"
Our House" is a single by
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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...
band
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
UKThe 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...
album
The Rise & Fall and their
USThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
compilation
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...
. Released in November 1982, it peaked at #5 in 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...
and 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 one hit wonders 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).
"
Our House" is a single by
EnglishEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
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...
band
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
UKThe 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...
album
The Rise & Fall and their
USThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
compilation
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...
. Released in November 1982, it peaked at #5 in 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...
and 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 one hit wonders 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 awardsThe Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...
.
A
musicalMusical theatre is a form of theatre combining music, songs, spoken dialogue and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
called
Our HouseOur 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,...
, featuring Madness songs, ran in
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...
's
West EndWest End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's "Theatreland". Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking world...
between
October 2002October 2002 was the tenth month of the common year. It began on a Tuesday and ended after 31 days on a Thursday. October 2002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December-Events:...
and
August 2003August 2003 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December-August 1, 2003 :...
. A recording of the show was broadcast on
BBC ThreeBBC Three is a television channel from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel is described by the BBC as an outlet for 'New drama, talent, comedy, films, and accessible news'. The channel is on-air from 19:00 to about 04:00 each night, in...
and was released as a DVD. An altered version of the song was used in a
Maxwell HouseMaxwell House is a brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Foods. It is named in honor of the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. For many years until the late 1980s it was the largest-selling coffee in the U.S. and is currently second behind Folgers, which is...
commercial and the real version was featured in a montage for an episode of the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
comedy,
My Family. The original recording was also used as the theme for a 1998
ITVITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
docusoap series,
The Estate Agents, as well as for a 2004 American reality game,
House of Dreams. The song also featured in a 2007-8 series of TV advertisements for Bird's Eye in which Suggs appeared, as well as an advertisement for the 2008 ABC reality game show
Opportunity Knocks.
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. BloeMr. Bloe was the alias used by the DJM record label producer/arranger and multi-instrumentalist, Zack Lawrence."Groovin' With Mr Bloe", written by Bo Gentry, Bernard Cochrane, P. Naumann and K. Laguna, and featuring Harry Pitch on harmonica, and Zack Lawrence on piano, entered the UK Singles Chart...
.
Music video
The video depicts the band acting out the song's lyrics in an old
mewsMews is a chiefly British term formerly describing a row of stables, usually with carriage houses below and living quarters above, built around a paved yard or court, or along a street, behind large London houses of the 17th and 18th centuries. The word may also refer to the lane, alley or back...
. 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 including
Buckingham PalaceBuckingham Palace is the official London residence of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
.
Track listing
- "Our House" - 3:23
- "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" - 3:31
- "Our House (Stretch mix)" - 3:45
- "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" - 3:31
("Stretch mix" is a mostly instrumental edit of the Extended mix)
- "Our House (Extended Mix)" - 6:00
- "Our House (7" Version)" - 3:23
- "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" - 3:31
- "Our House (Dance mix)" - 5:02
- "Mad House (Our House dub mix)" - 4'34
Parodies
The song was
parodiedA parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
on a
Maxwell HouseMaxwell House is a brand of coffee manufactured by a like-named division of Kraft Foods. It is named in honor of the Maxwell House Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. For many years until the late 1980s it was the largest-selling coffee in the U.S. and is currently second behind Folgers, which is...
commercial from
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and
IrelandIreland is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic...
in
2007The year 2007 in television involves some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 2007.-January–March:-April–June:-July–September:-October–December:-Debuts:-Television shows:-1950s:...
.
The song was also sampled by
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...
band
Kid BritishKid British are a British band from Manchester signed to Mercury Records in the United Kingdom. The band is composed of Adio Marchant, James Mayer, Sean Mbaya, and Simeon Mclean.-History:...
on their
2009The following is a list of notable events and releases that have occurred or are expected to happen in 2009 in music.-January:*"Single Ladies " begins the year of 2009 at number one as Beyoncé's 5th solo number one hit and her ninth in total.*January 8 - Lady Gaga's debut single "Just Dance" hit...
single
Our House Is DadlessOur House Is Dadless is the fourth single by British Ska and Indie band Kid British.The track samples Our House by British ska band Madness.The single was released on July 4, 2009 on Digital Download.The single entered the UK Singles Chart at #63....
.
Charts
| Country |
Peak
position |
| United Kingdom 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...
|
5 |
| USA |
7 |
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
|
17 |
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
|
4 |
SwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe...
|
1 |
NorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
|
4 |
External links