COMPLETE MADNESS

Interview with Mark ‘Suggs’ Keegan. Complete Madness are Mark Keegan (vox), Derek Wood (guitar/vox), Kevin Stanfield (sax), David Potter (keyboards/vox), Brett Briggs (drums). As singer and a northern lad, how does your accent cope with Suggs’ very ‘London’ vocal delivery? ‘ Personally, I think his London accent gets a bit lost in the songs, especially the quicker ones and I seem to cope with it pretty well as I don’t have the most northern of accents. You’re the self-styled number one Madness tribute band. What makes you better than the rest? Two things: continuity and having three really good frontmen; not just myself, but the sax player and keyboard player who is an absolute nutcase on stage and very entertaining to watch. Before Complete Madness became a professional touring outfit in the 90s, what was your day job? I was a coal miner for six years and then worked for Securicor, which was hideous, so I was glad to jack it all in. Which current bands will be worthy of the tribute treatment, in say, 10 years’ time? I don’t listen to much current stuff; I don’t get it and find it very tedious. I’m an old punk rocker at heart who always had a soft spot for Madness and The Specials. Madness’ love for playing the hits in the live arena appears to have waned. How do you keep the flame burning for songs such as One Step Beyond, which you’ve doubtless played innumerable times? I totally agree about the passion lacking. When I saw Madness a few years ago they just went through the motions – I wasn’t buzzing like I felt I should be. That said, I’ve been to some amazing Madness gigs in the past and will always be grateful for their music. It’s strange, but every time we play the classics it always seems fresh. Present company accepted, what’s the best tribute band you’ve seen? By performing at a lot of 80s-themed weekend breaks, I get the chance to see a lot of tribute bands. The few that stand out are Mercury (tribute to Queen); UB40 Experience; Blurb (Blur tribute) and the Sex Pistols Experience. The tribute band experience used to begin and end on stage, now replicators such as yourselves are creating their own merchandise in the form of CDs, DVDs, etc. Why? In a nutshell: people want them, although I don’t think our recordings do us justice, which is why we’ve recorded a live CD in November. You’re booked solidly for 2018 already. I’d like you to play at my 60th birthday in 2028. Will Complete Madness still be touring? No. If the opportunity arose, how much would you pay to sing with Suggs and the original Madness on stage? I wouldn’t pay anything, but I’d gladly stand in for the great man if he was ever poorly and couldn’t do a gig. It would be an honour. Visit: www.completemadness.net