Madness SONGS

You can search for your favourite songs and find out who the song composers were, sing along to the lyrics and read about the song’s history. Madness are a band that showcases unique and catchy music and lyrics. Madness covers relatable stories of everyday life and expresses deep emotions of love and loss. The lyrical genius of their songs is told through a combination of wit, humour, and sheer brilliance.

A Town With No Name

Written by Chris Foreman, who was then the king of B-sides, A Town With No Name was the B-side to the single 'Shut Up' and drew inspiration from the lawless settings of classic Spaghetti Western films. The latter's dramatic and haunting ...

Baggy Trousers

He contrasted "Baggy Trousers" with Pink Floyd's hit "Another Brick in the Wall": "I was writing about my time at school. Pink Floyd had that big hit with 'teacher, leave those kids alone'. It didn't really relate to me, because I hadn't been ...

Bed And Breakfast Man

Clive Langer praises the song and describes it as "dead solid, a great song. Barson comes up with something in a melody that no one else does. And he writes a great mundane lyric." It is clear that the song bears the unique style of Mike ...

Believe Me

"Believe Me" was one of the earliest original songs by Madness. It was written by John Hasler and Mike Barson. Hasler used to write many things, including poems, songs and even the first two pages of a novel. He would give his lyrics to Mike so ...

Bullingdon Boys

Madness today unveil snap release 'Bullingdon Boys'. The seminal British pop band's first new music since 2016, 'Bullingdon Boys' is a self explanatory, barbed swipe at the charlatans, rotters and chancers at the top of the tree who have done ...

C’est La Vie

Madness keyboard player Mike Barson wrote the song. It's "about these crazy times we're living in, and how I just want to stay on my boat and not be a part of all this madness," he explained. "But of course, I'm a member of a group called ...

Chipmunks Are Go!

We did it as an encore, all at the front of the stage,” says Mark, and it’s this that sends shivers down his rhythm pal’s spine. “I had absolutely no love for this whatsoever,” says Woody.

Close Escape

The song "Close Escape" picks up where its predecessor "In The Middle Of The Night" left off. The story depicts a perverse individual who derives pleasure from making unsolicited calls to women and asking them about their underwear.

Crying Shame

The song "Crying Shame" was originally released as the B-side of the 7-inch single "Embarrassment". Despite being overlooked initially, the song is considered one of Barson's best works. "Crying Shame" has a Coasters-inspired sound and stands ...

Deceives the Eye

"Deceives the Eye" tells the true story of Chris Foreman being out and about with Thommo and Mike in Luton and finding himself on the wrong side of the law. "A few of us enjoyed the pleasures of shoplifting," Chris explains.

Disappear

"Disappear" is a track composed by Suggs and Bedders for the Madness album "Absolutely". It is considered to be their most melodic creation and has a Motown-inspired sound. The song begins with a beautiful piano melody from Barson and ...

Don’t Quote Me On That

"Don't Quote Me On That" was a commentary on press coverage which had tried to paint the band as racists who supported the National Front (NF). Some of the band's shows had been disrupted by skinhead violence, and, in a 1979 NME interview.

Driving In My Car

"Driving in My Car" was written by Mike Barson and recorded by Madness. It was released as a stand-alone single on 24 July 1982 and spent eight weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number four. It reached number 20 on the Australian ...

E.R.N.I.E.

During their summer tour in 1980, the band previewed another song called 'E.R.N.I.E.', which was Suggs' tribute to premium bonds. Premium bonds are a popular lottery system that was introduced in 1957. The initials 'E.R.N.I.E.' means ...

Embarrassment

'Embarrassment' dealt with an altogether more serious issue. Lee Thompson's 17-year-old sister Tracy had become pregnant with a mixed-race child, which caused consternation among some of the family's friends, relatives and neighbours, who ...

Forever Young

The band presented several songs from their latest album, "The Liberty of Norton Folgate," in three concerts held at London's Hackney Empire in June 2008. One of the songs that they played was 'Forever Young,' featuring a melodious tune. Suggs ...

