Madness: The Liberty of Norton Folgate 15 years old

Norton Folgate is a state of mind, a slice of urban magic.

'Madness' are about to release a new album after 10 years, which consists of an interrelated, song cycle about London called 'The Liberty of Norton Folgate'. Although the songs are on one level about different areas of London, they focus musically on the waves of immigration to the city - Irish, Jewish, Caribbean, Asian etc and the musical legacy they have contributed to the city. The concert is at the Hackney Empire, a show with powerful connections to the grand Music Hall traditions of the place, situating Madness where they belong, clearly within a uniquely English Popular Musical Culture with its roots in the Victorian period. Weaving through the concert, Suggs and Carl, take us back in time to the London of Karl Marx and Jack the Ripper. Humorously introducing the subject of each song, they take us on a tour through the psycho geography of the Old East End, Spitalfields, Smithfield, Wapping, Bethnal Green, ending down on the beaches of the Thames beyond Tower Bridge Finally.

Credits

Madness: The Liberty of Norton Folgate Cast

Name Character
Mike Barson He was 50, now 66 years old as Barzo
Mark Bedford He was 47, now 62 years old as Bedders
Suggs He was 48, now 63 years old
Dan Woodgate as Woody
Carl Smyth as Chas Smash
Chris Foreman He was 52, now 67 years old as Chrissy Boy
Lee Thompson as El Thommo

Madness: The Liberty of Norton Folgate Crew

Name Department
Madness: The Liberty of Norton Folgate poster
Madness: The Liberty of Norton Folgate (15 years)

Norton Folgate is a state of mind, a slice of urban magic.

  • Release day: Thursday, April 16, 2009
  • Runtime: 63 minutes