Madness have been around for four decades now, but there’s no denying they still know how to put on a show.
The London band brought The Ladykillers Tour to Liverpool last night where they performed a selection of their hits from the last 40 years.
Despite being someone who was born quite a few years after Madness first emerged from the hip streets of Camden Town, the band’s songs have been present throughout my life.
READ MORE: Harry Potter live concert coming to Liverpool with original cast member
On this tour, Madness is supported by Squeeze who did a brilliant job at opening the show last night at the M&S Bank Arena, with a selection of their songs. After their set, everyone was on their feet cheering and applauding. When the support act gets a standing ovation, you know it’s going to be a good night.
It seemed the arena - which was a sea of red Madness Fez hats - couldn’t get any louder, but then lead singer Suggs appeared in a red telephone box wearing a dapper suit and shades, and a deafening roar erupted from the audience.
The stage also had a red post box, a London underground tube station and a few terraced houses with videos playing through the windows during some of the songs.
Suggs said a few words pretending to be on the telephone before stating that he had a show in Liverpool to do. Then Madness went straight into One Step Beyond, prompting the audience to get up on their feet in seconds. We knew we were in for a treat.
“We’re all back together. Ain’t it been a dreary couple of years?” says Suggs. Throughout the night, he also made a few timely comments about Boris Johnson and the Downing Street Christmas party.
One of the standout moments was when Suggs interacted with a young Madness fan on the front row who was wearing one of the red Fez hats. Suggs told him how important it was to get an education, and you could tell how much it meant to the band that they have new, younger fans as well as those who have stuck by them since the 70s.
As expected, Our House, Baggy Trousers and It Must Be Love received the biggest reaction from the crowd. There was a special moment during It Must Be Love where Madness let the audience sing.
Those 30 seconds or so felt quite emotional given the last couple of years. Many people wondered when they’d hear a crowd singing in unison again, and this was it.
The Lady Killers tour explains how and why the band has stood the test of time. The music, singing and staging were simply perfect, earning a place on my list of most memorable live performances.
It was my first concert since the pandemic and boy, am I glad it was Madness that welcomed me back to live music.
Get the top stories straight to your inbox by signing up to one of our free newsletters.
