Madness @ NEC

Dec 18 2006 By Jim Levack, Birmingham Mail

IF you ever needed proof that life begins and even gets better at 40, then Madness are it.

Suggs and Co might have put on a few pounds around the face - haven't we all? - but their fun packed mix of pop and ska just gets better.

The energy levels of the 80s remained the same in a 90 minute back-to-back procession of hits, but now there is a maturity and confidence about the band that comes when you've nothing to prove.

Suggs, still oozing charisma and style, bantered with the full house crowd before skanking his way through all the old favourites to football-style adulation.

A giant backing screen showing old Nutty Boys videos, clever graphics and close ups of the fantastic sax and trumpet work added a new dimension to this annual treat.

Highlights were Wings of a Dove, the Sun and the Rain, a clever reworking of the Supremes classic You Keep Me Hanging On and the rockingest, rock steady finale of Night Boat to Cairo.

Hopefully they'll back even better and wiser next year for a show that's a must on any Christmas list for the over 30s.