This was Madness' debut single. It is a tribute to the Jamaican Ska star Prince Buster. The band, who were originally named The North London Invaders, then Morris And The Minors, finally called themselves Madness, in homage to one of their favorite Prince Buster songs.
Following the success of this song, Madness signed to Stiff Records and released another Prince Buster song, "One Step Beyond" which reached #7 in the UK.
Prince Buster was Jamaica's first international star and one of the most important figures in the history of Ska. He was renowned for often using mouth-clicks for rhythm tracks. "Gangsters" by The Specials, which was released a month earlier and ignited the two-tone craze, is a reworking of Prince Buster's 1964 Ska classic "Al Capone."
See your Spotify stats (with number of plays and minutes listened) and discover new music.
Music data, artist images, album covers, and song previews are provided by Spotify. Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB.