The Madness Movie isn't as Nutty as you think - Take it Leave it (POP SCREEN EPISODE

Madness! Madness, they call them Madness, which is fair enough, because that's their name. At a very early stage in their quest to become one of Britain's most beloved bands, the Nutty Boys starred in a semi-improvised film about their formation and rise to fame. It was called Take It Or Leave It, it was surprisingly serious in tone, and it was, as Suggs put it, "the beginning and the end of our film careers".

Well, not in his case, actually - as Graham and Mark note, he had some other acting roles. But what about Take It Or Leave It? It turns out it's well worth revisiting, as a time capsule of both an iconic band in their early days and working-class London in the early '80s. We also discuss the differences between Jamaican, British and American ska, the time the band nearly made a sitcom with the writers of Blackadder, and the reason why you should never let Chas Smash use your hairdryer.

Fans of naughty boys in nasty schools will surely enjoy Graham and Mark's other podcast The Arts Hole, which is only available on our Patreon. Backers will also get a monthly bonus episode of this show, weekly articles on Doctor Who and the Twilight Zone, and our uncategorisable end-of-month miscellany Last Night... Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky and Twitter for more info.