Kieran McAleer

DRUMMER Kieran McAleer was having a soak in the bath when his mum’s voice came up the stairs. “Quick! Quick!,” he recalls her saying. “Your mate Carl is on Top of the Pops!”

Wrapped in a towel, he padded down to the sitting room and caught a band called Madness playing their single, The Prince.

Kieran is a founding member of One Step Behind, the original tribute act to Camden Town’s Nutty Boys. Founded in 1993, they have played all over Europe and beyond – and this weekend sees the band return to Madness’s seminal home, the Dublin Castle in Parkway, Camden Town.

Kieran’s family has long roots in Camden Town’s music scene. He comes from a family steeped in Irish culture.

His mother Sheila was a musician, playing piano and accordion, and an accomplished Irish dancer. In Camden Town she performed regularly at the Laurel Tree, The Camden Stores and the Spread Eagle in the 1950s, and was also a founding member of the London Irish Centre. She played with her sister, Patsy, in Ewan MacColl’s band.

In a tight-knit community, Sheila knew many Irish musicians. Her school friend Maureen McGloin was the brother of the celebrated Irish folk player Tommy McGloin.

“Funnily enough, he is referenced at the beginning of Madness’s Los Palmas single,” recalls Kieran.

Maureen married a musician called Carl Smith and had three children, Cahal – known as Carl – Dermot and Brendan.

Carl Junior would later become Madness’s legendary on-stage knockabout crowd pleaser, Chas Smash.

“I used to see Carl at Irish nights,” recalls Kieran.

“We were teenagers. Carl was in a band called The North London Invaders. I saw them a couple of times but by the time they had morphed into Madness, I had forgotten about them.”

And then came his mother’s bathtime revelation.

The original One Step Behind line-up

“I remember Mum called up and said: ‘There’s little Carl on the telly!’ I’d last seen them play to 10 people in the Hope and Anchor.”

The pop culture of Kieran’s youth had a huge impact, still felt today.

“After punk, Two Tone felt energetic, exciting and exotic,” he says.

“Two Tone welcomed everyone, all creeds and colours, it was completely open-minded, and the music was like nothing before.”

He adds that Two Tone was nurtured by communities who had faced similar troubles.

“There was a strong link between Irish and Caribbean clubs – people had suffered the same things,” says Kieran.

“I had a lot of friends from Caribbean families and there was a sense of solidarity. It was approachable, relatable and challenging music. You couldn’t stop dancing to it, and we understood what they were singing about. This was Friday Night, Saturday Morning stuff – the lyrics were instantly relatable, pure kitchen sink drama. Madness were chroniclers of their time. They were just like us, little rascals riding about on Grifter bikes.”

Kieran played the Irish drum as a child – “if you didn’t play an instrument, you were out the house, on your own” – and was then inspired by watching his mates on the telly.

“I said to myself: ‘Blimey, I should’ve paid them more attention. These are people I know, and that’s what I want to do.’”

Kieran was in a Mod band called New Direction, and a quintet called the Dilemmas. They enjoyed success.

“We played everywhere, had a record deal,” he says. “But when we were coming to the end, I thought: ‘Well, I’d better get a real job’.”

Before he hung up his sticks, a chance gig at the Brighton Centre opened Kieran’s eyes to a new possibility.

“I saw a band from Boston called All Mod Cons. Tribute bands were just not a thing then.

“They did The Jam. Although they were American, which meant their accents between songs were very Dick Van Dyke, the music was superb, the place was packed. I thought Madness – let’s give it a go.”

Kieran recruited six others.

“I got lucky,” he says. “I put an advert in Loot, the free ads newspaper.

“I got four phone calls. One was from a sax player, another called to say he could do Suggs, and another said he could play guitar. I also got a call from a man who said he couldn’t play a thing but he could dance, so he could be Chas Smash.

Kieran McAleer on drums with his mother Sheila, centre, and sister Deirdre

“We had our first rehearsal in a dark basement in  King’s Cross and within four songs, we knew it was going to be phenomenal.”

Their first gig earned them £150 and a crate of beer – and the reaction told them they had hit the right note.

“The culture was a ramshackle – just like how it should be. Our own Chas Smith had only been looking in Loot to buy a car – so we had a troupe of great musicians and one other who was after a second-hand car. He was all over the place – totally brilliant.”

At the time, Madness had not played together for many years.

Then Kieran got a call from Carl – the real Chas Smash. “I thought: Oh ****, what does he want?’

“He started laughing. He thought it was great and hoped we got well paid.

“Then the saxophonist Lee Thompson chipped in. He said if there was a Madness tribute band, they were in vogue again.”

One Step Behind in turn inspired their inspirations.

“It prompted them to talk about reforming,” he adds. “Lee said: ‘Well, if this cover band is doing our songs, we should get back on the road.’”­

The continuing popularity of Two Tone, and the music Madness written four decades ago, reflects on what the movement represented.

“It was diverse, inclusive,” he says. “There was a feeling of unity. Growing up  under Thatcherism, we were told we were individuals and there was no such thing of society.

“We said that was rubbish – we believed in solidarity, acting together – the antithesis of what Thatcher said. We were told it was everyone for themselves. Music acted as an antidote. It gave us power in a society where power was being concentrated in the hands of the rich and powerful.

“Politics was an important element – Two Tone was involved in the fight against racism. It stood firm on unity and strength.”

This Saturday’s homecoming gig features founding members and others who have played down the years.

And while it may not be the original nutty boys on stage, if you close your eyes, you might not be able to tell the difference.

• The original One Step Behind 30th anniversary show is at the Dublin Castle on Saturday, May 20. See https://bugbearbookings.com/dublin-castle/