Our House (Madness song)

"Our House" is a song by the English ska and pop band Madness and was written by second lead vocalist Chas Smash and guitarist Chris Foreman. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, The Rise & Fall, on 12 November 1982. The song charted within the top ten in several countries, and it was the band's biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100. It won the category Best Pop Song at the May 1983 Ivor Novello Awards.[3]

For other uses, see Our House.

"Our House"
Single by Madness
from the album The Rise & Fall
B-side
Released12 November 1982 (1982-11-12)
Recorded1982
Genre
Length3:23
3:05 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Madness singles chronology
"Driving in My Car"
(1982)		 "Our House"
(1982)		 "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" / "Madness (Is All in the Mind)"
(1983)

About

Released in November 1982, it peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart.[4] "Our House" was their biggest hit in the US, reaching No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1983.[5] On the US rock chart, the song peaked at No. 9, and it reached No. 21 on the US dance chart.[6] It received heavy airplay by radio stations.

The B-side, "Walking with Mr. Wheeze", is an instrumental. The title is a play on "Groovin' with Mr. Bloe", a 1970 instrumental hit by the session group Mr. Bloe.[7]

Music video

The band portrays a working-class family in the video, including one with a stubbly face, dressed in an apron and bonnet, playing the mother. The band members perform with their instruments in the living room, as they prepare for work and school. The family play squash and relax in a hot tub. The video includes exterior shots of other houses, such as the Playboy Mansion, Stocks House in Hertfordshire,[8] and Buckingham Palace. The domestic property featured in the video is a terrace house on Stephenson Street in north-west London, near Willesden Junction station.[9]

In 1984, Madness made a guest appearance in the series 2 episode "Sick" of The Young Ones, performing "Our House". They had previously appeared in series 1, performing "House of Fun".[10]

A musical called Our House, featuring Madness songs, ran in London's West End between October 2002 and August 2003.[11] A recording of the show was broadcast on BBC Three and was released as a DVD.[12]

In Chile, the song was used in the theme song of Chilean Canal 13 TV series, Papá Mono.[13]

The song has been adapted into an anthem by fans of football club Aston Villa, to refer to centre back Kortney Hause.[14]

The song is used in television advertisement for Hy-Vee. The lyric and verses are slightly modified to match with the commercial's theme.[15]

"Our House" was the first song played by Madness in the London Summer Olympics Closing Ceremony in 2012.

"Our House" appears in a 2021 television advertisement for Allstate.[16]

"Our House" was featured in a Dead Ringers parody of Jeremy Vine's Radio 2 programme on 9 July 2021.[17]

A reworded version of the song is used in advertising jingles for Australian and New Zealand retail pharmacy chain Chemist Warehouse

Track listing
  • 7" single (Stiff Records – BUY 163)
  1. "Our House" – 3:23
  2. "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31
  • 7" single (Stiff Records – BUY JB 163)
  1. "Our House (Special stretch mix)" – 3:45
  2. "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31
  • US 7" single (Geffen Records – 7–29668)
  1. "Our House" - 3:20
  2. "Cardiac Arrest" - 2:58

("Special stretch mix" is a mostly instrumental edit of the extended mix)

  • 12" single (Stiff Records – BUYIT 163)
  1. "Our House" (Extended Mix) – 6:00
  2. "Our House" (7" Version) – 3:23
  3. "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31
  • US 12" single (Geffen Records – 0–29667)
  1. "Our House (Dance mix)" – 5:02
  2. "Mad House (Our House dub mix)" – 4:35

Charts

Certifications and sales
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[35] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Platinum 600,000‡

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References
  1. "CLASSIC TRACKS: Madness 'Our House'". www.soundonsound.com. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  2. Gaslin, Glenn; Porter, Rick (1 January 1998). The Complete, Cross-referenced Guide to the Baby Buster Generation's Collective Unconscious. Boulevard Books. p. 129. ISBN 978-1-57297-335-0. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  3. "1983 Winners". Ivor Novello Awards. Archived from the original on 3 August 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  4. "Madness". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  5. "Madness". Billboard Hot 100. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  6. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 163.
  7. "Mr. Bloe". imuzdb.com. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  8. Reed, John (17 November 2011). House of Fun: The Story of Madness. Omnibus Press. ISBN 9780857127150.
  9. Hashish, Amira (19 February 2016). "Madness: buy a home in the street made famous by 'Our House' for £600K". Evening Standard. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
  10. Ben Elton, Rik Mayall, and Lise Mayer (writers); Geoff Posner (director) (23 November 1982). "Boring". The Young Ones. Season 1. Episode 3. BBC Two.
  11. "Our House". www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  12. " Our House - The Musical: BBC3 cast list" BBC Archived 31 January 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "[Video] Canal 13 estrenó spot de su nueva serie 'Papá Mono'". www.cooperativa.cl (in Spanish).
  14. "Aston Villa fans have come up with this brilliant new chant". Birmingham Mail. 15 March 2019.
  15. "Hy-Vee TV Commercials". Ispot.tv. Retrieved 5 June 2021.
  16. "Allstate TV Commercial, "Along For The Ride " Song by Madness". Ispot.tv. 27 May 2021.
  17. "BBC Radio 4 - Dead Ringers, Series 21, Episode 5".
  18. "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989, part 1". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  19. "Madness – Our House" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  20. "CHART NUMBER 1388 – Saturday, August 20, 1983". Archived from the original on 13 February 2006. Retrieved 11 January 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). CHUM.
  21. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 6286." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  22. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Our House". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  23. "Madness – Our House". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  24. "Topp 20 Single uke 10, 1983 – VG-lista. Offisielle hitlister fra og med 1958" (in Norwegian). VG-lista. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  25. "Madness – Our House". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  26. "Madness – Our House". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  27. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  28. "Madness Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  29. "Madness Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard.
  30. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles – Week ending AUGUST 6, 1983". Archived from the original on 11 September 2012. Retrieved 16 May 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link). Cash Box magazine.
  31. "Offiziellecharts.de – Madness – Our House" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  32. "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  33. "Talent Almanac 1984: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 95, no. 52. 24 December 1983. p. TA-18.
  34. "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  35. "Canadian single certifications – Madness – Our House". Music Canada. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  36. "British single certifications – Madness – Our House". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
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