One big house of fun as Madness hit town

Madness

Wolverhampton Civic Hall

Aah, Christmas with the Nutty Boys; suits, shades, smiles and sackload of hit singles.

With the red double decker tour bus parked out front, street hawkers were doing a roaring trade in chequered scarves, pork pie hats and even the odd fez.

Click here to see more pictures from the gig.

Inside, a singalong playlist set course for 1979 as songs by The Jam, Dexy's and The Specials warmed the crowd from the winter chill before a short film on a giant screen recalled the Magnificent Seven's early days.

Wider waistlines aside, they have hardly changed a bit.

And then – "Hey you!" – at 9pm sharp, it was time for the nuttiest sound around.

One Step Beyond got the party started as Suggs and Co barrelled through their music hall repertoire with the panache that has seen them rightly installed as national treasures.

Thirty years on from their first hit, their nod-and-a-wink style predictably went down a storm at a packed Civic Hall.

An opening blast of Embarrassment, The Prince and My Girl left no-one glued to the spot, but it wasn't all a nostalgic knees-up.

Latest album the Liberty of Norton Folgate has been hailed as some of their best work and newer tunes such as Dust Devil and Forever Young showed off their musical maturity and provided a welcome breather for the fortysomethings, rapidly flagging in the heat.

Backed by a three-piece brass section and four-strong strings ensemble, there was a nice touch during Our House as the band's childhood homes were shown on the big screen behind the stage – before a giant image of Molineux prompted the biggest cheer of the night.

Similarly, during It Must Be Love, pictures of couples in the Civic audience were flashed onto the backdrop feeding the feelgood atmosphere even more.

Old favourites like Bed And Breakfast man mingled with more recent material like Johnny The Horse, before a joyously received closing run of hits, starting with House of Fun and running into Baggy Trousers, took hordes of naughty boys from nasty schools riotously back to their mis-spent youth.

One quick break later and it was time for the encore, introduced by ageless drummer Dan "Woody" Woodgate (he's actually 49 but looks half that), who made an impassioned appeal for Cancer Research before setting sail for one last jolly on the Night Boat to Cairo. Then there were Happy Christmases all round before the band fittingly left for London to the sound of Monty Python's Always Look On the Bright Side of Life.

In the foyer, fans were even able to buy an instant recording of the show, on a Madness MP3 player for a pretty reasonable £15. Market Trader Brendan Brogan, aged 33, of Highfields, Stafford, said: "I've seen them before but never in such a small venue. It's a real treat to have them at the Civic and the atmosphere was brilliant."

Baker Richard Bryans, aged 38, of Penkridge, added: "They turned the hall into one big house of fun.

"It may be cold outside but this was the perfect way to warm the cockles of your heart for Christmas."

By Keith Harrison.

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