My Girl

7" Vinyl (45 RPM)

Stiff Records

BUY 62

BACKGROUND

My Girl was released in 1979 as the lead track from their debut album, “One Step Beyond…“. The song became one of Madness‘s signature hits and is often regarded as one of their most iconic songs. Mike Barson was working driving a van and delivering bananas teamed with a co-worker who was always talking about “My girl did this” and “My girl did that”. Barson used this phrasing to write a song about his own experiences with his girlfriend at the time, photographer Kerstin Rodgers. Barson originally performed lead vocals on the song and sang on the original demo.

The song first made its way into the band’s set when they were performing as The Invaders. The first performance of the song came in July 1978, when the band performed at a shop in Camden Lock called Blind Alley where band member Mark Bedford was working; at the time the song was simply titled “New Song”. Suggs took over the vocal duties from Barson before long, and sang the album version of the song. When the group performed the song on Top of the Pops in January 1980, they were the first band of the new decade performing on the TV show.

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RELEASE DETAILS

Territory: Netherlands

Release Date: January 19, 1980
Format: 7" Vinyl (45 RPM)
Limited Edition: No

Label: Stiff Records

Catalogue Number: BUY 62

Manufactured: Netherlands

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

TRACK LISTING

DiscPositionTrackVersionDuration
1 A1 My Girl 2:41
1 B1 Stepping Into Line 2:16

CHART HISTORY

MUSICANS

MusicanInstrumentRoleCredit
Mike Barson Keyboards Band
Chris Foreman Guitar Band
Lee Thompson Tenor Saxophone Band
Mark Bedford Bass Band
Daniel Woodgate Drums Band
Graham McPherson Vocals Band

PRODUCTION CREDITS

RoleCreditedNotes
Producer Clive Langer
Producer, Engineer Alan Winstanley
Recording Studio Eden Studios
Recording Studio Basing Street Studios

COPYRIGHT AND Licencing

OwnershipCompanyNotes
Copyright © Stiff Records
Phonographic Copyright ℗ Stiff Records

Representation

RepresentationCompanyNotes
Record Label Stiff Records
Publisher Melodisc Records Ltd.
Publisher Copyright Control
Publisher Warner Chappell Music Ltd.

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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
Madness' One Step Beyond... (Terry Edwards) Book