Our House (Madness song)



"Our House" is a song by English ska and pop band Madness. 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 multiple countries and won Best Pop Song at the May 1983 Ivor Novello Awards.

About
Released in November 1982, it peaked at #5 in the UK singles chart. In 1983, "Our House" was their biggest hit in the US, reaching #7 on the Billboard Hot 100. On the US rock chart the song peaked at #9, and also reached #21 on the US dance chart. It receives constant airplay by radio stations.

The B-side, "Walking With Mr. Wheeze", is an instrumental song. The title is a play on "Groovin' With Mr. Bloe", an instrumental hit of 1970 by the session group Mr. Bloe. In 1984, Madness performed Our House on the episode "Sick" of The Young Ones.

Music video
The video depicts the band acting out the song's lyrics in an old Victorian terraced house. The song's lyrics mostly describe the working-class family lifestyle, and the band acts them out by portraying such a family in the video. The band plays their instruments in the living room, prepares for work and school as the family plays squash and relaxes in a hot tub. The video also includes exterior shots of various other houses including the "Playboy Mansion" Stocks House in Aldbury, Hertfordshire, and Buckingham Palace. The property that featured in the video is a terrace house on Stephenson Street in north west London, near Willesden Junction.

Use in media
In 1982, Madness made a guest appearance in series 2 of The Young Ones performing "Our House". They had previously appeared in series 1 performing "House of Fun".

In 1985 "Our House" was the theme song for a children's drama series, Dodger, Bonzo and the Rest. The version featured on the show was performed by the cast members.

A 1992 episode of Spitting Image featured a satirical version of the song highlighting the negative equity crisis being faced by many British homeowners at the time.

The original recording was also used as the theme for a 1998 ITV docusoap series, The Estate Agents.

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

An altered version of the song was used in a Maxwell House commercial and the real version was featured in a montage for an episode of the BBC comedy, My Family, as well as for a 2004 American reality game, House of Dreams.

The song also featured in a 2007-08 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, and in episode 4 of season 3 of US TV show Brothers & Sisters, during the yard sale scene.

In 2010, a mashup of "Jingle Bells" and "Our House", created by New York music and audio branding company Expansion Team, was used in a Christmastime commercial for Verizon.

At the 2012 Olympic Games Madness performed "Our House" in the closing Olympic ceremonies during an elaborate light show with scores of dancers.

An altered version of the song is used in a 2014 TV advertisement for Chemist Warehouse.

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

Track listing

 * 7" single
 * 1) "Our House" – 3:23
 * 2) "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31


 * French 7" single
 * 1) "Our House (Stretch mix)" – 3:45
 * 2) "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31


 * US 7" single
 * 1) "Our House" - 3:20
 * 2) "Cardiac Arrest" - 2:58

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


 * 12" single
 * 1) "Our House" (Extended Mix) – 6:00
 * 2) "Our House" (7" Version) – 3:23
 * 3) "Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31


 * U.S. 12" single
 * 1) "Our House (Dance mix)" – 5:02
 * 2) "Mad House (Our House dub mix)" – 4:35