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

Formed in Coventry in 1979, The Selecter has become synonymous with the 2 tone ska revival movement in Britain, epitomising the movement’s core values with their multi-racial and multi-gendered lineup. Influenced by Jamaican ska music of the 1960s, bands such as The Selecter and The Specials combined the rocksteady beats of ska with new wave and punk, creating a genre that brought together not only two distinct types of music but also two races of people , thereby effectively acting as a frontline against racial violence and hatred.

Fronted by Pauline Black, who remains the group’s voice and leader to this day, the band shot to prominence in the UK with the release of three singles in 1979; “Three Minute Hero”, “Missing Words”, and the hugely popular and successful “On My Radio”, and followed this initial success with their debut album Too Much Pressure, released the year after in February 1980. Another album, Celebrate the Bullet, was released the year after but, due to the unfortunate timing of the release of the lead single (of the same name) and John Lennon’s murder via gunshot, the album sadly failed to see the success of their first, peaking at number 41 on the UK Albums Chart, and ultimately played a part in the subsequent break-up of the band in 1982.

Watch The Selecter perform their hit single “On My Radio” on TopPop in 1979 below:

After a stint as a TV presenter and actress, Black led a reformation and the band reunited in 1991, and have subsequently put out another 13 albums over the past 32 years. The current lineup features Black, of course, along with other founding members Arthur ‘Gaps’ Hendrickson (vocals) and Charley ‘Aitch’ Bembridge (drums).

Human Algebra, Black states to The Observer in an interview, is packed “with lyrics covering all the things I was thinking about“, including police brutality and racism (‘Stay Rebel’), knife crime in the UK (‘Human Algebra’) and fake news (‘Big Little Lies’), and such cultural consciousness will not be unfamiliar with lovers of The Selecter and 2 tone alike, given the genre’s close connection with cultural and class issues since its’ emergence in the late 1970s.

Watch “Human Algebra”, the lead single from the new album, below:

Human Algebra is available to pre-order now here.