"Michael Caine" is a song by British band Madness

Madness (band)

In 1979, the band recorded the Lee Thompson composition "The Prince". The song, like the band's name, paid homage to their idol, Prince Buster. The song was released through 2 Tone Records, the label of The Specials founder Jerry Dammers. The song was a surprise hit, peaking in the UK music charts...

 from their 1984 album Keep Moving

Keep Moving

Keep Moving is the fifth album by the British ska band Madness from 1984. It was the last Madness album prior to their 1999 comeback album Wonderful to feature Mike Barson....

, and was released as a single in the same year. "Michael Caine", written by the unique pairing of Carl Smyth

Chas Smash

Cathal Smyth, also known as Chas Smash is an English musician, best known as the backing singer and dancer in the ska/pop band Madness. He also plays trumpet, acoustic guitar and various percussion instruments...

 and Daniel Woodgate

Daniel Woodgate

Dan Woodgate is the drummer of the band, Madness. More commonly known by his nickname Woody, he joined the band after being introduced at a rehearsal by bass player Mark Bedford. Woodgate is one of the less regular songwriters in the group, but is credited as co-writer on the hits 'Return of The...

, featured Smyth on lead vocals, which was unlike most Madness songs, which were sung by Suggs

Suggs (singer)

Graham McPherson , better known as Suggs, is an English singer, actor, former radio DJ, TV personality, and most famous as the frontman of the band Madness.-Early life:...

. "Michael Caine" was released in February 1984, and spent 8 weeks in British charts peaking at number 11.

The song is about an informer during the troubles in Northern Ireland. It is named after famous English actor Michael Caine

Michael Caine

Sir Michael Caine, CBE is an English actor. He won Academy Awards for best supporting actor in both Hannah and Her Sisters and The Cider House Rules ....

 and includes his vocal samples, recorded specifically for this song. When he was first approached to appear on the record, he initially turned the band down. But his daughter on hearing this made him change his mind, telling him how popular they were.

The German synthpop band And One

And One

AND ONE is a German New Wave, synthpop and EBM band founded by Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz.-History:The band formed after Steve Naghavi and Chris Ruiz met in 1989 at a Berlin club. Being fans of early EBM music, Naghavi and Ruiz decided to follow in the footsteps of New Wave/synthpop band Depeche...

 recorded a cover of the song on their album 9.9.99 9uhr.

Music video

The music video was based on Michael Caine's film The IPCRESS File

The Ipcress File (film)

The Ipcress File is a 1965 British espionage film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Michael Caine, Guy Doleman, and Nigel Green. The screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran was based on Len Deighton's 1962 novel, The IPCRESS File. It has won critical acclaim and a BAFTA award for best...

and featured a light bulb being shot as seen in the title sequence from the television spy series Callan

Callan (TV series)

Callan is the title of a British television series set in the murky world of espionage. Originally produced by ABC Weekend Television and later Thames Television, it was aired on the ITV network over four seasons spread out between 1967 and 1972...

. Due to the fact that it was shot on 35mm film (as opposed to the 16mm regularly used), the video took longer to complete than usual. It is because of this that Mike Barson

Mike Barson

Michael "Mike" Barson is a British musician, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of the second wave ska band, Madness.-Biography:...

 is absent for much of the video. Barson had a plane to catch, and could not stay for the whole filming session.

The video is more serious than most Madness videos up to that point, with only two notably "wacky" moments in the entire music video. The first of these is near the beginning when Mike Barson plays the first few bars on the piano (behind a movie-style credit scroll),before leaving it to play by itself. The second is near the end of the song, as Lee Thompson

Lee Jay Thompson

Lee Jay Thompson , nicknamed Kix or El Thommo, is an English musician, best known as the saxophonist and songwriter of the second wave ska band, Madness....

 mimes his saxophone

Saxophone

The saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...

 solo using only his hand, with his thumb as the mouthpiece.

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Michael Caine".

• 7" Single

1. "Michael Caine" (Smyth
   Chas Smash
   Cathal Smyth, also known as Chas Smash is an English musician, best known as the backing singer and dancer in the ska/pop band Madness. He also plays trumpet, acoustic guitar and various percussion instruments...
   
   /Woodgate
   Daniel Woodgate
   Dan Woodgate is the drummer of the band, Madness. More commonly known by his nickname Woody, he joined the band after being introduced at a rehearsal by bass player Mark Bedford. Woodgate is one of the less regular songwriters in the group, but is credited as co-writer on the hits 'Return of The...
   
   ) - 3:39
2. "If You Think There's Something" (Barson
   Mike Barson
   Michael "Mike" Barson is a British musician, best known as a founding member and keyboardist of the second wave ska band, Madness.-Biography:...
   
   ) - 3:08

• 12" Single

1. "Michael Caine (extended version)" (Smyth/Woodgate) - 4:08
2. "Michael Caine" (Smyth/Woodgate) - 3:39
3. "If You Think There's Something" (Barson) - 3:08