https://www.itv.com/watch/before-we-was-...s-by-madness/10a5844

Interesting documentary on ITV about the best selling british group of the 80s. However it is quite slow moving. I've seen 2 of the 3 hour long episodes and they still haven't had their first hit record. The series features current interviews with all current members of the group, and a lot of clips from the 1981 film "Take it or Leave It", which I@ve never seen, as its rarely shown on TV and not availble on dvd. It seems to be the band acting out their own story.

Take it or Leave It used to be on VH1 in the 90s. I remember VH1 showed a lot of movies when it was a music channel but they dropped movies like they did with Pop Up Video.

HMV stocks the movie Robbie.

hmv.com/store/film-tv/dvd/madness-take-it-or-leave-it

Green Man wrote:
Take it or Leave It used to be on VH1 in the 90s. I remember VH1 showed a lot of movies when it was a music channel but they dropped movies like they did with Pop Up Video.

HMV stocks the movie Robbie.

hmv.com/store/film-tv/dvd/madness-take-it-or-leave-it

Thanks for the info GM. I think I will refrain from purchasing it for the time being. Most of the film seems to be featured on the documentary. Its an interesting period piece, but doesn't stand the test of time. Its one of many music films that don't get shown much on tv, like "Breaking Glass", "Slade in Flame", and god forbid "Remember me this way" by Gary Glitter, even before the scandal.

A lot of rock movies are dire.

Ghost Goes Gear, I have no idea what Catch Us If You Can is about with Dave Clark 5 after watching it 3 times, Dateline Diamonds with the Small Faces is a mess, don't get me started on the God-awful Freddie and The Dreamers movie where they are boy scouts. even their cameo movies are terrible.

Never saw Breaking Glass but I have the LP. I don't like The Beatles but I didn't like their movies what a load of camp nonsense they were like Head whatever the fuck that was about. Mick Jagger in Performance was so wooden and you could tell he was reading a script off-camera.

The movies are ok but Quadrophenia is fun to watch when I was younger, not so much as I got older. Tommy, I could only watch a few times before I got bored. Joe Brown movies are very slow-going until near the end. I did enjoy the Herman Hermits movies and David Essex in Stardust.

I forgot about the movies Prince did. I couldn't get past the 30-minute mark in Under The Cherry Moon. Christopher Tracy is an awful character name. I saw Purple Rain once, it was cheesy even back then.

I enjoyed David Essex in Stardust and That'll be the day when I was a kid. I've seen Slade in Flame a couple of times, once on BBC about 6 years ago. It is regarded as one of the best music films, one of Mark Kermode's favourites. I'd love to see it again, remember Slade are not just for Christmas. All members are still with us, despite close shaves, with Don Powel having a car crash in the 70s and Noddy Holder recently having cancer.

I never understood the appeal of Mark Kermode everything he suggests even cult or obscure I have found boring.