It’s Madness: Hong Kong noise police refuse to turn a deaf ear as Suggs and Co get the ball rolling on raucous Sevens weekend

Madness kicked off the Hong Kong Sevens party in style with a launch concert so raucous the Environmental Protection Department were on the organisers’ case all night regarding the noise level.

The legendary British pop band had thousands singing, dancing and cheering at the Sevens Village in Happy Valley opposite Hong Kong Stadium on Thursday night, after From The Jam – featuring original Jam bassist Bruce Foxton – had warmed them up.

“We’re not for a second gonna suggest we’re disappointed. We thought we were playing over there!” Graham “Suggs” McPherson joked at one point in the set, pointing towards Hong Kong Stadium.

But the noise will be on a whole other level when Madness play to 40,000 people on Sevens Saturday.

On the evidence of Thursday night, they are a perfect fit for the Hong Kong expat crowd – a band that first rose to fame in the late 1970s and ’80s, the older generation were swinging just as vigorously as the younger members in attendance.