Mike Barson

Not to be confused with Mike Balson.
Mike Barson
Barson performing live with Madness in 2017
Barson performing live with Madness in 2017
Background information
Born
Michael Barson

(1958-04-21) 21 April 1958 (age 68)
Edinburgh, Scotland
Genres
2-tone
Occupations
  • Multi-instrumentalist
  • songwriter
  • composer
Instruments
  • Keyboards
  • piano
  • organ
  • harmonica
  • vibraphone
  • guitar
  • saxophone
Years active
  • 1976–1984
  • 1986
  • 1989–present
Labels
Websitemadness.co.uk

Michael Barson (born 21 April 1958) is a British multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer. In a career spanning more than 45 years, Barson came to prominence in the late 1970s as keyboard-player for the band Madness. He is often known by the nicknames "Monsieur Barso" or "Barzo".[1]

Early years

Barson was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. He grew up in North London with his two brothers, Dan and Ben, who are also musicians[2] (Ben being one of Roland Gift's collaborators).[3] At some point, his mother moved the family from Kentish Town to Crouch End.[4] Barson attended Brookfield School, and then Hornsey Art School, as he wanted to be a commercials artist, however Barson only completed the first foundation year as he "fucked it up a bit".[4] He then applied for a three-year course at the London School Of Printing, but turned up two hours late for an interview.[4]

Prior to forming Madness, Barson and fellow future Madness member Lee Thompson gained some notice as graffiti artists in the mid-1970s. After reading about the emerging New York graffiti scene, they spray-painted their nicknames Mr B and Kix, along with two friends' names, Cat and Columbo, around north London. They managed to spray their nicknames on George Melly's garage door, prompting Melly to write a newspaper article declaring: "If I ever catch that Mr B, Kix and Columbo, I'm going to kick their arses".[5]

Music career

Madness

Main article: Madness (band)

Barson co-founded a band called The Invaders in 1976.[6] The band later changed their name to Madness after the song by Prince Buster.[citation needed] Madness became a successful British band during the late 1970s to mid-1980s, having initial success as part of the Two-Tone movement. Barson was and is a prominent songwriter in the band, and effectively the musical director.[7] However, after increasing exhaustion from the music business, he left the band in 1984 after the recording of their fifth studio album, Keep Moving, and emigrated to the Netherlands.[8][9] Two years later, Madness disbanded, but Barson did join them for the recording of their farewell single, "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train".

Madness reunited in their original line-up in 1992,[6] and Barson still plays with them.

Other work

I’ve been breathing, eating, sleeping, just getting along. Living off the fruits of the past. It’s difficult to say what I do. Time goes by and it seems to get filled. But it’s good to be writing songs with Suggs again. We’re pleased with what we’ve done so far. The plan is to release them when we’re ready. I’ve no idea when that will be.

— Barson, Q: Magnificent 6 and a Half Ride Again, March 1992

From the mid-80s to early 90s, Barson spent this time out of the public eye, remaining effectively retired from the music business. However, he was still writing and producing songs with some of his former bandmates, namely Suggs and Lee Thompson, between in his houseboat in Amsterdam and in Liquidator Studios in London, which Madness still owned. Most of these songs ended up on Suggs' eventual solo album, such as "She's Gone" and "Alcohol", and on subsequent Madness albums, such as "Lovestruck" and "Mr. Apples".[10][11]

In 1995, he collaborated with Suggs on his first solo album The Lone Ranger, having co-wrote and produced a number of songs with Suggs since 1989. When No Doubt were recording songs for their fifth studio album Rock Steady, Barson was asked to play piano on the London version of the song "Everything in Time". Barson obliged and the track was produced by Madness producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley. The track was not included on the album,[12] but was released a year later in 2003 on the compilation album Everything in Time (B-sides, Rarities, Remixes).

Both Barson and his bandmate, Suggs, have contributed to Audio Bullys' album Higher Than the Eiffel. They both appear on the tracks "Twist Me Up" and "Goodbye".

References

  1. ^ Augustyn, Heather (2010). Ska: An Oral History. McFarland. ISBN 9780786461974. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  2. ^ "The Magnificent 7 - Record Collector Magazine".
  3. ^ "Album: Roland Gift". Independent.co.uk. 8 March 2002. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b c "SEVEN RAGGED MEN | How Madness started in Camden in 1976". Retrieved 5 June 2026.
  5. ^ Petridis, Alexis (3 February 2015). "Spraying the 70s: the pioneers of British graffiti". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  6. ^ a b "BBC – Top of the Pops 2 – Top 5". Bbc.co.uk.
  7. ^ Reynolds, Simon (2006). Rip it Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984. Faber & Faber. ISBN 9780571252275. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  8. ^ "The Magnificent 7". Record Collector. 13 October 2009. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 31 March 2025.
  9. ^ "Seven Ragged Men | NME interview 1984". Sevenraggedmen.com.
  10. ^ "HIT PARADE, International, 2025". Madnessography. 28 November 2025. Retrieved 28 December 2025.
  11. ^ Reed, John (2010). House of Fun: the story of Madness. London: Omnibus. p. 368. ISBN 978-1-84772-619-3.
  12. ^ "Everything in Time (London)". Ndifc.net. Retrieved 10 November 2015.

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