Music review: Suggs: What a King Cnut at Leeds Town Hall

His evening of words and music was hilarious and uplifting for all. Many of the guests in the audience were clearly life-long Madness fans, but you didn’t have to be a groupie to enjoy it.

Suggs gives off a laidback impression, which makes you feel as though you’re sat having a pint with him in the pub listening to his stories, rather than sitting in an audience and watching him on a stage. It’s this inter-personal connection during the performance, which makes you forget altogether that it is a performance at all.

The honesty of his ridiculous antics really brings home the human side of celebrity culture. Suggs has a skill in story-telling, which makes it all the more memorable and entertaining.

From dealing with his dead cat’s ashes, to forgetting the words to ‘Our House’ after singing it for 40 years, being named The Sun’s number 1 on the list of ‘Camden’s Caners’, to watching Amy Winehouse perform on her rise to fame – the show was hilarious, heart-warming, and human from the beginning.

There is no doubt that Suggs is a born-entertainer. The evening was a perfect mix of stories and music. Singing hit Madness songs such as Our House, got a great reaction from the audience. Thankfully, he didn’t forget any lyrics on the night.

And the audience certainly agreed. Laughter was a constant from the beginning until the end. Engaged and engrossed, the audience were involved. Football-related jokes could be heard being called out from members of the audience whenever his beloved Chelsea FC was mentioned. Suggs has a way of naturally creating a friendly atmosphere with his crowd.