"
House of Fun" is a song by
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
ska/pop group
MadnessMadness are a British pop/ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976. In 2009, the band have continued to perform with their most recognised lineup of seven members, although their lineup has varied slightly over the years. They were one of the most prominent bands of the late-1970s 2...
, credited to
Mike BarsonMike Barson is a British musician, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of the second wave ska band, Madness.-Biography:...
and
Lee ThompsonLee Jay Thompson , nicknamed Kix or El Thommo, is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist and songwriter of the second wave ska band, Madness....
. It was released as a one-off single on April 30, 1982, and reached #1 in the UK charts, spending 9 weeks in the charts. The song was re-released in 1992, reaching #40. , it is the band's only number one single in the UK.
Recording
The song was originally recorded under the title "Chemist Facade", without the "Welcome to the House of Fun" chorus. However, while the song was being recorded, head of
Stiff RecordsStiff Records is a record label created in London in 1976 by entrepreneurs Dave Robinson and Andrew Jakeman , and active until 1985. It was reactivated in 2007....
Dave Robinson demanded that the band add a chorus, to ensure the song was a hit. Upon hearing this, band member
Mike BarsonMike Barson is a British musician, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of the second wave ska band, Madness.-Biography:...
immediately wrote the "Welcome to the House of Fun" refrain on his piano.
However, at this point, the song was already recorded, and the management decided not to re-record the whole song. Instead, the recording was edited, and the chorus instruments and vocals dubbed onto the recording. This proved to be difficult, mainly due to technical limitations at the time, and it resulted in the first part of the word "Welcome" being cut off. Due to this, the chorus seemed to begin "Elcome to the House of Fun", so lead singer
SuggsGraham McPherson , better known as Suggs, is an English singer, actor, former radio DJ, TV personality, and most famous as the frontman of the band Madness.-Solo career:...
was forced to overdub the word "Welcome". Although this proved to be a tough task, it was completed successfully.
Music and lyrical content
"House of Fun" is composed in the key of D, written in common time. It is a pop song which moves at an upbeat 126
beats per minuteBeats per minute is a unit typically used as either a measure of tempo in music, or a measure of one's heart rate. A rate of 60 bpm means that one beat will occur every second....
. The song is written in simple
verse-chorus formVerse-chorus form is a musical form common in popular music and predominant in rock since the 1960s. In contrast to AABA form, which is focused on the verse , in verse-chorus form the chorus is highlighted...
, ending with a repeating chorus fade out (NB: the original 7" release version/mix ends with a sudden keyboard "crash", followed by fairground organ music). The song begins solely with eight
drumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of music instruments, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of...
beats, before the
keyboardA keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organs as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
,
bass guitarThe electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
,
electric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current, which is made louder with an instrument amplifier and a speaker. The signal that comes from the guitar is sometimes electronically altered with guitar effects such as...
,
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
and
saxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
are all introduced simultaneously.
Madness guitarist
Chris ForemanChris Foreman , nicknamed Chrissy Boy, is an English guitarist, best known as a member of a second wave ska band, Madness.Foreman started Madness with Mike Barson and Lee Thompson in 1976...
commented on the song:
As mentioned by Foreman, the song is about coming of age. The lyrics tell the story of a boy on his 16th birthday attempting to buy condoms at a chemist. The UK age of consent is 16, and he makes a point of stating that he's "16 today and up for fun". However, the boy is misunderstood by the chemist as he attempts to purchase the condoms, using slang terms such as "box of balloons with a featherlight touch". The confused chemist behind the counter eventually informs the boy that the establishment is not a joke shop, and directs him towards the "House of Fun".
Promotional film
A substantial portion of the music video was filmed at the
Pleasure BeachGreat Yarmouth Pleasure Beach is a historic free entry pleasure park located in the seaside resort town of Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, on the English east coast. The park first opened in 1909 and has been operating ever since....
in
Great YarmouthGreat Yarmouth, often known to locals as Yarmouth, is a coastal town in Norfolk, England. It is at the mouth of the River Yare, 20 miles east of Norwich....
