Professor and the Madman is a four-piece American rock band featuring co-frontmen/songwriters Alfie Agnew and Sean Elliott, drummer Rat Scabies and bassist Paul Gray.
[6] The band's name is a nod to Agnew's professorial career, while also a reference to the book The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester.
[7] In 2015, Elliott contacted Agnew to play a reunion show with The Critens for a private Christmas party in Costa Mesa, California.
[15] Agnew, Elliott, Gray and Scabies made their live concert debut as Professor and the Madman at London's 100 Club on August 10, 2018.
[16] Due to the fact that Agnew and Elliott reside in Southern California, and Gray and Scabies in the UK, scheduling concerts for the recording quartet has proved challenging.