Madness, National Indoor Arena, Birmingham

Dec 13 2007 By Mark Langford, Birmingham

THIRTY years in the business and the Nutty Boys from Camden Town are still going strong.

Suggs and co unleashed a barrage of hits right from the word go, starting with One Step Beyond and barely pausing for breath from there on.

The NIA was only three quarters full, which was a shame, but those who were there did not go away disappointed.

All the old favourites were there - Wings Of A Dove, House of Fun, Our House, and saxophonist Lee Thompson relived the video and took to the skies once more for Baggy Trousers.

There were red fezzes aplenty in the crowd in homage to Night Boat To Cairo, a rasping version of which got one of the biggest cheers of the night.

Madness were on fine form and seemed to be enjoying themselves too, Suggs waxing lyrical between numbers and even recalling an early gig at the New Street Odeon where a posse of bouncers jumped on anyone daring to dance in the aisles.

But last night the crowd were up and dancing from the off. With one of Britain's best bands of recent decades in this kind of form it would have been madness not to.