One Step Beyond is the 1979 debut album by British ska-pop group Madness. It was ranked 90th among the 100 greatest albums of all time in a 2005 poll conducted by British television channel Channel 4.

The album, which was recorded and remixed in about three weeks, reached number two and remained in the UK album charts for over a year.

It was the first album by producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley, who had collaborated with artists such as Elvis Costello And The Attractions, Morrissey, Dexys Midnight Runners, They Might Be Giants, David Bowie, and Madness on most of their albums.

The “Nutty Train” cover photo, taken by Cameron McVey, was inspired by the photo of Kilburn And The High Roads, which was on the back cover of their album Handsome.

The title track “One Step Beyond” is a song written by Jamaican ska singer Prince Buster as the B-side to his 1964 single “Al Capone”. Although Buster’s rendition was mostly instrumental, apart from the occasional title track, Madness’ rendition features a spoken introduction by Chas Smash and the barely audible but compelling background line “Here We Go!”. The intro line “Don’t Watch That, Watch This” is from another Prince Buster song, “Scorcher”, while the following “This Is A Heavy Heavy Monster Sound” is from the Dave & Ansel Collins hit, “Monkey Spanner”. The first of these became a trademark during the early MTV promos, with the video having a large audience. It should be noted that “Don’t Watch That, Watch This” is heard at the beginning of another Dave & Ansel Collins track, “Funky Funky Reggae”.

According to Alan Winstanley, one of the album’s producers, the Madness cover was a rough mix, created from the original 1 minute 10 second instrumental by repeating it, with the second half featuring an Eventide harmonizer instrument, which gives a slightly different sound. Producers Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley intended to make a new remix, but found that the first had already been sent for mastering before they could do so.

“One Step Beyond”, which I select, was often used to start the band’s live performances.
 
Tracklist

Side one

1. One Step Beyond 2:18
2. My Girl 2:44
3. Night Boat to Cairo 3:31
4. Believe Me 2:28
5. Land of Hope & Glory 2:57
6. The Prince 3:18
7. Tarzan’s Nuts 2:24

Side two

1. In the Middle of the Night 3:01
2. Bed and Breakfast Man 2:33
3. Razor Blade Alley 2:42
4. Swan Lake 2:36
5. Rockin’ in A♭ 2:29
6. Mummy’s Boy 2:23
7. Madness 2:38
8. Chipmunks Are Go! 0:51