Grey Day
"Grey Day" | ||||
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Single by Madness | ||||
from the album 7 | ||||
Released | 17 April 1981 | |||
Recorded | 1981 | |||
Genre |
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Length | 3:40 | |||
Label | Stiff | |||
Songwriter(s) | Mike Barson | |||
Producer(s) |
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Madness singles chronology | ||||
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"Grey Day" is a 2-Tone song written by Mike Barson and recorded by British pop/ska band Madness.[1] The song was the first single released from the band's third studio album 7.[2] It was a big departure from their early ska sound with a much darker, miserable feel. The song title does not appear in the lyrics as a single phrase, though a couplet rhyming "grey" with "day" features in the chorus.
The song was written prior to the band becoming a success in the UK music scene, and the first performance of the song came back in 1978 at the Acklam Hall while the band were known as "The North London Invaders".[2] The song was finally recorded in 1981 and was released as a single on 17 April 1981. The song spent 10 weeks in the UK Singles Chart, reaching a high of number 4.[2] It was able to crack the charts in Australia as well, but only as high as number 82.
Music video
The music video for the single was filmed in March 1981. The majority of the video was shot on an open top bus as it drove around London, and in Bowmans shop window on Camden High Street, where the band performed the song. The street they are featured walking down is Royal College Street just off Camden High Street; they're seen entering houses between 109 and 121.[2] A recurring theme in the music video is common dreams such as dreaming; that one is flying or falling.
Appearances
"Grey Day" is one of Madness' most anthologised singles. In addition to its single release and appearance on the album 7, "Grey Day" also appears on the Madness collections Divine Madness (a.k.a. The Heavy Heavy Hits), Complete Madness, It's... Madness, The Business and Our House. It also features on all four US Madness retrospectives, Madness, Total Madness, Ultimate Collection and The Millennium Collection.
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Grey Day".
- 7" single / Cassette single
- 12" single
- "Un Paso Adelante!" (Campbell) - 2:18
- "Baggy Trousers" (McPherson/Foreman) - 2:46
- "Grey Day" (Barson) - 3:37
- "Take It or Leave It" (Thompson/Barson) - 3:27
Charts
Chart (1981) | Peak position |
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Australia (Kent Music Report)[3] | 82 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[4] | 28 |
Ireland (IRMA)[5] | 4 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[6] | 25 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] | 18 |
UK Singles (OCC)[8] | 4 |
Certifications and sales
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI)[9] | Silver | 250,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
References
- ^ "Allmusic.com 7 overview". Retrieved 21 July 2007.
- ^ a b c d "The Madness Timeline: 1981". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 21 July 2007.
- ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 187. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "Madness – Grey Day" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Grey day". Irish Singles Chart.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Frankie Goes to Hollywood" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
- ^ "Frankie Goes to Hollywood – Two Tribes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Madness: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "British single certifications – Madness – Grey Day". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
External links
- Grey Day at Discogs (list of releases)
- v
- t
- e
- Chris Foreman
- Mike Barson
- Lee Thompson
- Suggs
- Dan Woodgate
- Mark Bedford
- One Step Beyond...
- Absolutely
- 7
- The Rise & Fall
- Keep Moving
- Mad Not Mad
- The Madness
- Wonderful
- The Dangermen Sessions Vol. 1
- The Liberty of Norton Folgate
- Oui Oui, Si Si, Ja Ja, Da Da
- Can't Touch Us Now
- Theatre of the Absurd Presents C'est la Vie
- Complete Madness
- Madness
- Utter Madness
- It's... Madness
- It's... Madness Too
- Divine Madness
- The Business
- Total Madness (1997)
- Our House
- Total Madness (2009)
- Ultimate Madness
- A Guided Tour of Madness
- Forever Young: The Ska Collection
- Madstock!
- Universal Madness
- Madness Live: To the Edge of the Universe and Beyond
- Work Rest and Play
- The Peel Sessions
- "The Prince"
- "One Step Beyond"
- "My Girl"
- "Night Boat to Cairo" (Work Rest and Play EP)
- "Baggy Trousers"
- "Embarrassment"
- "The Return of the Los Palmas 7"
- "Grey Day"
- "Shut Up"
- "It Must Be Love"
- "Cardiac Arrest"
- "House of Fun"
- "Driving in My Car"
- "Our House"
- "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" / "Madness (Is All in the Mind)"
- "Wings of a Dove"
- "The Sun and the Rain"
- "Michael Caine"
- "One Better Day"
- "Yesterday's Men"
- "Uncle Sam"
- "Sweetest Girl"
- "(Waiting For) The Ghost Train"
- "The Harder They Come"
- "Night Boat to Cairo"
- "Lovestruck"
- "Johnny the Horse"
- "Drip Fed Fred"
- "Shame and Scandal in the Family"
- "Girl Why Don't You"
- "Sorry"
- "NW5"
- "Dust Devil"
- "Sugar and Spice"
- "Forever Young"
- Discography
- Lucky 7 Records
- Dikran Tulaine
- Our House the Musical
- 2 tone
- Zarjazz Records
- "Starvation/Tam Tam Pour L'Ethiopie"
- The Madness
- Take It or Leave It
- The Lee Thompson Ska Orchestra
- Boring (The Young Ones)
- Sick (The Young Ones)
- Unreleased album