Madness welcome back at Newbury on September 19

Music legends Madness return to the Party in the Paddock Stage at Newbury following an afternoon of high-class racing on Dubai Duty Free International Saturday, September 19.

Madness performed in front of huge crowd at Newbury in 2009 and are currently nearing the end of their 2015 Grandslam tour, which has seen them take in several other racecourses including Newmarket, Doncaster and Epsom Downs.

Drummer Dan “Woody” Woodgate said: “This whole Grandslam tour has been brilliant and we are really looking forward to Newbury next week. We played the racecourse in 2009 and it was a great experience.

“The crowds have been fantastic during the tour and the weather has been good, would you believe. It is a bit nerve racking playing an open air gig, especially when you see the clouds forming above, but we have been lucky so far.

“We all went away in August for our summer holidays and heard that the weather in England was rainy and miserable. Let’s hope we can bring a bit of sunshine back to September.

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“Racecourses are brilliant to play and performing at them is a big treat for us. I love it. It is a win-win situation for the racegoers as well because if you’ve had a bad day and lost, we will try to cheer you up, and if you’ve won, we will celebrate with you.

“The atmosphere is always fantastic. I’m not just saying that either, it really is great. You get a nice mix of people as well, it is not just an older crowd. There are generations of people there and a lot of the kids today seem to be well up on us, which is fantastic. I don’t know if they have been brainwashed by their parents or something!”

The highlight of Newbury’s seven-race programme on September 19 is the £75,000 Group Two Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes, which has been won in recent years by subsequent Group One winners Excellent Art, Dark Angel and Lord Shanakill.

Racing gets underway at 1.10pm and concludes at 4.35pm, with Madness taking to the Party in the Paddock Stage at 5pm.

Tickets are available at www.newburyracecourse.co.uk, including for ‘Zone A’ which gives racegoers premium viewing access of the concert and close proximity to Madness whilst they are performing. Further information on the Grandslam Madness UK Tour is available via www.grandslammadness.co.uk.