"Listen to Your Father" is a song from Irish singer

Feargal Sharkey Seán Feargal Sharkey (born 13 August 1958) is a singer from Northern Ireland most widely known as the lead vocalist of punk band The Undertones in the 1970s and 1980s, and for solo works in the 1980s and 1990s. His 1985 solo single "A Good H ...

, released as his non-album debut single in 1984. It was written by

Carl Smyth Cathal Joseph "Carl" Smyth (born 14 January 1959), also known as Chas Smash, is an English singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. His career spans more than 40 years. Smash came to prominence in the late 1970s as secondary vocalist, trump ...

, and produced by Sharkey and Liquidator Productions (i.e. the British ska band

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

). The song reached No. 23 in the UK and No. 22 in Ireland. The B-side, "Can I Say I Love You", was written by Smyth and Sharkey. The single was the first to be released on

Zarjazz Records Zarjazz was a record label and sub-label of Virgin Records. Zarjazz was formed in 1984 by Madness, a British ska band. The label's first release was Feargal Sharkey's hit single "Listen to Your Father", on which Madness (minus Suggs) perform ...

, a sub-label of Virgin which had been formed that year by Madness. All members of Madness performed on the record minus lead singer

Suggs Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor from Hastings, England. In a music career spanning 40 years, he came to prominence in the ...

. When "Listen to Your Father" became a hit, Sharkey left the label to sign with Virgin as Madness had not required him to sign a contract with their label. A music video was created to promote the song. Sharkey performed the song on popular UK music show ''

Top of The Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

'' with members of Madness as backing musicians. Madness members Smyth and

Mark Bedford Mark William Bedford (born 24 August 1961),Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography'', Canongate, , p. 638 nicknamed Bedders, is an English musician, songwriter and composer. Bedford came to prominence in the late 1970s as the bass ...

also appeared with Sharkey on UK show '' Saturday Starship'' to promote the single and the Zarjazz label. On 24 November 1985, the song was performed live at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, during Madness' tour to promote their ''Mad Not Mad'' album. Sharkey performed lead vocals, with Madness singer Suggs introducing Sharkey as "Mr Teenage Kicks", referring to the Sharkey's hit song with his ex-band

The Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradley ...

Critical reception

Upon its release, Paul Bursche of ''

Number One Number One most commonly refers to: * 1 (number) Number One, No. 1, or #1 may also refer to: Music Albums * ''Number 1'' (Big Bang album), and the title song * ''No. 1'' (BoA album), and the title song * ''No.1'' (EP), by CLC * ''n.1 ...

'' wrote, "It's not a brilliant song but its sheer stomping, foot-tapping brightness almost guarantees Fergy a hit." Paul Massey of the ''

Aberdeen Evening Express The ''Evening Express'' is a daily local newspaper serving the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. History It was first published in November 1879. It was a tabloid during the 1930s to the 1950s until it resumed as a broadsheet in November 1958, six da ...

'' stated, "I preferred him with the Undertones but this is still good - bold, brassy and powerful." Frank Edmonds of the ''

Bury Free Press Yattendon Group plc (formerly Yattendon Investment Trust) is a British-based private company owned by the Iliffe family. It has interests in Vancouver, Seattle, agriculture, marinas and local newspaper printing and publishing. Property Yattendo ...

'' gave the song a 9 out of 10 rating and described it as "a bouncy, vibrant single full of brass and all the life and drive which made the Undertones great". He added that Sharkey and Madness made a "good combination" and that Sharkey is "the most wonderfully distinctive voice in pop". Jim Reid of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'' was less favourable, writing, "A Carl Smythe tune, 'Listen to Your Father' is the 4-4 stomp of early Madness without the winning melody and hook lines. Sharkey's voice isn't well served by the brassy jolting action. The Ulsterman deserves a more restrained treatment than this." Vici MacDonald of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand fo ...

'' stated, "This man has gone one of the best voices around. What, then, is he doing on this foul pub-rock thingy? A terrible waste!"

Formats

Chart performance

Personnel

Jill Furmanovsky Jill Furmanovsky (born 1953) is a British photographer who has specialised in documenting rock musicians. Life and work Born in Southern Rhodesia, Furmanovsky emigrated with her parents and brother Michael to London in 1965. She studied text ...

- photography *

, Liquidator Productions - producer *

Michael Brauer Michael Brauer is a New York-based mix engineer. He received a Grammy for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for his work on John Mayer's ''Continuum'', "Best Alternative Album" for Coldplay's ''Parachutes'', and also "Best Rock Album" for Coldplay's ''Viva la ...

- extended remix of "Listen to Your Father"

References

{{authority control 1984 debut singles Songs written by Chas Smash Feargal Sharkey songs 1984 songs Virgin Records singles Zarjazz singles