Waking Up with the House on Fire

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Waking Up with the House on Fire
Waking Up with the House on Fire cover
Studio album by Culture Club
Released November 1984
Recorded October 1983
Genre New Wave
Length 36:52
Label Virgin
Producer Steve Levine
Professional reviews
Culture Club chronology
Colour by Numbers
(1983)		 Waking Up with the House on Fire
(1984)		 From Luxury to Heartache
(1986)

Waking Up with the House on Fire is an album by New Wave band Culture Club, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music). Waking Up with the House on Fire was unable to achieve the commercial success of Culture Club's first two albums. While the album did reach platinum status in the US it was considered to be a disappointment compared to the 4X platinum status of the groups last album Colour by Numbers.

Despite a strong first single and video clip in "The War Song" which became a number 2 hit in the UK and a top 20 hit in the US in the Autumn of 1984, changes in the music scene and increasing personal turmoil and pressures led significantly to the album's low sales. It sold 4 million copies worldwide. The other two singles were "The Medal Song" (#32 in UK), with its b-side, "Don't Go Down That Street" being released as a single from a subsequent EP in Japan but only reaching #69 in the charts) and "Mistake No.3" (#33 in US). In Mexico, "Don't Talk About It" was a single.

On the VH1 program Behind the Music, the narrator states, “Today, the band admits the album was a hurried and halfhearted effort.” Many music insiders also feel that Culture Club and Boy George may have fallen victim to overexposure in both the British and American press by the end of 1984. Subsequently, Culture Club decided to change direction for the next album, From Luxury to Heartache, by choosing a new producer and moving in a dance-oriented direction.

Contents

[edit] Track listing

All tracks composed by Culture Club

  1. "Dangerous Man" – 4:14
  2. "The War Song" – 4:13
  3. "Unfortunate Thing" – 3:08
  4. "Crime Time" – 2:59
  5. "Mistake No. 3" – 4:36
  6. "The Dive" – 3:47
  7. "The Medal Song" – 4:15
  8. "Don't Talk about It" – 3:17
  9. "Mannequin" – 2:53
  10. "Hello Goodbye" – 3:25
  11. "La Cancion de Guerra" – 4:04 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
  12. "Love Is Love" – 3:51 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
  13. "The Dream" – 2:29 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
  14. "Don't Go Down That Street" – 6:34 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)

[edit] Personnel

  • Boy George (George Alan O' Dowd - vocals
  • Mikey Craig - bass guitar
  • Roy Hay - guitar, piano, keyboards, sitar, electric sitar
  • Jon Moss - percussion, drums
  • Phil Pickett - keyboards, background vocals
  • Steve Grainger - saxophone
  • Kenneth McGregor - trombone
  • Helen Terry - backing vocals
  • Imogen Exton - backing vocals
  • Derrick Green - backing vocals
  • Alice Kemp - backing vocals
  • Andriana Loizou - backing vocals
  • Alanda Marchant - backing vocals
  • Nancy Peppers - backing vocals
  • Louis Rogers - backing vocals
  • Martin Sunley - backing vocals
  • Tara Thomas - backing vocals
  • Clare Torry - backing vocals

[edit] Production

  • Steve Levine - producer, digital mixing
  • Gordon Milne - engineer
  • Jon Moss - digital mixing
  • Ray Allington - hair stylist
  • Kim Bowen - stylist
  • Steve Hughes - photography, makeup

[edit] Charts

[edit] Album

Chart (1984) Peak
position
UK Albums Chart 2
U.S. Billboard 200 26
U.S. Top R&B Albums 55

[edit] Singles

Single Chart (1984/1985) Peak
position
"The War Song" UK Singles Chart 2
"The War Song" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 17
"The War Song" U.S. R&B Chart 87
"The War Song" U.S. Hot Dance Club Play 7
"The Medal Song" UK Singles Chart 32
"Mistake No. 3" U.S. Billboard Hot 100 33
"Mistake No. 3" U.S. R&B Chart 61
"Mistake No. 3" U.S. Adult Contemporary 18

[edit] Release details

Country Date Label Format Catalog
1984 Virgin CD 91392
LP 39881
1996 CD 86181
2003 CD 92406

[edit] External links

Languages