Our House (Madness song)

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“Our House”
“Our House” cover
Single by Madness
from the album The Rise & Fall
Released November 12, 1982
Format vinyl record 7", 12"
Recorded 1982
Genre New Wave
Length 3:23
Label Stiff Records
Writer(s) Chris Foreman (music)
Carl Smyth (lyrics)
Producer Clive Langer
Alan Winstanley
Madness singles chronology
"Driving in My Car" "Our House" "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)"/"Madness (Is All in the Mind)"
Music sample
"Our House"
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"Our House" is a single by English ska/pop band Madness, from their UK album The Rise & Fall and their US compilation Madness. It peaked at #5 in the UK singles chart in November 1982, was their biggest hit in the United States; reaching #7 in the Billboard chart in 1983. Though Madness produced many successful singles over a period of twenty years, the enormous American popularity of "Our House" means that they are often regarded as a one hit wonder in the USA (though technically they are two hit wonders in America, as their version of "It Must Be Love" also subsequently entered the US top 40). It won Best Song at the May 1983 Ivor Novello awards.[1]

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.[2] 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 and played in a 2007 TV advertisement for Bird's Eye in which Suggs appeared.

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.

Contents

[edit] Music Video

The video depicts the band acting out the song's lyrics in an old mews. The song's lyrics mostly describe the daily activities in the house, with some of the band portraying the "family." The video cuts between scenes of the "family", the band playing in a living room, and exterior shots of various other houses.

[edit] Track listing

  • 7" single
  1. "Our House" - 3:23
  2. "Walking with Mr Wheeze" - 3:31
  • 12" single
  1. "Our House (Extended Mix)" - 6:00
  2. "Our House (7" Version)" - 3:23
  3. "Walking with Mr Wheeze" - 3:31

[edit] Legacy

The popular Canadian teen drama Degrassi: The Next Generation, which is known for naming each episode after an 80s hit song, named an episode after this song. In The Young Ones episode Sick, Madness apears as a musical guest and plays the song admist a street riot.

[edit] References

[edit] External links



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