writing poignant love songs to London.

And then it was back to the hits. The Prince, the bands ode to ska hero Prince Buster and their first single in 1976, featured a star turn from its writer Thompson who delivered a stonking saxophone solo set. There was plenty of skanking being done, and this Nottingham crowd obliged. But there is more to Madness than ska. One of the band’s late career singles, Love Struck touched on the subject of drunkenness, whilst Wings Of A Dove added a little calypso flavour to the proceedings, and which induced a crowd sing-along.

In no time at all the party was in full swing. We had the irrepressible House Of Fun, the ebullient Baggy Trousers and Our House was accompanied by a slide show of Glasgow buildings and landmarks. A corking It Must Be Love brought the main set to a close.

By the time they reached the encore the crowd were wildly noisy. They demanded the band take to the stage again and in no time at all Madness were back with that original nutty sound. One Step Beyond had those few in the audience still seated, up on their feet, whilst Madness had everyone singing along.

Finishing the set with a loving cover of Papa’s Got A Brand New Pigbag, the party was drawn to a close. Madness’s annual pre-Christmas tour may have become a somewhat comfortable and predictable fixture, but they were so peerlessly loveable and entertaining that it would be a shame if it were to stop any time soon. They are such a charismatic hit machine that have sold cartloads of records to everyone from pop kids to die hard punks, and on tonight’s showing, it was not hard to see why. It was a very exhausted and satiated audience who left the Arena tonight, many still singing; Madness, they call it madness.