| Take It or Leave It | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Dave Robinson |
| Produced by | Dave Robinson |
| Written by | Philip McDonald David Robinson Madness |
| Starring | Suggs Mike Barson Lee Thompson Chris Foreman Mark Bedford Daniel Woodgate Chas Smash |
| Music by | Madness The Four Tops |
| Distributed by | Nutty Stiff Productions |
| Release date(s) | 1981 |
| Running time | 95 mins. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | 400 000 £ |
Take It or Leave It is a 1981 film about the British ska/pop band Madness, directed by the owner of Madness label Stiff Records, Dave Robinson, who also directed the band's music videos. The film's budget was paid by the members of Madness, with £20 000 each (£140 000) and £250 000 by Stiff.
The genre of the film is between documentary, drama and comedy. The film begins in Camden Town, London, on a grey day in January 1976. Three friends, Lee Thompson, Chris Foreman and Mike Barson, start to play music together. Along the way their band suffers numerous arguments and changes in their line-up before finding success in the final scene, with a full piece Madness going out to a packed, screaming arena.
The soundtrack contains songs from the band's first two albums, One Step Beyond... and Absolutely, in both studio recordings and live performances. The film is available on DVD.