"Lock the doors and close the blinds -- we're going for a ride..."

I first heard this song when my brother's friend, Meir, simply wouldn't stop playing it. I also recall that he was doing his best to program his Atari 400 computer to play the chorus of the song.

What I hadn't realized was that this was one of the foremost ska bands -- and quite ahead of its time. It began as a tribute to Prince Buster -- and, in fact, covered his song "One Step Beyond" as a tribute.

By the time 1982 rolled around, this song exploded in the USA, mostly due to heavy rotation on this newfound channel called "MTV." For me it was my first picture of how dreary looking London was -- and what it would look like if you filmed on a squash court.

Madness - Our House (1982)



Father wears his Sunday best
Mother's tired she needs a rest
The kids are playing up downstairs
Sister's sighing in her sleep
Brother's got a date to keep
He can't hang around

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our ...

Our house it has a crowd
There's always something happening
And it's usually quite loud
Our mum she's so house-proud
Nothing ever slows her down
And a mess is not allowed

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our ...

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our ...
Something tells you that you've got to get away from it

Father gets up late for work
Mother has to iron his shirt
Then she sends the kids to school
Sees them off with a small kiss
She's the one they're going to miss
In lots of ways

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our ...

I remember way back then when everything was true and when
We would have such a very good time such a fine time
Such a happy time
And I remember how we'd play simply waste the day away
Then we'd say nothing would come between us
Two dreamers

Father wears his Sunday best
Mother's tired she needs a rest
The kids are playing up downstairs
Sister's sighing in her sleep
Brother's got a date to keep
He can't hang around

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our street

Our house, in the middle of our street
Our house, in the middle of our ...

Our house, was our castle and our keep
Our house, in the middle of our street

Our house, that was where we used to sleep
Our house, in the middle of our street

Our house, in the middle of our street

Listen to a short snippet of "Our House"

(Also check out greeneggsandham as she subs in for callmeroger's "The 90's Song of the Day."