Ben Sherman Blog

Girls/Boys/Smells/Noise: An Audience with Madness

 

  

Illustration by : Matt Macabre

As we all know, Ben Sherman promotes so much more than looking great, its about an attitude, a lifestyle; its as much about the clothes on your back as records in your jukebox and followers of the brand will be familiar with recent collaborations between Ben Sherman and iconic British musicians including David Bowie and the Beatles. Well this year is no exception and the latest addition to the Ben Sherman Alumni is London’s own giants of two-tone, Madness.

On May 5^th, to celebrate their union with the ‘Nutty Boys’ Ben Sherman threw an exclusive party at Flowerpot in the heart of Camden Town, perhaps one of the most intimate venues the band has played since they first formed over 30 years ago. Oh… and did I mention I got invited?

I was absolutely ecstatic to receive the email from the team, I knew something was on the cards because the Ben Sherman/Madness alliance had been mentioned at the January conference that the other Brand Ambassadors and myself had attended (all three of us already plotting how we could possibly weasel our way in to a gig) but to be invited without any sulking, hinting, or bribery at all and to be part of such a small audience for such a huge band… I was over the moon!

As part of my trip to the big smoke, Ben Sherman had also asked me to put my drawing skills to good use in the venue, decorating the chalk boards behind Flowerpot’s bar for the event.  I jumped at the chance to get involved and despite a very hurried performance to get finished on a tight schedule, I had a fantastic time being part of the behind the scenes bustle (I even got heckled by Suggs during their sound check)

As the evening rolled around the doors opened and crowds eagerly appeared: a collection of employees, special guests, photographers, fanatics, press, and competition winners; all very excited and equally aware of the privilege of attending such a cosy gig. By the time Madness made for the stage Flowerpot was crammed wall to wall and shoulder to shoulder with rude-boys and girls, the band had to form a conga-line through the audience reminiscent of the Mad-train in order to make it to the front but were encouraged along by their fans’ elated applause. Whether it was gratitude for the warm welcome, or more likely, that they don’t perform any other way - the boys played a magnificent set of 17 songs including all the big hits, rousing the audience into a euphoric sing-a-long. As I took a moment to look around the room united amidst the swaying, smiling mass, it became even more apparent how and why Madness have managed to stay at the top of their game over the course of 3 decades… It must be love.

 

 

 

 

 

Limited Edition Carnaby T-shirts have just landed online.

Carnaby Street has been a fashion mecca since the 60s and to celebrate its 50th anniversary we have created an exclusive limited edition t-shirt.

Ben Sherman opened his first showroom in Carnaby Street in 1967 and the area has been intrinsically linked to the brands heritage ever since.

Only 50 of the t-shirts have been produced so don’t miss out and purchase one today at

http://www.bensherman.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product2_12051_-1_27158_78051_10551_24505.

Have a listen.... Plan B - Strickland Banks

The music scene at the moment is one that can both delight and infuriate. For every good band out there, you get 4 or 5 mediocre ones that wouldn’t be given the light of day back when “indie” music wasn’t the flavour of the month. Scouting For Girls is perhaps one of the most obvious middle-of-the-road bands that I can think of, and that is without trying. And yet every single they release is pretty much guaranteed a top ten position in the charts. Its enough to make you want to turn your back on music altogether.

But then, out of nowhere, something emerges out of the dark to really grab you by the kahoonas and make you say “This sounds nothing like Scouting For Girls!” This, my friends, is exactly what Plan B’s latest offering has done to me. The Defamation of Strickland Banks is an intelligent, sharp and well written album brought to you by some one whose previous lyrics have included “I break a bottle over some boys head, stab a broken piece in to the poor [expletive] leg”. Not exactly top ten stuff.

Plan B’s first album was a graphic tale of East London living through the eyes of an youth. Absent fathers, underage relationships and honour killings are some of the gritty subjects he raps about. And yet, all is done in a way that really makes you think about the words that are being said to you. This record was so far away from being middle of the road, so much so, that the road is a dot to it.

So when I first heard that Plan B was doing a “Soul” record, I was somewhat surprised. Even more so when I saw that he popped up as a lead character in British film Harry Brown, staring Michael Caine as a man pushed to the edge by exactly the type of character that Plan B had sung about on his debut.

The end product, The Defamation of Strickland Banks is without doubt an absolutely shocking record. And by shocking I by no way mean bad. Its shocking when you consider who it came from, shocking at how well it has been received and most important shocking as to how good it is. The whole album is a story of a Soul singer who is imprisoned for a crime he didn’t commit. It follows him from nights out, being in court to the troubles that life in prison hold on a daily basis. The idea being that this story is being made into a film, supposedly right now.

Writing a good album is one thing, writing a good story is another. What Plan B has done here is combine the two without compromise, no song on the album is merely there as a filler to continue the story. And each song is without doubt worthy of a top ten chart position, and so far that has been the case. Singles “Stay Too Long” and “She Said” are both feet tapping, dance floor filling songs that showcase not only the new soulful direction of the album but also the gritty rapping that ensures the record is very much in the here and now. Standout tracks “Praying” and “Recluse” are more energetic and will surely be hitting the charts soon. “Praying” being very similar to the classic Frankie Valli track “Beggin”, and comparisons to Smokey Robinson will surely mean that it will appeal to different generations of music fans.

