Johnny the Horse
"Johnny the Horse" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Madness | ||||
from the album Wonderful | ||||
Released | October 1999 | |||
Genre | Pop | |||
Length | 3:19 | |||
Label | Virgin | |||
Songwriter(s) | Carl Smyth | |||
Producer(s) | Clive Langer Alan Winstanley | |||
Madness singles chronology | ||||
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"Johnny the Horse" is a single by British band Madness from their 1999 album Wonderful. The song struggled to make an impact in the charts after the success of "Lovestruck", and peaked at #44 in the UK Singles Chart.
Carl Smyth explained that "The song Johnny the Horse was inspired by a couple of tramps who I used to see often sitting and drinking cheap booze on a wall locally. One day one of them was crying and, after asking him what was the problem, he told me that his friend had been beaten and killed whilst trying to sleep in an empty building. The name is the kind of tag that Scots or Irish might give to a strong drinking hard man type." Another quote states that "...it's funny how people's lives can unravel y'know. So that's what it's about. Who remembers them, they've had a life and then sort of fall between the cracks."
Although bonus track "You're Wonderful" is listed as a remix, this is the only version of the song to be released.
There is also a 'radio edit' of the single, where the line "Johnny the Horse was kicked to death, he died for entertainment" is replaced by the line "Johnny the Horse, who passed this way, he died for entertainment ". This radio edit also appeared on the 2010 reissue of "Wonderful".
Track listing
Two versions of the single were released on CD.
CD1
- "Johnny the Horse" (Smyth) - 3:19
- "You're Wonderful (Remix)" (Smyth) - 3:40
- "Johnny the Horse (Enhanced Video)"
CD2
- "Johnny the Horse" (Smyth) - 3:19
- "I Was the One" (Barson) - 3:07
- "Dreaming Man" (Smyth/Foreman) - 3:07
Charts
Chart (1999) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Singles (OCC)[1] | 44 |
Notes
- ^ "Madness: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 December 2022.
External links
- Johnny the Horse 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"
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- "Tomorrow's (Just Another Day)" / "Madness (Is All in the Mind)"
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- "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