Released on 5 November 1982, The Rise & Fall started out as a concept album about childhood nostalgia, and that theme still runs through the title track and ‘Our House’. This is Madness at their most experimental, ranging across jazz, English music hall and Eastern influences.
On release, NME called it “the best Madness record”, and it is included in 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. ‘Our House’ won Best Pop Song at the 1983 Ivor Novello Awards and became the band’s only US Top 10 hit. The album reached No.10 in the UK, No.28 in Australia and No.29 in New Zealand.
