January 3rd: Poland, Warsaw
Victoria Intercontinental Hotel Banquet Room. Madness are given
a million zlotys [about £400] to appear on a Polish TV
show. They then give it to Solidarity on leaving Poland [minus
a few thousand]
Brighton - Madness film a second appearance in the second series of The Young Ones.
January 9th: Madness perform Micheal Caine on Top of The Pops.
January 30th: Madness film the video for Michael Caine. The video is based on the Michael Caine film The Ipcress File. It was shot on 35mm film so each shot took far longer to light and set up than the 16mm film that they usually used. Mike Barson appears in it at the beginning but had to leave to get a plane home as it was taking so long to film.
February:
Michael Caine released [BUY 196] Highest chart position 11. Weeks
on chart 8.
February 19th: Fly to Los Angeles to make some TV appearances plus a few live shows with Paul Carrack replacing Mike Barson on keyboards. The band ask him to sing Squeeze's Tempted solo as an encore which goes down a storm and gives the band time to relax and have a few libations. Dick Cuthell is also playing on French Horn.
February 20th: The Keep Moving album is released [SEEZ 53] Highest chart position 6.
February 22nd: Los Angeles
Solid Gold TV plus Rock Palace TV.
February 23rd: San Francisco, Kabuki Theatre
February 24th: San Francisco, Kabuki Theatre
February 25th: Los Angeles, Akerman Ballroom UCLA
February 26th: Los Angeles Palace
Madness play KROQ in a charity baseball game, and win again.
February 27th: Los Angeles Palace filming Rock of the Eighties TV show for Showtime TV.
February 28th: Los Angeles
Radio interviews
February 29th: Los Angeles Rock of The 8O's TV show.
Hard Rock Cafe LA - The Marriage of Mr Lee Thompson and Miss Debbie Fordham. As it is a leap year Lee will only have to buy her anniversary presents every 4 years.
March 2nd: San Diego, UCSD Gym
March 3rd: Los Angeles filming American Bandstand TV. This revered show is presented by the evergreen American presenter Dick Clark. Lee pinches his bum. "Have you no respect?" Says a flabbergasted Dick Clark.
N/A London - Camden Dingwalls Madness play a benefit concert for the Hope and Anchor which is in financial trouble. It eventually has to close down.
April:
Liverpool - Madness appear on the UKTV show performing Keep Moving and One Better Day.
April 9th: Madness fly to New York via Paris where they film Victoria Gardens on the Isabella Ajanni TV Show with James Mackie as temporary keyboard player.
April 12th: New York Studio 8H Rockerfeller Plaza. Madness rehearse filming of Our House for Saturday Night Live. One of the studio staff who is instructing the band to stand still and stay on their marks bears a passing resemblance to Bobby Charlton and is ribbed mercilessly unknowingly to him.
April 13th: New York Studio 8H Rockerfeller Plaza.
April 14th: New York Studio 8H Rockerfeller Plaza. Saturday Night Live is broadcast.
April 30th: London
Madness film a TV special with Eleonora Giorgi for Italian TV featuring Victoria Gardens / Keep Moving / Waltz Into Mischief / One better Day / Michael Caine / House of Fun and The Sun and The Rain. Each song is represented as a scripted short film.
May 4th: Filming finshes on the Eleonora Giorgi TV special.
May 8th: France TV
Madness perform Michael Caine with Seamus Beahgen on keyboards.
May 10th: Gernay Musikladen TV show
Madness perform Michael Caine with Seamus Beahgen standing in on keyboards again.
May 11th: Montreux
Chris and Lee go out nightclubbing with UB40 after meeting them in the street. They attend the CBS party as Madness have all been invited and are now looking for a new record deal as relations with Stiff are deteriorating which is partly due to Stiff being swallowed up by Island Records. Mayhem then ensues. Someone throws a chair and an amplifier from the seventh floor and breaks a glass coffee table by sitting on it and burns cigarette holes in the carpet. The last word on the party incident hasn't been spoken yet not least because this particular suite was due to be used by Rod Stewart the next day. The hotel officials tried to put it down as plain hooliganism while CBS executive Paul Russel promised to cough up the £1000 for the damage done and to have a word with the culprits. Some were worried that the Golden Rose festival of 1984 which was co-financed by the BBC might be the last.
May 12th: Montreux Golden Rose Festivale
Line up: Adam Ant, Madness, Status Ouo, Oueen.
Madness perform Michael Caine and One Better Day among other songs. Suggs explains the band's side of the Madness and UB40 smash up Rod Stewart's hotel suite story. "We only did it for a laugh. None of the band were involved in the furniture destruction." The next day they return to Britain and at Gatwick customs Woody has trouble convincing the customs officials that he has a giant bar of Toblerone in his bag and not a gun.
May 28th: The BBC broadcast highlights from the Golden Rose festival. European countries broadcast it as two separate shows with Madness appearing in the second one.
Liverpool - Madness perform One Better Day on the Earsay TV show.
N/A Madness perform One Better Day on Razzamatazz TV show with Tenpole guitarist Bob Kingston deputising for Chris who has injured his back falling off a car boot in a drunken state in Liverpool.
N/A Madness perform One Better Day on The Oxford Road Show TV show.
May 31st: Madness perform One Better Day on Top of the Pops TV show.
June 5th: Madness film the video for One Better day in Arlington Road outside Arlington House which is mentioned in the song and is a homeless refuge. They also film near Camden Lock. Mike Barson flys over to participate. This single is to be the last one with Stiff records. Originally Dave Robinson wanted to release Victoria Gardens as the first single from Keep Moving but changed his mind at the last minute. He also didn't want to do a video so the band had to finance it themselves.
One Better Day released [BUY 201] Highest position 18. Weeks in chart 7.
July 7th: Liverpool University
Madness plus Bronski Beat and The Style Council. This concert was part of a series of benefits for the miners strike.
July 12th: Germany Musikladen TV show
Madness perform One Better Day in what will be their final Musikladen appearance.
N/A Italian TV show.
August 1st: Liquidator Studios
After leaving Stiff Madness have now signed a deal with Virgin Records who have now got the rights to the Madness back catalogue. They now have their own record label called Zarjazz which is named after an expression meaning really good in 2000 AD which is home of the Judge Dredd comic strip amongst others. The comic has long been essential reading material for some members of the band. They sign a distribution deal for the label with Virgin and finally get Feargal Sharkey to record Listen To Your Father which is a song written by Carl in 1983.
October:
Listen to Your Father released [Zarjazz JAZZ 1] Highest position 23. Weeks in chart 7.
Having already started work on a new album Madness shoot two 10 minute pilots for their own TV series written by Ben Elton and Richard Curtis. None of the TV networks were interested and this is where the plans for the TV series ended.
October 23rd: Feargal Sharkey performs Listen To Your Father on Top of The Pops backed by the same musicians who offered him the song the year before.
December:
Madness fan Mick Tuohy had walked into the Liquidator studio in Caledonian road and suggested that the band record the old Pioneers hit Starvation in aid of the Ethiopian Famine Appeal. When the idea was suggested everyone agreed it was an excellent opportunity and invited some other artists to help out. This gave them the opportunity to team up with some of their former 2 Tone colleagues. Jerry Dammers gets involved with the recording along with UB40, General Public and The Pioneers themselves.
December 6th: London Wag Club
Line up: Bananarama / Madness / Orange Juice / Aztec Camera
Madness appear at a private party spiced with deejaying sessions from Paul Weller and Jerry Dammers. All profits went to the Ethiopian Famine Appeal.
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