"Psycho" is a song by

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blu ...

singer

Imelda May Imelda Mary Higham (born Imelda Mary Clabby, 10 July 1974), professionally known as Imelda May, is an Irish singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Known primarily as a singer, she also plays the bodhrán, guitar, bass guitar and tambou ...

. Written solely by May, the song was released as her third single on June 28, 2010, and the lead single from her third studio album, '' Mayhem''. The single was May's first release on her new record label,

Decca Decca may refer to: Music * Decca Records or Decca Music Group, a record label * Decca Gold, a classical music record label owned by Universal Music Group * Decca Broadway, a musical theater record label * Decca Studios, a recording facility in W ...

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 Basingstoke,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. A remastered version of the song was released as a bonus track on the iTunes version of ''Mayhem''.

Release and promotion

"Psycho" was announced for release in May 2010 at which time the recording and production was completed. In the official press release by Decca Records, it was noted that "'Psycho' sees Imelda displaying some of her more disparate influences, as if PJ Harvey's "Sheela Na Gig" had been recorded in the Ace cafe in North London in front of a load of rockers." May's following tour of the United States with Jeff Beck promoted the song abroad and in Ireland and the United Kingdom, the song was performed on '' The Late Late Show'' on September 10 and '' Later... with Jools Holland'' on October 12, respectively. Though well-promoted in comparison to her previous singles, the single failed chart in neither Ireland nor the United Kingdom.

Music video

Filmed on a higher budget than her only previous music video, "

Johnny Got a Boom Boom "Johnny Got a Boom Boom" is the debut single by Irish rockabilly musician Imelda May. Written solely by May, the song was released on 26 January 2009 on Ambassador Records, a sub-label of Universal Music Ireland, and is from her second studio a ...

", the promotional music video for "Psycho" is aptly set in a

mental institution Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

and features May as a nurse delivering patients with medication. The video also features The Imelda May Band performing in a solitary confinement room.

Musicians and personnel

;The Imelda May Band *

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 withou ...

bodhrán The bodhrán (, ; plural ''bodhráin'' or ''bodhráns'') is a frame drum used in Irish music ranging from in diameter, with most drums measuring . The sides of the drum are deep. A goatskin head is tacked to one side (synthetic heads or oth ...

Darrel Higham Darrel Higham (born 5 January 1970) is an English rockabilly guitarist who performs with Kat Men. He was previously married to Imelda May and performed in her band. Biography Music career Higham started playing lead guitar with British rockab ...

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 strin ...

s *Al Gare - bass,

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

*Stevew Rushton - drums,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

*Dave Priseman -

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

, flugel, percussion ;Technical personnel *Imelda May - producer, mixing * Andy Wright - producer, mixing *Gavin Goldberg - producer, mixing *Graham Dominy -

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

*Darrel Highham - mixing *Guy Davie - mastering

Track listing

All songs written by

. ;Digital download #"Psycho" - 2:54 #"My Baby Left Me" - 2:57 #"Sneaky Freak" - 3:10 #"Psycho" (video) - 2:44 ;Limited edition 7" vinyl #"Psycho" - 2:54 #"My Baby Left Me" - 2:57

External links

References

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