British ska band Madness are desperate to tempt back recently estranged guitarist CHRIS FOREMAN - because they fail whenever they attempt to carry on without one of their original members.

Foreman left the band in May (05) because he was no longer inspired by their work, and not even their image as London icons could persuade him to stay.

He says, "I suppose I was in a legendary band, but we carried on and carried on, and I was really sick of it."

But the BAGGY TROUSERS rockers have always been proud of their seven-piece line-up, insisting something magical happens when they all come together.

Band mascot CHAS SMASH, real name CATHAL SMYTH, explains, "There's a sort of entity when the seven combine, you know. It's when the stars are in alignment and the light shines through the window and catches the stylus. Then the record spins."

15/07/2005 05:55