Kicking off 3 days of a music at Singleton Park in Swansea are the nutty boys and Ska legends Madness supported by the brilliant Craig Charles and the Funk Soul Club.
Craig Charles needs no introduction, you would either know him from the Britsh soap “Coronation Street” or his “Red Dwarf” days. He’s been touring with The Soul Group since 2008. Mixing reggae, and soul songs into upbeat versions designed to get the crowd moving. And even after an over 1-hour DJ set, he kept the dancing going.
As the stage is being set for Madness, there are red-style fez hats everywhere paying homage to Graham “Suggs” McPherson.
And then the man himself Suggs struts onto stage erupting the park into a frenzy with “One Step Beyond”. And the whole place starts jumping moving in odd random movements, arm’s flying in all directions.
Madness are just timeless, the music and the vocals sound just as fresh as they did back in the 80s and 90’s, then play a new song from their newest album “Baby Burglar”, and in Suggs own words ” it took 6 years to make so better have some sort of substance”.
But it’s the classics such as “Wings of a Dove”, “Lovestruck”, and “My Girl”, that follow that keep the crowd moving, dancing and singing along, we are watching true music legends. Still performing at the highest level 40 years on.
Ending their main set with one of their biggest hits “Our House” and its bedlam in the crowd, you can hardly hear Suggs’s vocals the singing in the crowd is that loud, it is impossible to describe how loud the fans are.
After 5 minutes that seem to last forever, Madness emerge to huge cheers with Suggs saying “It must be love” Leading perfectly into their encore with, yes that’s the one “It Must Be Love” before finishing with “Night Boat to Cario” where saxophone player Lee Thompson takes centre stage for his solo,
As it all comes to an end the last hour and a half has flown by, and I could do it all again.
One fan standing next to me told me how he saw Madness in 1979 at Top rank night club in Cardiff that’s no longer there and never thought 40+ years later he still is going to a Madness concert
Set list
1/ One Step Beyond
2/ Embarrassment
3/ The Prince
4/ NW5
5/ My Girl
6/ The Sun and the Rain
7/ Baby Burglar
8/ Wings of a Dove
9/ Return of the Los Palmas 7
10/ Lovestruck
11/ If I Go Mad
12/ Shut Up
13/ Bed and Breakfast Man
14/Mr Apples
15 House of Fun
16/ Baggy Trousers
17/ Our House
18/ It Must Be Love
19/ Madness
20/ Night Boat to Cairo
FOLLOW MADNESS
FOLLOW GRAIG CHARLES AND THE FUNK SOUL CLUB
