Peak
33
Weeks
12
Score
1,259
Chart Year
1983
This was written by Labi Siffre, whose original version reached #14 in the UK in 1971. Madness' backing track was recorded in nine hours in a front room studio in a house in Dagenham, Essex. The duo of Clive Langer and Alan Winstanley produced this track. Langer recalled the bold use of strings on this track in an article by Eric Olsen of Blogcritics Magazine: "We had the strings play pizzicato: 'plink, plink, plink,' which at that time required real musicians. It was quite an experiment and you took a lot of responsibility because you had to pay the bill. Now you can just use a sample." Winstanley added: "A few years later Trevor Horn told me that he nicked the pizzicato strings idea from us for the first ABC record - that was quite flattering really." In 1992 this was re-issued and again it reached the UK Top 10 this time peaking at #6. In America this was the follow-up to the band's only Top 10 hit, "Our House." However the Ealing Comedy-influenced music video for this song, which featured the band all running around in undertaker's gear, was not appreciated across the Atlantic and this song only reached #33. Report this ad The video also featured underwater performances from guitarist Chris Foreman and saxophonist Lee Thompson. Foreman recalled to Q Magazine August 2008: "In the pool, I had these lead weights on. I thought I was gonna die. The hire guitar got bent so we got a hairdryer and sent it back. They said, 'The neck's like a banana.' So we had to buy it." Labi Siffre made a cameo appearance in the video as a violin player. This featured in the 1989 film The Tall Guy.
I never thought I'd miss you Half as much as I do And I never thought I'd feel this way The way I feel About you As soon as I wake up Every night, every day I know that it's you I need To take the blues away It must be love, love, love It must be love, love, love Nothing more, nothing less Love is the best How can it be that we can Say so much without words? Bless you and bless me Bless the bees And the birds I've got to be near you Every night, every day I couldn't be happy Any other way It must be love, love, love It must be love, love, love Nothing more, nothing less Love is the best As soon as I wake up Every night, every day I know that it's you I need To take the blues away It must be love, love, love It must be love, love, love It must be love, love, love It must be love, love, love It must be love, love, love It must be love, love, love It must be love, love, love It must be love, love, love
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 20, 1983 | 85 | 41 |
| 2 | Aug 27, 1983 | 70 | 56 |
| 3 | Sep 3, 1983 | 48 | 78 |
| 4 | Sep 10, 1983 | 41 | 85 |
| 5 | Sep 17, 1983 | 38 | 88 |
| 6 | Sep 24, 1983 | 37 | 89 |
| 7 | Oct 1, 1983 | 34 | 92 |
| 8 | Oct 8, 1983 | 33 | 93 |
| 9 | Oct 15, 1983 | 33 | 93 |
| 10 | Oct 22, 1983 | 43 | 83 |
| 11 | Oct 29, 1983 | 63 | 63 |
| 12 | Nov 5, 1983 | 96 | 30 |