Utter Madness
1986 compilation album by Madness
Utter Madness is a greatest hits album by the English pop and ska band Madness, released on their own Zarjazz label through Virgin Records on 24 November 1986 shortly after the group's original break-up. It picks up from where the band's first greatest hits album Complete Madness left off, running from "Driving in My Car" (the first single after Complete Madness's release) to the last Madness single before their break-up, "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train".
Content
As with Complete Madness, the compilation includes a couple of album tracks that were never released as singles, namely "I'll Compete" and "Victoria Gardens". In the liner notes for Utter Madness the group's guitarist Chris Foreman revealed that "Victoria Gardens" was earmarked as a possible single, and it had been remixed and artwork done for the sleeve before "One Better Day" was chosen as the second single from the Keep Moving album instead, using the photograph originally taken for "Victoria Gardens" on its sleeve.
The album booklet also notably contains a photograph of all seven members of the original lineup of the band, including former keyboardist Mike Barson, his first appearance with the band in over 2 years. The setup of the photo also mirrored the band's album cover for their 1982 compilation Complete Madness.
"Seven Year Scratch", only available on the CD version of the album as a bonus track, is a vinyl remix featuring numerous Madness songs. Although this track features on other Madness compilations in edited form, this full length mix is only available on Utter Madness.
Critical reception
Reviews of Utter Madness in the band's native UK were universally positive. In Melody Maker, Will Smith said, "Suffice to say, they leave a whole heap of fond memories and a mammoth void.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Utter Madness” as 1986 compilation album by Madness. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the arts & letters register because the source frames it as 1986 compilation album by Madness. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7903425. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1986 and 1982.
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This entry incorporates text from “Utter Madness” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.