Madness / The Quarry / Shrewsbury

Jul 23

Jul 23 Madness / The Quarry / Shrewsbury

In the middle of a wonderful barmy summer hot spell, I was really looking forward to my 100 mile adventure across the UK’s motorway network to Shrewsbury. This was one I just couldn’t turn down. I’ve long been a fan of Madness and I was looking forward to a trip through the old town of Shrewsbury, parking up by the river (only 70p per hour and free after 6pm – I’m coming here again !) and I headed to the park in the centre of the old town, The Quarry. A large stage, set up right on the banks of the river Severn, and the park rising up towards the town, like a natural theatre so everyone gets a good view. I love a small indoor venue…. It’s just my thing and this was my first outdoor gig. I was really looking forward to the experience.

We had two very special guests tonight to get the crowd going. First up were the Hoosiers. English, but originally forming in 2003 in Indiana, USA, they actually take their name from a colloquial term for a citizen of Indiana - a Hoosier. Irwin Sparkes was on fine form on the vocals, and they banged out a string of hits including Worried About Ray (which reached #5 in the UK charts), Cops and Robbers and the fantastic Goodbye Mr A.

The crowd was starting to arrive in numbers now as next up we had The Zutons from Liverpool. They also delivered a really good, punchy set are next up and deliver a punchy set filled with all their best. Hit after hit was met with loud cheers from the Shropshire crowd as they gave us fantastic performances of Why Won’t You Give Me Your Love, Zuton Fever, You Will, Won’t You, Pressure Point and of course, their greatest hit Valerie which was of course also covered by the wonderful Amy Winehouse. The interaction with the crowd was great too and really helped build the atmosphere. For me, it felt really odd watching a band in daylight. Great for the photos, but I was missing the cramped confines of a club venue lol.

Running a bit late, Madness arrived on stage at 8:45 and the crowd roared. The Nutty Boys have certainly have cornered the UK novelty hat market with bowlers and fez hats all round the park. The crowd were on their feet, many dressed up and you could tell Suggs and the boys were in a playful mood tonight, for their first ever show in Shrewbury !

As you would expect from Madness, every track is a classic, with banter and a bucket full of nutty fun. The set opens with their iconic anthem One Step Beyond and immediately I’m transported to my youth. 40 odd years just vanish in an instant, and I’m 11 again, it’s 1979 and I just want to dance !!! Sax player Lee Thompson is as crazy as ever as they head into Embarrassment before the big screen lights up and we see a giant photo of Prince Buster, as the un-mistakable first notes of The Prince ring out. The band perform it perfectly as the track ends Suggs is facing the screen as virtual curtains draw across the Prince. A wonderful and fitting tribute.

The banter fills in between each song. Suggs tells us a story of how he recently met a very sad looking Johnny Depp in a pub in Newcastle. Suggs asks him whats the matter and Johnny tells him “Well Suggs, My Girls Mad at Me. The crowd laugh as they launch into the track. Suggs has a way of making everyone in the crowd feel like he is talking to them.

In amongst a string of hits, it was great to see some newer material, the pick of the bunch being a mid-set performance of NW5 released in 2007. The performance is spot on as we rattle through Wings of a Dove, Shut Up, and the Quarry explodes into madness as the crowd join in with House of Fun. If there was a roof on the Quarry, it would have been raised even higher as they start Baggy Trousers as the audience all join in the refrain. I’m sure they could be heard miles away lol.

As the main part of the set ends, we enjoy Our House and finally a wonderful performance of Labi Siffre’s It Must Be Love. The band wave and smile as they leave the stage to huge cheers and applause.

Of course there has to be an encore, and the boys return to the stage. Suggs is giving it some more banter, and gets the crowd to shout back letters….. M….. A….. D….. N….. the crowd latch on and realise that’s what is up next Madness another Prince Buster track! There’s time for one more and we get we get a long loud blast from the sax, reminiscent of a steamboat….. as Night Boat to Cairo from One Step Beyond (1979) fills the air and the Fez wearing crowd are in their element dancing, and shouting out the lines.

And that was it, still light but refreshingly cool now, the large crowd start to disperse through town with stupidly large grins on their faces.

There’s just something about a Madness show. Despite a career spanning well over 40 years, the songs are just as fun, and magical today as they’ve always been. The Nutty Boys truly are the ultimate party band, that can bring a huge grin to EVERYONE’S face !

An amazing night, in a stunningly beautiful place. If you’ve not been to a gig at The Quarry, I thoroughly recommend it. I’m sure not one punter left disappointed.

Set List

One Step Beyond (Prince Buster cover)

Embarrassment

The Prince

NW5

My Girl

The Sun and the Rain

Wings of a Dove

Shut Up

Bed and Breakfast Man

Mr. Apples

House of Fun