"Horror Business" is the third single released by the American

horror punk Horror punk is a music genre that mixes punk rock and 1950s-influenced doo-wop and rockabilly sounds with morbid and violent imagery and lyrics which are often influenced by horror films and science fiction B-movies. The genre was pioneered by ...

band

Misfits Misfits or The Misfits may refer to: Film and television * ''The Misfits'' (1961 film), a film starring Clark Gable, Marilyn Monroe, and Montgomery Clift * ''The Misfits'' (2011 film), a Mexican film * ''The Misfits'' (2021 film), an American ...

. It was released on June 26, 1979 through vocalist

Glenn Danzig Glenn Allen Anzalone (born June 23, 1955), better known by his stage name Glenn Danzig, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, film director, and record producer. He is the founder of the rock bands Misfits, Samhain, and Danzig. He owns t ...

's own label,

Plan 9 Records Plan 9 Records, originally known as Blank Records, was an independent record label that was founded in 1977 by Glenn Danzig of the horror punk band The Misfits. The label was discontinued in 1995. In 1977, Danzig founded Blank Records as a means ...

, and is commonly said to have been inspired by the unsolved murder of

Nancy Spungen Nancy Laura Spungen (; February 27, 1958 – October 12, 1978) was the American girlfriend of English musician Sid Vicious, and a figure of the 1970s punk rock scene. Raised Jewish in Philadelphia, Spungen was an emotionally disturbed child who ...

. The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

of the single features the songs "

Teenagers from Mars "Teenagers from Mars" is a song by the American punk rock band Misfits. Written by vocalist Glenn Danzig, the song was first released as the B-side of the band's 1979 single "Horror Business", alongside the song "Children in Heat". "Teenagers fro ...

" and "Children in Heat". The single's cover artwork features a skeletal figure inspired by the titular character from the 1946

film serial A serial film, film serial (or just serial), movie serial, or chapter play, is a motion picture form popular during the first half of the 20th century, consisting of a series of short subjects exhibited in consecutive order at one theater, gene ...

'' The Crimson Ghost''. The figure became a

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as fi ...

for the band, and its skull image would serve as the Misfits' logo for the rest of their career.

Background and recording

On October 12, 1978, the body of

was discovered in the bathroom of her room at

Hotel Chelsea The Hotel Chelsea (also the Chelsea Hotel or the Chelsea) is a hotel in Manhattan, New York City, built between 1883 and 1885. The 250-unit hotel is located at 222 West 23rd Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues, in the neighborhood of Ch ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York City. Spungen had been living at the hotel with her boyfriend,

Sex Pistols The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...

bassist

Sid Vicious John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...

. Her body was found with a fatal stab wound in her abdomen, and Vicious purportedly owned the knife that made the wound. Vicious was arrested and charged with

second degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

, and after pleading not guilty, he was released on bail, awaiting trial. On the evening of February 1, 1979, a small group of Vicious's friends, including Misfits bassist

Jerry Only Gerald Caiafa Jr. (born April 21, 1959), better known by his stage name Jerry Only, is an American musician, best known as the bassist for the Misfits and later the vocalist as well. He is the only member to appear in every Misfits lineup. Biog ...

, gathered to celebrate Vicious having made bail at his new girlfriend Michelle Robinson's

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

apartment. Vicious had undergone a detoxification program during his time in jail at

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...

, but at the dinner gathering, Vicious had English photographer Peter "Kodick" Gravelle deliver him

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

. Vicious died of an overdose at some point during the night, and was discovered by his mother, Anne Beverley, and Robinson the following morning. Prior to Vicious's death, the Misfits were rumored to potentially back Vicious on his proposed debut solo album. After learning of his death, Only helped Beverley collect Vicious's possessions, and invited her to attend a Misfits recording session. "Horror Business", "

", and "Children in Heat" were recorded from January 26 to February 5, 1979 at C.I. Studios in New York, where the band had recorded their proposed debut album '' Static Age'' a year prior. Beverley attended at least one of the sessions. Writer and vocalist

insisted that the band record as many tracks as possible during their allotted time in the studio in an effort to save money. The title track, "Horror Business", contains lyrics such as "You don't go in the bathroom with me" and "I'll put a knife right in you". Because of such lyrics, along with the connections between the Misfits and Vicious, the song is commonly said to have been based on the unsolved murder of Spungen. However, the song's lyrics have also been noted as possible references to the 1960 film '' Psycho'', which features a scene involving a character being stabbed to death in a bathroom. The line "Psycho '78", which also appears in the song, has been interpreted as transposing the year in which the film was released (as well as when the film's narrative takes place) to the year that the song was recorded.

Release

The songs "Horror Business" and "Teenagers from Mars" were considered for inclusion in a 1979 12" record which would have also featured the song " Who Killed Marilyn?". An

acetate disc An acetate disc (also known as a ''lacquer'', ''test acetate'', ''dubplate'', or ''transcription disc'') is a type of phonograph record generally used from the 1930s to the late 1950s for recording and broadcast purposes and still in limited use t ...

of this proposed release was pressed, but completing a run of 12" records for the release was deemed to be too expensive, and so the release was scrapped. The first pressing of the "Horror Business" single, issued by Danzig's own label

on June 26, 1979, consisted of 25 sleeveless black

7" vinyl In music, a single is a type of Art release#Music, release, typically a song Sound recording, recording of fewer tracks than an LP record or an album. One can be released for record sales, sale to the public in a variety of formats. In most ca ...

