As we followed the coach full of Fred Perry wearing 20-50 year olds we knew we were heading in the right direction. Butlins, Minehead was awash with Fred Perry’s, Ben Sherman’s, Braces, Two Tone Belts, Pork Pie Hats and  Fez’s  plus a couple pearly Kings and Queens.

As we entered The Pavilion the atmosphere was electric as the crowd enjoyed The Cuban Brothers, (although the majority didn’t know them).   It was clear that people where there to have a good time and see their heroes Madness. The other artists strolled around freely without too much hassle for photo’s and autographs, just catching up with their friends on the circuit.

On the Friday night Madness strolled on stage, casually dressed and performed their new songs from their 10th album.   It was clear that some songs were more developed than others, the set opened with Death of a Rude Boy, which was both anthemic and haunting. This was followed by Black & Blue which had the classic ‘Madness’ feel .  Their professionalism showed through even with the odd error, one of the stand out tracks being My Girl No. 2, the brass section giving the song a Motown feel. 

The set was well received but when it became evident that none of the classic’s would be played until Saturday night the crowd cheered until they returned for an encore. Inevitably the crowd where treated  to The House Of Fun and that was enough to keep the crowd happy.

Next up we went to witness the DJ mixing skills of Mr Scruff in Reds, his set is always like a work of art, mixing a blend of Northern Soul, Ska, Two Tone, Reggae tracks suited to the taste of the crowd starting slowly and ending in a crescendo. One by one the dance floor filled up as the night went on.

The first album he ever bought was Complete Madness so he had a lot in common with the musical taste of the audience and it was  music that had inspired him.

Some of the other acts keeping the campers happy included Beardyman, Andy Weatherall , Toddla T & MC  Serocee and Marc Roberts. Or you could go to the cinema and watch Get carter.

Day 2 started with over 400 people outside Blue Skies Apartments trying to break a Nutty Train world record doing the conga around the camp. Reds saw a platter of comedians including Ben Norris and back in Reds we were treated to Dart players Wayne Mardle & Peter Manley. They later played darts Olympics with the punters to a packed room with lots’ of cheering on.

Over on Centre stage we were treated to a soulful set from The Milk, unfortunately the majority of the crowd were seated enjoying an afternoon beer, so it lacked in atmosphere, but they ploughed on like true professionals.

Finally evening arrived and prior to Madness’s performance we was treated to the DJ skills of Barry Peters an award winning DJ from Skipton Hospital Radio with his son and friend showing us their break dancing skills (The Cuban Brother alter ego’s).

However, the main reason everyone was here was for the 1 and a half hour best of Madness Set. This time they appeared on stage all suited in Black, and opened up with One Step Beyond closely followed by Embarrassment.

The set list included a couple of new numbers  but  was mainly a greatest hits show which kept the crowd singing, dancing with people being lifted onto shoulders, their fans are truly loyal to their heroes. We even had a proposal on stage from a couple that had been together for 17 years, of course she said yes and yes it was followed by It Must Be Love . Finally we was treated to an encore ending with “Night Boat” after which hugs were exchanged and people seemed to drift off early having seen what they came here for.

But for others the evening did not finish there and amongst other acts there was The Correspondents, or Dan Le Sac V Scroobius Pip. Sadly due to the schedule running into the early hours only a handful of people stayed up to witness this awesome pair.

Let’s not forget Don Letts who was credited with single handedly  turning a generation of punks on to reggae.

For the last day of the Festival The House of Funday Times editor invited guests for an early morning dip in the sea, not sorry we missed it!. The rest of the day followed with more of the same Paul Heaton, Baxter Drury (Ian Drury’s son), Norman jay and entertainment again going on into the early hours.

The House of Fun Weekender lived up to its name, it certainly lifted the spirits and we hope to see it return  again.