Waking Up with the House on Fire is an album by New Wave band Culture Club, released in 1984 (see 1984 in music). Unlike the first two Culture Club albums, Waking Up with the House on Fire was unable to repeat the heights of previous commercial success. Despite a strong first single and video clip in "The War Song", changes in the music scene and increasing personal turmoil and pressures led significantly to the album's downturn in sales. Subsequently Culture Club decided to change direction for their next album From Luxury to Heartache by choosing a new producer and moving towards a dance-oriented direction.
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Track listing
All tracks composed by Culture Club
- "Dangerous Man" – 4:14
- "The War Song" – 4:13
- "Unfortunate Thing" – 3:08
- "Crime Time" – 2:59
- "Mistake No. 3" – 4:36
- "The Dive" – 3:47
- "The Medal Song" – 4:15
- "Don't Talk about It" – 3:17
- "Mannequin" – 2:53
- "Hello Goodbye" – 3:25
- "La Cancion de Guerra" – 4:04 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
- "Love Is Love" – 3:51 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
- "The Dream" – 2:29 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
- "Don't Go Down That Street" – 6:34 (2003 remastered CD bonus track)
Personnel
- Boy George - vocals
- Mikey Craig - bass guitar
- Roy Hay - guitar, piano, keyboards, sitar, electric sitar
- John Moss - percussion, drums
- Phil Pickett - keyboards, background vocals
- Steve Grainger - saxophone
- Kenneth McGregor - trombone
- Helen Terry - backing vocals
- Imogen Exton - backing vocals
- Derrick Green - backing vocals
- Alice Kemp - backing vocals
- Andriana Loizou - backing vocals
- Alanda Marchant - backing vocals
- Nancy Peppers - backing vocals
- Louis Rogers - backing vocals
- Martin Sunley - backing vocals
- Tara Thomas - backing vocals
- Clare Torry - backing vocals
Production
- Steve Levine - Producer, digital mixing
- Gordon Milne - Engineer
- Jon Moss - Digital mixing
- Ray Allington - Hair stylist
- Kim Bowen - Stylist
- Steve Hughes - Photography, makeup
Charts
Album
| Chart (1984) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 26 |
| U.S. Top R&B Albums | 55 |
Singles
| Single | Chart (1984/1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| "The War Song" | UK Singles Chart | 2 |
| "The War Song" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 17 |
| "The War Song" | U.S. R&B Chart | 87 |
| "The War Song" | U.S. Hot Dance Club Play | 7 |
| "The Medal Song" | UK Singles Chart | 32 |
| "Mistake No. 3" | U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 33 |
| "Mistake No. 3" | U.S. R&B Chart | 61 |
| "Mistake No. 3" | U.S. Adult Contemporary | 18 |
Release details
| Country | Date | Label | Format | Catalog |
| 1984 | Virgin | CD | 91392 | |
| LP | 39881 | |||
| 1996 | CD | 86181 | ||
| 2003 | CD | 92406 |