Michael Caine (song)

"Michael Caine"
Single by Madness
from the album Keep Moving
B-side	"If You Think There's Something"
Released	30 January 1984
Format	7" 12"
Recorded	1983
Genre	Ska, Sophisti-pop
Length	3:39
Label	Stiff Records
Songwriter(s)	Carl Smyth (lyrics) Daniel Woodgate (music)
Producer(s)	Clive Langer Alan Winstanley
Madness singles chronology
"The Sun and the Rain" (1983) "Michael Caine" (1984) "One Better Day" (1984)
"The Sun and the Rain" (1983) "Michael Caine" (1984) "One Better Day" (1984)
Audio sample
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"Michael Caine" is a song by British band Madness, released on 30 January 1984 as the first single from their album Keep Moving.^[1] The song was written by Carl Smyth and Daniel Woodgate,^[2] and featured Smyth on lead vocals in place of usual Madness vocalist Suggs. "Michael Caine" spent 8 weeks in British charts, peaking at number 11.

When he was first approached to appear on the record, Michael Caine initially turned the band down, but his daughter on hearing this made him change his mind, telling him how popular they were. The German synthpop band And One recorded a cover of the song on their album 9.9.99 9uhr.

Music video

The music video was also based on The Ipcress File and featured a light bulb being shot as seen in the title sequence from the television spy series Callan.^[3] The video took longer to complete than usual, due to being shot on 35mm film as opposed to 16mm.^[3] As a result, Mike Barson is absent for much of the video; he had a plane to catch, and could not stay for the whole filming session.^[3] The video was a departure from most Madness videos up to that point, as it was not overtly humorous.

Formats and track listings

• 7" Single

1. "Michael Caine" (Smyth/Woodgate) - 3:39
2. "If You Think There's Something" (Barson) - 3:08

• 12" Single

1. "Michael Caine (extended version)" (Smyth/Woodgate) - 4:08
2. "Michael Caine" (Smyth/Woodgate) - 3:39
3. "If You Think There's Something" (Barson) - 3:08

Chart performance

References