, with parts of the video featuring the band on the
Scenic Railway Roller CoasterThe Scenic Railway Roller Coaster, known simply as Roller Coaster, is a wooden triple out-and-back scenic railway at Great Yarmouth Pleasure Beach, Great Yarmouth, UK. The ride was built at the park in 1932 and has been operational ever since. It stands and operates as the only remaining ride of...
. This was filmed on March 7, 1982. The video begins with
SuggsGraham McPherson , better known as Suggs, is an English singer, actor, former radio DJ, TV personality, and most famous as the frontman of the band Madness.-Solo career:...
dressed as a boy entering the shop with
Lee ThompsonLee Jay Thompson , nicknamed Kix or El Thommo, is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist and songwriter of the second wave ska band, Madness....
and
Chas SmashCarl Smyth, also known as Chas Smash is an English musician, best known as a backing singer and dancer in the ska/pop band Madness. He also plays trumpet, acoustic guitar and various percussion instruments...
behind him, playing the
saxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
and
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
respectively. On entering the shop, Suggs acts out the lyrics of the song, awkwardly attempting to purchase condoms, without much success.
A portion of the video was filmed in Escapade, a fancy dress and costume hire that still exists on Camden High Street. The band are later seen in a
BarberA barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, give shaves, and trim beards. In previous times, barbers also performed surgery and dentistry. In more recent times, with the development of safety razors and the decreasing prevalence of beards, most barbers primarily cut hair...
shop, before the finale of the song is sang on the roller coaster at the aforementioned funfair. The film closes with the band onboard an infinite
roller coaster loopThe generic roller coaster vertical loop is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. Specifically, the loop refers to a continuously upward-sloping section of track that eventually results in a complete 360 degree circle. At the top-most piece of the loop, riders are completely inverted.-...
as the chorus fades.
Despite the fact that "House of Fun" did not get released in the US, the music video was shown on the newly launched
MTVMTV is a cable television network based in New York City and launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs...
. Due to this, the music video, along with others such as "It Must Be Love" and "
Cardiac Arrest"Cardiac Arrest" is a song by British band Madness from their third album 7 and other compilation album called Complete Madness . It spent 10 weeks in UK charts peaking at number 14....
", helped set the stage in the US for Madness' future song "
Our House"Our House" is a single by English ska/pop band Madness, from their UK album The Rise & Fall and their US compilation Madness. Released in November 1982, it peaked at #5 in the UK singles chart and was their biggest hit in the United States, reaching #7 in the Billboard chart in 1983...
", which was their biggest stateside hit by far, peaking at number 7 in May of 1983.
Compilation appearances
As well as the song's single release, it has featured on various compilation albums released by
MadnessMadness are a British pop/ska band from Camden Town, London, that formed in 1976. In 2009, the band have continued to perform with their most recognised lineup of seven members, although their lineup has varied slightly over the years. They were one of the most prominent bands of the late-1970s 2...
. It was initially included on
Complete MadnessComplete Madness is the first greatest hits album by ska/pop group Madness. It was released in 1982 and included Madness' biggest hits from their first three studio albums and all the stand-alone singles. Complete Madness spent 88 weeks on the UK charts peaking at number 1...
, which also hit number 1 in the UK at the time of the single's release, meaning Madness were at the top of both the single and album charts. The song was then included on the 1992 compilation
Divine MadnessDivine Madness is the 1992 greatest hits album from the British ska/pop band Madness. It presents the group's single A-sides in chronological order, though sometimes in their LP rather than single versions....
, which was later reissued as
The Heavy Heavy Hits. The song was further included on
The BusinessThe Business - the Definitive Singles Collection is a 3 disc box set by ska/pop band Madness released in 1993 . It contains all the band's singles with their b-sides and other bonus tracks, some rare. It also includes a 52 page booklet and snippets of interviews with people associated with Madness...
and
It's... MadnessIt's... Madness is a compilation album by the British pop band Madness released in 1990. It combines some of the band's hit singles and b-sides. A sequel to this, It's.....
