Taking to social media, Madness revealed their official album artwork alongside the caption:

“‘Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie’, our new album, available to pre-order/pre-save now […] Featuring no less than 14 songs (and some other surprises!), it comes out on 17th November. […] Meanwhile, this Thursday, you’ll be able to hear 3 tracks from the album on all the usual streaming services!”

The news comes in tandem with brand-new lead single “C’est La Vie”, which the legendary group recently teased in a video featuring Dame Helen Mirren. In an unlikely collaboration, the Oscar-winning actress delivers her own spoken-word interpretation of the song, reading the lyrics directly into the camera.

Watch Helen Mirren’s dramatic reading below:

“C’est La Vie” provides a taster of what is to come, treating fans to the classic quirky sound that shot Madness to stardom in the 1980s, when they enjoyed a prolific run of hits including “Our House” and “Baggy Trousers”. Emerging from their seven-year studio hiatus rejuvenated, and with a fresh bounce in their step, the group reflects on the struggles of everyday life over surfy guitar riffs and a gnarly horn section.

Listen to “C’est La Vie” below:

In their press statement, Madness said: 

“Well, well, well, here we are… our 13th album (lucky for some). ‘Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie’ is ready for your ears. For us, recording it was the perfect antidote to the chaos of the past few years – we were all there, properly in the zone. It was just us, in an industrial unit in Cricklewood, playing together. We loved it!”

Another unexpected collaboration comes in the form of Emmy and BAFTA Awards winning actor Martin Freeman, who contributed a special prologue to the new album. His longstanding admiration for Madness led to their partnership when the band’s manager recognised Freeman in a meet and greet queue and introduced him to the members.

Madness take their new record on the road in November and December for their previously-announced C’est La Vie UK tour, with support from The Lightning Seeds.

See below for dates:

30/11/2023 – P&J Live – Aberdeen
01/12 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
02/12 – Utility Arena – Newcastle
04/12 – Utility Arena – Cardiff
05/12 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
07/12 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
08/12 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
09/12 – AO Arena – Manchester
11/12 – Brighton Centre – Brighton
12/12 – International Centre – Bournemouth
14/12 – Utility Arena – Sheffield
15/12 – O2 Arena – London
16/12 – Utility Arena – Birmingham

Get tickets here.

Pre-order Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie here.

The announcement comes in a recent Twitter post that also contains a teaser about some possible new material being on the way, with the post claiming, “We’ll be out of the studio and back on the road at the end of 2023 with some new tricks up our sleeves…“.

We’ll be out of the studio and back on the road at the end of 2023 with some new tricks up our sleeves…
The “C’est La Vie” tour is coming to a stage near you.
Register for early access to tickets at https://t.co/2Ml0E0cCdv pic.twitter.com/LOvUz6kCh1

— Madness (@MadnessNews) April 21, 2023

This teasing message will be sure to make fans of the London based ska icons salivate at the possibility of new studio recordings, with their last studio album being released eight years ago (Can’t Touch Us Now in 2015), and their latest single produced in 2019 (“Bullingdon Boys (Don’t Get Bullied by the Bully boys“)).

The band was formed in 1976 in Camden Town, London, as The North London Invaders, changing their name several times before finally landing on Madness in 1979, a homage to Jamaican ska and rocksteady musician Prince Buster and a single he produced with the same name.

Their first single, “The Prince“, released in 1979 on 2 Tone Records, was also inspired by their ska predecessor, and achieved fair success, reaching number 16 in the UK Single Charts and, more importantly, paving the way for the band to become one of the most prominent groups of the two-tone ska revival in Britain, alongside the likes of the Selecter and the Specials.

Watch the music video for “One Step Beyond” below:

The single was followed by the release of their debut album, One Step Beyond, to widespread critical acclaim, reaching number two in the UK Album Charts, and contained a cover of a song of the same name by Prince Buster. The following year the group released their second album, Absolutely, which also reached number two in the UK Album Charts and contained one the band’s biggest hits, “Baggy Trousers“.

The release of the band’s third studio album, 7, in 1981 marked a change of direction in where the band was heading musically, opting to stray away from their fast-paced ska and rocksteady roots and adopting a more mainstream pop sound. Later that year Madness released “It Must Be Love“, a Labi Siffre cover, and in 1982 released their sole number one single, “House of Fun“.

Watch the music video for “House of Fun” below:

The band broke up in 1986 and re-united in 1992, releasing Divine Madness, a compilation album that reached number one in the UK Album Charts. Madness have released twelve studio albums to date and will embark on their tour with six of the original seven members of the line-up, including Graham “Suggs” McPherson, Mike Barson, Lee Thompson, Chris Foreman, Dan Woodgate and Mark Bedford.

You can register for early access to tour tickets here.

See below for the tour dates:

30/11/2023 – P&J Live – Aberdeen
01/12 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
2/12 – Utilita Arena – Newcastle
4/14 – International Arena – Cardiff
5/12 – Motorpoint Area – Nottingham
7/12 – M&S Bank Arena – Liverpool
8/12 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
9/12 – AO Arena – Manchester
11/12 – Centre – Brighton
12/12 – International Arena – Bournemouth
14/12 – Utilita Arena – Sheffield
15/12 – The O2 – London
16/12 – Utilita Arena – Birmingham