Take It or Leave It (film)

Take It or Leave It
Directed by	Dave Robinson
Produced by	Dave Robinson
Written by	Philip McDonald David Robinson Madness
Starring	Suggs Mike Barson Lee Thompson Chris Foreman Mark Bedford Daniel Woodgate Chas Smash
Music by	Madness The Four Tops
Distributed by	Nutty Stiff Productions
Release dates	October 1981
Running time	82 mins.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	400 000 £

Take It or Leave It is a 1981 film about the British ska/pop band Madness.

Production

It was directed by the owner of Madness label Stiff Records, Dave Robinson, who also directed the band's music videos. The film's budget was paid by the members of Madness, with £20 000 each (£140 000) and £250 000 by Stiff.

Plot

The genre of the film is between documentary, drama and comedy. The film begins in Camden Town, London, on a grey day in January 1976. Three friends, Lee Thompson, Chris Foreman and Mike Barson, start to play music together. A large segment of the film is set in Pathway Studios in North London. Along the way their band suffers numerous arguments and changes in their line-up before finding success in the final scene, with a full piece Madness going out to a packed, screaming arena.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack contains live and studio recorded Madness songs from the band's first two albums, One Step Beyond... and Absolutely, various b-sides, covers, an early song never issued on record (Sunshine Voice), and several songs from their then new album entitled 7.

The film is available on DVD, with commentary by Dave Robinson and Madness guitarist Chrissy Boy.

Sources

• Mojo Special Limited Edition, The Ska Explosion!, "Padded Cells" by Johnny Black.
• Total Madness by George Marshall.

External links

• Take It or Leave It at IMDb
• Take It Or Leave It commentary write-up