The Prince (song) The Prince (song) "The Prince" is a song by British ska/pop band Madness. It was written by Lee Thompson, and was the band's first single. On 10 August 1979 the single was released through 2 Tone Records and peaked at number 16 in the UK Singles Chart, spending a total of 11 weeks in the charts. "The Prince" is a tribute to Jamaican ska singer Prince Buster, who influenced Madness (the band took their name from one of his songs, "Madness", which they covered on the b-side of "The Prince"). As this was the band's first single, they were relatively
What Is This? What Is This? What Is This (known prior to 1980 as Anthym) was a rock band that originated in Fairfax High School in California and would play numerous shows along the coast of California. It was formed by guitarist Hillel Slovak, drummer Jack Irons, vocalist Alain Johannes, and bassist Todd Strassman. Originally named Chain Reaction, the band would later change its name to Anthem, then later to Anthym (as there was already a band using the former moniker), and then finally to What Is This, which was a tongue-in-cheek reference to the reaction they usually received from first-time listeners. During