MADNESS - BAGGY TROUSERS

Publicació: 5 de setembre de 1980

Llistes: Regne Unit: #3

"Baggy Trousers" és una cançó publicada com a single principal de l'àlbum de 1980 "Absolutely". Va ser escrita pel cantant Graham "Suggs" McPherson i el guitarrista Chris Foreman. La cançó va ser una antítesi a "Another Brick In The Wall (part II)" de Pink Floyd, en què Madness es va alegrar dels seus dies d'escola.

Tot i que la cançó de Floyd era bastant amenaçadora, suggerint que l’escola i el seu personal són opressius i autoritàris, l'opinió de Madness sobre el tema és molt més divertida, recordant alegrement els seus dies escolars, reconeixent que els professors probablement no ho van gaudir tant com ells. Mentre que l'escola descrita a la cançó de Pink Floyd és un establiment privat elegant, Madness canta sobre una escola integral.

Suggs va dir: "'Baggy Trousers' va ser una mena de resposta a Pink Floyd, fins i tot a aquella edat vaig pensar que la frase 'teacher leave the kids, alone' (el professor deixa els nens sols) era una mica estranya, sinistra, tot i que crec que Floyd és una gran banda. Semblava autoindulgent pensar que els dies d’escola havien estat terribles; també hi havia un esnobisme invertit. "Vas anar a una escola pública elegant? Vols provar d'anar a la meva escola". I va continuar explicant: "Recordo haver pensat això. Pink Floyd va mostrar una experiència escolar molt diferent a la nostra. A la meva escola, en general, sentia pena pels professors als quals feiem passar una estona difícil perquè tots passàvem de tot. Així que vaig intentar corregir una mica l'equilibri amb aquesta cançó.”

Suggs recorda com es va inspirar per escriure la cançó: “És una cançó sobre una escola de Londres. Vaig fer una llista de totes les coses que recordava de l'escola on vaig anar, i vaig escriure sis pàgines, algunes interessants i altres una mica avorrides, sobre les meves experiències personals. Va ser llavors quan vaig pensar en els professors, que ens havien de suportar cada dia, i en la seva majoria no vam prestar cap interès ni atenció al que explicaven. Cadascú es va divertir a la seva manera i només pensava quan era l'hora de tornar a casa.

Chris Foreman i Suggs, parlant de la cançó, van explicar que volien emular a Ian Dury: "Estava específicament intentant escriure una cançó a l'estil d'Ian Dury, especialment les cançons que escrivia aleshores, que sovint eren una mena de catàlegs de frases del que es portava aleshores”.

El vídeo va ser filmat a l'escola Islip Street, Kentish Town. El saxofonista Lee Thompson portava al vídeo uns pantalons amples de 64 polzades que abans portava el corpulent actor Peter Ustinov. Quan tocava el seu solo de saxo, se'l mostra volant per l'aire per mitjà del cable d'una grua. El guitarrista Chris Foreman va recordar a la mateixa entrevista: "Una nit en Lee i jo ens vam quedar a veure Genesis a Drury Lane; en un moment del concert hi va haver una explosió i Peter Gabriel va sortir volant per l'aire. Per això en Lee va entrar volant al vídeo de 'Baggy Trousers', sempre va prometre que quan tingués l'oportunitat faria el mateix".

Suggs ha descrit en broma la cançó com el seu pla de pensions, però quan una cançó és tan evocadora com aquesta, no pots evitar pensar que mereix el seu gran èxit.

MADNESS - BAGGY TROUSERS

Released: September 5, 1980

Charted:  UK: #3 

"Baggy Trousers" is a song released as the lead single of the 1980 album “Absolutely”. It was written by lead singer Graham "Suggs" McPherson and guitarist Chris Foreman. This was an antithesis to Pink Floyd's "Another Brick In The Wall (part II)", in which Madness rejoiced in their school days.

While Floyd's song was quite menacing, suggesting a school and its staff as oppressive and authoritarian, Madness' take on the subject is much funnier, happily recalling the antics of her school days, acknowledging that the teachers probably didn't enjoy it as much as them. While the school described in the Pink Floyd song is a posh private establishment, Madness sings about a comprehensive school.

Suggs said: "'Baggy Trousers' was sort of an answer to Pink Floyd, even at that age I thought the line 'teacher leave the kids, alone' was a bit strange, sinister - though I think Floyd are a great band. It sounded self-indulgent to be going on how terrible schooldays had been; there was an inverted snobbery about it too. 'You went to a posh public school? You wanna try going to my school. “ And continued explaining: “I remember thinking that Pink Floyd showed a very different school experience to ours. In my school, I generally felt sorry for the teachers who were given a hard time because we were all up to no good. So I tried to redress the balance a little bit with this song.”

Suggs remembers how he was inspired to write the song: “It's a song about a school in London. I made a list of all the things I remembered from the school I went to, and I wrote six pages, some interesting and some a bit boring, about my personal experiences. That's when I thought about the teachers, who had to put up with us every day, and for the most part we never paid any interest or attention to what they explained. Each one had fun in their own way and only thought about when it was time to go home.

Chris Foreman and Suggs talking about the track explained that they wanted to emulate Ian Dury: “I was very specifically trying to write a song in the style of Ian Dury, especially the songs he was writing then, which were often sort of catalogues of phrases in a constant stream.” 

The video was filmed at Islip Street School, Kentish Town. Saxophonist Lee Thompson wore in the video 64-inch baggy trousers previously worn by the portly actor Peter Ustinov. When he played his saxophone solo he is shown flying through the air by means of a wire from a crane. Guitarist Chris Foreman recalled in the same Uncut interview: "One night Lee and I had bunked into see Genesis at Drury Lane - at a point in the set there was an explosion and Peter Gabriel went flying through the air. That's why Lee went flying in the 'Baggy Trousers' video-he always vowed that when he got the chance he'd do the same thing."

Suggs has jokingly described the song as being his pension plan, but when a song is as brilliantly evocative as this you can’t help but think it entirely deserves its huge success.