“Perhaps we should have called ourselves Sanity,” Suggs recently joked. In fairness, the Madness singer has had to endure a life sentence of the perennial gag “What’s the first sign of Madness? Suggs coming up your driveway.”

The band are one of Britain’s most successful, in terms of singles, after The Beatles – although, somewhat surprisingly, they’ve had only one UK No 1 (and two in Ireland). You wouldn’t automatically associate the theatre of the absurd, Martin Freeman and Samuel Beckett with a Madness album, but they all make music-hall-style cameos that make some kind of sense.

In addition to playing Sherlock Holmes and The Hobbit, Freeman is a well-known mod and committed music fan, reportedly recruited to work with Madness after queuing up to get his records signed at an event in London. He announces the album on Prologue: Mr Beckett Sir and acts as a continuity announcer for the rest of the record, which is divided into three acts and an epilogue.

There are some sparkling pop anthems on offer, such as Theatre of the Absurd and Beginners 101, amid all this play-acting, which has a darker and more reflective side than you would normally give this band credit for. While the calibre of the songs and arrangements dips slightly in the closing stages, there’s more than enough to thrill long-term devotees of the Nutty Boys. Madness won’t be a spent force any time soon.