"Mayhem" is a song by Irish rockabilly singer Imelda May. Written solely by May, the song was released as her fourth single on 13 September 2010 and the second single from her third studio album of the same name. It has become one of May's signature songs, next to her first single " Johnny Got a Boom Boom."

Origin and recording

The song was written after the release of May's second studio album, '' Love Tattoo'', which she was promoting on tour at the time of writing. The song was recorded during the ''Mayhem'' sessions at Embassy Studios, a sixteen track analogue recording studio in a converted cow shed, near

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, United Kingdom. A remastered version of the song was released as a bonus track on the

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

version of ''Mayhem''. Alternative mixes by Andy Green and producer Andy Wright were released as part of a desktop widget available o
Imelda May's official website
Speaking of the writing and production of both the song and the album, May said: "I'm over the moon with how Mayhem has turned out – I hope people enjoy it. I feel I’ve made the album I wanted that reflects the spectrum of all my influences from music past but is a record firmly in the here & now."

Release and promotion

"Mayhem" was released on 13 September 2010 after the release of ''Mayhem'' in Ireland ten days earlier and after the album was delayed for release in the United Kingdom. The song was performed on ''

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'' on 10 September and '' Later... with Jools Holland'' on 12 October. "Mayhem" was May's first release to chart in Ireland. Entering the charts on 9 September, it peaked in its second week at No. 24 in 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 ...

Music video

Filmed on a similar budget to her previous single "

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", the promotional music video for "Mayhem" is centered around the lyrics of the song, which is a story of a recently separated couple. The video also features The Imelda May Band performing the song.

Musicians and personnel

;The Imelda May Band * Imelda May - vocals, bodhrán * Darrel Higham - guitars *Al Gare -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, double bass *Stevew Rushton -

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 ...

, percussion *Dave Priseman - trumpet, flugel, percussion ;Technical personnel *Imelda May -

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, mixing * Andy Wright - producer, mixing *Gavin Goldberg - producer, mixing *Graham Dominy - engineer *Darrel Highham - mixing *Guy Davie - mastering

Track listing

All songs written by Imelda May. ;Digital download #"Mayhem" - 2:46 #"Mayhem" (acoustic) - 2:23 #"Proud and Humble" - 4:00 #"Mayhem" (mastered version) - 2:58 ;7" vinyl #"Mayhem" - 2:46 #"Proud and Humble" - 4:00

Chart positions

External links

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayhem (Imelda May Song) 2010 singles Rockabilly songs Imelda May songs 2010 songs Songs written by Imelda May Decca Records singles