| "House of Fun" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byMadness | ||||
| from the albumComplete Madness | ||||
| Released | 14 May 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | Pop,ska,2 tone,new wave | |||
| Length | 2:48 | |||
| Label | Stiff | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
| |||
| Producer(s) | Clive Langer,Alan Winstanley | |||
| Madness singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "House of Fun" onYouTube | ||||
"House of Fun" is a song by English ska/pop groupMadness, credited toMike Barson andLee Thompson.[1] It was released as a one-off single on 14 May 1982 and reached number one in theUK Singles Chart, spending nine weeks in the charts.[2][3] The song was re-released in 1992, reaching number 40. It is the band's only number one single in the UK and in 2015 the British public voted it as the nation's 8th favourite1980s number one in a poll forITV.[4]
The song was originally recorded under the title "Chemist Facade", without the "Welcome to the House of Fun" chorus. While the song was being recorded, head ofStiff RecordsDave Robinson insisted that the song should have a chorus, so band memberMike Barson immediately wrote the "Welcome to the House of Fun" refrain on his piano.[5]
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 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 singerSuggs was forced to overdub the word "Welcome". Although this proved to be a tough task, it was completed successfully.[5]
"House of Fun" is composed in the key of D, written incommon time.[6] It is apop song which moves at an upbeat 126beats per minute. The song is written in simpleverse-chorus form, ending with a repeating chorus fade out (the original 7" release version/mix ends with a sudden keyboard "crash", followed by fairground organ music). The song begins solely with eightdrum beats, before thekeyboard,bass guitar,electric guitar,trumpet andsaxophone are all introduced simultaneously.
The song is aboutcoming of age. The lyrics tell the story of a boy on his 16th birthday attempting to buycondoms at achemist. TheUK age of consent is 16, and he makes a point of stating that he is "16 today and up for fun".[6] However, the boy is misunderstood by the chemist, as he asks for the condoms using slang euphemisms, such as "box of balloons with a featherlight touch" and "party hatswith the coloured tips".[6] The confused chemist behind the counter eventually informs the boy that the establishment is not ajoke shop, and directs him towards the "House of Fun".
Madness guitaristChris Foreman commented jokingly about the song:[7]
I'm not sure about this one... I think it's about coming of age, I can't remember much about because when it happened to me it was a long time ago. You could buy a packet of fags, a pint of beer and athree-piece suit for half a crown and still have enough left to go and seeRudolf Valentino at theGaumont! I can't afford to go to the pictures these days but I hear they talk in them now.
A substantial portion of the music video was filmed at thePleasure Beach inGreat Yarmouth, with parts of the video featuring the band on theRoller Coaster. This was filmed on 7 March 1982.[3] The video begins withSuggs dressed as a boy entering the chemist's shop withLee Thompson andChas Smash behind him, playing thesaxophone andtrumpet respectively. On entering the shop, Suggs acts out the lyrics of the song, as a 16-year-old boy awkwardly attempting to purchase condoms, without much success. Suddenly, on the first chorus, three of the band members enter the shop, dressed in gowns and wearing sunglasses and silly headgear (much like Monty Python-esque Pepperpots), and perform a simple, rhythmic yet comedic tongue-in-cheek stepping-dance routine, supposedly acting as dancing pepperpots hired with the Pleasure Beach attraction "Fun House".
The band are later seen in abarber's shop, before the finale of the song is sung on the roller coaster at the aforementioned funfair. The film closes with the band on board an infiniteroller coaster loop as the chorus fades.
Despite the fact that "House of Fun" was not released in the US, the music video was shown on the newly launchedMTV. Due to this, the music video, along with others such as "It Must Be Love" and "Cardiac Arrest", helped set the stage in the US for Madness' future song "Our House", which was their biggest stateside hit by far, peaking at number 7 in July 1983.[8][9]
As well as the song's single release, it has featured on various compilation albums released byMadness. It was initially included onComplete Madness which was released on 23 April 1982, prior to the release of the single itself. This album 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 compilationDivine Madness, which was later reissued asThe Heavy Heavy Hits. The song was further included onThe Business andIt's... Madness. It featured in theOur House musical, 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 releasesMadness andUltimate Collection.[10] In addition to these releases, the song also features on several "Best of the 80s" albums.[10]
The original single contained a 10-second coda featuring music from a fairground. However, the version on theComplete Madness compilation as well as subsequent releases of the song removed this ending with the track fading to a conclusion instead. It wasn't until 2010 that the original 7" version was reissued; it was included on the second disc of the re-release of the band's 1982 albumThe Rise & Fall. This is also the version used on theA Guided Tour of Madness compilation.
In a review of the 1992 single reissue, Simon Williams ofNME commented that "House of Fun" "still sounds as terrifyingly plinky plonky asLiberace and his grand piano falling down a million flight of stairs as it did [in 1982]".[11]
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "House of Fun".
"Un Paso Adelante!" is a Spanish version of the group's 1979 hit "One Step Beyond". "Gabriel's Horn" was re-recorded in 1986 when the group were working on the never-completedLost in the Museum album. A version appeared on The Madness'self-titled LP.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[20] | Silver | 250,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