copies. The second pressing, from August 1979, consisted of 2,000 copies on yellow vinyl. Due to a pressing error, approximately 20 copies had the track "Horror Business" on both sides, rather than "Horror Business" on the A-side and "Teenagers from Mars" and "Children in Heat" on the B-side. Many copies contained an insert with a fabricated story claiming that the band had recorded the single in an abandoned

haunted house A haunted house, spook house or ghost house in ghostlore is a house or other building often perceived as being inhabited by disembodied spirits of the deceased who may have been former residents or were otherwise connected with the prope ...

in New Jersey, and that, when later mixing the tapes at a recording studio in New York City, they heard strange voices and noises in the background of the recordings. According to a 1993 interview with Jerry Only:

What happened was, there was a weird sound on there, and we didn't know where the hell it came from. So we said, "What are we gonna do? Are we gonna remix it?" I said, "Well, I don't got no more money. This is it. You gotta like what you got." We thought about it, and we thought, we don't want everybody to think we're a bunch of jerks. So I think I mentioned it, "Let's just say it was recorded in a haunted house. Everybody'll love that!"

The songs "Horror Business", "Teenagers from Mars", and "Children in Heat" have been re-released multiple times since the single was first issued. In 1980, the songs were included on the Misfits' EP '' Beware''. In 1986, "Horror Business" and "Teenagers from Mars" were included as tracks on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

'', also known as ''Collection I''. A live version of "Horror Business" was included on the EP and album ''

Evilive ''Evilive'' is a live album by the American punk rock band Misfits. It was initially released as a 7-song EP in December 1982 and later added 5 more songs and released as an album in October 1987. It was released on frontman Glenn Danzig's Pl ...

'', released in 1982 and 1987, respectively. "Children in Heat" was re-issued in 1995 on the compilation album ''

Collection II ''Collection II'', also known as ''Misfits II'', a compilation album of songs by the American punk rock band Misfits. Released on November 14, 1995, it serves as a companion album to the band's previous compilation, ''Collection I''. Both compi ...

''. These releases were all included in the 1996 boxed set '' The Misfits''. "Teenagers from Mars" was also included on the album ''Static Age'', which was part of the boxed set and which received a standalone release in 1997. Misfits stage

Cover artwork

The single's cover artwork features an image of the eponymous character from the 1946

'' The Crimson Ghost''. The Misfits had first made use of the character's likeness in a flyer promoting one of their gigs on March 28, 1979 at

Max's Kansas City Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South in New York City, which became a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s. It was opened by Mickey Ruskin (1933–1983) in Decembe ...

, after Danzig and Only came across a picture of the Crimson Ghost while searching for images to

silkscreen Screen printing is a printing technique where a mesh is used to transfer ink (or dye) onto a substrate, except in areas made impermeable to the ink by a blocking stencil. A blade or squeegee is moved across the screen to fill the open mesh ...

on T-shirts. The "Horror Business" single marks the first time that the Misfits had incorporated the character's likeness into the cover artwork of one of their releases, and the character's skull-like visage would become a recognizable

and logo for the band throughout their career. The back cover of the single features black-and-white portraits of the individual band members, along with a rendering of

Lon Chaney Leonidas Frank "Lon" Chaney (April 1, 1883 – August 26, 1930) was an American actor. He is regarded as one of the most versatile and powerful actors of cinema, renowned for his characterizations of tortured, often grotesque and affli ...

the Phantom ''The Phantom'' is an American adventure comic strip, first published by Lee Falk in February 1936. The main character, the Phantom, is a fictional costumed crime-fighter who operates from the fictional African country of Bangalla. The charact ...

from the 1925 film ''

The Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pierr ...

''.

Critical reception

In his book ''This Music Leaves Stains: The Complete Story of the Misfits'', author James Greene Jr. writes of the single as a whole: "While more muddled production-wise than '

Bullet A bullet is a kinetic projectile, a component of firearm ammunition that is shot from a gun barrel. Bullets are made of a variety of materials, such as copper, lead, steel, polymer, rubber and even wax. Bullets are made in various shapes and co ...

', 'Horror Business' is just as arresting as its predecessor ..'Horror Business' was greeted by the growing Misfits fan base as an instant classic." He goes on to note that the title track "offers a bluesy feel at times, almost as if nothing more is at stake than the melody." Dan Ozzi of

Diffuser.fm Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

ranked "Horror Business" #7 on his list of the 10 best Misfits songs, and noted the "vague" nature of the track's lyrics. Eduardo Rivadavia of

Ultimate Classic Rock Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wit ...

also ranked the song #7 on his list of the top 10 Misfits songs, comparing the track's "knuckle-scraping riffs" and Danzig's "distinctively punchy pronunciation" to the music of

the Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...

. Aaron Lariviere of ''

Stereogum ''Stereogum'' is a daily Internet publication that focuses on music news, reviews, interviews, and commentary. The site was created in January 2002 by Scott Lapatine. ''Stereogum'' was one of the first MP3 blogs and has received several award ...

'' ranked the track #9 on his list of the best Misfits songs, calling it an example of a Misfits song with lyrics that are "just awesome".

Personnel

The Misfits *

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Bobby Steele Bobby Steele (born Robert Charles Kaufhold on March 18, 1956) is an American punk rock musician. He is the current guitar player, songwriter, and sole original member of the punk band The Undead. He has been a member of multiple other bands, m ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

Joey Image Joey Poole (March 5, 1957 – June 1, 2020), known professionally as Joey Image, was an American punk rock drummer. He joined the Misfits in November 1978. He was the drummer for both the "Horror Business" and "Night of the Living Dead" session ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Production * Dave Achelis – producer * Rich Flores – mastering

Background and recording

Release

Cover artwork

Critical reception

Personnel

See also

References

Further reading