It's hard to imagine a band more influenced by another artist than Madness was by the ska pioneer Prince Buster. The group not only emulated his sound, but named themselves after his 1963 song "Madness," which conveniently repeats the line, "They call it madness." The first Madness single was "The Prince," a tribute to Prince Buster; their second was "One Step Beyond," a cover of a Prince Buster song.
Formed in 1978, they went through a few different names, including The Invaders and Morris And The Minors, before settling on Madness in 1979.
Madness had a brilliant run of hits in their native UK, with their first 19 singles reaching the Top 20. Their debut album, One Step Beyond (1979), stayed on the UK charts for 78 weeks, peaking at #2.
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