"Our House" is a song by British

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 ...

and pop band Madness. It was released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, ''

The Rise & Fall ''The Rise & Fall'' is the fourth studio album by English ska band Madness, released on 5 November 1982 by Stiff Records. This album saw Madness at their most experimental, exhibiting a range of musical styles including jazz, English music ...

'', on 12 November 1982. The song charted within the top ten in several countries, and was the band's biggest hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It won the category Best Pop Song at the May 1983

Ivor Novello Awards The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They have been presented annually in London by the Ivors Academy (formerly the BASCA) since 1956, and over 1,000 statuettes have been a ...

About

Released in November 1982, it peaked at No. 5 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 ...

. "Our House" was their biggest hit in the US, reaching No. 7 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1983. On the US rock chart, the song peaked at No. 9, and it reached No. 21 on the US dance chart. It received heavy airplay by radio stations. The B-side, "Walking with Mr. Wheeze", is an instrumental. The title is a play on "Groovin' with Mr. Bloe", a 1970 instrumental hit by the session group

Mr. Bloe Mr. Bloe was the name given to the musicians who performed the single "Groovin' with Mr. Bloe", which was a hit in 1970 in the UK for Dick James Music (DJM). These included Harry Pitch on harmonica, and on piano. Background The tune "Groov ...

Music video

The band portrays a working-class family in the video, including one with a stubbly face, dressed in an apron and bonnet, playing the mother. The band members perform with their instruments in the living room, as they prepare for work and school. The family play squash and relax in a hot tub. The video includes exterior shots of other houses, such as

the Playboy Mansion The Playboy Mansion, also known as the Playboy Mansion West, is the former home of ''Playboy'' magazine founder Hugh Hefner who lived there from 1974 until his death in 2017. Barbi Benton convinced Hefner to buy the home located in Holmby Hill ...

Stocks House Stocks Manor House is a large Georgian mansion, built in 1773. It is the largest property in the village of Aldbury, Hertfordshire. Stocks House and its manorial farm is an estate surrounded by of National Trust Ashridge Forest and the C ...

in Hertfordshire, and

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

. The domestic property featured in the video is a terrace house on Stephenson Street in north-west London, near

Willesden Junction Willesden Junction is a railway station in Harlesden, north-west London, UK. It is served by both London Overground and London Underground services. History The station developed on three contiguous sites: the West Coast Main Line (WCML) st ...

In popular culture

In 1984, Madness made a guest appearance in the series 2 episode "

Sick Sick may refer to: Medical conditions * Having a disease or infection * Vomiting (British) Music * The Sick, a Swedish band formed by two members of Dozer Albums * Sick (Loaded album), ''Sick'' (Loaded album), 2009 * Sick (Massacra album), ' ...

" of '' The Young Ones'', performing "Our House". They had previously appeared in series 1, performing "

House of Fun "House of Fun" is a song by English ska/pop group Madness, credited to Mike Barson and Lee Thompson. Retrieved on 28 June 2007. It was released as a one-off single on 14 May 1982 and reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending nine w ...

". A

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

called '' Our House'', featuring Madness songs, ran in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

's West End between October 2002 and August 2003. A recording of the show was broadcast on

BBC Three BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...

and was released as a DVD. In Chile, the song was used in the theme song of Chilean Canal 13 TV series, ''Papá Mono''. The song has been adapted into an anthem by fans of football club

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

, to refer to centre back

Kortney Hause Kortney Paul Duncan Hause (born 16 July 1995) is an English professional footballer of Bermudian descent, who plays as a defender for club Aston Villa. He was a regular for both England U20 and England U21 sides and played in Gareth Southgat ...

. The song is used in TV commercials for

HyVee Hy-Vee, Inc. () is an employee-owned chain of supermarkets in the Midwestern and Southern United States, with more than 280 locations in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and soon Indiana, Kentucky, ...

. The lyric and verses are slightly modified to match with the commercial's theme. "Our House" appears in a

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

TV commercial A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

for

Allstate The Allstate Corporation is an American insurance company, headquartered in Northfield Township, Illinois, near Northbrook since 1967. Founded in 1931 as part of Sears, Roebuck and Co., it was spun off in 1993 but still partially owned by S ...

. "Our House" was featured in a '' Dead Ringers'' parody of

Jeremy Vine Jeremy Guy Vine (born 17 May 1965) is an English television and radio personality, presenter, broadcaster and journalist. He is best known as the host of his BBC Radio 2 lunchtime programme which presents news, views, interviews with live guest ...

's Radio 2 programme on 9 July 2021.

Track listing

*7" single (Stiff Records - BUY 163) #"Our House" – 3:23 #"Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31 *7" single (Stiff Records - BUY JB 163) #"Our House (Special stretch mix)" – 3:45 #"Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31 *US 7" single (Geffen Records - 7–29668) #"Our House" - 3:20 #"Cardiac Arrest" - 2:58 ("Special stretch mix" is a mostly instrumental edit of the extended mix) *12" single (Stiff Records - BUYIT 163) #"Our House" (Extended Mix) – 6:00 #"Our House" (7" Version) – 3:23 #"Walking with Mr. Wheeze" – 3:31 * U.S. 12" single (Geffen Records - 0–29667) #"Our House (Dance mix)" – 5:02 #"Mad House (Our House dub mix)" – 4:35

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

Music video
of "Our House" on YouTube

{{Authority control Songs about nostalgia Songs about families 1982 singles Madness (band) songs Number-one singles in Sweden RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Chris Foreman Songs written by Chas Smash Stiff Records singles Geffen Records singles Virgin Records singles Song recordings produced by Clive Langer Song recordings produced by Alan Winstanley 1982 songs