1981 | 90 mins

Showing Times

• Sat 03 Oct: 8pm
• Tue 06 Oct: 2pm
• Wed 07 Oct: 5pm*

*Descriptive Subtitles

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Newly restored by the BFI, 45 years after its initial release 1981, Madness: Take it Or Leave It is the highly entertaining story of how Madness, one of the most successful and enduring British bands of all time, originally got together.

Exploring how a bunch of seven mates living in Camden Town in the late 70s got together to form the band – the jobs they left behind, the line-up changes, the rows, the laughs, and how their distinctive ska-pop ‘Nutty Sound’ evolved.

Produced and directed by Stiff Records’ supremo Dave Robinson, his first feature film, with no written script and no ‘acting’ the film was completely based on real events with improvised dialogue. The soundtrack includes a mix of both live and studio recordings and among the hits included are One Step Beyond, Night Boat to Cairo, My Girl, Baggy Trousers and Embarrassment.

Venue: Studio 74, Exeter Phoenix

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>