Madness are a Band that were formed in North London, England in 1976 and their style can be described as Ska/Pop, very popular at the time mainly by artists signed to the Two-Tone Record label which was the type of music my sister really enjoyed, so the house was filled with this sound. Over the years I bought many Madness singles and I have friends who have seen them live in concert many times. As a multi-instrumental group, the sorts of sound on their records include Harmonica, Piano, Saxophone, Trumpet/Brass, Bass, Guitars Drums, and percussion of all sorts. Lead vocals are by Graham “Suggs” McPherson, and full line up at the time were Chris Foreman, Lee Thompson, Chas Smash, Mark Bedford, Mike Barson and Daniel Woodgate.
Unusually for the band this single is actually a cover version of a 1971 hit written and recorded by Labi Siffre. It was a change in style from earlier releases but this is still given the full Madness treatment which opens with the piano by Mike Barson. There is inclusion of the iconic saxophone solo played by Lee Thompson.
There are even strings on this track. It has a gentle rhythm but still keeps a small element of Ska in places.
The music video features the composer of the song Labi Siffre with a cameo performance where he plays violin.
Originally “It Must Be Love” was released as a stand alone single. It has featured on many compilations of the bands hits over the years.
Production was by Clive Langer & Alan Winstanley
It had an impact on some charts where it peaked at #4 in the UK, #5 in Ireland and #6 in Australia.
It was also a hit in New Zealand #21 and even made the US Billboard chart having a top 40 hit peaking at #33.
the B side “Shadow On The House” starts again with the piano which drives the melody. Its a breakup song almost in the old country music way of telling a story, but you can tell its a Madness song because it has a brilliant Sax solo on the fade out.
Jukebox Dave 