"Grey Day" is a
2-Tone song written by
Mike Barson
Michael Barson (born 21 April 1958) is a Scottish-born multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Barson came to prominence in the late 1970s as the keyboard player for the band Madness.
Early y ...
and recorded by
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
pop/
ska
Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...
band
Madness.
[ Retrieved 21 July 2007.] The song was the first single released from the band's third studio album ''
7''.
[ Retrieved 21 July 2007.] It was a big departure from their early ska sound with a much darker, miserable feel. The song title does not appear in the lyrics as a single phrase, though a couplet rhyming "grey" with "day" features in the chorus.
The song was written prior to the band becoming a success in the UK music scene, and the first performance of the song came back in 1978 at the Acklam Hall while the band were known as "The North London Invaders".
The song was finally recorded in 1981 and was released as a single on 17 April 1981. The song spent 10 weeks in the
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, reaching a high of number 4.
It was able to crack the charts in Australia as well, but only as high as number 82.
Music video
The
music video
A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...
for the single was filmed in March 1981. The majority of the video was shot on an open top
bus
A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
as it drove around London, and in Bowmans shop window on
Camden High Street
High Street is a common street name for the primary business street of a city, town, or village, especially in the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. It implies that it is the focal point for business, especially shopping. It is also a metonym fo ...
, where the band performed the song. The street they are featured walking down is Royal College Street just off Camden High Street; they're seen entering houses between 109 and 121.
A recurring theme in the music video is common dreams such as dreaming; that one is flying or falling.
Appearances
"Grey Day" is one of Madness' most anthologised singles. In addition to its single release and appearance on the album ''7'', "Grey Day" also appears on the Madness collections ''
Divine Madness'' (a.k.a. ''The Heavy Heavy Hits''), ''
Complete Madness
''Complete Madness'' is the first greatest hits album by ska/pop group Madness. It was released in 1982 and included Madness' biggest hits from their first three studio albums and the stand-alone singles. ''Complete Madness'' spent 99 weeks on th ...
'', ''
It's... Madness'', ''
The Business'' and ''
Our House''. It also features on all four US Madness retrospectives, ''
Madness'', ''
Total Madness'', ''Ultimate Collection'' and ''The Millennium Collection''.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Grey Day".
*7" single / Cassette single
#"Grey Day" (
Barson) - 3:37
#"Memories" (
Foreman) - 2:24
*12" single
#"
Un Paso Adelante!" (
Campbell Campbell may refer to:
People Surname
* Campbell (surname), includes a list of people with surname Campbell
Given name
* Campbell Brown (footballer), an Australian rules footballer
* Campbell Brown (journalist) (born 1968), American television ne ...
) - 2:18
#"
Baggy Trousers
"Baggy Trousers" is a song by English ska/pop band Madness from their 1980 album '' Absolutely''. It was written by lead singer Graham "Suggs" McPherson and guitarist Chris Foreman,Woodstra, Chris. Retrieved on 1 July 2007. and reminisces abou ...
" (
McPherson/Foreman) - 2:46
#"Grey Day" (Barson) - 3:37
#"Take It or Leave It" (
Thompson/Barson) - 3:27
Charts
Certifications and sales
References
External links
*
{{authority control
1981 singles
Madness (band) songs
Songs written by Mike Barson
1981 songs
Stiff Records singles
Song recordings produced by Clive Langer
Song recordings produced by Alan Winstanley
Songs about depression