Madness announce Newcastle date on new tour and say…

Madness announce Newcastle date on new tour and say they 'can't wait'

Ska favourites Madness will be back on the road later this year with a new tour which they announced with a little bit of French and full-on trademark enthusiasm.

"WOT-a-tour this promises to be!" the band said in a statement about the C'est La Vie Tour 2023 which will see them joined by special guests Lightning Seeds and, following its launch at the end of November, will bring them to Utilita Arena in Newcastle on December 2. Tickets for the double treat will go on sale next week.

Enduring favourites Madness first burst onto the music scene from the backstreets of Camden Town in the late seventies and went on to make an unforgettable impression with their unique look and ska-pop sound in hits such as Baggy Trousers, It Must Be Love and number one chart-topper House of Fun. By now lead singer Suggs and co. have had 10 UK top 10 albums, 15 top 10 singles and multiple accolades including an Ivor Novello award.

With memorable performances including one on top of Buckingham Palace as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and a record audience gig for the BBC’s Live New Year’s Eve Broadcast which was the most watched TV music event of 2018, they recently released Before We Was We: Madness by Madness, a three-part original docu series, with TV channel AMC, tracing the beginnings of the band said to one of the most loved in British culture and chronicling their rise to fame.

They will be playing 13 dates on their new tour and, being known for their raucous live sets, the self-styled nutty boys no doubt will give their all with a blast back through their catalogue of hits plus some songs from their forthcoming new album. Adding to the 'house of fun' the Lightning Seeds, known for some of the best-known tracks of the nineties such as Life of Riley, Lucky You and Pure, will be joining them throughout the tour.

Madness added: "We can’t wait to be back out on the road, doing what we love best. Roll on November.” Tickets for the Newcastle show on December 2 at Utilita Arena - and the rest of the tour dates - will go on sale at 9.30am on April 28: see here. Find more about what's on at the arena here. Below is the full list of tour locations.

Ticket will also be available on Ticketmaster.