We're mad for it! Amphetameanies can't wait to support their heroes Madness

The Meanies have been asked by Madness to join the bill at the pop legends House of Fun weekender being held in Minehead this November, after they liked what they heard of the nine-piece group.

“We’d sent the last album to Mike Barson, their keyboardist and musical director ”, says Meanies bassist Gordy Davidson, ahead of them playing the Renfrew Ferry on Thursday night as part of a ska bill.

“He came back really quickly saying he’d enjoyed it - he’d got stuck in traffic in Germany or somewhere like that, and he just had it on his headphones for an hour or so.

"To get an acknowledgement from a musical giant like that was brilliant.

“That was enough for me, but then I was seeing them in Montrose at an outdoor festival earlier this year.

"Mike came up to me again, and just said ‘Gordy, Meanies at Minehead this year’ and that was it.

"Madness curate the weekend but there’s only about 10 other bands playing it, so it’s a big thing to be asked.”

It’s the latest step in a typically varied career for the Meanies, who released their third album Last Chance Bordello last year.

Having been on the go since 1997 and worked their way through various line-ups in that time (Franz Ferdinand guitarist Alex Kapranos used to be a member in the early days), the past few years had been quiet for the group, as they tried to find time to make a new record.

They’ve had some great shows in the past, including a support slot with Toots & the Maytals and appearances at T In The Park, but the chance to support Madness strikes a special note, especially as Gordy’s loved them since he first started going to gigs.

“Madness were always the real deal for me,” adds Gordy.

“A lot of the other 2-tone bands would have one or two good albums, and Madness have about 10.

"I saw them at the Apollo in about 1980 or 1981, and it was the first gig I ever went to.

“My dad dropped me off at the Pavilion with my four pound ticket to see them and there was this huge queue of complete mental cases standing outside the Apollo.

"I stood there terrified but once I was inside and saw them play it warped my brain forever.

“As for the Meanies, Madness have always had that philosophy of not just writing bog-standard ska songs, so we‘ve tried to be like them in that way.”

Before their Nutty Boys experience, they’ve got a show at the Ferry this Thursday. Called the Holiday Weekend Big Skank, it sees the Meanies joined by another trio of top Scots ska bands, with Esperanza, Capone & the Bullets and Big Fat Panda on the bill.

Needless to say, a night of full on dancing is guaranteed.

“Ska bands used to get away with just doing a few covers but everyone has really stepped up in recent years,” says Gordy.

“There‘s some very different bands within the current scene, not just in sound but in outlook.

"Esperanza are just such a hopeful band - they are very upbeat and it’s all about positivity, whereas the Meanies are jus a bunch of sweary cynics.

"It fits well together at a gig, though.”

The entirely homegrown line-up points to another passion of Gordy’s, which is championing the amount of ska bands currently on the go in Scotland.

While the country is best known for the number of indie guitar groups it’s spawned over the years, the grassroots ska scene has never been stronger.

Gordy’s now planning to spotlight that talent with a compilation CD, which should be released in 2016.

“It actually started out as talking with Bombskare (Edinburgh ska band) about having a ska bands union, because there’s so many promoters who try to play you all off against each other,” he enthuses.

“Out of that we started talking about a compilation album, with 26 tracks from 13 different bands.

"There’s so many good ska bands in Scotland, it used to be there was about one good band every decade.

“Now there’s loads, and hopefully we’ll get distribution in Germany and Japan, and show people overseas what’s going on in Scotland.”

Holiday Weekend Big Skank, The Ferry, Thursday, 8pm, £10