Grey Day

{{short description|1981 single by Madness}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

{{Use British English|date=May 2011}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Grey Day

| cover = Grey Day cover.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Madness

| album = 7

| released = 17 April 1981

| recorded = 1981

| studio =

| genre =

• Reggae
• 2-tone

| length = 3:40

| label = Stiff

| writer = Mike Barson

| producer =

• Clive Langer
• Alan Winstanley

| prev_title = The Return of the Los Palmas 7

| prev_year = 1981

| next_title = Shut Up

| next_year = 1981

}}

"Grey Day" is a 2-Tone song written by Mike Barson and recorded by British pop/ska band Madness.{{cite web|url= {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r43825|pure_url=yes}} |title= Allmusic.com 7 overview }} Retrieved 21 July 2007. The song was the first single released from the band's third studio album 7.{{cite web |url= http://www.madness.co.uk/time/1981/text.htm |title= The Madness Timeline: 1981 |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20070928002841/http://www.madness.co.uk/time/1981/text.htm |archivedate= 28 September 2007 }} Retrieved 21 July 2007. It was a big departure from their early ska sound with a much darker, miserable feel. The song title does not appear in the lyrics as a single phrase, though a couplet rhyming "grey" with "day" features in the chorus.

The song was written prior to the band becoming a success in the UK music scene, and the first performance of the song came back in 1978 at the Acklam Hall while the band were known as "The North London Invaders". The song was finally recorded in 1981 and was released as a single on 17 April 1981. The song spent 10 weeks in the UK Singles Chart, reaching a high of number 4. It was able to crack the charts in Australia as well, but only as high as number 82.