Madness have written a song about the late Amy Winehouse.
The British ska band are about to release their 12th studio album ‘Can’t Touch Us Now’ and the ‘Our House’ hitmakers – Suggs, Carl Smyth, Lee Thompson, Mike Barson, Chris Foreman, and Mark Bedford – visited The Chelsea Pensioners at the Royal Hospital Chelsea to unveil their new music which is being released on October 28.
Speaking about the track ‘Blackbird’ that is inspired by Amy, Suggs said: "We used to see her around in Camden, we started off in The Dublin Castle, a place where Amy very much liked. I wrote a song about Amy Winehouse which is on this record called ‘Blackbird’, without going on about it, it was a very tragic thing."
Madness began their pop career in the late 1970s and achieved huge chart success in the 80s before breaking up in 1989 and then reuniting in 1992.
Suggs, 55, insists the band plan to keep making music for as long as possible or until 72-year-old Rolling Stone Keith Richards calls it a day..
Speaking about the group’s future, he joked: "We’re learning from the masters here, the Chelsea Pensioners … As long as Keith Richards’ syrup (wig) stays on we’ll keep going."
Madness recorded ‘Can’t Touch Us Now’ in just three weeks at the renowned Toe Rag Studios, in east London, and it has been produced by Clive Langer and Liam Watson and the album was mixed by BRIT Award winner Charlie Andrew
Speaking about where the inspiration for the album’s title came from, Suggs said: "You get to a certain point in your life where you think you’ve got everything you wanted, and as a band it couldn’t have gone any better for us for the last few years. Although we didn’t want to sound arrogant – we just felt like a little bit that was the case – that you can’t touch us now, when we came from the sort of backgrounds that we came from."
Madness will perform a gig in Hyde Park on September 11 but the band was also keen to return to The Chelsea Pensioners, who celebrate their 325th anniversary next year, to perform for them.
‘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.
Madness headline Clapham Common on August 29 with their own House of Common festival, return with the legendary House of Fun Weekender in Minehead on November 18 – 21 before embarking on a full UK tour in December including a show at The O2 in London on December 10.
Madness pay tribute to Amy Winehouse with song on new album
