Madness’ Suggs: “We were unique – but it’s so hard for bands now”
Madness frontman Suggs is in a reflective but defiant mood. As the North London ska icons prepare to release Hit Parade, an expansive compilation celebrating 45 years as a band, he’s keen to stress two things at once: how unusual Madness’ journey has been, and how much tougher the landscape has become for new bands trying to follow any kind of similar path.
Hit Parade is a 45-track collection that spans the entirety of the group’s career, from their earliest recordings at the end of the 1970s right through to material released in 2024. It pulls together every era of Madness in one place, including 27 singles that reached the UK Top 40. Among them are defining moments like Baggy Trousers, It Must Be Love, Lovestruck and their 1982 chart-topper House Of Fun.
For Suggs, the number is symbolic. Forty-five years as a band, forty-five singles. The title, he explains, is deliberately playful. Rather than opting for the predictable “greatest hits” tag, the band leaned into a phrase that feels knowingly old-fashioned. It reflects Madness’ long-standing instinct to take things seriously without ever taking themselves too seriously.
Looking back, Suggs describes the band’s early presence as deliberately out of step with the times. While others chased credibility and cool, Madness were busy embracing silliness, humour and a kind of joyous chaos. He paints a picture of earnest musicians marching one way, while Madness went the other, armed with novelty instruments and a refusal to conform. That contrarian streak, he believes, is exactly why their music has endured. Trends came and went, but the band’s character stayed intact.
That sense of being slightly apart has defined Madness from the start. Suggs argues that there was never really another group like them: visually, musically or culturally. They blended ska, pop, music hall, British humour and social observation into something that felt unmistakably theirs. It wasn’t calculated, he says, it was instinctive – and it’s something that’s almost impossible to manufacture.
At the same time, he’s acutely aware that the conditions which allowed Madness to develop simply don’t exist in the same way anymore. When they started, young bands could rehearse cheaply, play small venues regularly and slowly build an audience. There was room to be odd, to fail, to grow. Today, Suggs sees a far harsher reality, especially for working-class artists. Rising living costs, disappearing grassroots venues and the pressure to succeed quickly online have created an environment where patience is no longer affordable.
He describes the situation as genuinely tragic. Creativity, in his view, thrives on time, space and community – all things that are increasingly out of reach for young people trying to make music now. While technology has opened some doors, it’s also flattened the experience, rewarding instant impact over long-term development. Bands like Madness were able to evolve over years; many new acts aren’t given that chance.
Despite all this, Suggs is clear that Madness are far from finished. The compilation isn’t a farewell, but a celebration, and it coincides with plans to take the songs back on the road. Their upcoming UK tour will lean into that sense of occasion, effectively “parading the hits” while reminding audiences why these songs have lasted so long in the first place.
There’s pride in his voice when he talks about the band’s recent success, too. Decades into their career, Madness are still capable of reaching the top of the charts and filling large venues. For Suggs, that longevity feels like vindication – proof that doing things your own way can still pay off, even if the route is far less accessible now than it once was.
Ultimately, Hit Parade isn’t just a retrospective. It’s a snapshot of a band that survived by being stubbornly itself, and a reminder of an era when that kind of slow-burn originality was easier to nurture. Suggs knows how lucky Madness were – and how rare their journey has become – which is exactly why he’s determined to keep going for as long as they can.
