In March 1981, Madness returned with a film crew to the sites of their recent youth. In the eighteen months since their debut single "The Prince," they had become Britain's most beloved hitmakers — helped along by inventive music videos that led Top of the Pops viewers to believe the saxophonist could fly. The Guardian ↗
Instead of spending their newly earned money on fast cars and country estates, the seven-member lineup invested in a semi-fictional feature film about their own formation. Take It or Leave It blends their famous "nuttiness" with a kitchen-sink realism that suits their working-class roots. After its release, the film fell into obscurity — a new 4K restoration now brings it back as a time capsule of grimy 1970s London. The Guardian ↗
The idea belonged to Dave Robinson, the head of Stiff Records, who in 1979 won the battle to sign the band. According to The Guardian, Take It or Leave It may be the most honest cinematic portrayal of what it takes to try to put a band together — from a prison-inspired lightsaber battle to a scene in which the saxophonist actually takes flight. One band member summed it up briefly: "Being in Madness kept some of them out of prison." The Guardian ↗
Madness remain to this day one of the most-played ska-pop guitar bands — both "Our House" and "Baggy Trousers" are among the songs people still look up chords for on SuperMusic even forty years on.
Illustrative photo: Madness. Photo: Ash Youd / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Forgotten Madness film returns in 4K. Take It or Leave It was always more than a band postcard
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