Madness at the O2

Ska band Madness finalize their 'ALL FOR THE M.A.D.H.E.A.D tour at the O2 on 20 December

Madness, once pioneers in the British ska scene are now officially National Treasures. This became clear somewhere between their 2012 Diamond Jubilee performance at the Palace and the Olympic Games, which they closed.

Three decades after their formation, they’ll finish finishing this year's tour at the O2 Arena, likely to the sound of their as yet unreleased 12th album.

Madness were central to 70s and 80s British ska or ‘2tone’, created by young musicians brought up on Jamaican music. The Specials, Madness and the Beat distinctively mixed punk rock ’n’ roll punch with looser ska rhythms.

As their name suggests, Madness were all about fun. They took all the liveliness and bounce of ska and added humour, creating infectious, much-loved hits. After bursting into the public consciousness with songs like the energetic Baggy Trousers with its unmistakably British vocals 'All I learnt at school/Was how to bend and not break the rules', or the saxophone-lead Embarrassment, gave them a distinctive, swaggering identity, defined by tomfoolery.

They broke up in 1988; their reformation in 1992 showed they’d lost none of their appeal. Which other band could cause such a ruckus in London that tower-block windows and balconies cracked while the British Geological Survey was called in to investigate 'an earthquake'?

As shown by their recent high-profile performances, Madness still know how to get people moving. The O2 set sure to be made up of the crowd pleasers: 'Our House', 'Baggy Trousers', 'House of Fun', 'It Must Be Love' as well as songs from their brand new album.