B-side "Man Who Speeks Evil" Recorded 1972 Length 3:45 | Released 25 August 1972 Genre Hard rock, glam rock | |
A-side "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" | ||
"Mama Weer All Crazee Now" is a song originally recorded by the British glam rock band Slade on their album Slayed?.
Contents
Written by Jim Lea and Noddy Holder and produced by Chas Chandler, it was the band's third number-one single in the United Kingdom. The single entered the charts on its first week at #2, then followed by #1 for the next 3 weeks in September 1972. It was last seen in the top 100 on 4 November 1972 at #39. The single fared less well in the USA, where it peaked at #76. It also topped the chart in Ireland.
Besides its commercial success, the song has also received critical acclaim, with the musical magazine Record Mirror labelling it as "full of sheer bloody-minded slay them enthusiasm".
Background
Some months before the band had played at the Boston Gliderdrome in Linolnshire, a bouncer had told them about another act who had appeared there drunk - "crazy with whiskey" - and this gave Holder the idea for the lyrics. The song was originally titled "My My We're All Crazy Now"—the title was changed by manager Chas Chandler; the spelling, of course, was adapted by the band's own traditions. Several of the most distinctive parts of the record were virtual ad-libs, including the "mama mama mama yeah" coda at the end. Chandler also opened the song with a howl recorded during some of Holder's vocal exercises.
In a December 1984 interview with Record Mirror, the magazine tested Lea's memory by asking him to recall the story behind certain hits. For "Mama Weer All Crazee"/"Cum on Feel the Noize", Lea stated "I was at a Chuck Berry gig in '72 and everybody was singing his tunes. He kept stopping and letting the crowd sing and it wasn't just a few people, it was everyone. I thought it was amazing and thought - why not write the crowd into the songs, and so of course, the next one was 'Take Me Bak 'Ome' then 'Gudbuy T'Jane' but then we got round to 'Mama Weer All Crazee Now' and 'Cum on Feel the Noize' and all the chants were written into the tunes."
Dave Thompson from AllMusic described the song as "a full-on adrenalin monster, ear-splittingly loud with its lyrics a raw-throated bellow."
In the late 1970s, The Boomtown Rats would play Slade's "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" over the PA as they walked on stage at their American performances.
Promotion
No promotional video was created for the song.
The main form of promotion for the single were numerous UK and European TV performances on programmes such as Top of the Pops. The band's live performances were also a form of promotion.
The song was performed on the UK show Top of the Pops as well as the unknown show ATV. In Germany, the song was performed on the TV shows Disco as well as Musikladen, where the band also performed "Gudbuy T'Jane". In 1973, the band performed the song at Earls Court in London, where the performance was filmed, unofficially available on YouTube.
In 1977, the band performed the song on the UK show Supersonic along with their new release of the time, "Gypsy Roadhog". Also in 1977, the band performed the song on German TV where the group also mimed several other previous hits, as well as each member being interviewed.
In 1981, the band performed the song on the ITV show Moondogs Matinee, along with their new release of the time, "We'll Bring the House Down".
Track listing
- "Mama Weer All Crazee Now" - 3:43
- "Man Who Speaks Evil" - 3:15
Critical reception
Upon release, Record Mirror magazine reviewed the single, "O mi gord, thuy av dun eet agen. Thuy R monsturs in evry meenin of the wurd. It's hard-driving beat, full of sheer bloody-minded slay them enthusiasm, and a wall of sound behind the vocal line. It's hammer, hammer, hammer all the way - exciting foot-and-skull thumping which doesn't vary much in intensity, but is blessed with an exactly commercial hook. A smash of course. Bigger than others? Probably - chart certain."
NME magazine wrote "Slade don't fool around - this immediately comes on like a number one record and thats exactly what its going to be. After the hits they've had already I consider this their best by far from the fuzzed out guitar intro to the rocking; stomping, chorus through to the crowd singing along at the end. Slade personify the excitement thats obtainable through the forty-five market."
Disc magazine wrote "With howls they tear straight into another huge boogie with that typical distant and manic voice sounding like rending calico Slade's unique power comes from the fact that they fit memorable melodies to their boogies. By the time this one ends you could believe, so dense does the sound and the atmosphere become, that 50,000 people were roaring along with the band in some distant dark stadium. The total line is shouted over and over with a lot of whoopig and shrieking behind it and there's another bust of that hand-clapping that is incorporated so well into the band records, how on earth can a record like this fail? And what curmudgeon would want it to?"
In early 2010, Classic Rock magazine featured Slade as part of their ‘The Hard Stuff Buyers Guide’ where the magazine reviewed numerous Slade albums. As part of this article, an ‘Essential Playlist’ listed 14 Slade songs which included "Mama Weer All Crazee Now".
The song is heard on the pilot of the HBO TV series ""Vinyl""