. It featured in the
Our House musicalOur House was a musical first staged at the Cambridge Theatre in London's West End from 28 October 2002 to 16 August 2003.The show featured songs from the ska/pop band Madness, and was named after one of their most popular hit singles, "Our House". The script for the musical, written by Tim Firth,...
, which was based on the band's songs, and as such appears on the accompanying soundtrack,
Our House. Furthermore, it was part of the US releases
MadnessMadness is a self-titled compilation album by the British ska/pop band Madness. It was released exclusively in the United States in 1983 in order to capitalize on the success of their hit single "Our House" from the 1982 album Madness Presents the Rise & Fall, which had not been available in the...
and
Ultimate Collection.
In addition to these releases, the song also features on several "Best of the 80s" albums.
Usage in popular culture
The song was featured in
The Young OnesThe Young Ones was a popular British sitcom, first broadcast in 1982, on BBC2. Its anarchic, offbeat humour helped bring alternative comedy to television in the 1980s and made household names of its writers and performers...
episode
BoringBoring was the third episode of The Young Ones, a British sitcom. It was written by Ben Elton, Rik Mayall and Lise Mayer, and directed by Paul Jackson. It was first aired on BBC2 on 23 November 1982....
with the band performing in the Kebab & Calculator pub. For the performance, drummer
Daniel WoodgateDaniel Woodgate is the drummer of the band, Madness. More commonly known by his nickname Woody, he joined the band after being introduced at a rehearsal by bass player Mark Bedford...
and bassist
Mark BedfordMark Bedford , nicknamed 'Bedders', is a bass guitarist and youngest member of the British second wave ska band, Madness....
switched roles. On entering the pub,
Rik MayallRichard Michael "Rik" Mayall is an English actor, writer and comedian. He is known for his comedy partnership with Adrian Edmondson, his over the top, energetic portrayal of characters, and for being one of the pioneering members of the alternative comedy scene in the early 1980s.In the 2005 poll ...
's character, Rick, asks Suggs if the band knows
Summer Holiday"Summer Holiday" is a song by Cliff Richard and The Shadows. It went to number one in the UK. It is taken from the film of the same name and is one of Richard's best known titles. It was one of six classic hits Richard performed at his spontaneous gig at Wimbledon's Centre Court in 1996 when rain...
by
Cliff RichardSir Cliff Richard OBE is a British singer-songwriter and entrepreneur.With his backing group The Shadows, Richard dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before and during The Beatles' first year in the charts...
, to which Suggs replies "You hum it, I'll smash your face in." This segment was filmed on August 19, 1982, and was broadcast on November 23 of the same year.
The song was also performed by Madness in a one-off comedy show -
A Foggy Outlook - which was made to showcase the comedian Fogwell Flax.
In
Pan-Euro Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a pan-European digital television channel created by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner and dedicated to showing animated programming...
, a bumper featuring the 6th season episodes of
Foster's Home For Imaginary FriendsFoster's Home for Imaginary Friends is an American animated television series created and produced at Cartoon Network Studios by animator Craig McCracken. It first premiered on Cartoon Network on August 13, 2004, as a 90-minute television movie, which led to a series of half-hour episodes...
used this song.
At present - July 2009 - parts of the tune are used in the British TV advert for a brand of sliced bread -
KingsmillKingsmill is a brand of bread made by Allied Bakeries, being owned by Associated British Foods. The brand is mainly associated with white bread although it also produces other varieties.-External links:**...
Wholemeal.
Personnel
- Lead vocals: Graham McPherson AKA Suggs
Graham McPherson , better known as Suggs, is an English singer, actor, former radio DJ, TV personality, and most famous as the frontman of the band Madness.-Solo career:...
- Lead Guitar
The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that adapts readily to a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four-, seven-, eight-, ten-, eleven-, twelve-, thirteen- and eighteen-string guitars also exist. The size and shape of the neck and the base of the guitar...
: Chris ForemanChris Foreman , nicknamed Chrissy Boy, is an English guitarist, best known as a member of a second wave ska band, Madness.Foreman started Madness with Mike Barson and Lee Thompson in 1976...
