Madness

, he made the ska known to the general public at the beginning of the 1980s, with other bands like The Specials, The Selecter, Bad Manners and The Beat. Madness is at the origin of nutty sound, a kind of trademark of the group.

In 1976, Mike "Barso" Barson, Chris "Chrissy Boy" Foreman, Lee "Kix" Thompson and Chas Smash (his real name Cathal Smyth), formed a ska group called The Invaders>.

In January 1979, after the arrival of Graham "Suggs" McPherson, Mark Bedford and Dan Woodgate, they take the name of Madness, in tribute to a 1961 Prince Buster song, Madness (Is Gladness). Their first single, The Prince, released on the 2 Tone label, is another tribute to Prince Buster. Madness leaves this label for Stiff Records and records another cover of Prince Buster, a title located in front of the Jamaican artist's Al Capone single, titled One Step Beyond ...>. In November 1979, Madness's first album, One Step Beyond, was released ....

Madness, unlike other 2 tone bands like The Selecter, The Beat or The Specials, is composed exclusively of white musicians. Their speech is also less politicized, it is probably for these reasons that members of the British National Front - which one assimilates improperly the entire skinhead movement - set their sights on Madness. The case, widely reported by the press, will be the origin of the title Do not Quote Me on That, on the EP Work, Rest and Play.