Today legendary British Band Madness announce details of their eagerly anticipated new album ‘Can’t Touch Us Now’, out October 28th on UMC.
In a typical display of the bands irreverent sense-of-humour, they chose the Royal Hospital, Chelsea as the venue for the album unveil, fielding questions from some of their maddest fans- the Chelsea Pensioners. More than thirty of the iconic war veterans huddled into a room to fire questions at the band about music and the state of the nation, going deliciously off topic to include questions about Amy Winehouse, how to blag free tickets to Madness shows and the official training they received to survive the music industry…. Watch the video here.
Recorded at the renowned Toe Rag Studios, East London, ‘Can’t Touch Us Now’ was produced by Clive Langer and Liam Watson. Langer is the band’s long term producer and the man who has helped mould some of their biggest moments. Watson is owner of Toe Rag and a Grammy Winner for his work on The White Stripes’ ‘Elephant’. The album was mixed by Brit Award winner Charlie Andrew (Alt-J). Recording the whole album in under three weeks, tracks such as ‘Mr Apples’, ‘Mumbo Jumbo’, the Amy Winehouse referencing ‘Blackbird’ and the title track ‘Can’t Touch Us Now’ capture the band’s inimitable combination of pop, reggae and soul influences. As on many of Madness greatest moments, the lyrics are gloriously observational and humorous, beautifully framing life in London. ‘Can’t Touch Us Now’ is the follow up to 2012’s Top 10 album ‘Oui Oui Si Si Ja Ja Da Da’ which was certified gold in the UK. Madness are one of the top 20 selling UK groups of all time, with seven top ten albums, 22 top 20 hits and over six million album sales to their name.
The special limited edition 'Can’t Touch Us Now' box set comes packaged with a unique madness edition of ‘The Greatest Show On Earth’, one of the fabulous vintage-style game creations by friend-of-the-band Dee Jay Wheelie Bag. Players take to the stage in their very own theatre and entertain one another with 36 special edition performance cards all inspired by the songs and lyrics of Can’t Touch Us Now. The box set features the brand new album, a special extra disc of bonus material exclusive only to this edition as well as a fold out booklet.
‘Can’t Touch Us Now’ is the latest step in an incredible few years for the revitalised nutty boys. They have spent the summer months road testing the new material at some of the UK’s most iconic festivals including the main stage at Glastonbury. They headline Clapham Common on August 29th with their own House of Common festival, return with the legendary House of Fun Weekender in Minehead on November 18 - 21st before embarking on a full UK tour in December including a show at the O2 on 10th December.
Full dates listed below:
29th August House of Common, Clapham Common
11th September Radio 2 live in Hyde Park
18th - 21st November House of Fun Weekender, Minehead
1st December Bournemouth International Centre
2nd December Cardiff Motorpoint Arena
3rd December Brighton Centre
8th December Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
9th December Sheffield Motorpoint Arena
10th December O2 Arena London
12th December Capital FM Arena, Nottingham
13th December Bridlington Spa Theatre and Royal Hall
15th December Hydro, Glasgow
16th December Manchester Arena
17th December Barclaycard Arena, Birmingham
