On this day in 1961, Mark "Bedders" Bedford of influential ska band

Madness was born in London. Madness and the Specials were two of the most innovative and

popular bands of the British ska revival of the '70s and '80s.

Madness grew from the ska band known as Morris and the Minors, who

included keyboardist Mike Barson, guitarist Chris Foreman and saxophonist

Lee Thompson. In 1978, they added Bedford, singer Graham "Suggs" McPherson,

horn player Chas Smash and drummer Dan "Woody" Woodgate, and they soon changed

their name to Madness.

In 1979, Madness released their first single, "The Prince" (a tribute to ska

king Prince Buster), which became a U.K. top-20 hit single. "One Step

Beyond," the title track from the group's debut album (1979), went top 10. One Step

Beyond stayed on the British albums chart for more than a year.

Between 1980-83, Madness enjoyed an almost uninterrupted run of 13 U.K.

top-10 singles and became one of the most popular bands in the U.K. But after

the commercial failure of their second album, Absolutely, in the

U.S., Sire Records dropped Madness in 1980. In 1983, they had a crossover

American hit on Geffen Records with the catchy "Our House" -- their only major

U.S. success, thanks chiefly to heavy MTV airplay. An eponymous U.S.

compilation LP sold fairly well and Madness had another minor hit stateside

with "It Must Be Love."

But chief songwriter Barson soon departed and the Barson-less Madness had

only one major British hit, "Michael Caine." In 1986, they disbanded, as

their last single, "Waiting For The Ghost Train," hit the U.K. top 20.

In 1988, Madness re-formed as the Madness, sans Bedford, for the first of

many reunions. Bedford concentrated on film scores and studied graphic

design. After their album flopped, Madness broke up again. In 1992, all

of the original members reunited for some London concerts, which they called

"Madstock!" The shows became an annual event at the city's Finsbury Park

for the next few years. They decided to retire the group permanently in

1996, just as the popularity of ska began to skyrocket with the success of bands such as

No Doubt. Madness' original members rethought the decision and toured the

U.S. this year.

Madness are continually cited by newer ska acts as an important band. No

Doubt guitarist Tom Dumont described Madness as the band with which his group is

most interested in performing.

Other birthdays: Jim Capaldi (Traffic), 54; Malcolm Duncan (Average White Band), 53;

Mike Derosier (Heart), 47; and Jeffrey Daniels (Shalamar), 41.