wheredmadnessgo

MADNESS were one of the biggest bands of theEighties, notching up 15 Top Five hits, including Baggy Trousers and My Girl. They split in 1988 and have worked together only occasionally since. But now they are back with a bang as a new West End musical, Our House, pays homage to their hits. Yesterday we caught up with lead singer Suggs, who told of his breakdown after the group split. Here SUE EVISON tells what happened when the rest of the band went one step beyond Madness.

DANIEL WOODGATE, 41 DRUMMER Woody toured with the American band
Voice Of The Beehive after Madness split, then played in heavy metal outfit Fat.
He later set up a drum-based motivational team-building company and a flooring
firm, Woody�s Floors.
His first marriage, to Jane Crockford, singer in girl band The Modettes, ended in
1985 after five years. He has been wed to Siobhan since 1997 and they have two
children, Iona, eight and Mary, five.

LEE THOMPSON, 44
LEE hit the bottle when Madness broke up and ended up seeing a shrink.
He later opened a mountain bike shop, then a decorating firm and a landscape
gardening company, which all went bust.
After that he became a dustman but quit after six weeks. Saxophonist Lee,
known in the band as Kix, formed The Nutty Boys with guitarist Chris, and
Father And Son with son Daley, 16. He and wife Debbie have two other
children, Tuesday, 18, and Kai, seven.

CARL SMYTH, 43 ALSO known as Chas Smash, trumpeter Carl spent three years
as a stay-at-home dad after Madness split. Then he joined indie label Go Discs!
as an A&R man but left in 1992 and now runs his own record company, Rolled Gold
Records, has a chat show on Mean Country radio and is opening The Ska Bar near
his North London home. He and partner Jo have three children, Caspar, 16, Milo,
11 and seven-year-old Eloise.

MIKE BARSON, 44 IN 1984 keyboard player and songwriter Mike became the first
to quit Madness, marrying his Dutch girlfriend Sandra and moving to Amsterdam to
live on a houseboat, which is still their home today. He has his own studio and
continues to write songs with Suggs and Lee Thompson � their new track,
Sarah�s Song, is featured in the musical. Mike and Sandra have three children �
Jamie, 13, Timothy, 11 and six-year-old Joey

MARK BEDFORD, 41 THE band�s bass player, nicknamed Bedders, joined
American band Voice Of The Beehive and played on Morrissey�s album Kill Uncle,
then did a two-year typography degree at the London College of Printing � a course
he had quit to join Madness. Mark now runs his own graphic design studio in
Camden, North London. He has been with partner Cress for 15 years and they
have two children, Alice, nine and five-year-old Olivia.

CHRIS FOREMAN, 44 GUITARIST Chrissy Boy ended up depressed and on the dole
after Madness split. Then he and Lee Thompson formed ska group The Nutty Boys,
who became Crunch Chris has been wed three times � first to his childhood
sweetheart Susan with whom he has a son, Matthew, 26 He has a second son,
nine-year-old Felix, with his second wife Lauren. Last year he wed his third wife,
Melissa, and they have a son, Frankie, five months. Chris is soon to be a grandad.