A Night Boat to Where? Madness Live at The Piece Hall 

I arrive at a sundrenched Halifax station to a tight hug from one of my best friends, which was broken apart by both of our sheer horror at our tandem absolute failure to dress appropriately for the night ahead. On my head I donned a pin-badge laden, typical Leeds student Kangol (tilted just so of course), whilst Abi’s growing-out buzzy mullet was also, as mine was fez-less. How embarrassing. 

Across the platform a tidal wave of blunt red felted bopping cones descended, matching the waves of matching ones that pillaged each lively beer garden trailing up into the centre. Fezzed up or not, our spirit was strong, and we half skipped up the hill into the Piece Hall’s intricate wrought-iron gates. I feel jealous of Abi’s first steps into the Italian Piazza that seems to have dropped from the sky into this Yorkshire countryside town, as a distinctly older crowd milled around, chatting on steps, drinking and enjoying the lucid sounds of Holly Cook, a mellow act with punk/reggae roots following her tenure in all-female outfit The Slits, and father, Paul Cook’s (founding member and drummer in the Sex Pistols) influence. 

We notice, pretty immediately, that we are the youngest, and soberest, for miles, as the audience had been sure to make the most of the first glimpse of sun in weeks. Abi noticed more keenly, that this event was one many looked forward to, and we plunged into the crowd of keen ska enthusiasts, which was unsurprisingly, one that was lightly full of chatter, friendly faces and bouncing knees. 

As Madness descend onto stage, in a gust of fedoras, gold sparkly blazers, brass instruments flailing and laughter amongst themselves, the whole piazza is merry to say the least. In classic fashion, they immediately launch into ‘One Step Beyond’, with the booming intro bouncing off the high sandy walls and riling up the crowd into a fit of frenzied excitement. The songs run into each other, floating through the singalong-only setlist, with the band stopping to chat, reminiscing on past Yorkshire escapades, chasing each other on the milk run, and nicking Christmas paychecks.. Throughout, the 3-strong brass section of cheekiness run amok, chasing the oh-so innocent pianist as mock-cops, and twirling their stolen trumpets during solos. The sax in particular stole the show, and each solo we see the crowd’s heads life, beaming smiles and whistles punctuating the set. As fantastically engrossing the band was, I’m enamoured by the people around us, the older couple with their arms around our shoulders, ‘How do you young uns even know these songs?’ and linking our arms to can-can during ‘Mr Apples’.

‘Lovestruck’ is a highlight, a pulse-quickener as I nab Abi into a headlock and try to remember who made me fall in love with this song. I can’t figure it out, and rack my brains to think, but I come up empty, just with images of sunny garden afternoons floating in the Halifax sky. Hit after hit commences, we wiggle our knees to ‘Baggy Trousers’, wiggle our hips to ‘Return of Los Palmas 7’ and wriggle our wrists up to ‘Wings of A Dove’. 

By the time ‘It Must Be Love’ beckons, we are truly sweating, smiling, hands knit and shoulders locked with our audience neighbours, we chatter, oo and ahh at the songs to come, and stand for a moment to pay our respect to the great artist David Hockney. ‘I never thought I’d miss you, quite as much, as I do’ felt apt, warming, and I look across to my friend who I’m luckily soon to be moving back in with, and have missed everyday since we hadn’t, as a crowd full of partners, lovers, and best friends did the same. 

Madness return post-encore roars, to ‘Madness’, and easily describe the crowd in front of them, we spiral into circling running routes, arms aloft and voices lost, quickly lurching into ‘Night Boat To Cairo’ after a genuine goodbye, and fond farewell from us all. The ridiculousness of the set has be frazzled, my feet rarely stood still, and my smile scarcely fell from my face, we sign off with a hollering, stomping, can-can-can-can-ing to an Egyptian inspired brass cacophony, as is apt.