Sunday 3rd June

“75,000 danced so much that an earth tremor of over 4.5 on the Richter scale was reported during the song One Step Beyond".

Along with the Specials, Madness were one of the leading bands of the ska revival of the late '70s and early '80s. As their career progressed, Madness branched away from their trademark "nutty sound" and incorporated large elements of Motown, soul, and British pop. Although the band managed one crossover American hit in 1983, the band remained a British phenomenon, influencing several successive generations of musicians and becoming one of the most beloved groups the country produced during the '80s.

The origins of Madness lie in a ska group known as the Invaders, which was formed by Mike Barson, Chris Foreman, and Lee Thompson in 1976. By 1978, the band had changed their name to Morris and the Minors and had added Graham "Suggs" McPherson, Mark Bedford, Chas Smash, and Dan Woodgate to the group. Later in 1978, they changed their name to Madness, in homage to one of their favourite Prince Buster songs.

The following year, Madness released their debut single, a tribute to Prince Buster entitled "The Prince," on Two-Tone. The song was a surprise success, reaching the British Top 20. Following its success, the band signed a record contract with Stiff Records and released another Prince Buster song, "One Step Beyond," which climbed to number seven.

Madness quickly recorded their debut album, also titled One Step Beyond, with producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. Released toward the end of the year, the album peaked at number two in Britain and it stayed on the charts for well over a year. At the beginning of 1980, the band's third single, "My Girl," peaked at number three. For the next three years, the group had a virtually uninterrupted run of 13 Top Ten singles, during which time they were one of the most popular bands in Britain, rivaled only by the Jam in terms of widespread popularity. Where the Jam appealed to teenagers and young adults, Madness had a broad fan base, reaching from children to the elderly. Which didn't mean their music was diluted - they continued to expand their sound, both musically and lyrically.

Madness continued to gain momentum, as the group began playing matinee shows on their tours so children under 16 years old could attend the concert. In the fall of 1981, the band released their third album, Seven, which peaked at number five. In January of 1982, Madness hit number four with a cover of Labi Siffre's "It Must Be Love." In March, their streak of Top Ten hits was interrupted when "Cardiac Arrest" stalled at number 14 on the charts, due to radio's reluctance to play the tune. The band bounced back a few months later with "House of Fun," their first number one single. That same month, the hits compilation, Complete Madness, reached number one.

Mike Barson left the band in 1984, shortly after the release of their fifth album Keep Moving reaching number 4. After Barson's departure, the band signed to Virgin Records and released the album Mad Not Mad, hitting number 16. They disbanded in 1986 after releasing the farewell single "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train," a song about the troubles in South Africa at the time. The song reached number 18 in the UK charts and was the band's last top 20 of the 1980s. McPherson, Smyth, Thompson and F oreman went on to form The Madness and released a self-titled album on Virgin R ecords in 1988, reaching number 66 in both the US and UK album charts.

In 1992, news spread that the original seven members would reform following the success of the Virgin compilation Divine Madness featuring the band's most successful singles, which entered the UK album charts at number 1.

Madness performed to over 75,000 fans at the weekend concert festival Madstock at Finsbury Park London. The crowd danced so much that an earth tremor of over 4.5 on the Richter scale was reported during the song "One Step Beyond".

An album featuring the best of Madstock was released. A single — a cover of Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come" — just failed to make the UK Top 40. From 1992 to 1998, Madness reformed every two years for Madstock and an occasional Christmas tour of UK arenas. Suggs also had a brief but successful solo career. His biggest hit, a cover of Simon and Garfunkel's "Cecilia," sold over 500,000 copies in the UK.

From 1979 through 1988, the band released 25 singles (21 top 20 hits) and eight albums (including two compilation albums, both UK number 1 albums) in the UK. During the early 1980s, Madness was one of the most popular bands in Britain. In 1984 the band formed their own record label, Zarjazz Records. In 1985 the album Mad_Not_Mad was the first Madness album released on this label. The album was recorded at their own Liquidator studios, which also used to record the demos for the 1999 album Wonderful.

In 1999, Madness released their first original album in 14 years, Wonderful, on Virgin Records. It became a top 20 UK album, spawning the singles "Johnny the Horse", "Drip Fed Fred" and "Lovestruck", the latter of which was a top 10 UK hit.

In 2002, Our House, a musical based on Madness songs, took the stage at the Cambridge Theatre in west London. It ran from October 28, 2002 to August 16, 2003 and had a companion book by Tim Firth. There was no cast album, but the show was recorded for DVD release near the end of the run. Madness played a role in the executive production of the show, and Suggs stepped into the production for a time, playing the central character's father. In 2003, the show won an Olivier Award for best new musical. In 2006, a new productio n of the show toured Japan, starting in Tokyo.

As of 2006, the band was working on their first original album in seven years. It was being produced by Clive Langer and White Stripes producer Liam Watson, and is due for release in 2007. In the summer of 2006, Madness toured Europe and Japan. On July 28, 2006, Madness performed at The Fuji Rock Festival, a three-day festival held at the Naeba Ski Resort. At the 2006 Reading Festival, Madness drummer Dan Woodgate appeared on stage with Franz Ferdinand, performing the song 'The Outsiders'.

The Peel Bay Festival is extremely pleased to present Madness on MAD(NESS) Sunday. Let’s get that Richter scale even higher!

The Stranglers

It has often been said that the Stranglers are probably the most enduring band of the UK punk/new wave era, while at the same time being the least celebrated. A number of current bands cite the Stranglers as an influence; concerts are packed; and the loyalty of their fans is legendary - following the band from gig to gig (both domestically and around the world) and amassing huge collections of recordings and memorabilia are common-place. Yet, at times, bad (or non-existent) press have made the Stranglers seem the unwelcome "Lepers of Rock".

