"
My Girl" is a song by British
skaSka is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
/
popPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
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...
from their debut album,
One Step Beyond..."In the Middle of the Night" redirects here. For the novel by Robert Cormier, see In the Middle of the Night .One Step Beyond... is the 1979 debut album by the British ska group Madness. It was ranked 90th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums...
. It was written by
Mike BarsonMike Barson is a British musician, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of the second wave ska band, Madness.-Biography:...
. The song was released as a single on 21 December 1979 and spent 10 weeks on the
UK Singles ChartThe 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...
peaking at number 3.
The song was reissued in 1992 following the success of the reissued "It Must Be Love". It reached number 27 in the UK Singles Chart.
The song first made its way into the band's set when they were performing as The Invaders.
"
My Girl" is a song by British
skaSka is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s, and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. Ska combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues...
/
popPop music is a music genre that developed from the mid-1950s as a softer alternative to rock 'n' roll and later to rock music. It has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs...
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...
from their debut album,
One Step Beyond..."In the Middle of the Night" redirects here. For the novel by Robert Cormier, see In the Middle of the Night .One Step Beyond... is the 1979 debut album by the British ska group Madness. It was ranked 90th in a 2005 survey held by British television's Channel 4 to determine the 100 greatest albums...
. It was written by
Mike BarsonMike Barson is a British musician, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of the second wave ska band, Madness.-Biography:...
. The song was released as a single on 21 December 1979 and spent 10 weeks on the
UK Singles ChartThe 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...
peaking at number 3.
The song was reissued in 1992 following the success of the reissued "It Must Be Love". It reached number 27 in the UK Singles Chart.
Song history
The song first made its way into the band's set when they were performing as The Invaders. The first performance of the song came in July 1978, when it was performed by the band at the "Blind Alley Shop" and simply titled "New Song". Barson originally performed lead vocals, and even sang on the demo for the song. This is because Barson wrote the song, about his girlfriend at the time, Kerstin Rodgers. However,
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:...
took over the vocal duties before long, and sang the album version of the song.
When the group performed the song on
Top of the PopsTop of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. It was traditionally shown every Thursday evening on BBC1, before being moved to Fridays in 1996, and then moved to Sundays on BBC...
in January 1980, they were the first band of the new decade performing on the TV show.
Music video
The music video for "My Girl" features Madness performing the song at the Dublin Castle,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
. For the video, the stage was extended especially, in order to ensure that the band could perform comfortably.
Other versions
A demo version of "My Girl" was released on the B-Side of the
12" versionThe 12-inch single gramophone record came into existence with the advent of disco music in the 1970s. The first 12" single was actually a 10" acetate used by a mix engineer in need of a Friday night test copy for famed disco mixer Tom Moulton. As no 7" acetates could be found, a 10" blank was...
of "
The Return of the Los Palmas 7"The Return of the Los Palmas 7" is a song by British ska/pop band Madness, written by Mike Barson, Mark Bedford and Daniel Woodgate. The song was Woodgate's first credit as a songwriter, and was released as the band's 7th single on . The single reached number 7 in the UK, and remained in the...
", featuring Mike Barson on vocals. In 2006, the Ordinary Boys released a live recording of the song at the Brixton Academy featuring Suggs, as the B-Side to their single "Nine-2-Five".
On 2 May 2008,
Graham 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:...
(Suggs) and
Carl SmythCarl 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...
(Chas Smash) performed a new arrangement by the
Pet Shop BoysPet Shop Boys are an British electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasionally guitar and Chris Lowe on keyboards and occasionally on vocals....
live at the
HeavenHeaven is a nightclub in London, England which appeals predominantly to the gay market. It is located underneath Charing Cross railway station in Central London, just off Trafalgar Square.-Early history:...
in London. They appeared as part of Pet Shop Boys' live set during the benefit evening for Dainton Connell's family, "Can You Bear It?".
Appearances
In addition to its single release and appearance on the album
One Step Beyond... "My Girl" also appears on the Madness collections
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....
(a.k.a.
The Heavy Heavy Hits),
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...
,
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.....
,
Total MadnessTotal Madness - the Very Best of Madness is a greatest hits album by a British ska/pop band Madness. It was released in 1997 in United States only.-Track listing:# "Our House"# "It Must Be Love"# "Tomorrow's "# "Shut Up"# "Grey Day"...
and
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...
.
Perhaps surprisingly for such a well-known song in the UK, the song is largely ignored by the group's various US compilations, appearing only on
Ultimate Collection.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "My Girl".
1980 release
7" vinyl single
12" vinyl single
1992 release
7" vinyl single
The song "Precious One" is to date the only Madness original to have been released only as a live version and never in a studio version.
Chart performance
| Chart (1980) |
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...
|
3 |
| Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data...
|
3 |
| Chart (1992) |
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...
|
27 |
My Guy's Mad at Me
Tracey Ullman covered
Madness'sMadness 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...
"My Girl" in 1984. The title was changed to "My Guy", and the single got the title "My Guy's Mad at Me". Madness'
Mark BedfordMark Bedford , nicknamed 'Bedders', is a bass guitarist and youngest member of the British second wave ska band, Madness....
played bass on the track. Her version was in the UK Top 40 at the same time as Madness' "
Michael Caine"Michael Caine" is a song by British band Madness from their 1984 album Keep Moving, and was released as a single in the same year. "Michael Caine", written by the unique pairing of Cathal Smyth and Daniel Woodgate, featured Smyth on lead vocals, which was unlike most Madness songs, which were sung...
" and peaked at number 23. The music video featured the British politician,
Neil KinnockNeil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock of Bedwellty is a Welsh Labour politician, who was a Member of Parliament from 1970 to 1995, and was the Leader of the Opposition from 1983 to 1992, when he resigned after being defeated in the 1992 general election...
, at the time the Leader of the Opposition. The single was also released as a 7" picture disc, with a picture of Ullman and Kinnock sitting at a table.
Formats and track listings
7" vinyl single
12" vinyl single
Chart performance
| Chart (1984) |
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...
|
23 |
Dutch GfKThe GfK SE, established in 1934 as the GfK-Nürnberg Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung e.V. is Germany's largest market research institute, located in Nuremberg, and the fifth largest such organisation in the world, after Nielsen Company, Taylor Nelson Sofres, Forrester Research, and the Kantar Group...
chart |
19 |
| Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the pirate radio channel Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the pirate radio channel was forced to stop. Joost den Draaijer was the initiator of...
|
23 |
| Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data...
|
7 |