House Of Fun

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.