Thomas (bass) and Steve Nieve (keyboards) from Elvis Costello's the Attractions were recruited. On "What's That" Simon Philips added some brushes to help capture a jazzy feel. Ex-Special Jerry Dammers re-appeared to add keyboards to a couple of numbers and the ska connection was further strengthened by ska band the Potato 5 who supplied the horn section. The band recorded their only album The Madness at Liquidator Studios, whilst it was mixed at the Townhouse studios in London. Liquidator Studios had been the band's own studio since circa 1985, located on Caledonian Road in North London, in what was once the premises of their fan club office. They built the 24-track professional studio in the basement, whilst the first floor has always been an office and chill out area, and a room upstairs for song mixing. Unlike any previous Madness album, the lead vocals on The Madness were almost evenly shared between Suggs and Smyth. Suggs performed lead vocals for "In Wonder", "Nightmare Nightmare", "Thunder & Lightning", "Beat the Bride", "11th Hour", "Be Good Boy" and "4.B.F." Smyth sang on "Nail Down the Days", "What's That", "Song in Red", "Gabriel's Horn" and "Flashings". Both Smyth and Suggs performed lead vocals on "I Pronounce You" and "Oh". The production was credited to "the Three Eyes". Some of the songs that appeared on the album were re-recorded from the demos of the 1986 Madness sessions. In "I Pronounce You" the lyrics concern a bride's feelings on the eve of her arranged marriage. To add a middle eastern feel to the song, Foreman played sitar on the song, an instrument he'd used on previous Madness albums. This was in addition to usual guitar, whilst the track also features tabla. The track "Song in Red" was reportedly written by Smyth about a cousin who died young. "Gabriel's Horn" was recorded in 1986 when the group were working on the never-completed Lost in the Museum album, and this demo version appeared as a track on the 1992 re-issue of the Madness single "House of Fun". The band initially stressed that they were not "the Nutty Boys" the public knew and loved, as they attempted to become a more serious group. The band were pleased with the album upon completion as it took a long time to complete and for the first time in their career they worked without the Clive Langer/Alan Winstanley production team, choosing