MADSTOCK is back, this time at Victoria Park in Hackney, and we ve got a pair of tickets to give away for the now legendary Madness festival. Suggs and co are British pop royalty and the event on Friday, July 17 promises to be another huge celebration of

MADSTOCK is back, this time at Victoria Park in Hackney, and we've got a pair of tickets to give away for the now legendary Madness festival.

Suggs and co are British pop royalty and the event on Friday, July 17 promises to be another huge celebration of their hits.

Suggs said: "Madstock, for us, is musically, socially and geographically our homecoming. There is no other day like it, for us, our families and for the people that come to see us."

The Pogues are also on the main stage bill, with Abba tribute band Bjorn Again adding to the party atmosphere by headlining the second stage.

So it will be classics all the way, with Madness' many anthems, like It Must Be Love, My Girl, Our House, Baggy Trousers and House Of Fun sure to be highlights of the day.

Other acts performing include Man Like Me, Hayseed Dixie, The Aggrolites and Scarlett & Viva.

There will be a whole host of other attractions going on throughout. And to add to the family feel of it all, children under 12 go free. Adult tickets are �35.

Madness began life as a ska group called The Invaders, formed by Mike Barson, Chris Foreman, and Lee Thompson in 1976.

By 1978, they had changed their name to Morris and the Minors and had added Graham "Suggs" McPherson, Mark Bedford, Chas Smash, and Dan Woodgate to the group.

They changed their name to Madness, in homage to one of their favourite Prince Buster songs. The following year, they released their debut single, a tribute to Prince Buster entitled The Prince, on Two-Tone Records. It was their first Top 20 hit.

They enjoyed a virtually uninterrupted run of 13 Top 10 hits over the next few years.

The first Madstock event took place in 1992, with the band reforming after four years.

The concert was such a success that, Madstock became an annual event. In 1996, the "nutty boys" announced it was the last one, and they would not reform ever again.

However, they were back in business in 1998, and new studio material has followed - Dangermen Sessions Volume 1 in 2005 and earlier this year, The Liberty Of Norton Folgate.

Tickets from www.madness.co.uk.

To find out how you could win tickets, see this week's Recorder.