Initially conceived as a concept album about nostalgia for childhood by secondary vocalist
Chas Smash, the concept was eventually dropped, though the original theme is still evident particularly in the title track and the album's major hit "
Our House", as well as tracks like "Rise and Fall" and "Sunday Morning. This theme was also mentioned recently when interviewed as part of
T in the Park highlights, where their lead vocalist
Suggs claimed that all the band members were told to write about their childhood memories for
The Rise & Fall (although he did say that their keyboardist
Mike Barson got the wrong idea, and went off and wrote about
New Delhi). Although the band had previously been avowedly
apolitical, the track "Blue Skinned Beast" was an overt satire on then-UK Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher and her handling of the
Falklands War, paving the way for more political comment on subsequent Madness albums. The album cover photo was shot just west of
Camden Town at the
Primrose Hill viewpoint, looking southeast towards central London with the
BT Tower on the horizon. In the cover photo, the band members are each dressed to represent one the songs on the album, with Barson notably putting on
brownface to represent "New Delhi". ==Critical reception==