"Madame Helga" is a song by Welsh rock band

Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley, Wales. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (bass guitar, harmonica, backing vocals), Adam Zind ...

from their fourth studio album, '' You Gotta Go There to Come Back'' (2003). It was inspired by the band's stay at

Helga's Folly Helga's Folly is an art nouveau boutique hotel situated in Kandy, Sri Lanka owned by Helga de Silva Blow Perera, daughter of Fredrick de Silva. Gregory Peck, Peter Finch, William Holden, Mahatma Gandhi, Vivien Leigh, Laurence Olivier, Jawaharlal ...

while they were on tour in Sri Lanka in 2002. The folly is owned by Helga Desilva Blow Perera, from whom the title "Madame Helga" originated. Released as a single on 19 May 2003, the song reached number four on 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 ...

and number 15 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

the same month. "Madame Helga" is track three on ''You Gotta Go There to Come Back''. There is also a live version of the track on the ''

Live from Dakota ''Live from Dakota'' is the first live album by Welsh rock band Stereophonics. It is a 2-disc compilation featuring 20 tracks spanning the first five of the band's albums and capturing the best of their 2005 world tour. Rather than being a rec ...

'' album. The music video was directed by

Robert Hales Sir Robert Hales ( – 14 June 1381) was Grand Prior of the Knights Hospitaller of England, Lord High Treasurer, and Admiral of the West. He was killed in the Peasants' Revolt. Career In 1372 Robert Hales became the Lord/Grand Prior of th ...

. Despite being one of the band's highest-charting singles, it is not included on the standard edition of the band's 2008

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

, '' Decade in the Sun: Best of Stereophonics''.

Track listings

UK CD single # "Madame Helga" – 3:56 # "High as the Ceiling" – 3:18 # "Royal Flush" (mono demo) – 3:29 UK DVD single # "Madame Helga" (audio) – 3:56 # "Madame Helga" (live video) UK 7-inch single :A. "Madame Helga" – 3:56 :B. "High as the Ceiling" – 3:18

Credits and personnel

Credits are taken from the '' You Gotta Go There to Come Back'' album booklet. Recording * Written on 2 May 2002 in Sri Lanka * Recorded between September and December 2002 at

Hook End Manor Hook End Recording Studios was a recording studio located in Hook End Manor, a 16th-century Elizabethan house near Checkendon, Oxfordshire, England. History The original studio, Space Studios, was built by Alvin Lee of the band Ten Years Afte ...

(

Checkendon Checkendon is a village and civil parish about west of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire and about north west of Reading in Berkshire on a mid-height swathe of the Chilterns. History The parish has a record of continuous settlement since ...

, England) * Mixed at

Ocean Way Ocean Way Recording was a series of recording studios established by recording engineer and producer Allen Sides with locations in Los Angeles, California, Nashville, Tennessee, and Saint Barthélemy. Ocean Way Recording no longer operates record ...

(Hollywood, California) * Mastered at

Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music c ...

(London, England) Personnel *

Kelly Jones Kelly Jones (born 3 June 1974) is a Welsh singer-songwriter and a founding member, lead singer, and guitarist of the rock band Stereophonics. Early life and debut Kelly Jones was born youngest of three boys for Beryl and Arwyn Jones in the s ...

– writing, vocals, guitars, production * Richard Jones – bass, harmonica *

Stuart Cable Stuart James Cable (19 May 1970 – 7 June 2010) was a Welsh rock drummer and broadcaster, best known as the original drummer for the band Stereophonics. Early life Cable was born in Aberdare, Rhondda Cynon Taf, on 19 May 1970. When he was 10 ...

– drums, percussion * Andy Davies – recording assistant *

Jack Joseph Puig Jack Joseph Puig is an American audio engineer, A&R executive, and record producer. He has worked with Tonic, Hole, Jellyfish, The Black Crowes, John Mayer, Weezer, Fiona Apple, Roger Hodgson, Taxiride, Green Day, Counting Crows, No Doubt, Klaxo ...

– mixing * Jim Lowe – engineering * Steve McNichol –

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

engineering * Chris Blair – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control 2003 singles 2003 songs Glam metal songs Gospel songs Music videos directed by Robert Hales Songs written by Kelly Jones Stereophonics songs V2 Records singles