Classic_Pop_Issue_30_July_2017

L

ee Thompson is a saxophonist

and songwriter who, with

keyboardist Mike Barson and

guitarist Chris Foreman,

co-founded Madness in 1976.

He wrote the group’s debut

single, The Prince, a paean

to Jamaican ska and rocksteady

pioneer Prince Buster, and

chipped in on several other hit singles,

including House Of Fun and Uncle Sam.

After Madness disbanded in 1986,

Thompson formed The Madness with

Foreman, Suggs and Chas Smash, only

to break up after one album. The original

Madness reformed in 1992, and have

been together ever since. Thompson also

fronts The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra,

whose second album, Bite The Bullet,

came out last August.

You formed Madness with Mike

Barson and Chris Foreman – why

did you want to play ska?

Myself and Barzo were very into our

reggae, we had to convert Chris, who

was a little heavier (Hawkwind, the late

great Alex Harvey, Bloodwin Pig). More

obscure stuff at fi rst. We started out

playing off the beaten track rock’n’roll

tunes, but got a much better reaction

playing ska and reggae.

Both the name, Madness, and

your fi rst single, The Prince, were

inspired by Prince Buster – why

was he such an infl uence?

Apart from him being like myself –

one of the little people in the music

profession – he was a cheeky rude boy

who opted for music, had a tongue-in-

cheek approach on occasion. The male

chauvinistic piggy-ness comes out in

some of his lyrics.

What reaction did you get to your

sound from some of the Jamaican

pioneers of ska?

It don’t work like that among celebs and

artists. You just get that look, I’ve found.

I went up to Jimmy Cliff at some gig.

I wanted to say thank you for Vietnam,

Wonderful World, Beautiful People and

Many Rivers To Cross. He was being

talked to by politically-driven people, so

I stayed back. Just before I walked away,

I caught his eye, and with a wink he

raised his thumb. That will do for me.

Madness were a great singles

band, virtually colonising Top Of

The Pops in the early-80s. What

do you remember most about

that time?

They fi nally put Young’s Ale on in the

bar! Producer Michael Hurll absolutely

dreaded us getting in the charts. We

were a nightmare there. Seven mates

banged up in the green room for hours

• in, out, in, out, up, down, turn around,
  camera, lights, action! All before lunch.

How did you feel when Madness

split up in 1986?

I walked around Highgate Cemetery with

an armband on for months on end. It was

like losing a loved one. I moved house,

started a band called Crunch! with Chris

and myself, set up a gardening and

decorating business, opened a mountain

bike shop in Notting Hill. They soon

folded and I went bankrupt, stayed in

bed for weeks on end. My wife told me

I was depressed, so organised me a job

with Environmental Health as a dustman.

That seemed to help me ‘snap out of it’.

So I got back with the programme after

a few years out in the wilderness.

Did the fact that you, Suggs, Chris

and Chas went on to form The

Madness, suggest neither of you

wanted to let go?

It was the headless chicken period of

1987-ish. We limped on when we should

have taken time out there and then. If it

was a case of not wanting to let go, then

at some point during the making of The

Madness album we smart-bombed. It was

an album of hired hands. My copy is still

in its shrink wrap if anyone is interested.

Why did it feel like the right time

to reform in 1992?

Well, apart from the repo man at my

front door, a survey had been carried

out that rang bells back at EMI. The

Divine Madness hits album looked set

to hit the top position and so the stage

was set to start a mini-earthquake on

the back of this equation with a gig

at Finsbury Park. Two, actually. Result.

Away from the Nutty Boys, you

helm The Lee Thompson Ska

Orchestra – would you describe

yourself as a benevolent dictator?

I was described by Mr Foreman as

Mussolini recently. Chris likes to be in

charge, and I must say, he is generally

good at it. I describe myself as someone

who likes to have a lot of fun, with some

serious components to make the most of

being able to entertain. I’m not really

charming, but charmed.

David Burke

19

GODFATHERS

of

LEE THOMPSON

© Getty Images

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