ONE of the top, legendary bands of the 70s and 80s is to play a special one-off gig at a leading North East hotel this summer.
Ska band Madness will be taking to the stage at Hardwick Hall Hotel, Sedgefield on 18 August, heralding the start of a weekend of music.
And their appearance will set the stage for the return of music festival Hardwick Live the following day (19 Aug).
The group will be heading to the region as part of a world tour which will see them appear as far afield as Australia and Singapore, performing some of their major hits from the past right up to their most recent releases.
Over the decades Madness has enjoyed huge success with hits such as Baggy Trousers, Our House, My Girl, House of Fun and One Step Beyond which has gained them fans across the globe.
“It’s a massive coup for us to have Madness performing at Hardwick Hall for what we know will be an incredible performance,” said John Adamson of Ramside Estates which owns Ramside Hall.
“The group is selling out wherever they perform so we know that there’ll be a huge audience in the North East of people wanting to see them.
“And we will also be making some very exciting announcements in the coming weeks about the line-up we have for Hardwick Live.”
Ramside Estates has joined forces with Newcastle-based promoters, SSD Concerts, to stage the two musical events.
“We’re absolutely thrilled to be able to be working on this project alongside Ramside Estates and we’re looking forward to bringing one of the North East’s most popular festivals back with a bang,” said Steve Davis of SSD Concerts.
“We wanted to do something special to get the party started and bands in this country don’t come much bigger than Madness. We couldn’t have asked for a better act to open the weekend and we can’t wait to announce details for the Saturday line up.
“All we can say at this stage is that music fans will not be disappointed and Hardwick Live 2017 will be an event to remember for many years to come.”
Tickets for Madness go on sale at 9am on Friday 20 January For further details visit http://www.hardwicklive.co.uk/madness/
Tickets are £45 each for adults, £15 for teenagers aged between 13 and 16 and £6 for children aged three to 12.