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Something in My House

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"Something in My House"
Single by Dead or Alive
from the album Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know
A-side"Something in My House"
B-side"D.J. Hit That Button"
Released29 December 1986 (1986-12-29)
Recorded1986
Genre
LengthAlbum Version (7:21)
Single Version (3:48)
Mortevicar Mix (6:59)
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
  • Pete Burns
  • Tim Lever
  • Mike Percy
  • Steve Coy
Producer(s)Stock Aitken Waterman
Dead or Alive singles chronology
"Brand New Lover"
(1986) 		"Something in My House"
(1986) 		"Hooked on Love"
(1987)
Music video
"Something in My House” on YouTube

"Something in My House" is a song by English pop band Dead or Alive, produced by Stock Aitken Waterman. It was released in the UK in December 1986 as the second single from the band's third studio album, Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. The single peaked at No. 12 on the UK singles chart.[1]

Production

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Originally conceived by singer Pete Burns as a Halloween release, the horror-themed "Something in My House" was delayed until late December in the UK, amid wrangling between the band and their record company, with the latter feeling the track was "too brutal" to be a single.[2] Clashes between the band and the label continued over the song's music video, with Epic Records reportedly objecting to a "mildly suggestive" sequence involving Burns and a banana.[3]

"By the time we got to 'Something in My House', I felt I wanted to express myself on film, as well as record, amuse myself, show my sense of humour," Burns wrote on the liner notes to his Evolution: The Videos compilation DVD. "Well apparently the manner in which I 'peeled a banana' seemed to work against me/us! And, it was downhill all the way after that."[4][5]

Recording of the song was also fraught, with Burns alleging that producer Mike Stock erased his original vocal take after objecting to the singer's use of the phrase "wicked queen"; a lyrical double entendre implying reference to a gay relationship.[6] "We would butt heads so fucking badly; it was unbelievable," Burns told journalist James Arena in his book Europe's Stars of 80s Dance Pop. "That's why we eventually walked away from them. For instance, there was a lyric from 'Something in My House' where I make reference to a wicked queen. "The actual producer, Mike Stock stopped me and said I couldn't use that term because it would mean the record is about gay people. I was like, 'Fuck this, it's going on!' They actually wiped the original vocal, but then Pete Waterman came back and said, 'Let him do it the way he wants to.'"[6]

Despite the reservations of the label and producers, the track proved to be Dead or Alive's biggest hit in the UK since "Lover Come Back to Me" and was the only single from their third album to earn a UK Top 20 placement.[1] Jerry Smith of the Music Week magazine described "Something in My House" a "furiously juddering and sluttering high energy dance tune with a very catchy feel", and praised Phil Harding's "vibrant mix".[7] The song also proved to be the act's final Top 40 hit with an original release in the UK, and their last Top 20 hit in Australia.[1][8]

The album version of the track is in the style of an extended dub remix, running to over 7 minutes. The 7" single version is the track in its original form, although it is noted as "Remixed by Phil Harding & Dead or Alive" due to it ultimately being released a month after the album version came out. Other extended and remixed versions include the "Flamenco" and "Mortevicar" 12" single mixes. A further 12" white label mix, known as "Naughty XXX", was released to club DJs, featuring a series of dialogue clips from horror film The Exorcist (1973) - with the track described as "unique" in its capacity as the only example of a "filthy, obscene [and] sexually explicit" Stock Aitken Waterman record.[2]

Track listing

[edit]
UK 7", 1986
No.TitleLength
1."Something in My House"3:48
2."D.J. Hit That Button"3:23
UK 12" single, 1986
No.TitleLength
1."Something In My House (Mortevicar Mix)"6:57
2."Something In My House (Flamenco Version)"4:20
3."D.J. Hit That Button"3:23
UK 12" single, 1986
No.TitleLength
1."Something in My House (U.S. Wipe-Out Mix Part 2)"7:18
2."Something In My House (House Instrumental)"5:16
3."D.J. Hit That Button"3:21

Chart performance

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Chart (1987) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[8] 19
Ireland (IRMA)[9] 8
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[10] 79
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[11] 31
United Kingdom (CIN)[1] 12
US Billboard Hot 100[12] 85
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[13] 3

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Official Charts > Dead or Alive". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  2. ^ a b "A Journey Through Stock Aitken Waterman: Ep 17: Ain't Nothing But a House Party to Something in My House on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  3. ^ "Pop education: Pete Burns' band Dead or Alive were NOT a one hit wonder". New Idea. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  4. ^ Dead Or Alive – Evolution: The Videos (2003, DVD), retrieved 6 December 2021
  5. ^ Burns, Pete. "Evolution: The Hits DVD".
  6. ^ a b Arena, James (7 July 2017). Europe's Stars of '80s Dance Pop: 32 International Music Legends Discuss Their Careers. McFarland. p. 29. ISBN 978-1-4766-7142-0.
  7. ^ Smith, Jerry (17 January 1987). "Singles" (PDF). Music Week. p. 13. Retrieved 8 September 2023 – via World Radio History.
  8. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 85. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Something in My House". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  10. ^ "Dead or Alive – Something in My House" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Dead or Alive – Something in My House". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  12. ^ "Dead or Alive Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 5 December 2021.
  13. ^ "Dead or Alive Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
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