Cardiac Arrest (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“Cardiac Arrest”
Single by Madness from the album 7
Released	February 12, 1982
Format	vinyl record 7", 12"
Recorded	1981
Genre	Pop
Length	2:52, 2:58 (Music Video)
Label	Stiff Records
Writer(s)	Carl Smyth (lyrics) Chris Foreman (music)
Producer	Clive Langer Alan Winstanley
Madness singles chronology
"It Must Be Love" "Cardiac Arrest" "House of Fun"

"Cardiac Arrest" is a song by British band Madness from their third album 7. It spent 10 weeks in UK charts peaking at number 14.

The song was written by Chas Smash and Chris Foreman and tells a story of a workaholic who suffers a fatal heart attack on his way to work. The song was banned on BBC Radio 1 due to deaths in the families of two DJs; this was cited as one reason for the record's disappointing chart position. It was the first Madness single since "The Prince" not making it to the top 10.

The album version of the song ends after the second chorus with a dramatic cut to a coda representing the man's heart thudding and then stopping, however the single version replaces this with a repeat of the more optimistic first chorus, which fades out.

The music video for "Cardiac Arrest" featured Chas Smash as a person having a heart attack and the remaining band members playing roles of people advising him not to work so hard. The video follows the single version of the song rather than the album version.

The B-side, "In The City", was originally written for a Japanese television advertisement for Honda City cars. The various versions of the advert, including variations using "Driving in My Car" instead of "In The City", appear between tracks on the Divine Madness video.

[edit] Track listing

• 7" single

1. "Cardiac Arrest" - 2:52
2. "In The City" - 2:57

• 12" single

1. "Cardiac Arrest" (extended version)
2. "In The City" - 2:57

[edit] External links

• Cardiac Arrest Music Video on YouTube