House Of Fun

7" Vinyl Picture Disc (45 RPM)

Stiff Records

P-BUY 146

BACKGROUND

House of Fun, Composed by Mike Barson and Lee Thompson, two of the band’s founding members and primary songwriters, was released as a standalone single on May 14, 1982. From the moment it hit the airwaves, “House of Fun” captured the hearts and feet of listeners across the UK and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending nine weeks in the charts. Its success was not short-lived; the song remained on the charts for an impressive nine weeks, solidifying its status as one of Madness’s most beloved and enduring tracks.

The song’s journey to its final form is a testament to the band’s creative process. Originally recorded under the title ‘Chemist Facade’, it lacked the iconic ‘Welcome to the House of Fun’ chorus. However, during the recording process, the head of Stiff Records, Dave Robinson, insisted on adding a chorus. In a stroke of musical ingenuity, band member Mike Barson immediately composed the ‘Welcome to the House of Fun’ refrain on his piano, adding a new layer of depth and catchiness to the song.

At this point, the song had already been recorded, and the management decided not to re-record the whole song. Instead, the recording was edited, and the chorus instruments and vocals were dubbed onto the recording. This proved difficult, mainly due to technical limitations at the time, resulting 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 Suggs was forced to overdub the word “Welcome”. Although this proved to be an arduous task, it was completed successfully.

RELATED RELEASES

RELEASE DETAILS

Territory: United Kingdom

Release Date: May 10, 1982
Format: 7" Vinyl Picture Disc (45 RPM)
Limited Edition: No

Label: Stiff Records

Catalogue Number: P-BUY 146

Manufactured: United Kingdom

Disc Colour: Black
Pressing: Original Pressing
Release Type: Official

TRACK LISTING

DiscPositionTrackVersionDuration
1 A1 House of Fun 2:58
1 B1 Don't Look Back 3:31

CHART HISTORY

Peak Position: 1
First Chart Date: 22/05/1982
Weeks in Chart: 9
Position DatePosition
22/05/1982 26
29/05/1982 28
05/06/1982 14
12/06/1982 15
19/06/1982 14
27/03/1982 20
26/06/1982 29
03/07/1982 49
10/07/1982 52
17/07/1982 74

MUSICANS

MusicanInstrumentRoleCredit
Mike Barson Piano, Organ, Tubular Bells Band
Chris Foreman Guitar, Sitar Band
Lee Thompson Tenor Saxophone Band
Mark Bedford Bass Band
Daniel Woodgate Drums Band
Graham McPherson Vocals, Percussion Band
Cathal Smyth Trumpet Band

PRODUCTION CREDITS

RoleCreditedNotes
Producer Clive Langer
Producer Alan Winstanley
Photographer Clare Muller

COPYRIGHT AND Licencing

OwnershipCompanyNotes
Copyright © Stiff Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ Stiff Records

Representation

RepresentationCompanyNotes
Record Label Stiff Records
Publisher Nutty Sounds Ltd.
Publisher Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

SHARE YOUR OWN RELEASE REVIEW WITH OUR COMMUNITY

References

Extensive efforts have been made to gather factual information and knowledge on madness from various sources and document them. These sources include publicly accessible websites, books and publications, historical artefacts, and other pertinent materials. As a result, a comprehensive index of resources has been compiled and integrated into the website. These resources, if relevant to this article, are listed below.

ReferenceSource
wikipedia.org Website
discogs.com Website
officialcharts.com Website