Madness’ new album stopped them from splitting up.
‘Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie’, out now, was recorded in an industrial unit in Cricklewood, London, after a “disparate couple of years which saw the band at their most polarised and fragmented.”
The Ska legends argued over the COVID-19 lockdowns and vaccinations, but as soon as they hit the studio to work on their first studio album in seven years, their differences were put aside.
Frontman Suggs, 62, told the Daily Star newspaper’s Wired column: “We had polarised opinions about if there should be vaccinations and lockdowns, and it ended up quite serious between us.
“Everything became half one way and half the other, different opinions on who was to blame.”
He continued: “The great joy of the band is that, when we get together, we become tolerant.
“We all come from very tough backgrounds, and tolerance has got a little lost in society.
“But we can see there’s two sides to every story, that you don’t have to hate each other just because you’ve got a different opinion.”
They also had creative differences that they just let go of.
Suggs laughed: “Some of the other’s songs, I didn’t really dig at first.
“I thought ‘Run For Your Life’ was a bit depressing, but the others said it was on fire.
“Even if you think, ‘What the hell are you on about? you have to put your best into everyone else’s songs because it’s a great joy when you’re proved wrong and it works.”
BAFTA-winning superfan, Martin Freeman, 52, plays a central role in telling the story of the record as he recorded the prologue running throughout.
The ‘Hobbit’ star became friends with Suggs and co after standing in a meet and greet queue for the ‘It Must Be Love’ band and being fast-tracked to meet them by Madness’ manager.
The record also marks the first time the group has self-produced a record with assistance from engineer and mixer Matt Galsbey.
The ‘Baggy Trousers’ band’s last record was 2016’s ‘Can’t Touch Us Now’, however, they released the soundtrack LP ‘The Get Up!’ last year.