Christmas is coming – and that can only mean one thing – a traditonal festive tour by British national treasures Madness.

The Nutty Boys are once again on the road, this time celebrating their latest best of package Hit Parade, and they opened their latest jaunt around the UK with an opening night at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena in spectacular style.

There’s no better band for getting in the festive party atmopshere – but before we were treated to Suggs and Co, it was another trip back in time with fellow London outfit Squeeze who also plucked out a selection of classics to get things started.

A nattily dressed lead singer Glenn Tilbrook (kitted out in a stylish checked suit) joined forces with fellow Squeeze songwriting icon Chris Difford to take us on a tour through the band’s eclectic back catalogue.

Madness opened up their UK tour in Sheffield.

placeholder image — Madness opened up their UK tour in Sheffield.

So we had the melancholy yet beautiful kitchen sink drama of Up The Junction, the country and western tinged Labelled With Love and of course, the bouncy Cool For Cats, before things were rounded off with an extended version of the mighty Take Me, I’m Yours, which allowed each of the band’s eight members to shine with solo performances.

A great starter to get things up and running.

As the clock struck nine, the huge screens above the stage lit up and began blasting out the titles of the dozens of hit songs Madness have enjoyed over the years and which form the basis of Hit Parade, their new definitive hits package.

From opener One Step Beyond (and its iconic “hey you, don’t watch that, watch this….” intro) it was a heady and nostalgic trip back to the late 70s and early 80s.

And the fez-wearing, Doc Marten, Harrington-sporting audience, complete with pork pie hats, braces and drainpipe jeans lapped it up.

But this wasn’t purely an exercise in trotting out the hits, even though all the classics were there in spades.

It also allowed the band to delve into a few lesser heard cuts – Cardiac Arrest, The Return Of The Los Palmas 7 and newer additions to the canon, such as NW5, Lovestruck and Mr Apples.

Missing regular guitarist Chris Foreman after a cancer diagnosis, the band were missing one of their key components, but still delivered a sparkling set packed with all the favourites.

So that meant we had My Girl, Embarrassment and personal favourite The Sun And The Rain, before a finale which Madness always dub “showtime” a hit stacked ending to a memorable night.

Coloured balllons bouncing around the audience and confetti usher in House Of Fun and then its a real party celebration – Baggy Trousers, Madness, Our House and a finale of Night Boat To Cairo.

There’s even a chance to squeeze in a ska-tinged cover of Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day to add to the festive proceedings, sending the ecstatic audience out onto the soaked Sheffield streets to end the evening on a high.

Celebrating an astonishing five decades in the music industry, those sax-soaked ska anthems still hit the sweet spot today.

There will always be a place for a spot of Madness for all of us.

See you again next year, lads.