Hi Chris, hope all is well with you and yours.
Each member of Madness has had a recorded vocal at some time except, I think, for Woody and Bedders. Are they such bad singers?
Also, when you do a multivocal song, eg Drip Fed Fred with the “We Want Freddie…” bit or the chorus of Our House, is it the whole band that would sing the part, or just Suggs, Carl and maybe Lee?
Thanks a million for taking the time to respond to all our questions – you’re a gent!
Graham
Dear Graham
Good question. I don’t really remember the answer. They have both done handclaps that’s for sure. The backing vocal are usually the best vocal talent we’ve got available : Suggs, Chas and Thommo.
CB
According to an article I read somewhere, all of the band sang the ‘Our House’ chorus, including Clive Langer, who helped them sing in the right key and was pleased to get his vocals on a Madness track.
And I think you can tell Bedder’s voice apart from the rest of the band’s in that chorus because he had a higher-pitched voice back in the day…him and Carl both had the higher-pitched voices. Ironic for someone who plays a very deep sounding instrument.