“‘Grey Day’ was a definite step on for Madness. I remember going to a club with a copy of it and Joe Strummer was DJing. I asked him to put this on, because I thought I’d finally done something that he could dig, not just jumping up and down – but he wouldn’t play it.”

— Madness lead singer Suggs on Grey Day

Grey Day may not have been good enough for Joe Strummer but I definitely appreciate it.

The first version of Grey Day was first performed by Madness when they were still known as The North London Invaders.  Three years later, they revisited the song and recorded it in the Bahamas “for tax purposes.”

The video was directed by Chris Gabrin, who was active in the 80s.  He also did videos for The Cure, Culture Club, John Mellencamp, and Pat Benatar.

Enjoy!