Madness: Take it or Leave It (12A)

Directed by Dave Robinson, starring Madness: Suggs, Bedders, El Thommo, Chas Smash, Woody, Chrissy Boy, Barzo

Duration: 86 minutes
Age Rating: 12A

Tickets:

Adults £12, Under 16s £6

Before Madness went one step beyond, they were seven North London mates trying to get a band together. Playing themselves on the streets and in the pubs where it all began, the Nutty Boys recreate the rows, rehearsals and lucky breaks behind their rise in this newly restored, gloriously unpolished pop time capsule. ★★★★ "Unexpectedly revealing, vividly atmospheric, often funny and alarming, docufictional comedy": The Guardian

Before the hits, the videos and the baggy trousers came rehearsals, rows, line-up changes and the struggle to get noticed. Made in 1981, Madness: Take It or Leave It sees Suggs and the rest of the band playing themselves as they recreate their journey from a group of Camden mates to the brink of pop stardom. Shot in the streets, pubs and clubs where it all happened, Dave Robinson’s unconventional mix of mockumentary, comedy and kitchen-sink realism captures both the chaos of forming a band and a vanished North London. Newly restored in 4K, it’s a funny, scruffy and wonderfully distinctive British pop time capsule.