Madness are a British ska band who achieved most of their success in the 1980s.
The band was formed in London, England in 1976, by Mike Barson (Monsieur Barso) on keyboards and vocals, Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) on guitar and Lee Thompson (Kix) on saxophone and vocals under the name The North London Invaders. In 1978 they were joined by frontman Graham McPherson (Suggs) on vocals, Mark Bedford (Bedders) on bass guitar and Daniel Woodgate (Woody) on drums. After performing periodically as The North London Invaders the group changed their name to Madness. Carl Smyth (Chas Smash) on trumpet and vocals, joined in early 1980.
The band's first single, released September 1st 1979 on The Specials' 2 Tone label, was "The Prince". The song, written by Lee Thompson, was a tribute to the Jamaican ska musician Prince Buster, whose song, "Madness", the band had named themselves after and which also was released as the B-side of "The Prince". This was followed by the album One Step Beyond... in 1979, named after another Prince Buster song, which stayed in the British charts for over a year, peaking at number 2. One Step Beyond... was released on Stiff Records, which became the band's recording label. From 1979 through 1988, the band released 25 singles and eight albums (including two compilation albums) in the UK. During the early 1980's Madness was one of the most popular bands in Britain. In 1984 the band formed their own record label; Zarjazz Records. The album "Mad Not Mad" was the first Madness album released on this label, in 1985.