Rain, Rhythm and Red Fezzes - Madness and Squeeze Light Up Manchester

Paul Dixon
2 hours ago
3 min read

AO Arena Manchester - 5th December 2025

WORDS STEVE GLEAVE / IMAGES PAULDIXONPHOTOGRAPHY

Rain, Rhythm and Red Fezzes - Madness and Squeeze Light Up Manchester — Paul Dixon Photo Credit

On a wet and windswept Manchester night, 5th December saw thousands of fans stream into the AO Arena for an evening of classic British songwriting delivered by two of the country’s most enduring bands. Outside, the rain hammered down; inside, anticipation buzzed as Squeeze and Madness prepared to turn a dreary winter evening into a full-blown celebration of nostalgia, energy and unmistakable musical character.

It seems almost an insult to refer to Squeeze as a support act. Like Madness, they have produced some of the greatest English pop songs of all time and are absolutely packed with hits.

Original band members, frontmen and primary songwriters Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford continue to deliver the goods. Their 12-song set included three brilliant new tracks — You Get the Feeling, Why Don’t You and The Jaguars — all taken from their forthcoming album Trixies, due March 2026.

The new songs were played consecutively, bookended by classics Pulling Mussels (From a Shell), Is That Love, Up the Junction, and Labelled With Love at the start, then Tempted, Goodbye Girl, Slap and Tickle, and Cool for Cats toward the end.

The finale, Take Me I’m Yours, featured band solos, newest member Danica Dora slipping in an edited Mellow Yellow, and Glenn Tilbrook instructing the audience to pogo — probably in preparation for Madness.

Throughout the set, the band were on excellent form, keeping the crowd onside and fully engaged, even with unreleased material. It all served to whet the appetite for the new Squeeze album and their 2026 headlining tour.

To paraphrase the famous “You had me at hello” line from Jerry Maguire, Madness had the AO Arena audience from the moment they struck up “Hey you, don’t watch that, watch this!” The eruption of people singing along to perennial opener One Step Beyond was as certain as Tom Cruise getting the girl in that film.

This was Madness on a Christmas tour, playing all the big hits, with a quarter of the crowd in customary red fezzes bouncing in all the right places. Over twenty hits plus a festive sing-along cover of Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday is tremendous value for any ticket holder — even without the excellent hour from Squeeze beforehand.

The multi-generational crowd played their part too, turning the Arena into a House of Fun. And in Lee “Kix” Thompson, Madness have one of the all-time great showmen, perfectly embodying the Nutty Boy spirit.

Yet something was missing.

This year has sadly seen Madness co-founder Chris Foreman absent from the stage due to myeloma, and his presence — and playing — were deeply felt. Hopefully Chrissy Boy will return soon, both to the stage and to contributing to a follow-up to 2024’s excellent Theatre of the Absurd Presents C’est la Vie.

A number-one album for Madness in 2024. A new Squeeze album coming in 2026. And twenty thousand happy punters in Manchester.

Yesterday’s men? … Shut up!