House of Fun

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 of Stiff Records Dave Robinson insisted that the song should have a chorus, so band member Mike Barson immediately wrote the "Welcome to the House of Fun" refrain on his piano. 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 singer Suggs was forced to overdub the word "Welcome". Although this proved to be a tough task, it was completed successfully. ==Music and lyrical content==

"House of Fun" is composed in the key of D, written in common time. It is a pop song which moves at an upbeat 126 beats per minute. The song is written in simple verse-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 eight drum beats, before the keyboard, bass guitar, electric guitar, trumpet and saxophone are all introduced simultaneously. The song is about coming of age. The lyrics tell the story of a boy on his 16th birthday attempting to buy condoms at a chemist. The UK age of consent is 16, and he makes a point of stating that he is "16 today and up for fun". ==Release==

"House of Fun" was released by Stiff Records in May 1982 with "Don't Look Back" as its B-side. 70,000 copies of the single were issued in picture discs, making it the first Madness single to be released in this format. When the song was reissued in 1992, the single included the track "Un Paso Adelante!", a Spanish version of the group's 1979 hit "One Step Beyond". ==Music video==

A substantial portion of the music video was filmed at the Pleasure Beach in Great Yarmouth, with parts of the video featuring the band on the Roller Coaster. This was filmed on 7 March 1982. ==Critical reception==

In a review of the 1992 single reissue, Simon Williams of NME commented that "House of Fun" "still sounds as terrifyingly plinky plonky as Liberace and his grand piano falling down a million flight of stairs as it did [in 1982]". ==Compilation appearances==

As well as the song's single release, it has featured on various compilation albums released by Madness. It was initially included on Complete 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 compilation Divine Madness, which was later reissued as The Heavy Heavy Hits. The song was further included on The Business and ''It's... Madness. It featured in the Our 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 releases Madness and Ultimate Collection. In addition to these releases, the song also features on several "Best of the 80s" albums. The original single contained a 10-second coda featuring music from a fairground. However, the version on the Complete 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 album The Rise & Fall. This is also the version used on the A Guided Tour of Madness compilation. ==Personnel==

• Lead vocals: Suggs • Lead guitar: Chris Foreman • Bass guitar: Mark Bedford • Keyboards: Mike Barson • Saxophone: Lee Thompson • Trumpet: Chas Smash • Drums: Daniel Woodgate • Producers: Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley ==Formats and track listings==

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "House of Fun". 1982 release • 7" single • "House of Fun" (Barson/Thompson) – 2:58. • "Don't Look Back" (Foreman) – 3:31 1992 release • 7" single • "House of Fun" (Barson/Thompson) – 2:49 • "Un Paso Adelante!" (Campbell) – 2:36 • 12" single • "House of Fun" (Barson/Thompson) – 2:49 • "Un Paso Adelante!" (Campbell) – 2:36 • "Yesterday's Men" (McPherson/Foreman) – 4:10 • "Gabriel's Horn (demo)" (Smyth) – 3:45 • CD single • "House of Fun" (Barson/Thompson) – 2:49 • "Un Paso Adelante!" (Campbell) – 2:36 • "Yesterday's Men" (McPherson/Foreman) – 4:10 • "Gabriel's Horn (demo)" (Smyth) – 3:45 • Cassette single • "House of Fun" (Barson/Thompson) – 2:49 • "Un Paso Adelante!" (Campbell) – 2:36 ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications and sales==