Cardiac Arrest (Madness song)

"Cardiac Arrest"
Single by Madness
from the album 7
B-side	"In the City"
Released	12 February 1982 (1982-02-12)
Recorded	1981
Genre	Pop 2-tone
Length	2:58
Label	Stiff
Composer(s)	Chris Foreman
Lyricist(s)	Carl Smyth
Producer(s)	Clive Langer Alan Winstanley
Madness singles chronology
"It Must Be Love" (1981) "Cardiac Arrest" (1982) "House of Fun" (1982)
Music video
"Cardiac Arrest" on YouTube

"Cardiac Arrest" is a song by the English ska band Madness from their third studio album 7 (1981) and other compilation album called Complete Madness (1982). It spent 10 weeks in UK charts peaking at number 14.[1]

The song was written by Chas Smash and Chris Foreman and tells a story of a workaholic who suffers a fatal heart attack on his way to work. It was the first Madness single since "The Prince" which did not reach the UK top 10.

The album version of the song ends after the second chorus with a dramatic cut to a coda representing the man's heart thudding and then stopping. The single version replaces this with a repeat of the more optimistic first chorus, which fades out.

The music video for "Cardiac Arrest" featured Chas Smash as a person having a heart attack and the remaining band members playing roles of people advising him not to work so hard. The video follows the single version of the song rather than the album version.

The B-side, "In the City", was originally written by Bill Crutchfield, Chas Smash, Chris Foreman, Daisuke Inoue, Suggs, and Mike Barson for a Japanese television advertisement for Honda City cars. The various versions of the advert, including variations using "Driving in My Car" instead of "In the City", appear between tracks on the 1992 Divine Madness video.

In the Netherlands the single was released as a double A-side, and peaked at number 15 in the Dutch Top 40.[2] In the US, "Cardiac Arrest" was released on the compilation album Madness and the B-side of their "Our House" single.

Track listing

7" single

1. "Cardiac Arrest" – 2:58
2. "In the City" – 2:56

12" single

1. "Cardiac Arrest" (Extended 12" Version) – 4:10
2. "In the City" – 2:56

Charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
UK Singles (OCC)[3]	14

References

1. "everyhit.com search results". Archived from the original on 17 July 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
2. "De Nederlandse Top 40, week 12, 1982". Retrieved 23 November 2008.^[permanent dead link‍]
3. "Madness: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 December 2022.

External links

• "Cardiac Arrest" at Discogs (list of releases)