Pitchfork: Madness: Good News, Bad News

It's a case of good news/bad news this week for geriatric ska band Madness. First, the good: They've signed a one-album deal with V2 Records, according to Billboard. The album, due out in July or August, will be their first new release since 1999's Wonderful, and the first featuring the original lineup since Keep Moving, which came out way back in 1984. Alas, it appears that the as-yet-unnamed album will be a set of punk, ska, and reggae covers, most or all of which the band played on tour last year under the name the Dangermen. This is hardly thrilling news for those who recall the Specials' tepid reunion covers collection, Today's Specials, but never mind-- the Nutty Boys reveal a heretofore hidden pastoral side with their upcoming tour of British forests, sponsored by the UK Forestry Commission (no, for real):

06-11 Suffolk, England - Thetford Forest
06-12 Kent, England - Bedgebury Pinetum
06-17 Cheshire, England - Delamere Forest
06-18 Gloucestershire, England - Westonbirt Arboretum
06-24 North Yorkshire, England - Dalby Forest
06-25 Nottinghamshire, England - Sherwood Pines Forest Park

But that bad news we mentioned? The jolly Madness fa�ade conceals a roiling tempest of bitterness, according to the surprisingly harsh kiss-off statement from guitarist Chris "Chrissy Boy" Foreman. The original Madness axeman announced this week that he had actually left the band some time ago, citing "the petty time-consuming bollocks that goes on in the band."

Although he says he did play on most of the sessions for the upcoming album, Foreman "won't be appearing at the Forest gigs or anything else to do with Madness/Dangermen." Word is Larry Fine hated the other two Stooges, too.