''Work Rest and Play'' is an EP by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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 ...

/ pop 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 EP was headlined by the song "

Night Boat to Cairo "Night Boat to Cairo" is a song by British ska/ pop band Madness from their debut 1979 album '' One Step Beyond...''. It was written by Mike Barson and Suggs and was also included on the '' Work Rest and Play'' EP, which peaked at number six on ...

", from the band's debut studio album '' One Step Beyond...'' (1979). It entered 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 ...

on 5 April 1980, reaching a high of number 6. Retrieved on 19 June 2007.

Background

After the release of " My Girl", the band felt that they had exhausted the material from '' One Step Beyond...'', and did not want to release any more singles from the album. However, Dave Robinson, head of

Stiff Records Stiff Records is a British independent record label formed in London, England, by Dave Robinson and Jake Riviera. Originally active from 1976 to 1986, the label was reactivated in 2007. Established at the outset of the punk rock boom, Stiff ...

, disagreed. Eventually, a compromise was made, and the band decided to release an EP featuring one album track and three new tracks. The ''Work Rest and Play'' EP was the result.

Content

The EP's success was largely down to "

", which headlined the set and had an accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

. The fourth song, "Don't Quote Me On That", was a commentary on press coverage which had tried to paint the band as racists who supported the National Front (NF). Some of the band's shows had been disrupted by

skinhead A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...

violence and, in a 1979 ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' interview, Madness member

Chas Smash 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 ...

was quoted as saying "We don't care if people are in the NF as long as they're having a good time." This was quoted to add to the speculation that Madness was a racist band supporting the National Front, although the band members denied those allegations. Retrieved on 19 June 2007. A promotional 12" single was issued in the UK featuring "Don't Quote Me on That" backed with "

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoye ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, link=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failur ...

" from the ''One Step Beyond...'' studio album. The version of "Don't Quote Me on That" is a different, shorter mix from the one eventually used on the UK EP, and seems to have been used in all European countries outside the UK. It can be heard during the opening titles of the Madness film ''Take It or Leave It''. The 2010 re-release of the band's first studio album '' One Step Beyond...'' includes the three original songs from the ''Work Rest and Play'' EP as bonus tracks on a second CD.

International releases

Releases varied. Some countries opted to issue "Night Boat to Cairo" as a two-track 45rpm single, containing a variety of B-sides: in France "Swan Lake"; in Belgium "The Young and the Old" and in Germany "Don't Quote Me on That". In the Netherlands "Night Boat to Cairo" was the B-side and "Tarzan's Nuts" from ''One Step Beyond...'' was the A-side of the 45rpm single, this is in addition to the 33rpm EP which was also issued there. In Portugal, the EP featured a different mix of "Night Boat To Cairo". In the UK

45rpm A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

DJ and

jukebox A jukebox is a partially automated music-playing device, usually a coin-operated machine, that will play a patron's selection from self-contained media. The classic jukebox has buttons, with letters and numbers on them, which are used to selec ...

editions were printed up with "Deceives the Eye" as the B-side. In Italy a 33rpm 12" single was released with "Un Passo Avanti" ("One Step Beyond" sung in Italian) and "Night Boat to Cairo" on one side and "The Young and the Old" and "Don't Quote Me on That" on the other. When Japan released the "

Grey Day "Grey Day" is a 2-Tone song written by Mike Barson and recorded by British pop/ska band Madness. Retrieved 21 July 2007. The song was the first single released from the band's third studio album '' 7''. Retrieved 21 July 2007. It was a big de ...

"-led 6-track 12" EP in 1981, it contained the three 1980-recorded ''Work Rest and Play'' EP tracks, two of which were alternate mixes; the aforementioned "Don't Quote Me on That" plus "Deceives the Eye" which ends cleanly without Suggs's echoing, fading vocal.

"Night Boat to Cairo" music video

After the decision to issue the EP, a promotional

was needed. However, there was a lack of time before the release, and not enough to make an effective one. As "

" was the leading track from the EP, a music video of the song was created to represent the EP as a whole. Madness filmed a

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

type video in front of a blatantly

chroma key Chroma key compositing, or chroma keying, is a visual-effects and post-production technique for compositing (layering) two images or video streams together based on colour hues ( chroma range). The technique has been used in many fields to ...

ed backdrop of an Egyptian pyramid, with the lyrics appearing on screen in "

bouncing ball The physics of a bouncing ball concerns the physical behaviour of bouncing balls, particularly its motion before, during, and after impact against the surface of another body. Several aspects of a bouncing ball's behaviour serve as an introd ...

" style as

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 ...

sang them. During the long instrumental sections of the song, the band often run around the set, marching and performing their signature "Nutty Train". Despite the video's poor effects and unprofessional feel, it became very popular amongst fans. This is possibly due to the carefree nature and fooling around of the band, probably down to the large amount of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

drunk while filming.

Track listing

Personnel

;Madness * Graham 'Suggs' McPherson – lead vocals *

Mike Barson Michael Barson (born 21 April 1958) is a Scottish-born multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Barson came to prominence in the late 1970s as the keyboard player for the band Madness (band), Ma ...

– keyboards *

Chris Foreman Christopher John Foreman (born 8 August 1956), nicknamed Chrissy Boy, is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Foreman came to prominence in the late 1970s as the guitarist for the Engli ...

– electric guitar *

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 ...

– bass guitar * Lee Thompson – saxophone *

Daniel Woodgate Daniel Mark (Woody) Woodgate (born 19 October 1960) is an English musician, songwriter, composer and record producer. In a career spanning more than 30 years, Woodgate came to prominence in the late 1970s as the drummer for the English ska band ...

– drums *

– backing vocals, lead vocals on "Don't Quote Me on That".

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control 1980 debut EPs Albums produced by Clive Langer Albums produced by Alan Winstanley Madness (band) EPs Stiff Records EPs