"House of Cards" is a song written by Lynsey de Paul and Barry Blue and one of their most covered songs. It was first released as a single by Chris Kelly (who went on to become the lead singer for Blackwater Junction) on the CBS label on 7 April 1972, credited as being written by Rubin (de Paul) and Green (Blue). A few weeks later it was also released as a single by the UK artist Heart on RCA. The UK born but New Zealand based singer, Rob Guest (formerly a member of the groups The Apparition and Shore Thing), also released his version of "House of Cards" as his first solo single on Polydor in 1972. The song also appeared as an track on the self-named Tony Blackburn album released by the BBC radio DJ in 1972 on RCA. It was released for the first time on CD in 2012 on the Tony Blackburn compilation album The Singles Collection 1965-1980.
In 1975, Australian singer, John Christie, released a more uptempo, rockier version of the song, produced by his mentor Dave Clark, as a single on Polydor. The song was also recorded by Gil Montana and featured as the B-side to his single "I Can't Live In The Dark Anymore". Barry Blue recorded the song with new lyrics and the title "Billy" which was released as a single in 1977 and credited to Blue, de Paul and Stephen Worth. The track appeared on his Singles Collection compilation album released in 2002.
Although it was originally recorded in 1972 for her debut album but not included (according to the CD credits), the reflective de Paul version of the song finally found its first release on her 2013 anthology CD, Sugar and Beyond.