"The Sun and the Rain" by Madness

Song#:  1814
Date:  03/03/1984
Debut:  90
Peak:  72
Weeks:  5
Genre:  Pop, New Wave



Pop Bits:  With two Top 40's to their credit, including the #7 "Our House," this UK band was set to issue their next LP for the US market. Keep Moving would be released and this song was pushed out as the album's first single. Despite being a hit in the UK the previous year (#5), the tune didn't catch on overseas and it faded after a few weeks. Their chart fortunes in the UK began to decline as well and after some personnel changes and other issues, the band parted ways in 1986. Like many bands of the era, the band reformed in later years and ended up getting one more UK Top 10 hit in 1999.

ReduxReview:  I like the jaunty piano opening and the feeling it gives throughout the song, but the tune itself is not all that memorable. It's a pleasant and summery listen. I just don't get much else from it. The song is also very British, which can be a hard sell in the US unless the tune is undeniably catchy and/or interesting. "Our House" was one of those songs and it wound up in the Top 10. This one doesn't come close to that 80s classic.

ReduxRating:  5/10

Trivia:  Also included on the Keep Moving album was the song "Michael Caine." After writing the song, the band approached the movie star about making a guest appearance on the recording. At first, Caine turned the band down, but then he was convinced to do it by his daughter who happened to be a Madness fan and loved the song. Basically, all the actor does is say "I'm Michael Caine" or "my name is Michael Caine." Released as a single in the UK, it reached #11 on the chart. The concept for the video for this song was based on Caine's 1965 spy film The Ipcress File, a movie that placed at #59 on BFI's list of the 100 best British films of the 20th century.

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