The Weekend Needle Drop-52 Weeks 52 Albums
Madness-One Step Beyond Stiff/NOVA Portugal Release 1979
Madness is one of my favorite bands, easily in my all time top 5. The first time I heard the Baritone Sax on the tittle track I was hooked. It is not often that an instrumental will draw me into a band like that. It would also solidify my love of SKA music.
I picked this copy up if memory serves correctly in 1982 or early 83 at Replay Records in Modesto. I was already a fan of the band seeing them in DANCE CRAZE which was released in 1981(the soundtrack hangs on my wall signed by members of the Special and English Beat.) and hearing them and other 2Tone bands being played on KROQ when I still lived in Hawaiian Gardens.
One Step Beyond was filled with great songs along with the tittle track “My Girl”, “Night Boat to Cairo”, “The Prince” were all hit singles in the UK and the album peaked at #2 spending 78 weeks in the charts.
Seeing them perform on Saturday Night Live, the Young Ones and American Bandstand and hearing them in commercials like the kids Colgate spot was a big deal.
I had tickets to see Madness play in LA but had to miss it because I was 15 and the family was moving to Modesto a week before the show took place. In Aprl of 1998, Bill Coffey and I bought 25 tickets to the UC Davis performance with Madness(featuring all 7 original members), Blink 182, Royal Crown Revue, Hepcaat and the Aquabats. I saw the show a week later in Oakland and where Travis Barker played his last set with the Aquabats and later returned to the stage to play his first set with Blink 182. I have seen them since at Bimbo’s 365 and the Warfield Theatre(once again with all the original members and those times with an additon of 3 extra horn players). You don’t see many tours with a band with the all the original members(especially not a 7 piece.)
SKA is not Dead it is only sleeping.
