シティ・イン・シティ

In the early 1980s, Madness, the iconic British ska band, became an unexpected presence in Japanese advertising when they were featured in a series of television commercials for the Honda City.** This compact car, exclusively available in the Asian market, became synonymous with the band’s quirky style. Madness not only appeared in the ads performing their signature ‘nutty train’ walk but also wrote and recorded an original jingle specifically for the commercials.

The band was so fond of the jingle that they expanded it into a full three-minute track titled “In the City.” The song was subsequently released as the B-side to their single “Cardiac Arrest,” which peaked at #14 on the UK charts. “In the City” later found a prominent place on the band’s hugely successful 1982 greatest hits compilation, *Complete Madness*. For this album version, the lyrics were subtly altered; the repeated chant of “Honda, Honda, Honda…” heard in the commercial was replaced with the more generic and catchy phrase “doo-ba doo-ba doo-ba,” ensuring its appeal beyond the original advertising context.