Madness to perform at KOKO in Camden

Madness have announced that they are returning to Camden for the first time in 40 years with a one-off show at KOKO to mark the release of their 13th studio album.The Ska and pop band, who first formed in the backstreets of Camden Town in the late 1970, have 10 UK top ten albums and 15 top ten singles to their name, say they owe their very existance to the North London music scene and that their homecoming is long overdue.Speaking to the Standard, frontman Suggs, 62, recalled how they initially struggled to land gigs and “used to just knock on the doors” of the local pubs before The Dublin Castle in Parkway decided to take a chance on them.“We said we were a Country and Western band. And when seven skinny teenagers started leaping about playing Ska music, the Irish regulars were somewhat bemused,” he laughed. “But we sold a few pints of beer and got a residency there, and without that we wouldn’t really have got anywhere so [Camden] is very important to us.”They were originally performing under another name when a gig at KOKO led to them changing their name to Madness.