"Listen to Your Father" is a song by the Northern Irish singer

Feargal Sharkey Seán Feargal Sharkey (born 13 August 1958) is a singer and environmentalist from Northern Ireland. He was the lead vocalist of punk band the Undertones in the 1970s and 1980s and a solo artist in the 1980s and 1990s. His 1985 solo single " ...

, released as his standalone debut single on 1 October 1984. It was written by Carl Smyth, and produced by Sharkey and Liquidator Productions (i.e. the English

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

band Madness). The song reached No. 23 in the UK and No. 22 in Ireland. The B-side, "Can I Say I Love You", was written by Smyth and Sharkey. The single was the first to be released on

Zarjazz Zarjazz was a record label and sub-label of Virgin Records. Zarjazz was formed in 1984 by Madness, a British ska band. The label's first release was Feargal Sharkey's hit single " Listen to Your Father", on which Madness (minus Suggs) perfor ...

, a sub-label of

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a British record label owned by Universal Music Group. They were originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman (musician), ...

which had been formed that year by Madness. All members of Madness performed on the record minus lead vocalist

Suggs Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is a British singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor. He came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead singer of the ska band Madness, which ...

. When "Listen to Your Father" became a hit, Sharkey left the label to sign with Virgin as Madness had not required him to sign a contract with their label. A music video was created to promote the song. Sharkey performed the song on popular UK music chart television programme ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

'' with members of Madness as backing musicians. Madness members Smyth and Mark Bedford also appeared with Sharkey on UK show ''Saturday Starship'' to promote the single and the Zarjazz label. On 24 November 1985, the song was performed live at the

Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...

, London, during Madness' tour to promote their '' Mad Not Mad'' album. Sharkey performed lead vocals, with Madness singer Suggs introducing Sharkey as "Mr

Teenage Kicks "Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by J.J. O'Neill, the band's rhythm guitarist and principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially rele ...

", referring to the Sharkey's hit song with his ex-band

the Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradle ...

Critical reception

Upon its release, Paul Bursche of '' Number One'' wrote, "It's not a brilliant song but its sheer stomping, foot-tapping brightness almost guarantees Fergy a hit." Paul Massey of the '' Aberdeen Evening Express'' stated, "I preferred him with the Undertones but this is still good - bold, brassy and powerful." Frank Edmonds of the '' Bury Free Press'' gave the song a 9 out of 10 rating and described it as "a bouncy, vibrant single full of brass and all the life and drive which made the Undertones great". He added that Sharkey and Madness made a "good combination" and that Sharkey is "the most wonderfully distinctive voice in pop". Jim Reid of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' was less favourable, writing, "A Carl Smythe tune, 'Listen to Your Father' is the 4-4 stomp of early Madness without the winning melody and hook lines. Sharkey's voice isn't well served by the brassy jolting action. The Ulsterman deserves a more restrained treatment than this." Vici MacDonald of ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' stated, "This man has gone one of the best voices around. What, then, is he doing on this foul pub-rock thingy? A terrible waste!"

Formats

Personnel

Jill Furmanovsky Jill Furmanovsky (born 1953) is a British photographer who has specialised in documenting rock musicians. Life and work Born in Southern Rhodesia, Furmanovsky emigrated with her parents - her father subsequently worked at an architecture prac ...

- photography *

, Liquidator Productions - producer *

Michael Brauer Michael H. Brauer is an American mix engineer. Career He received a Grammy for "Best Pop Vocal Album" for his work on John Mayer's '' Continuum'', "Best Alternative Album" for Coldplay's '' Parachutes'', and also "Best Rock Album" for Coldplay' ...

- extended remix of "Listen to Your Father"

Charts

References

{{authority control 1984 songs 1984 debut singles Feargal Sharkey songs Songs written by Chas Smash Virgin Records singles Zarjazz singles