Legendary British ska band Madness have scored with BMG their first Number One studio album in the UK, 44 years after the release of their debut.

Theatre Of the Absurd Presents C’Est La Vie is Madness’s first studio album with BMG, although the company has long represented their recorded catalogue.

Manager Garry Blackburn said, “The band really appreciate the creativity and passion of the whole team at BMG.”

The album has soared to the top of the UK charts, ahead of Taylor Swift at number two. The long-awaited album comes seven years after the release of their last studio record and comes ahead of a 13-date pre-Christmas tour of UK arenas.

BMG SVP A&R UK Jamie Nelson said, “The album has been so well received. It feels like the right music at the right time. The songs have a real quality to them.”

The band celebrated their success in grand style, officially opening a new flagship HMV store on London’s Oxford Street, before leaving to resume rehearsals for their tour.

Director UK Marketing Jo Power said, “They deserve this so much. They have been very engaged with the campaign and we’ve been able to do some really creative things. It’s been a real pleasure to work with them to deliver this amazing chart result.”

Across their career, Madness have scored 10 UK top ten albums, 15 top ten singles and have won a multitude of awards including a prestigious Ivor Novello. Between 1980 and 1986 the band's songs spent a total of 214 weeks on the Official UK Singles Chart. They’ve performed on the top of Buckingham Palace as part of the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations and set the record for the biggest ever audience for the BBC’s Live New Year’s Eve Broadcast - the most watched TV music event of 2018.

BMG is proud to represent a catalogue which includes ‘One Step Beyond’, ‘Baggy Trousers’, ‘It Must Be Love’ – written by BMG-published Labi Siffre – ‘House of Fun’ and ‘Wings of a Dove’.