"Embarrassment" is a song recorded by

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 wal ...

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

band

Madness Madness or The Madness may refer to: Emotion and mental health * Anger, an intense emotional response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat * Insanity, a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns * ...

, predominantly written by Lee Thompson, but partially credited to

Mike Barson Michael Barson (born 21 April 1958) is a Scottish-born multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and composer. In a career spanning more than 40 years, Barson came to prominence in the late 1970s as the keyboard player for the band Madness. Early y ...

.Woodstra, Chris. Retrieved on July 1, 2007. The band first began performing the song at live shows in April 1980, Retrieved on July 1, 2007. and it was featured on their second studio album, '' Absolutely''. The song was released as a single on 14 November 1980 and spent 12 weeks in the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, reaching a high of number 4. The song was remixed for issue as a single, which is different from the album version, although they both have the same running time.

Lyrical content

The meaning behind the song was particularly dark, considering the band's previous material. Primarily written by Lee Thompson, the plot of the song reflected the unfolding turmoil following the news that his teenage sister, Tracy, had become pregnant and was carrying a black man's child. The subsequent rejection by her family, and the shame felt, was reflected in the song. As Thompson was on the road with the band, he only heard snippets of the story, through phone calls and letters, but this was enough for him to piece the story together. The song is a clear indication of changing attitudes (see

miscegenation Miscegenation ( ) is the interbreeding of people who are considered to be members of different Race (human categorization), races. The word, now usually considered pejorative, is derived from a combination of the Latin terms ''miscere'' ("to m ...

). The real-life story had a happy ending, however; Thompson later stated that when the child named "Hayley" was born, the antipathy of Tracy's relatives dissolved.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

for the single was filmed in Embassy Club,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, on 7 and 8 November 1980. The music video was particularly dark for Madness, corresponding to the lyrical content of the song. The video mainly features

Suggs Graham McPherson (born 13 January 1961), known primarily by his stage name Suggs, is an English singer-songwriter, musician, radio personality and actor from Hastings, England. In a music career spanning 40 years, he came to prominence in the ...

at a gloomy bar, interspersed with shots of the band playing various

brass instrument A brass instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips. Brass instruments are also called labrosones or labrophones, from Latin an ...

Appearances

In addition to its single release and appearance on the album ''Absolutely'', "Embarrassment" also appears on the Madness collections ''

Divine Madness Divine madness, also known as ''theia mania'' and crazy wisdom, refers to unconventional, outrageous, unexpected, or unpredictable behavior linked to religious or spiritual pursuits. Examples of divine madness can be found in Hellenism, Christia ...

'' (a.k.a. ''The Heavy Heavy Hits''), ''

Complete Madness ''Complete Madness'' is the first greatest hits album by ska/pop group Madness (band), Madness. It was released in 1982 in music, 1982 and included Madness' biggest hits from their first three studio albums and the stand-alone singles. ''Complete ...

'', '' It's... Madness'', '' The Business'', ''

Our House Our House may refer to: Film and television * ''Our House'' (2003 film) or ''Duplex'', an American film by Danny DeVito * ''Our House'' (2006 film), a television movie starring Doris Roberts * ''Our House'' (2018 film), an American-Canadian-Ge ...

'' and the US compilation ''Ultimate Collection''.

Track listing

#"Embarrassment" ( Barson/

Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada * ...

) - 3:10 #"Crying Shame" (Barson) - 2:36

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Embarrassment (Song) 1980 singles Madness (band) songs Songs written by Lee Thompson (saxophonist) Songs written by Mike Barson 1980 songs Stiff Records singles Works about teenage pregnancy Song recordings produced by Clive Langer Song recordings produced by Alan Winstanley