Madness are back in the charts and not only that, they have claimed their very first number one studio album with “Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie”, after 44 years of trying! The album features the single “C’est La Vie”, and comes seven years after their last recording, “Can’t Touch Us Now”.

The group’s first two long players, “One Step Beyond” (1979) and “Absolutely” (1980) both peaked at No.2 and the boys haven’t been as high as that, save their greastest hits collections from 1982 and 1992, both of which did top the album chart. “Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie” was recorded in London earlier in 2023 and was largely produced by Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, both of whom worked with Madness on their debut album.

40 years ago in 1983, Madness were enjoying three top ten hits with “Tomorrow’s Just Another Day”, “The Sun And The Rain” and “Wings Of A Dove”, which got to No.2 in the UK and was also produced by Langer and Winstanley, and came from their last album as an original line up, “Keep Moving”, before they took a break for a few years.

Madness 1983

Madness 2023

Madness are touring the album this December across the UK