Madness make a date for Windsor Racecourse

Next summer might feel like an age away ... but the orginal Nutty Boys are making plans for a great night of music, right on our doorstep. PHIL CREIGHTON is in the house of fun

THE NUTTY boys are coming back. Madness have announced they will be performing at Windsor Racecourse next year, and tickets have gone on sale.

The ska-pop band, famous for hits such as Our House, and House of Fun, will play at an outdoor concert on Friday, August 26.

And the band are not the only acts on the line-up. Joining them will be Soul II Soul and The Dualers, with additional names to be announced.

Their Windsor date is part of its Ladykillers tour, and racecourse bosses are promising some of the finest soulful and ska-tinged sounds to have emerged from London Town from the last four decades.

Madness are perhaps one of the most prominent and best-loved bands of the last 50 years.

Formed in Camden Town,

London in 1976, their journey since has taken them from skaband upstarts to globally acclaimed superstars.

Finding initial success in the late 1970s and early ‘80s as frontrunners of the 2 Tone Ska revival, the band would soon go on to find universal fame through a string of 15 UK Top 10 charting singles, with their crowning glory being the number one hit record House Of Fun.

With a trademark “nutty” sound and lyrics that capture the very essence of British life, cuts like Baggy Trousers, One Step Beyond, Embarrassment, My Girl, Driving In My Car, and Our House and countless others have transcended the generations and immortalised Madness as icons of popular culture.

A testament to their enduring popularity, Suggs and co. were invited to perform on top of Buckingham Palace as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and the London Olympics in 2012 to a global audience, while also setting the record for the biggest-ever viewing for the BBC’s live New Year’s Eve broadcast in 2018.

Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of their landmark debut album ‘One Step Beyond’ last year, Madness remain one of the most exhilarating and entertaining prospects on record and the stage.

With a huge headline show at Windsor Racecourse now on the agenda for 2022, expect the finest music and plenty of madcap mayhem when the original “Nutty Boys” go one step beyond to make this an evening for the ages.

Tickets cost £40, and gates open at 5pm. Under 18s must be accompanied by an adult.

SANTA’S special helper Buddy is coming to the big screen in Reading this weekend.

Elf, the festive favourite starring Will Ferrell as an orphan adopted by Santa’s workshop, is to be shown at the Reading Biscuit Factory.

As a baby, Buddy crawls into Santa’s toy bag and grows up in the North Pole, before heading to the United States as a grown-up.

He meets his real Dad and discovers, well, he’s a bit of a Scrooge. Can Buddy turn his frown upside down and help

Santa get the presents delivered on time?

The film is shown at 11.30am on Saturday and 2pm on Sunday.

Tickets cost £5. n For more details, or to book, log on to: readingbiscuitfactory.co.uk