One Step Beyond (song)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

“One Step Beyond”
“One Step Beyond” cover
Single by Madness
from the album One Step Beyond...
Released November 26, 1979
Format 7"
12"
Recorded 1979
Genre Ska/Pop
Length 2:17
Label Stiff Records
Writer(s) Prince Buster
Producer Clive Langer
Alan Winstanley
Madness singles chronology
"The Prince"
(1979)		 "One Step Beyond"
(1979)		 "My Girl"
(1980)
Music sample
"One Step Beyond"
Problems? See media help.
One Step Beyond... track listing
Side One
  1. "One Step Beyond"
  2. "My Girl"
  3. "Night Boat to Cairo"
  4. "Believe Me"
  5. "Land of Hope and Glory"
  6. "The Prince"
  7. "Tarzan's Nuts"
Side Two
  1. "In the Middle of the Night"
  2. "Bed and Breakfast Man"
  3. "Razor Blade Alley"
  4. "Swan Lake"
  5. "Rockin' in A-flat"
  6. "Mummy's Boy"
  7. "Madness"
  8. "Chipmunks Are Go!"

"One Step Beyond" is a song originally written by Jamaican ska singer Prince Buster[1] as a b-side for his single "Al Capone". It was made famous by British band Madness who covered it for their debut 1979 album One Step Beyond... also named after the song.[1] Although Buster's version was mostly instrumental except for the song title shouted for a few times, the Madness version features a spoken intro by Chas Smash and a barely audible but insistent background chant of "here we go!".

According to producer Alan Winstanley, the released version was a rough mix, created by taking the original 1 minute 10 second instrumental and repeating it, with the second half treated with an Eventide Harmonizer to make it sound slightly different. Langer and Winstanley intended to do a full remix but found that the double-length rough mix had already been sent for mastering before they got the opportunity. [1]

The song is often used to begin live performances by the band.

Contents

[edit] Music video

Chas Smash performing the spoken introduction to the song.
Chas Smash performing the spoken introduction to the song.

The single produced the band's first music video. The video mainly features a performance on the Hope and Anchor stage,[2] which was filmed on October 6, 1979.[2] The video also features Chas Smash, even though he was not a band member at the time, because he performs the only vocals present on the track. Suggs is present in the video in front of the band providing some vocalises, although he doesn't sing the lead vocals in this song.

[edit] Cover art

The cover art for the single is from a photoshoot by Cameron McVey.[2] It is similar to the photograph used on the album cover art, but features the band in a slightly different pose. The Spanish release of the song also featured slightly different cover art, although the photograph used was from the same photoshoot. Even though the lyrics are performed by Chas Smash, he does not feature on the photograph, because he was not a full member of the band at the time. However, he is shown on the back cover of the album in various dancing poses.

[edit] Other versions

The album version of the song features the full spoken introduction by Chas Smash. However, this was cut short for the single release. When the song is performed live, Smash regularly ad libs during the instrumental portions of the song.

Spanish release of the song.
Spanish release of the song.

To capitalise on the success of the song, Madness also recorded the song in different languages. The song was recorded in Spanish as "Un Paso Adelante" and in Italian as "Un Passo Avanti".[3] Chas Smash recorded the vocals for the Spanish version on June 30, 1980 at Eden Studios.[3] The band decided to record the song because many popular UK songs at the time were being covered by Spanish artist "Luis Cobos", and the band wanted to do it first.[3] The Italian version, "Un Passo Avanti", was used to open up during the Italian part of their world tour, in October, 1980.[3]

[edit] Appearances

In addition to its single release and appearance on the album of the name name, "One Step Beyond" also appears on the Madness collections Divine Madness (a.k.a. The Heavy Heavy Hits), Complete Madness, It's... Madness Too, Total Madness, The Business (which also includes the Italian version), Ultimate Collection and The Millennium Collection. The Spanish version appears on the 1992 releases of the House of Fun single.

[edit] Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "One Step Beyond".

  • 7" Single
  1. "One Step Beyond" (Campbell) - 2:17
  2. "Mistakes" (Hasler/Barson) - 2:39
  • 12" Single
  1. "One Step Beyond" (Campbell) - 2:17
  2. "Mistakes" (Hasler/Barson) - 2:39
  3. "Nutty Theme" (McPherson/Thompson)- 2:10

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Greene, Jo-Ann."Allmusic.com One Step Beyond Overview". Retrieved on June 30, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c "The Madness Timeline: 1979". Retrieved on June 29, 2007.
  3. ^ a b c d "The Madness Timeline: 1980". Retrieved on July 5, 2007.
v • d • e
Madness
Suggs • Mike Barson • Lee Thompson • Chris Foreman • Mark Bedford • Daniel Woodgate • Chas Smash
Studio Albums
One Step Beyond... • Absolutely • 7 • The Rise & Fall • Keep Moving • Mad Not Mad • Wonderful • The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1 • The Liberty of Norton Folgate
Compilation Albums
Live Albums
Singles
Associated Articles
Languages