'Performing on stage is still great fun' - Suggs

Madness frontman Suggs says getting to perform on stage is "still fun" as he prepares for the band's sold-out Brighton beach show this summer.

The lead singer of the chart-topping ska band said he had spent a lot of time by the seaside, both in his youth and later life through holidays and his links to Whitstable, where his wife is from.

Suggs, who was born in Hastings, East Sussex, added he expected the band's two nights playing on the beach in July to be "great fun".

He said: "Being from London, Brighton was the epicentre of where you went on school holidays."

He added: "It really is still fun to perform on stage. How can it not be fun?"

Reflecting on his success with Madness, Suggs said that of particular suprise to him was how much the band was picked up by the younger generations, leading them to have to adapt their performances for the audience.

"We started to do matinee concerts because they couldn't get into the venues, all of these feral 12 to 15-year-olds", he said.

The band also embraced the art of making music videos, something which they became known for as channels such as MTV began to pioneer the format.

Suggs said: "We would just sit down in a cafe and find the wildest things we could do."

"I think the first period of our careers went into demise because we ran out of things to dress up as", he joked.

More recently, Suggs has been lending his voice to other local projects, including writing a song for Whitstable Town to celebrate their FA Vase win in May 2025, which he said was "happy times".

Suggs and Madness are due to play on Brighton beach on 23 and 24 July, the former date having been added due to the excess demand to see the band.

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