Sheer Madness

“This is not a hoax: Madness are in the building,” roars film director Julien Temple to the Ska-hungry crowd. To many sceptics, it could well have looked like an elaborate farce – after all, why would the baggy-trousered granddaddies of British Ska take time out of their UK tour to play (for free!) at a town that is more famous for its teenage pregnancy rate and low-income households than its cultural merits?

It turns out there’s a very good reason: Bridgwater, (like many Costa-ized middle-England market towns) is suffering from a major identity crisis and a number of the town’s organizations are doing their best to get the Town Hall and it’s adjacent offices turned into a vibrant hub of cultural activity. It just so happens that Temple is a local and one of the avid supporters at the helm of this project - and he also happens to be able to draw big names, like Madness to the area. The BBC’s Creative Director, Alan Yentob also put in a brief appearance to draw the winners of the raffle prizes and to make his position as patron to the town hall project known to the town’s folk.

Full to capacity and bursting with hot, buzzy energy, the Bridgwater Palace appeared to be the perfect venue to host such a worthy, grass roots event. Of the three support bands (Shoot The Moon, The Royal Males and Kid Harpoon) that battled it out for the chance to be nurtured by music charity Sturmmerville, Sedgemoor locals Shoot the Moon were victorious. As hosts to this event, Strummerville had a dually significant reason to put on this rare bonanza – it’s five years this winter since the death of self-proclaimed rebel and front man to the Clash, Joe Strummer. As Strummer spent his final years at his home just on the outskirts of Bridgwater, it seemed fitting to have a celebration of his life and work on the same night.

Strummer was a regular at the Bridgwater carnival and played a gig in aid of the opening of the town’s Engine Room media centre just months before he passed away. After an electrifying set consisting of old school Madness numbers, the band paid tribute to Strummer by mustering up a cover of London Calling. Suggs’ vocals didn’t quite do justice to Strummer’s raspy drawl, but it was a touching performance none-the-less. Other highlights included a surprise cameo from Roxy Music’s saxophonist, Andy Mackay, who took command of the stage during a few numbers.

Temple hopes to make this kind of star-spangled evening a regular event in Bridgwater; and with such an enthusiastic crowd of locals, it shouldn’t be difficult to raise the town’s morale and make people aware of the rejuvenation scheme. And if the pubic funding grant the council have applied for gets turned down: the underdog spirit of the town will no doubt triumph in the end, even if it takes longer to set in motion. It’ll be an arduous and drawn out process, but as the Madness gig proves – the town is prepared to fight for their right to party and deter the property developers who will invariably want to claim the town hall island site for themselves.