Hear Madness Perform “Our House” on This Day in 1983
Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Music Features Madness
As one of the U.K.’s premier ska groups, Madness are just a feel-good band. Whether it’s “One Step Beyond,” “My Girl” or “It Must Be Love,” frontman Suggs and co. have a favorite tune for everyone. Their biggest American hit and only U.S. top 10 single was “Our House,” taken from their 1982 fourth album The Rise & Fall.
“Our House” captures the happy-go-lucky side of suburban life in the U.K., and it resonates just as much in America with its peppy, impossible-to-resist singalong. It’s popped up in countless TV commercials, corny family lip-sync videos and wedding receptions for the past several years.
On this day in 1983, Madness performed their signature hit in New York City at Pier 84, a year after the release of The Rise & Fall. With strings, brass and piano, Madness make this song of domestic life feel like a grand occasion.
Listen to Madness perform “Our House” via the Paste vault below.