Brighton’s On The Beach festival returned for its sixth year, bringing 40 artists across eight shows and two weekends to the city’s iconic seafront. Headliners for 2026, Fatboy Slim (16th-19th July), Madness (23rd + 24th July), The Maccabees (25th July) and Moby (26th July), pulled in circa 10,000 fans for each show with a line-up that spans electronic, indie and alternative music.
Staged on Brighton’s iconic seafront, and launched in 2021, On The Beach previously hosted sold out shows from Fatboy Slim, Chase & Status, Above & Beyond, Bicep, Eric Prydz, Underworld and Carl Cox alongside Royal Blood, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, The Libertines, Bloc Party, Kaiser Chiefs and The Kooks.
Those Nutty boys Madness sold out both nights, Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th July, with their high energy show they called “Madrophenia”. Glorious weather for both days, and we covered Friday’s show which saw support acts, 75-year-old DJ and broadcaster David Rodigan, New Orleans’-based Hot 8 Brass band, and Hastings band Kid Kapichi kick things off and keep the crowd enterained as warm-up to Suggs and co. All three supports doing a sterling job.
After a couple of songs, Kid Kapichi’s frontman mused to the crowd that he bet they were wondering how come this band are supporting Madness today, and he went on to say that that Suggs performed on one of their tracks. They went down well. Hot 8 Brass Band made many new friends with a fun and cool set. The record for a label based in Brighton, and in this set they delivered unique covers of Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart”, The Specials’ “Ghost Town”, and late in their set they were joined by the trombonist from Soho Saints Brass Band for their cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing”.
Two Tone Records and The Specials legend Jerry Dammers turned up announced to nip across the stage during David Rodigan’s DJ set to say a quick hello and disappear off stage. Jerry looking dapper was in Brighton to meet up with his old mates Madness and he stood in the “pit” at the side to catch their show and pretty much nobody recognised him.
Lots of red fez hats and some donning khaki army fatigues pith helmets like the band wore in the video for their hit “Night Boat To Cairo”.
Camden’s legendary Madness kicked off their 19 song, 90 minute set at bang on 9pm with their cover of the 1964 Prince Buster ska track “One Step Beyond”, a huge hit for the band in 1979.
Delivering all their hits in style. Faultless and fabulous fun. We heard “Embarrassment”, “My Girl” [It was great to hear keyboard man Mike Barson talking about his inspiration for “My Girl”, which was his van driver colleague -they delivered bananas – regularly complaining about his girlfriend].
The fab “Wings of a Dove”, “Lovestruck”, “House of Fun”, the evergreen “Baggy Trousers”, the indelibly etched in the memory “Our House” and the beautiful Labi Siffre cover “It Must Be Love”.
Prior to “It Must be Love”, Suggs invites a young couple onto the stage and the guy gets down on one knee and pops the question to his blushing bride-to be. She said yes. If she’d said no, the band may have had to play “Embarrassment” again!
The band offered up a deserved brace of encore songs, starting with the second Prince Buster song of the set, “Madness” (good name for a band) and closing with “Night Boat To Cairo”. Talking of boats; a funny moment when a small flotilla that included rowing boats turned up close to the stage and event site, which had security on their toes, making sure that none of them made land!
Now, this was not just another gig for me to review and shoot photos of. Not at all. This was a dream come true for me and a long time coming. Are you sitting comfortably, then I’ll tell you a little story…
Back in 1981 I was 14 years old. The very first gig I went was indeed this very band, Madness. Where? In Brighton, a pebble’s throw from this beach at the Brighton Centre. A one night only show, on Wednesday the 4th of November. The performance was part of their massive “The Seven” tour across the UK where they were supported by the all-female Two Tone band the Belle Stars.
I somehow managed to persuade my mum to buy me a ticket and I travelled by train with three friends from West Worthing where we lived. I had my first crew cut, wore black trousers, a madness tie and loafers (with the tassels). When the Belle Stars came on, I left my friends and moved forward through the crowd and got fairly near to the front.
I remember the excitement and intensity of the Madness performance because the whole room was jumping throughout the whole thing. I actually remember thinking that if I stopped jumping, I might be erased through friction and that my life depended on jumping throughout. I was not on drugs or drunk either; just the way this 14-year-old’s mind worked at the time!
I was the only boy in a house with three sisters and wasn’t particularly interested in the music my siblings played at home. My dad used to play opera and classical records, usually very loud at the weekends, but none of us children liked it. I didn’t really connect with any of my family’s music, but I do remember Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” being the first song that captured my attention when I heard it on the radio.
When Madness released the single “One Step Beyond”, I felt an instant sense of connection and urgency in their music which expanded quickly to include The Specials, The Selector, Bad Manners and The Beat. I now had a chance to belong and identify with something new.
There was something about Madness’s songs that wasn’t just about them being catchy. It was about the stories and the characters in them. For the first time in my life I had a chance to feel cool dancing to music in the local social club in Tarring, i.e running on the spot, and having my first kiss! I bought a tour scarf at the Brighton gig and a badge and still own them. I also have a Madness sweatshirt that says “Honk if you like Madness” on the back of it from back in the day.
I was learning piano then and bought the Madness sheet music book which prompted me to pick up a guitar for the first time and learn how to play “Bed and Breakfast Man”. I religiously bought every 12 inch single and album that Madness released, until “Ghost Train” in October 1986.
I guess Madness was a musical awakening for me, and it was the beginning of a lifetime of love for music, which has included writing my first song with my friend Ian in the school music room/.
Also playing keyboards in a couple of amateur bands, recording 70 of my own songs and eventually getting a three-single record deal that included two of those 70 tracks achieving number eight in the club charts. The first single appeared on “Clubbers Guide to Ibiza” which went to number 1 in the UK compilation albums charts
Over the years there’s been plenty of opportunities to see Madness again, for the first time since that amazing gig in 1981. But for some reason I always held back, letting it sit in isolation as a perfect memory. Not wanting to risk being disappointed and dent the memory of that first gig. Well tonight back in Brighton,on the beach by the sea with 10,000 other Madness fans, I was an excited teenager again and loved every second.
Still a fan and it really was amazing to see them again and delivering a perfect greatest hits setlist. Much of the set triggered so many memories from that gig 45 years ago.
The performances were perfect and delivered with both urgency and fun, making great use of colourful graphics on the giant screens that included prison bars – over-layed on live video of the band. For the song “Shut Up”, sax man Lee Thomson changed into stripey prison clothes, running across the stage with three ‘coppers’ chasing him. Still nutty boys at heart then!
After shooting the photographs for this review in the “pit” for the first three songs, I stayed for a while to stand at the side to catch a few more minutes and take it all in.
I then realised that one of all-time musical heroes was stood a few feet from me: Jerry Dammers. Blimey. I get to see Madness and to meet The Specials’ and Two Tone founder Jerry Dammers in one night. Wow! Lovely to grab a brief chat and take a few selfies.
I feel blessed….and I bloody love this job; they call it Madness!
Words & Photos by Alex Asprey
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