Grey Day

Mike wrote "the song "Grey Day" before the band became a success in the UK music scene. The first performance came back in 1978 at Acklam Hall, when the band was known as "The North London Invaders."

Herbert

Suggs composed Herbert with Mike Barson. Two weeks before "Can't Touch Us Now", the album's release, the song "Herbert" was released as a teaser on 14 October 2016. It was accompanied by an animated lyric video in the style of the album's artwork.

If I Go Mad

Suggs wrote "If I Go Mad" primarily as a love song dedicated to his wife. However, it also reflects his experience of lockdown madness. The isolation and not being able to see anyone for a year led him to feel like he was going slightly mad.

In The Middle Of The Night

The band has a collective memory of Suggs getting the idea for the song from a genuine newspaper article about a knicker thief seeing his own description and photo-fit in the papers and making a dash for it.

In the Rain

'In The Rain' was initially relegated to the 12-inch single of 'My Girl' as an 'otherwise unavailble track' but was an overlooked gem, 'In The Rain', which shared much of the same air of pathos as the A-side with its tale of being jilted on a ...

Land Of Hope & Glory

Not only did Lee write "Land of Hope & Glory," but he sang it with Suggs, getting just one or two lines in. There was never going to be any argument about that, though. As Clive says, "Lee's songs sounded great.

Madness

According to the back sleeve of One Step Beyond..., there are seven songs on each side, and at the end of side two, "Mummy's Boy" is swiftly followed by "Chipmunks Are Go!" Imagine the looks of glee on every young rude boy and rude girl's face ...

Madness (2-Tone Version)

HOW TO USE THE DISCOGRAPHY SITE

The Madness Discography website has been organised and architected to be as straightforward to navigate and provide the highest information available for collectors of Madness and general music enthusiasts.

With each page, album, single, or song page, we have detailed below what you might expect to find, with links to additional information. We also have extended information about the companies, professionals, and collaborators that Madness has worked with over the past 40 years.

Album Release Pages

Release Background (including wiki-styled links)
Album Track Listing (with listing position and timestamp)
Album Release Information (country, label, cat#, release date ++)
Album Copyright (ownership and licencing)
The Singles (with cover art released from the album)
Album Chart History (weeks in chart, highest position and history)
Album Musicians (which musicians played on the album)
Album Production Credits (producers and engineers)
Album Company Information (label, publishers, distributors)
Album Filters (filter by country, year, and/or format)

Single Release Pages

Release Background (including wiki-styled links)
Official Single Video
Single Track Listing (with listing position and timestamp)
Which Album Released On (with cover art)
Single Release Details (country, label, cat#, release date ++)
Single Chart History (weeks in chart, highest position and history)
Single Copyright (ownership and licencing)
Single Musicians (which musicians played on the album)
Single Production Credits (producers and engineers)
Single Company Information (label, publishers, distributors)
Single Filters (filter by country, year, and/or format)

12" Single Release Pages

Release Background (including wiki-styled links)
Official Single Video
Single Track Listing (with listing position and timestamp)
Which Album Released On (with cover art)
Single Release Details (country, label, cat#, release date ++)
Single Chart History (weeks in chart, highest position and history)
Single Copyright (ownership and licencing)
Single Musicians (which musicians played on the album)
Single Production Credits (producers and engineers)
Single Company Information (label, publishers, distributors)
Single Filters (filter by country, year, and/or format)

Digital Release Pages

Digital Track Listing (with listing position and timestamp)
Digital Release Details (country, label, cat#, release date ++)
Digital Copyright (ownership and licencing)
Digital Musicians (which musicians played on the album)
Digital Production Credits (producers and engineers)
Digital Company Information (label, publishers, distributors)
Digital Filters (filter by country, year, and/or format)

Song Pages

Official Song Audio
Song Background (including wiki-styled links)
Song Composers
Song Publishing Information
Song Lyrics
Song Search (search by title)