Suggs reveals what we can expect from Madness' next tour
Their tour starts in December 2025
Last updated 2nd Apr 2025
Madness singer Suggs joined Ken Bruce on Greatest Hits Radio where he chose three songs from 1970 - his Golden Year. The pair also had a chat about Madness' upcoming tour, their Butlins Weekender and Suggs reminisced about the time he was asked to play double bass at school - having never played it before!
On 28th March, Madness released tickets for their 'Hits Parade' tour and Ken was keen to know more about what the band had in store for fans, when they take to the road in December.
Suggs told Ken, the last time they did a tour just before Christmas they had a Number 1 album, playing a lot of new songs, but this time they'll be returning to perform some of their classics.
"We thought we'd do a wham bam big Christmas spectacular," Suggs explained, the singer went on to reveal that despite many of their original fans being a similar age to them, these days, their fans vary a lot in age.
"I've been at concerts where there are four generations of one family," Suggs revealed. "Of course we need some fresh blood because some of these... I'm not saying they will, but you never know, they might fall of the perch."
He continued: "We've always had a nice mixture of people coming to see us."
Buy tickets to see Madness on tour
A few days after the band's tour went on sale, they announced another show due to overwhelming demand, adding a matinee performance in Brighton, on the same day as their evening show.
Just before the start of their 'Hits Parade' tour, the band will also be returning to Butlins for their annual Weekender. Suggs explained they started it about 15 years ago and "everyone wanted to come".
He teased: "7000 Madness fans turn up on the Friday, we play Saturday night, we have all different things going on, all the good stuff."
While music might be in the family, with Suggs' mum a jazz singer, he admitted that he didn't have much experience of singing at school. However, he did reminisce about the time he was asked to play the double bass in an orchestra, despite having no experience.
"I do remember my school," Suggs started. "It was quite a rough school, and they decided they were going to re-start school orchestra, and they said, 'would you play double bass?'
"I'd never played it in my life, but I was big for my age, so I was the only one that could reach up, without falling over. I remember they opened this cupboard and a load of moths flew out and there were some old broken violins."
The orchestra was meant to be performing the following Friday, but Suggs admitted it was "way beyond humiliation"!
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