‘Before the hits came the hustle’
Take It Or Leave It, originally released in 1981, is the highly entertaining story of how Madness, one of the most successful and enduring British bands of all time, originally got together. Filmed after the band had enjoyed a succession of Top 10 singles and had endeared themselves to the British public with the humour of their iconic music videos, it explores how a bunch of seven mates living in Camden Town in the late 70s got together to form the band – the jobs they left behind, the line-up changes, the rows, the laughs, and how their distinctive ska-pop ‘Nutty Sound’ evolved.
Produced and directed by Stiff Records’ supremo Dave Robinson, his first feature film, with no written script and no ‘acting’ the film was completely based on real events with improvised dialogue. The soundtrack includes a mix of both live and studio recordings and among the hits included are One Step Beyond, Night Boat to Cairo, My Girl, Baggy Trousers and Embarrassment.
Newly restored by the British Film Institute. the film will be released on DVD / Blu-Ray on 19th October, featuring a host of extras (see below).
Pre order it now from the BFI.
DVD / Blu-Ray Extras:
Newly restored in 4K by the BFI and presented in High Definition and Standard Definition
Audio commentary by director Dave ‘Robbo’ Robinson and Chris ‘Chrissy Boy’ Foreman (2002)
Interviews with Suggs, Mark ‘Bedders’ Bedford and Dave Robinson (2026): the bandmembers and director recall their memories of making the film and how they feel about it now
Music videos (1979-2022, 22 mins): One Step Beyond, My Girl, Bed and Breakfast Man, Night Boat to Cairo, Baggy Trousers, Embarrassment, Grey Day, Madness, and The Prince
Restoration demo (2026, 2 mins): an example of the restoration work undertaken on original film materials
Original trailer (1981)
Restoration trailer (2026)
Newly created optional English descriptive subtitles
FIRST PRESSING ONLY Illustrated booklet featuring new writing on the film by Andrew Pulver and on the music videos by Johnny Mains and an original review by Neil Tennant
