UK ‘National Treasures’ Madness Will Tour Australia in April - Noise11.com
Madness: Photo By Ros O'Gorman

Madness: Photo By Ros O'Gorman

UK ‘National Treasures’ Madness Will Tour Australia in April

by Paul Cashmere on February 9, 2017

in News

After nearly 40 years, Madness have become ‘national treasures’ in the UK and that hasn’t gone unnoticed with founding member and keyboard player Mike Barson.

“When we first started we were jokey, cheap, lavatory humour, what are they going to do next,” Mike tells Noise11.com. “Bit by bit as time went on they started talking about classics like The Kinks. They first started talking about us as “the classic British band” and then they started talking about ‘national treasures’. Something must be going right, I guess”.

When Madness began in the 70s, the British press thought they were a joke. “We like to have a bit of a laugh but it doesn’t mean it is not serious,” Mike says. “A lot of people mistook it in the beginning. In the late 70s and early 80s the music press were very serious and dare I say slightly pretentious. If you had a bit of a laugh and didn’t take things seriously they didn’t seem to like it. We got a lot of flack for that. They wanted to put us in a pot”.

Madness will play headline dates for Live Nation when they visit Australia for Bluesfest in April. “We just did a tour just before Christmas and it ended just before Christmas. We seem to be doing well, almost better than ever. Who would have expected that all these years later,” he said.

You can hear the full interview with Mike Barson of Madness at iHeartRadio Music News powered by Noise11.com from midnight Friday Feb 10 to Thursday Feb 16, 2017

Madness dates

April 10, Fremantle, Fremantle Arts Centre
April 13, Melbourne, Festival Hall
April 15, Sydney, Hordern Pavilion
April 16, Byron Bay, Bluesfest

Noise11.com
The X Studio

Related Posts

Crowded House perform at Rod Laver Arena 10 December 2024 photo by Winston Robinson
Crowded House Sentenced To One Night At Fremantle Prison

Crowded House are going to prison, Fremantle Prison in Western Australia to be exact.

5 days ago
Joe Camilleri Black Sorrows
Wilbur Wilde’s Message To The Punks Who Stole Joe Camilleri’s Guitars

Former Jo Jo Zep & The Falcons sax player Wilbur Wilde has a few words for the thieves who broke into the home of Joe Camilleri and stole thousands of dollars of equipment.

July 11, 2025
Duran Duran, SXSW. Photo by Ros O'Gorman.
Sabrina Carpenter and Duran Duran Collaborate

Sabrina Carpenter surprised her fans when she brought out Duran Duran during her BST Hyde Park show on Sunday.

July 8, 2025
Joe Camilleri Apia Good Times 2021 photo by Noise11
Joe Camilleri’s Vintage Guitar Collection Stolen

Joe Camilleri’s home in regional Victoria has been broken into and the thief has taken nine of his prized guitars.

July 5, 2025
Dog Trumpet Live Forever
Reg Mombassa and Peter O’Doherty Go Track By Track Through Dog Trumpet’s ‘Live Forever’

On 11 July 2025 Dog Trumpet will release their ninth album ‘Live Forever’.

July 4, 2025
Colin Hay performs at the Recital Centre in Melbourne on 11 February 2018. Photo by Ros O'Gorman
Colin Hay To Release Man @ Work Volume 2

Men at Work’s Colin Hay has made a sequel to his 2003 solo album ‘Man @ Work’ where he re-recorded his Men At Work and solo songs.

July 4, 2025
John Paul Young One Foot In Front
John Paul Young’s Long Out of Print ‘One Foot In Front’ To Be Reissued

‘One Foot In Front’, John Paul Young’s long unavailable 1983 album, is getting a re-release through Andrew McNeice’s MelodicRock Classics.

July 3, 2025