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Madness

“It was on 4th October, 1983. We’d just stopped rehearsing and I made some tea. I walked into the room and laid the cups down, and Mike stood up with a very heavy frown. He said, and I quote, these were his words: ‘I’ll be leaving the band after this album, you turds.’ And we all laughed and said it had been a good run.”

Chas Smash & Mike Barson

“The 2-Tone attitude was similar to punk. It was good not to see any hidden mystique in music or to believe you had to be really good to play it. I hate the attitude that there is something about music or musicians. I think anyone should be able to get up and have a go at it. At the time the punk thing came along, you’d think you had to be playing for five years before you could make a record.”

Record Mirror