Madness Announce Brand New Album 'Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C'est La Vie'
Seven years after the release of their last record, the long-awaited album will be released on the November 17th.
By: Michael Major Sep. 28, 2023
One of the UK’s most beloved British bands Madness announce the news of their 13th full length album Theatre Of the Absurd Presents C’Est La Vie. Seven years after the release of their last record, the long-awaited album will be released on the November 17th via BMG. Pre order here.
After premiering on Zoe Ball’s Radio 2 Breakfast Show this morning, lead single “C’Est La Vie” is now available and gives a taste of what’s to come from the album. With an eerie space-ska feel, the song reflects on the perils of everyday life.
According to composer/keyboard-wrangler Mike “Barso” Barson, the title track is “about these crazy times we’re living in, and how I just want to stay on my boat and not be a part of all this madness. But of course, I’m a member of a group called Madness. Perhaps we should have called ourselves ‘Sanity’…”
After a disparate couple of years which saw the band at their most polarised and fragmented, Madness reunited in an industrial unit in Cricklewood at the beginning of the year, where Suggs, Mark, Chrissy Boy, Mike, Lee and Woody realised that what united them was always bigger than what divided them.
Emerging re-energised and reinvigorated with a fresh bounce in their nutty step, the result was their most harmonious recording experience to date. For the first time ever, a brand new album came into the world that they were all completely agreed on. Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’Est La Vie is the band's inaugural foray into self producing, working alongside engineer and mixer Matt Galsbey (Ed Sheeran, Maisie Peters, Rag’N’Bone Man).
The governing principle behind Theatre Of the Absurd Presents C’Est La Vie, is: “let Madness be Madness”. The result is an album of typically timeless brilliance that also reflects the wonky years of its creation, these 14 songs representing the cream of the bumper crop of tunes the group cooked up, whittled down this punchy, focused set.
There are moments of ineffably catchy pop excellence (drummer Daniel “Woody” Woodgate’s beguiling, bittersweet carousel “Round We Go,” Chrissy-Boy’s anarchic anthem to perhaps-justified paranoia, “Run For Your Life”), while the album is bookended by two of Suggs’ finest compositions.
A very special prologue running through the album is supplied by Emmy and BAFTA Awards winning Martin Freeman. A long-time fan, the relationship formed with the band when Madness’ manager found Martin in a meet and greet queue and introduced him to the members.
The album is available on double vinyl and CD with a limited crystal clear vinyl sold through HMV and indie stores - Preorder here. The official album store features exclusive formats - a very limited edition zoetrope double picture disc plus cassette and merchandise bundles.
Talking about the album, Madness said "Well, well, well, here we are.. Our thirteenth album (lucky for some) Theatre Of the Absurd Presents C’Est La Vie is ready for your ears. For us, recording it was the perfect antidote to the chaos of the past few years - we were all there, properly in the zone. It was just us, in an industrial unit in Cricklewood, playing together. We loved it!”
Madness famously emerged from the backstreets of Camden Town in the late 70s and recently released a three-part original docu series with TV channel AMC about the beginnings of the band in the area. Before We Was We: Madness by Madness, chronicles the rise of one of the most loved bands in British culture.
Throughout their career, Madness have had 10 UK top ten albums, 15 top ten singles and have won a multitude of awards including a prestigious Ivor Novello. They’ve performed on the top of Buckingham Palace as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and set the record for the biggest ever audience for the BBC’s Live New Year’s Eve Broadcast - the most watched TV music event of 2018.
One of the most enduring and evergreen live shows this country has to offer, their everybody’s-welcome celebrations of life’s ups, downs and everything in the middle(s), continue to attract new generations of fans from across every walk of life.
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