Suggs has revealed he is working on songs for a new Madness album which the band plans to release by the end of 2014.
The 53-year-old singer has revealed the band are heading into the studio this summer to start recording their 11th studio LP.
Suggs has rediscovered his passion for songwriting and has been finding lyrical inspiration from the people he meets in his life. Speaking about the album, Suggs told BANG Showbiz: “We’re about to start (working on it), I’ve started writing some songs actually for the first time in a couple of years, I’ve been doing this one man show and I’ll be doing that again for two months in April and May, so I’m trying to write some songs now so I’ve got something to do with the band. I keep getting caught up in other things when the band are writing albums and I’ve just been throwing in scraps that have had hanging around for years. So I want it to be different this time.
“I’ve always written about characters and I’ve been trying to think about people in my life .. I’ve always written like that. Someone once said that the band made folk music and we were f***ing horrified, but then you realise the songs are about folk, you’re own folk.”
Suggs says fans of the ska band can expect the album to come out near the end of 2014 and Madness will definitely be touring the record in December.
Suggs revealed: “It will probably be out at the end of the year and regardless of how albums sell these days – and our albums don’t sell too bad we kind of make a bit of money from our albums still – the plan is we’re going to do a big tour around Christmas time. The main thing is you’re doing new stuff, the people know you’re doing new stuff and it keeps the whole thing alive and keeps you alive.”
The musician hosted ‘An Evening with Suggs’ at Porchester Hall in London on Thursday night (March 20) to raise money for charity Pancreatic Cancer UK with a line-up that included himself, The Who singer Roger Daltrey with Wilko Johnson and Jools Holland.
Suggs, who lost his sister-in-law to the disease, was joined on stage for a rousing rendition of Prince Buster song Madness by Dr Feelgood guitarist Wilko and pianist Jools.
Wilko was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in January 2013 and has already lived five months longer than doctors predicted and Suggs paid tribute to him at the start of the fundraising evening.
Addressing the guests, the Our House singer said: “The most remarkable thing about this evening is that Wilko Johnson is appearing on stage – I’m sure you all know the gig he played here last year was supposed to have been one of his last … God bless him that he is still around, and we’re all very pleased he is. For most people who contract pancreatic cancer they only live for about four months.”
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