TO REISSUE THEIR FIRST FIVE STUDIO ALBUMS
MADNESS
TO REISSUE THEIR FIRST FIVE STUDIO ALBUMS
ONE STEP BEYOND…, ABSOLUTELY, 7, THE RISE & FALL AND KEEP MOVING RETURN ON BLACK VINYL, LIMITED EDITION COLOURED VINYL AND CD
OUT FRIDAY 29TH JANUARY 2027 – PRE-ORDER HERE
28th October – Camden, London: With 15 UK Top 10 singles between 1979 and 1986, global smashes including Our House, and a place at the heart of British pop culture, Madness remain the original Nutty Boys of Camden. Today, the band and West Village Music Management announce the reissue of their first five studio albums, the records that built the legacy: One Step Beyond… (1979), Absolutely (1980), 7 (1981), The Rise & Fall (1982) and Keep Moving (1984). All five will be released on Friday 29th January 2027 on 180g black vinyl, strictly limited edition 180g coloured vinyl and CD. Pre-order here.
The five albums chart the rise of Madness, from the debut that introduced the band to the nation, through a run of era-defining singles, to the ambitious Rise & Fall and Keep Moving, their last album for Stiff Records. Between 1980 and 1986 their singles spent 214 weeks on the UK singles chart, a joint record for a group in that decade.
Speaking on the release, the band said “Five albums, a fair few dodgy haircuts and more than a couple of tunes that have stood the test of time! It’s quite something to look back at those early records and realise how much mischief we managed to get up to. We’re chuffed to be giving them a new lease of life and hope they bring back a few memories for those who were there the first time around, as well as hopefully finding their way into the collections of a new generation of Nutty Boys and Girls.”
Each vinyl edition has been pressed using a brand new 2026 vinyl remaster, cut from transfers from the original quarter-inch master tapes that were used for previous reissues. The CDs present the previous remasters in mini-LP replica sleeves. For the first time, the complete lyrics to the Madness-composed songs are included on every reissue, printed on a 12″ x 12″ insert (One Step Beyond…, Absolutely, 7) or the inner sleeve (The Rise & Fall, Keep Moving) on vinyl, and in the CD booklet. Each reissue also reproduces the original artwork from the album’s first release.
The coloured vinyl editions are each a one-time pressing, never to be repressed, and together form a collectable set: violet (One Step Beyond…), blue (Absolutely), silver (7), red (The Rise & Fall) and white (Keep Moving).
One Step Beyond… (1979, violet vinyl) is the debut that launched the Nutty Boys. Recorded in around three weeks at Eden Studios with producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, it carried the 2 Tone sound into the mainstream, reaching No.2 in the UK and going Platinum on the back of My Girl, Night Boat To Cairo, One Step Beyond and The Prince.
The follow-up, Absolutely (1980, blue vinyl), made Madness a singles powerhouse. It also reached No.2 and went Platinum, with Baggy Trousers, Embarrassment and Return Of The Los Palmas 7 all landing in the UK Top 10.
Begun at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas and largely re-recorded in London, 7 (1981, silver vinyl) marked a step forward in the band’s songwriting. It reached No.5 and features Grey Day, Shut Up and Cardiac Arrest. This edition also adds the bonus track It Must Be Love, the band’s No.4 cover of the Labi Siffre song.
The Rise & Fall (1982, red vinyl) finds Madness at their most ambitious, ranging across jazz, English music hall and Eastern influences. It features Our House, which reached No.5, won Best Pop Song at the 1983 Ivor Novello Awards and became the band’s only US Top 10 hit. NME called it “the best Madness record”. Both vinyl and CD come in gatefold packaging.
The series closes with Keep Moving (1984, white vinyl), the band’s last album for Stiff Records. It reached No.6 and is the first vinyl edition to include the complete album alongside all four singles from the era: Michael Caine, One Better Day and the bonus tracks Wings Of A Dove and The Sun And The Rain.
Madness released their latest studio album, Theatre Of The Absurd Presents C’est La Vie, in 2023, and it soared triumphantly to claim the band’s first ever No.1 studio album in a career spanning more than four decades. Their greatest hits collection, Hit Parade, followed in November 2025 and also landed in the UK top 10.
The band have had three UK No.1 albums, 16 top ten singles and a run of UK top ten albums, and have won a multitude of awards including a prestigious Ivor Novello. They have performed on the top of Buckingham Palace as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and set the record for the biggest ever audience for the BBC’s Live New Year’s Eve broadcast, the most watched TV music event of 2018.
The reissues follow the BFI’s new 4K restoration of Take It Or Leave It, Madness’s 1981 big-screen debut, which is now on BFI Blu-ray/DVD for the first time.
The reissues arrive as Madness head back on the road. In summer 2027 the band play a UK tour of ten outdoor shows from 19th June to 24th July, culminating at the Rock N Roll Circus at Gunnersbury Park, London.
RELEASE FORMATS:
Each album is available on 180g black vinyl, strictly limited edition 180g coloured vinyl and CD. One Step Beyond…, Absolutely and 7 are available worldwide; The Rise & Fall and Keep Moving are available worldwide excluding USA and Canada.
TRACKLISTING:
ONE STEP BEYOND…
Side One: One Step Beyond… / My Girl / Night Boat To Cairo / Believe Me / Land Of Hope & Glory / The Prince / Tarzan’s Nuts
Side Two: In The Middle Of The Night / Bed & Breakfast Man / Razor Blade Alley / Swan Lake / Rockin’ In A♭ / Mummy’s Boy / Madness / Chipmunks Are Go!
ABSOLUTELY
Side One: Baggy Trousers / Embarrassment / E.R.N.I.E. / Close Escape / Not Home Today / On The Beat Pete / Solid Gone
Side Two: Take It Or Leave It / Shadow Of Fear / Disappear / Overdone / In The Rain / You Said / Return Of The Los Palmas 7
7
Side One: Cardiac Arrest / Shut Up / Sign Of The Times / It Must Be Love (bonus track) / Missing You / Mrs. Hutchinson / Tomorrow’s Dream
Side Two: Grey Day / Pac-A-Mac / Promises Promises / Benny Bullfrog / When Dawn Arrives / The Opium Eaters / Day On The Town
THE RISE & FALL
Side One: Rise And Fall / Tomorrow’s (Just Another Day) / Blue Skinned Beast / Primrose Hill / Mr. Speaker (Gets The Word) / Sunday Morning
Side Two: Our House / Tiptoes / New Delhi / That Face / Calling Cards / Are You Coming (With Me) / Madness (Is All In The Mind)
KEEP MOVING
Side One: Keep Moving / Michael Caine / Turning Blue / One Better Day / Wings Of A Dove (bonus track) / March Of The Gherkins / Waltz Into Mischief
Side Two: Brand New Beat / Victoria Gardens / Samantha / Time For Tea / The Sun And The Rain (bonus track) / Prospects / Give Me A Reason
CD editions follow the same running order.
