Madness

At the end of 1983, Mike Barson, the band's key songwriter, left the group to settle down with his wife. Although Madness was able to stay near the top of the charts with their first post-Barson release, "Michael Caine," the band's fortunes began to decline over the course of 1984. Upon its release in the spring, Keep Moving hit number six on the British charts; in America, the record reached number 109. In June, the group released its final single for Stiff Records, "One Better Day," which peaked at number 17. A few months later, Madness formed their own record label, Zarjazz; their first release, "Yesterday's Men," came out in September of 1985, nearly a year after the label's formation. The record peaked at number 18 and its parent album, Mad Not Mad, reached number 16 upon its October release. Their chart decline continued early in 1986, when their cover of Scritti Politti's "Sweetest Girl" peaked at number 35. Madness were quiet in 1986 until September, when they announced they were disbanding. Two months later, their farewell single, "Waiting for the Ghost Train," was released, charting at number 18.

From 🇬🇧 United Kingdom