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Review
Finally the band have got the book they deserve.
4 stars --Mojo
[T]he most comprehensive Madness book available. --Q magazine
4 stars --Mojo
[T]he most comprehensive Madness book available. --Q magazine
Review
"Final the band get the book they deserve... 4 stars" - Mojo "[T]he most comprehensive Madness book available." - Q magazine
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is a real must for any Madness fan.It has 536 pages(23 chapters) including photos from the early days of Madness.This book tells the story of Madness from their humble beginings in NW5 to the present day.Each member tells their own story all pieced together from NW5 right upto The Liberty Of Norton Folgate.In the book it also lists every single,Album,Dvd and even flexidisc that Madness have released.All i can say is that this book will not disappoint any Madness fan.A truly Wonderful read.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Madness have never had a biography written that has been comprehensive enough to do them justice.George Marshall wrote Total Madness in the early 90's at a time when there was a renewed interest in Madness but although a decent enough read it was a slim volume and was all a bit rushed.
This book however suffers from the opposite problem. It soon becomes apparent as to why it is such a thick book. As a previous reviewer correctly pointed out, there is far too much unnecessary detail. It is not untill page seventy odd that the band release their first single!! Before that we hear about the history of Camden, Ian Dury, everybody's grandparents, mods, skins, ska, Dammers and The Specials,Clive Langer etc... Obviously these things all needed a mention as they are all part of the story but what could be covered in a couple of paragraphs is stretched to pages. You half expect Suggs to pop out for a pint of milk and expect to hear about the whole milking process.
The other problem with this book is that it is also written entirely on information gained from reading through old interviews in magazines, other peoples books (Suggs and the City, Total Madness) and watching Take It Or Leave It. There has so far been no evidence that the author has spoken to any members of the band and therefore is adding absolutely nothing new to what has been said before.
I am a huge fan of Madness and was so pleased to see their story finally get a proper airing, but a third of the way through the book I have to say that that this guy has written a book that is as dull as ditch water. I sincerely hope it picks up as it really is becoming a chore to read.
This book however suffers from the opposite problem. It soon becomes apparent as to why it is such a thick book. As a previous reviewer correctly pointed out, there is far too much unnecessary detail. It is not untill page seventy odd that the band release their first single!! Before that we hear about the history of Camden, Ian Dury, everybody's grandparents, mods, skins, ska, Dammers and The Specials,Clive Langer etc... Obviously these things all needed a mention as they are all part of the story but what could be covered in a couple of paragraphs is stretched to pages. You half expect Suggs to pop out for a pint of milk and expect to hear about the whole milking process.
The other problem with this book is that it is also written entirely on information gained from reading through old interviews in magazines, other peoples books (Suggs and the City, Total Madness) and watching Take It Or Leave It. There has so far been no evidence that the author has spoken to any members of the band and therefore is adding absolutely nothing new to what has been said before.
I am a huge fan of Madness and was so pleased to see their story finally get a proper airing, but a third of the way through the book I have to say that that this guy has written a book that is as dull as ditch water. I sincerely hope it picks up as it really is becoming a chore to read.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Im about half way through this book and so far I confess to being a bit disappointed with how it is going. The main reason is the writing style. It appears that the author has basically read a lot of Madness books, collected lots of qoutes from them (eg: Suggs and the City) and put them together into one big story. So far, there's little evidence that he's spoken to members of the band in any real detail apart from an ex-girlfriend. Another annoying trait, particularly earlier in the book, is where we seem to get a detailed family history of practically anybody that gets a mention, which is one reason why this is a large book. I realise he's trying to get to the roots of why the music evolved but it really doesn't need so much detail about everybody's grandparents in my opinion!
Anyway, I'll reserve full judgement until I get to the end of the book. However, at the moment, I feel this kind of book could be done entirely through the internet (indeed he qoutes from Madness websites) or going to libraries and looking there. So although a lot of research has gone into the book it really doesn't feel close enough to the band. Hope it improves!
Anyway, I'll reserve full judgement until I get to the end of the book. However, at the moment, I feel this kind of book could be done entirely through the internet (indeed he qoutes from Madness websites) or going to libraries and looking there. So although a lot of research has gone into the book it really doesn't feel close enough to the band. Hope it improves!
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