Live Review

Madness – Aintree Pavillion, Liverpool

• 21st Dec 2007

Hundreds, no, thousands of rowdy, aled-up scousers bellowed out of Aintree train station, all with good intentions. It wasn’t a Liverpool match. It wasn’t an Everton match. And it certainly wasn’t one of Aintree’s world famous horse races. It was MADNESS live on stage!

As the beer ran like tap water and the people laughed and made conversation, they waited for the Camden hailing 7-strong ska band they had paid to see. Madness zoomed on full of energy, opening up with long time favourite “One Step Beyond” which sent the crowd mental. Returning to Liverpool with a warm welcome, Suggs looks to the crowd to admit, “it’s been a long time since we’ve played here properly”, apart from their appearance at Knowsley Music Festival earlier this year that is.

Madness played great, they didn’t chat on too much about nothing, they got on with it and played to the crowd all the classics. Couples grabbed each other and cheered at hearing the opening piano of “It must be love”, and all of the audience, young and old – danced, jumped, sang and shouted to “House of Fun”, “Embarrassment”, “Madness”, “Our House”, “The Sun And The Rain” and of course the crowd-pleaser “Baggy Trousers” which I’m sure at one point, made the tent shake.

Even after 31 years of making music, Madness have still got it. They proved to still be as fun and energetic as they were back in 1976, re-entering the stage for two encores, they’re playing for the laughs, not for the money and I hope to see them return to the ‘pool for many years to come.

Picture by Steve Goudie [link]