Interview unedited from Mojo Magazine.

1. How and when did Madness get together? When and where was your first gig?
Should it interest you, Mike, Chris & myself have known each other since before you were born my dear.Mike was the only person out of all of us that could play an instument & suggested,after watching untold ammounts of bands,getting one together. One of my earliest memories of bumping into Suggs was at the Roundhouse where Ian Dury & The Kilburns were performing, he also used to frequent the same Pubs in Hampstead. Another haunt at the time was the Hope & Anchor where the birth of pub rock spawned. A friend of our's, Si Birdsall lived opposite so, if one was at a loss B4 a Band was due on, his Mum & Dad would always look after you. This is also where our Ex.Manager,Johnny Hasler & Carl Smyth used to socialise. My earliest recolection of Mark Bedds. was watching him perform with the "Yet to be Madness" in his School, of which Hasler had arranged. I had recently left the band but was fortunate enough to witness a baby faced, riddled with Rythem "Billie Bassie Bedders."  Woody just seemed to appear & slot in straight staight away at one of the rehearsals, typical Librian. I think he was an aqaintance of Marks and so the connection. Our first performance as Madness was on January 22nd. 1979 at the then Music Machine, Camden Town.      

2. Madness had a really strong visual image. Whose idea was that?
I think it stemmed from a photo of an early Kilburs photo shoot where they are all standing side on at a bus stop & Humphrey Ocean from the band is essentuating the size of his trousers by pulling them outwould,(coincidently several years later he would draw the artwork for the Baggy Trousers 7" cover.) Carl & myself would spend some evenings in front of a mirror doing stiff, jerky, robotic moves to the sounds of The Bogus Man by Roxy or Busters Ghost Dance. Barso was also pretty image concious. What started off as a Silly Walk down the street(check out the NME photo. Int.with Adrian Thrills) was later refined into the striking Nutty Train. This may have been something to do with various band members facination with the Loco motor, maybe.    

3. What were you trying to achieve with the group?
World domination within 12 months. Personally it was most stimulating to be with a group of friends, playing music that I enjoyed, travelling to exotic places & not having to get up with a Hang over. Collectively ,we made sure everything we done was done 100%. Stiff records gave us a lot of artistic freedom although sometimes in the whirlwind that was, you couldn't always be kept informed. America had their chance, but 1.It would have meant spending a lot of time in the U.S.A.  2.We were too English. We wrote some great songs complimented with classic visuals & packaged in eye catching wrapping. Top Dog at V.F.M. Achievement done.    

4. Why did you decide to play ska?
Simple to play, rythmically pulsating to dance to, & sexually levitating, so I've been told. It was Reggae next to Motown that would always grab my attention. Love of the common people, Return of Django, Isarelites, It Mek, Liquidator, Elizebethan Reggae & the classic Double Barrell. These were social statements then & now, even though they were Instumentals or I couldn't understand a word they were saying. I walked into an Aladins cave of Ska 45" one day & spent most of my wages on them over a period. Listening & playing along to the off beat brass whilst living in Luton for a couple of years. Origionally we played Rock n'Roll classics but eventually moved them out of the set. Ska & reggae was a Major influence on us, as were The Kinks,Ian Dury & S.A.H.B.

5. When and where did you first meet the Specials?
Mike & Suggs first got to meet them when they played the Hope & Anchor, they had a common interest & Jerry Damners suggested we take things a step further by offering us a support &, as he'd masterminded the 2Tone lable, was in a position to offer us a deal. It was a simple case of, Being in the Right Place at the Right Time. It was on the cards, Mr.Damners just didn't faff around.     

How did you get signed to 2-Tone?
I offered Jerry a back straightner.

6. Was it just a coincidence that you in London and the Specials in Coventry were making a similar type of music?
Exactamondo.

6.How much control did you have over your musical direction?
100% Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley our producers, enhanced our musical incaperbilities 10 fold & although on rare occation Clive pissed me off, it was a case of "Mother knows Best!" Also they had to please the record company so they had a bit of a bumpy ride initially. They had a way of tickleing you in places you never knew were tickleish & hold a feather to Dave Robbinsons scrotum at the same time. Overall the Judge & Jury that are Barson & Foreman would oversee pretty much everything.

7. When and where did you record The Prince?
Around June 79' we went into Pathway Studios,Islington to record 3 tracks. with an advance Clive Langer had managed to persuade from Rob Dickens. The flip side was a rocking version of Prince Busters "Madness" the other track was a version of My Girl sung, with the dulcic tones of the multi talented Mr.Barson. 

8. It was your tribute to Prince Buster. Where did you get to know about Prince Buster?
I had a copy of busters Big five the flip was titled Musical Collage. My sister had got it for me as she knew I liked Black Music I prefferd the lyrical content of the flip this must have been around 1971. At this time I never knew he was taken up by the Mod Movement or had charted in the 60's with One Step Beyond or Al Capone. Bit before my time.

Had you met him?
Not until Finsbury park in '92. Then again at the Forum in Kentish Town. I was asked to get up play but his spokesman in the band said they had a brass section, which was quite fortunate as one, I had'nt brought my Sax & two, I could slope off to the bar.

9. Who wrote the Prince?
Get serious.

10. Where was it written and recorded?
One evening around Carls mother & father inlaws house. As the lyrics were more or less taken from various Prince Buster songs I had it down before the finish of a few coffee's,the melody was a simple 12 bar with some odd bits thrown in for variety.

11. How long did the recording take?
I think we recorded the three tracks over a week end as some of us still had proper jobs. I'm pretty sure they were mixed in that time as well. There wasn't much time to fuck around. We had actually been booked in for the previous week but we lost our all important Drummer who wasn't familiar with the area.

Was it the first time you'd been in a studio? Any anecdotes?
Yes, the previous week was a Dummy Run to prepare us all for the Mayhem that was to follow. At some point in the session some of the band members found a lunch box & demolished the sound engineers vegetarian contents. When we returned the following week we practically carried Woody in with rope burns.

Who produced it?
Just as Chris,Mike & myself were Deaf School fans, Clive Langer, who was the "Brains" behind the band was ironically a follower of Madness, he was also a school friend of Mike's big bro. Ben Barson. On the strenth of our Acklam Hall Experience he went & got the Warner Bros. advance & offered to produce the tracks.I think it was that way round.

11. What was the camaraderie like on the label?
Being the next big thing after the punk eruption things were pretty hectic & whirlwind. Although we were only on 2Tone for one single & one tour it was defonately the best period, period. It was pretty much a family atmoshere until the sun went down. And even when the lights came up it wasn't a case of "We Blew Them Off stage"more like, "Who's up the Ramp, Pass it On." Jerry invited me to play on a track for their 2nd.album which was an honour & no preasure.

12. What was it like having a Top 10 hit with your debut single?
A right riveting giggle. I'd compare it to being let loose in the Science Lab. with a chemistry set in a really,really BIG school. At times all the hanging around at various studios can make-a-maddie boy stagnate. We were severely repremanded at a spanish T.V. studio when doing some promotion for "Wonderful." We had, had a few liabations but, our inmaturity was "Finely Tuned." Even Suggs Let Rip.

13. Why did you leave 2-tone after only one single?
Besides the fact that Pauline Black & my room mate Terry Hall suffered odorous problems, the main factor would have to be categorisation. At the time of the release of "The Prince" 2Tone were only in a position to offer us a single deal. Around this time we had conciderd several record companies & after our 2nd. meeting with Dave Robinson we signed an album deal with Stiff Records.