- Bass guitar
The electric bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a plectrum....
: Mark BedfordMark Bedford , nicknamed 'Bedders', is a bass guitarist and youngest member of the British second wave ska band, Madness....
- Keyboards: Mike Barson
Mike Barson is a British musician, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of the second wave ska band, Madness.-Biography:...
- Saxophone
The saxophone is a conical-bored transposing musical instrument considered a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and are played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by Adolphe Sax in 1841...
: Lee Thompson
- Trumpet
The trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
: Chas SmashCarl Smyth, also known as Chas Smash is an English musician, best known as a backing singer and dancer in the ska/pop band Madness. He also plays trumpet, acoustic guitar and various percussion instruments...
- Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of music instruments, technically classified as a membranophone.. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with parts of a player's body, or with some sort of...
s: Daniel WoodgateDaniel Woodgate is the drummer of the band, Madness. More commonly known by his nickname Woody, he joined the band after being introduced at a rehearsal by bass player Mark Bedford...
- Producers
In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes...
: Clive LangerClive Langer is a British record producer active from the mid 1970s onwards. He usually works with Alan Winstanley. He composed the music for the films, Still Crazy and Brothers of the Head. Prior to his record producing career, he is a guitarist with the British cult band, Deaf SchoolLanger...
and Alan WinstanleyAlan Kenneth Winstanley is a British record producer active from the mid-1970s onwards. He usually works with Clive Langer.-Notable studio albums produced by Alan Winstanley and Clive Langer:* One Step Beyond... – Madness...
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "House of Fun".
1982 release
- "House of Fun" (Barson
Mike Barson is a British musician, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of the second wave ska band, Madness.-Biography:...
/ThompsonLee Jay Thompson , nicknamed Kix or El Thommo, is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist and songwriter of the second wave ska band, Madness....
) - 2:58.
- "Don't Look Back" (Foreman
Chris Foreman , nicknamed Chrissy Boy, is an English guitarist, best known as a member of a second wave ska band, Madness.Foreman started Madness with Mike Barson and Lee Thompson in 1976...
) - 3:31
1992 release
- "House of Fun" (Barson/Thompson) - 2:49
- "Un Paso Adelante!" (Campbell
Cecil Bustamente Campbell, O.D. , better known as Prince Buster and also known by his Muslim name Muhammed Yusef Ali, is a musician from Kingston, Jamaica is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of ska and rocksteady music...
) - 2:19
- "House of Fun" (Barson/Thompson) - 2:49
- "Un Paso Adelante!" (Campbell) - 2:19
- "Yesterday's Men
"Yesterday's Men" is a single by British band Madness from their 1985 album Mad Not Mad. The song spent 7 weeks in British charts peaking at number 18...
" (McPhersonGraham McPherson , better known as Suggs, is an English singer, actor, former radio DJ, TV personality, and most famous as the frontman of the band Madness.-Solo career:...
/Foreman) - 4:10
- "Gabriel's Horn (demo)" (Smyth
Carl Smyth, also known as Chas Smash is an English musician, best known as a backing singer and dancer in the ska/pop band Madness. He also plays trumpet, acoustic guitar and various percussion instruments...
) - 3:45
- "House of Fun" (Barson/Thompson) - 2:49
- "Un Paso Adelante!" (Campbell) - 2:19
- "Yesterday's Men" (McPherson/Foreman) - 4:10
- "Gabriel's Horn (demo)" (Smyth) - 3:45
"Un Paso Adelante!" is a Spanish version of the group's 1979 hit "
One Step Beyond"One Step Beyond" is a song originally written by Jamaican ska singer Prince Buster 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...
". "Gabriel's Horn" was re-recorded in 1986 when the group were working on the never-completed
Lost in the Museum album. A version appeared on The Madness'
self-titled LPThe Madness is a self-titled album by the British band The Madness. In 1988, after the breakup of the original Madness, four of the original members recreated the band, adding "The" to its name...
.
Charts
| Chart |
Peak
position |
| UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The full chart contains the top 200 singles based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 of this list...
|
1 |
| Australia Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998...
|
5 |