The Defamation of Strickland Banks has taken the Album Charts by storm, twice taking the number one spot. Something that a young Ben Drew growing up Forrest Gate could never of dreamed of, and yet here we are. So go now, down to your local music establishment and treat yourself, this after all, is defiantly not Scouting For Girls.

 

Watch this Space!

Some exciting news for all you Londoners… 

 

London’s Mothership Group, the capital’s most forward thinking bar group, have joined forces with the artist management platform Central Illustration Agency and Pirates to create London’s, very first Pop-Up-Bar-as-Art-Installation project. For three months between May and August, Pop-Up Pirates will be part late-night bar, part art-installation and totally unique.

 

  
  
 Mothership Group has gained an unparalleled reputation for pushing boundaries combining art and music in London’s nooks and crannies and providing opportunities to up-and-coming, aspiring artists with whom they work. Having created The Queen of Hoxton and The Book Club in the last year in this vein, this time, they’re taking things a stage further with a pioneering collaboration with two of London’s most happening creative crews.

 

In this instance, Pirates have taken complete artistic control of the old building and intend to shape the project around Clerkenwell’s printing history - the site itself was an old factory building specialising in silver lithography.

 

The idea is all about type, be it modern and bright or traditional and sophisticated. Everywhere you look will be covered in words and letters of all sorts of shapes and sizes; some painted some in relief and some full on 3D. And that’s just for starters; the toilets will be transformed into an interactive blackboard, free standing cut Perspex letters will grow out of walls and upbeat catch- phrases will cover every inch of the bar. There will be mock printing presses spewing out reams of paper. Words will shout out from every surface, all making Pop Up Pirates a walk in wardrobe of letterforms.

 

With Pop Up Pirates and the CIA, Mothership Group is once again displaying the collaborative outlook and verve that has given all its projects the story and atmosphere that have proved so successful. And this time, they may be pushing the boundaries further than ever…

 

Oh, and a plus the site's got a 4am license so expect some full on parties!

 

For more information contact Danny Payne on 020 7684 8618 / 07970 886 873 or danny@mothershipgroup.com

 
  

Join in the Madness!

Ben Sherman held an intimate Madness gig last week and one die hard Madness fan went above and beyond to blag her way into the event. Vicki Lee gives you her version of events in this week’s blog entry.

 
Photographer Emilie Bailey

Ben Sherman X Madness Gig - The Flowerpot, London - 5^th May 2010

Bloody hell, this gig was hard to get into and once there I realised why. The Flowerpot is a small pub in North London, only holding approximately 200 people.  Once you take into consideration the Ben Sherman lot, the Madness lot including friends and family (which there appears to be an awful lot of) there’s not many tickets left for us, the die hard fans.

Standing at the front with other fans and the many, many photographers, you couldn’t help but make friends quickly in the tiny space.  And what else is good for making friends quickly?  Alcohol - which there was plenty of thanks to the free bar.  The bar staff all looked suitably turned out in their Ben Sherman shirts and there was a sneak peek at some of the items from the forthcoming clothing collaboration, as a white polo shirt bearing the Madness ‘M’ amongst others hung from the walls.

 

Looking dapper decked out in Ben Sherman shirts and polo shirts, the band made their way through the crowd to take the stage for a strong, hit laden 17 song set.  However, with a certain Mr Chas Smash notably absent, it was left to Thommo to take the mic for some muttered ramblings before giving a calm rendition of the old battle cry which would send the crowd berserk - ‘One Step Beyond.’

 

With that, playing for a good hour or so, Madness stomped through the hits such as ‘Embarrassment‘, ‘My Girl’ and ‘The Prince’ and new fan favourites such as ‘Forever Young’ and ‘That Close’.  The crowd danced so hard the floor felt like a bouncy castle and we were so close to the stage we were in danger of being hit by the Violin Monkeys’ instruments, spending most of the gig ducking a jutting trombone.  Before the gig, I wondered how they were going to get the whole band on the rather small stage but it worked really well.  Although, Thommo and Chrissy Boy did take to the bar using it as a stage extension.  Suggs made a brief political statement before ‘The Sun and The Rain‘ and changed the lyrics to ‘Iron Shirt‘ to sing about putting on his Ben Sherman shirt - blatant, yet clever, advertising.  Chrissy Boy did his ever popular “Showtime” shout  before the band threw themselves into ‘House of Fun‘, ‘Baggy Trousers‘, ‘Our House’ and ‘It Must be Love‘. 

 

Turning their backs on the crowd as opposed to leaving the stage, Madness turned back to give us an encore in the form of ‘Madness’ and ‘Night Boat To Cairo’.  With that, they made their way back through the crowd and we made our way back to the bar for some much needed refreshments.

 

Cheers, Ben Sherman.  It was awesome!