In 2000, the band received the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors for Outstanding Song Collection.

[6] This six-piece line-up lasted until part-way through 1977, when Graham McPherson (better known as Suggs) took over the lead vocals after seeing the band perform in a friend's garden.

Drummer Dan Woodgate (Woody) and bassist Mark Bedford (Bedders) also joined the band, replacing Garry Dovey and Rodgers, respectively.

[9] After briefly changing their name to Morris and the Minors,[10] the band renamed itself as Madness in 1979, paying homage to one of their favourite songs by ska and reggae artist Prince Buster.

[11] The band remained a sextet until late 1979 when Chas Smash rejoined and officially became the seventh member of Madness as a backing vocalist and dancer.

[16] Rolling Stone was particularly scathing of the ska revival in general, stating that "The Specials wasn't very good" and Madness were simply "the Blues Brothers with English accents".

[16] A drama-documentary film titled Take It or Leave It was released in 1981, featuring the band members playing themselves in a re-creation of their early days to the then-current period.

[22] Many reviewers compared The Rise & Fall to the Kinks' The Village Green Preservation Society (1968),[23] and it is at times retrospectively considered a concept album.

[26] Barson agreed to finish recording the album Keep Moving; he left after playing for the last time with the band at the Lyceum Ballroom on 21 December 1983.

James Mackie[29][full citation needed] took Barson's place appearing with Madness on the US television show Saturday Night Live on 14 April 1984.

Over 75,000 fans attended the weekend festival, and the dancing of the crowd caused some nearby tower blocks to shake perceptibly as they resonated with the frequency of the music.

[42] Neither of the two subsequent singles from the album, "Johnny the Horse" and "Drip Fed Fred" (featuring Ian Dury on vocals), entered the top 40 of the UK chart.

During the sessions which produced the album, in mid-2005, guitarist Chris Foreman announced his departure, citing "the petty, time consuming bollocks that goes on in the band" as his reason for leaving.

The new Madness song "NW5" (then still titled "NW5 (I Would Give You Everything)") and a re-recorded version of "It Must Be Love" were featured in the German film Neues vom Wixxer [de].

The two songs were released in Germany as a double A-side, and both of them were turned into music videos, which – besides members of the film's cast – featured Suggs, Chas Smash, Woody and stand-in guitarist Burdette.

In June 2008, Madness played the majority of their new studio album The Liberty of Norton Folgate at London's Hackney Empire for three nights.

However, this did not occur, although original Specials keyboardist Jerry Dammers – who was not part of the reunion line-up – was announced as a support act with the Spatial AKA Orchestra shortly before the festival.

On 28 August, Madness played the Rock en Seine festival near Paris, on the same night where Oasis brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher engaged in a physical altercation, resulting in the break-up of the band.

During an interview with RTÉ 2fm radio host Dave Fanning on 24 May 2010, drummer Daniel Woodgate stated that the members of the band were in the final stages of preparing songs for the follow-up to The Liberty of Norton Folgate.

Madness toured the UK throughout November and December 2010 with their final show at London's Earl's Court, where they played a new song from their upcoming album.

On 22 March 2014, Suggs confirmed that Madness were writing a new studio album which he stated "the band plan to record in the summer and release by the end of 2014".

[73] During the live stream, the band was accompanied by Roland Gift of Fine Young Cannibals and Paul Weller of the Jam and had a cameo by Queen Elizabeth II, played by Mike Barson.

[75] In September 2023, the band announced their thirteenth studio album Theatre of the Absurd Presents C'est la Vie, which was released on 17 November 2023.

[76] The album was preceded by the single "C'est La Vie" and "Baby Burglar", a song inspired by the antics of band members in their youth, including breaking into singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul's house.

The album is notable for featuring guest performers including the Specials' Jerry Dammers, early Madness member John Hasler and Earl Falconer of UB40.

Ill health prevented Dury from actively promoting the single, although he did appear on the National Lottery Show, for a later performance on TFI Friday, the song was reworked to incorporate Phill Jupitus on vocals.

The title refers to the previous year's successful campaign to get Rage Against the Machine's "Killing in the Name" to chart above X Factor winner Joe McElderry.

Frequent themes in Madness' songs included childhood memories (e.g., "Baggy Trousers", and "Our House") and petty crime (e.g., "Shut Up", and "Deceives the Eye").

"Embarrassment" (from the Absolutely album) was written by Lee Thompson, and reflected the unfolding turmoil following the news that his teenage sister had become pregnant and was carrying a black man's child.

[93] The band criticised the National Health Service (NHS) in "Mrs. Hutchinson", which told the story of a woman who, after several misdiagnoses and mistreatment, became terminally ill.