Our House (Madness song)

"Our House"
Single by Madness
from the album The Rise & Fall
B-side "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" (UK)
"Cardiac Arrest" (US)
Released 12 November 1982
Format
Recorded 1982
Genre
Length 3:23
Label
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Madness singles chronology
"Driving in My Car"
(1982)		 "Our House"
(1982)		 "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)"/"Madness (Is All in the Mind)"
(1983)
Music sample
Our House

"Our House" is a song by English ska and pop band Madness. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, The Rise & Fall, on 12 November 1982. The song charted within the top ten in multiple countries and won Best Song at the May 1983 Ivor Novello Awards.

About

Released in November 1982, it peaked at #5 in the UK singles chart. In 1983, "Our House" was their biggest hit in the USA, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the USA dance chart the song peaked at #21.[3]

Though Madness produced many successful singles over a period of 20 years especially in their native United Kingdom, the enormous American popularity of "Our House" means that they are often regarded as a one hit wonder in the USA (though their version of "It Must Be Love" also subsequently entered the USA top 40). "Our House" won Best Song at the May 1983 Ivor Novello awards.[4]

The satirical program Spitting Image did a version of "Our House" with the lyrics altered to be about the collapse of the real estate market, and a video parodying Madness' style. A musical called Our House, featuring Madness songs, ran in London's West End between October 2002 and August 2003. A recording of the show was broadcast on BBC Three and was released as a DVD. An altered version of the song was used in a Maxwell House commercial and the real version was featured in a montage for an episode of the BBC comedy, My Family. The original recording was also used as the theme for a 1998 ITV docusoap series, The Estate Agents, as well as for a 2004 American reality game, House of Dreams. The song also featured in a 2007-08 series of TV advertisements for Bird's Eye in which Suggs appeared, as well as an advertisement for the 2008 ABC reality game show Opportunity Knocks, and in episode 4 of season 3 of US TV show Brothers & Sisters, during the yard sale scene. In 2010, a mashup of "Jingle Bells" and "Our House", created by New York music and audio branding company Expansion Team, was used in a Christmastime commercial for Verizon. In 1985 "Our House" was the theme song for a children's drama series, Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest. The version featured on the show was performed by the cast members. At the 2012 Olympic Games Madness performed "Our House" in the closing Olympic ceremonies during an elaborate light show with scores of dancers.[5] It receives constant airplay by radio stations.

The B-side, "Walking With Mr. Wheeze", is an instrumental with occasional scratch mix effects. The title is a play on "Groovin' With Mr. Bloe", an instrumental hit of 1970 by the session group Mr. Bloe. In 1984, Madness performed Our House on the episode "Sick" of The Young Ones.

Music video

The video depicts the band acting out the song's lyrics in an old Victorian terraced house. The song's lyrics mostly describe the working-class family lifestyle, and the band acts them out by portraying such a family in the video. The band plays their instruments in the living room, prepares for work and school as the family plays squash and relaxes in a hot tub. The video also includes exterior shots of various other houses including Buckingham Palace. It was filmed near Willesden Junction.

Track listing

  1. "Our House" – 3:23
  2. "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31
  1. "Our House (Stretch mix)" – 3:45
  2. "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31
  1. "Our House" - 3:20
  2. "Cardiac Arrest" - 2:58

("Stretch mix" is a mostly instrumental edit of the extended mix)

  1. "Our House (Extended Mix)" – 6:00
  2. "Our House (7" Version)" – 3:23
  3. "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31
  1. "Our House (Dance mix)" – 5:02
  2. "Mad House (Our House dub mix)" – 4:35

Charts

Country Peak
position
Australia 17
Canada 30
Norway 4
Sweden 1
Switzerland 4
United Kingdom 5
USA 7
USA Hot Dance Club Play 21

References

  1. ↑ Glenn Gaslin; Rick Porter (1 January 1998). The Complete, Cross-referenced Guide to the Baby Buster Generation's Collective Unconscious. Boulevard Books. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-57297-335-0. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Madness Presents the Rise & Fall at AllMusic. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 163.
  4. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3994606/bio
  5. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUxvOYTKa2M

External links

See also

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