The original line up was singer/guitarist Hugh Cornwell (from Kentish Town, London), keyboardist/guitarist Hans Warmling (from Sweden, replaced within two years by Brighton-born keyboardist Dave Greenfield), London-born bass guitarist Jean-Jacques Burnel and drummer Jet Black (a.k.a. Brian Duffy), a native of Ilford, Essex.

The original Stranglers line-up jelled during 1974/75 and so began the ever-changing recording career of the Stranglers. The punk/new wave scene was taking off in Britain and the band's style at the time fitted (if not neatly) into the genre; however, as this scene gradually died out, the Stranglers true colours started to show. The band's diversity had been clear from an early stage (and may have contributed to the difficulty in finding a record deal, as they could not be easily pigeon-holed); this flexibility and their experimental creativity were evident on an increasingly wide range of songs, with many stylistic twists and turns being showcased. New technology and techniques were happily embraced (as is clearly evident on su ch albums as "The Gospel A ccording to the Meninblack" ) and new horizons were explored with the inclusion of a brass section (from "Aural Sculpture" to "10") and steel guitar (on "Dreamtime").

However, despite their association with punk rock, the Stranglers were generally not regarded as punks by their musical peers. They wrote a string of top ten hits, including "No More Heroes" and "Peaches", which placed the band at the forefront of the New Wave movement - a branch one step removed from the more confrontational punks - not to mention that The Stranglers' material was fiercely intellectual.

Through all this diversity, one image stuck to the band - black. In the early eighties, the band's fascination with the Meninblack (mysterious visitors to UFO witnesses, possibly not of human origin, who tried to silence their victims) led to "The Gospel According to the Meninblack", which gave an alternative view to biblical happenings, from the perspective of alien intervention. Soon the band themselves were being dubbed "The Meninblack", further strengthened by the all-black dress adopted on stage. Even today, this name is applied to the band by their fans, who are often to be seen in all-black clothing and frequently go by "[name]inblack".

The Stranglers enhanced their commercial and critical status with La Folie (1981) (including the hit "Golden Brown") and "Strange Little Girl" (1982). La Folie was another concept album, this time exploring the subject of love. By 1990 The Stranglers had had more British chart hits (28) than any other a rtist never to reach the number one spot. "Golden Brown" demonstrated the extent to which the group had changed; it features a lilting harpsichord and organ riff throughout. By 1990, and the completion of the tenth studio album "10", Hugh Cornwell thought that the band could, artistically, go no further. August 11th saw the last performance of the Stranglers with Hugh, at the Alexandra Palace in London. At this point, the others members had seen no hint of Hugh's pending departure, and only found out later.

In the aftermath, JJ, Jet and Dave concluded that they disagreed with Hugh's assessment of the band's fortunes and decided to continue, albeit in a new format. The first new recruit was John Ellis, an ex-member of the Vibrators and a long-standing friend of the band. John had been a member of JJ's Euroband for the "Euroman Cometh" (solo album) tour in 1979 and had played guitar for the gigs at the Rainbow (London, UK) which featured a number of artists filling in for an incarcerated Hugh Cornwell (jailed for drugs possesion).

Although some demo tracks were recorded with the band in this format, and JJ on vocals, the band decided to look for a singer. A number of familiar names became associated with the search, most notably Dave Vanian (the Damned) and Ian McNabb (the Icicle Works). During auditions, the band was faced with one Paul Roberts, who proclaimed "I'm your new lead singer"; upon hearing his wide vocal range and quality, the band agreed and the Stranglers MK II were born. The new lineup now presented a completely different (and more dynamic) image, with Paul crashing and writhing about the stage. At the same time, the horn section was removed, giving a more straight-forward presentation.

This reincarnation of the Stranglers produced four albums: "Stranglers in the Night", "About Time", "Written in Red" and "Coup de Grace". As always, these albums showed a great musical diversity, blending in the talents of Paul and John.

In March 2000, after nearly ten years with the band, John Ellis left to pursue other interests. He was replaced by "Small Town Heroes" guitarist Baz Warne. Baz will be familiar to Stranglers fans who attended the UK "About Time" tour in 1995, as Small Town Heroes provided the support. He was almost immediately thrown into the spotlight for live performances in Bosnia and several festivals around Europe. With Baz securely in place, 2004 saw the release of the much acclaimed fifteenth studio album "Norfolk Coast.

Interest in The Stranglers resurfaced when, in 2001, singer Tori Amos covered their song "Strange Little Girl" and titled the album it was featured on Strange Little Girls. "Golden Brown" was also used in the hit film Snatch by film director Guy Ritchie and extensively in the Australian film He Died With A Felafel In His Hand. Their hit "No More Heroes" was covered by Violent Femmes and used for the film Mystery Men. "Peaches", final ly, also appears prominently in another British movie, Sexy Beast by director Jonathan Glazer.

May 2006 saw the departure of Paul Roberts, after sixteen years service with the band. This was an amicable split, with Paul moving on to pursue other musical interests. The band was now a four piece for the first time since Hugh's departure in 1990, with Baz sharing vocal duties alongside JJ. The first gig in the new format was at the Midsummer Buzz Festival in Weston Super Mare in June 2006, with a new album - Suite XVI - following in September of the same year.

The Stranglers may be over thirty years old, and have seen many changes in their career, but we can certainly look forward to plenty more exciting years in black and a memorable performance at the Peel Bay Festival. We are very pleased to welcome The Stranglers to the Isle of Man.