IT WAS MADNESS LAST NIGHT.

I was too young to remember the early eighties when my home town of Castlebar was swamped with “ Mods V Rockers “ clashes.

It was an amazing up rising of youth culture that was partly influenced by Quadrophenia and of course was born out of boredom.

If you were a teenager in the 80’s you will know that there was nothing to do, so you had to decided whether you were a “ Mod “ or a “ rocker “. It was your identity.

The Mods always dressed in cool clobber, Ben Sherman’s, doc martins , bomber jackets, tight hair cuts, Vespa scooters.

The rockers of that generation had long greasy hair, bad teeth, shite clothes, and crap music …..guess what I was into !

The Ska, two tone and reggae scene was huge in my town. People would buy Madness, selector, the specials, the beat, bad manners records & tapes, badges & jacket patches. The dance floors were divided by head banging rockers and knees up ska sets, with the occasional riot

So when Madness were announced for live at the marquee I was a happy little ska feen.

They were, as expected, unreal. So many people got dressed up , and so many generations of music heads turned out. Check this little legend in the picture above … RUDE BOY !

The greatest party band in the world.