Embarrassment – Madness (1980)

Description

Additional information about this, Madness vinyl art.

Madness – The Artist

Madness are an English ska band from Camden Town, north London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, they continue to perform with six of the seven members of their original line-up. The most successful period for the band was from 1980–1986 when Madness spent 214 weeks on the UK singles charts.  The core of the band formed as the North London Invaders in 1976, and included Mike Barson (Monsieur Barso) on keyboards and vocals, Chris Foreman (Chrissy Boy) on guitar and Lee Thompson (Kix) on saxophone and vocals. They later recruited John Hasler on drums and Cathal Smyth (better known as Chas Smash) on bass guitar. Later in the year, they were joined by lead vocalist Dikron Tulane. This six-piece line-up lasted until part-way through 1977, when Graham McPherson (better known as Suggs) took over the lead vocals after seeing the band perform in a friend’s garden. Madness have had 15 singles reach the UK top ten, which include “One Step Beyond”, “Baggy Trousers”, “Wings of a Dove”, “Our House”, “House of Fun” and “It Must Be Love”.  In 2000 the band received the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for Outstanding Song Collection.

Embarrassment – The Song

‘Embarrassment‘ is a song recorded by ska/pop band Madness, predominantly written by Lee Thompson, but partially credited to Mike Barson. The band first began performing the song at live shows in April 1980, and it was featured on their second studio album, Absolutely. The song was released as a single in 1980, and spent 12 weeks in the UK singles chart and reached a high of number 4. The song was remixed for issue as a single, which is different from the album version, although they both have the same running time. The meaning behind the song was particularly dark, considering the band’s previous material. Primarily written by Lee Thompson, the plot of the song reflected the unfolding turmoil following the news that his teenage sister, Tracy Thompson, had become pregnant and was carrying a black man’s child. The subsequent rejection by her family, and the shame felt, was reflected in the song. As Thompson was on the road with the band, he only heard snippets of the story, through phone calls and letters, but this was enough for him to piece the story together. The song is a clear indication of changing attitudes (see miscegenation). The real-life story had a happy ending, however; Thompson later stated that when the child named “Hayley” was born, the antipathy of Tracy’s relatives dissolved.

The Pork Pie Hat – The Shape

This record has been modelled into a modern day pork pie hat. A pork pie hat is one of several different styles of hat that have been popular in one context or another since the mid-19th century, all of which bear superficial resemblance to a pork pie. Though it the Pork Pie hat has gone in and out of fashion since it was first introduced it saw a slight resurgence in exposure and popularity after Gene Hackman’s character Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle wore one in the 1971 film The French Connection since then it is often wore by fans of Ska and the band Madness.

Need Help?  Contact Us