"One Step Beyond" is a tune written by Jamaican ska singer Prince Buster[1] as a B-side for his single "Al Capone". It was made famous by British band Madness who covered it for their debut 1979 album, One Step Beyond..., also named after the song.[1] Although Buster's version was mostly instrumental except for the song title shouted for a few times, the Madness version features a spoken intro by Chas Smash and a barely audible but insistent background chant of "here we go!". The spoken line, "Don't watch that, watch this", in the intro is from another Prince Buster song, "The Scorcher". Also, that line became a trademark during the early promos of MTV, where the video was in heavy rotation.
According to Alan Winstanley, one of the producers, the released Madness version was a rough mix, created by taking the original 1 minute 10 second instrumental and repeating it, with the second half treated with an Eventide harmonizer to make it sound slightly different. Langer and Winstanley intended to do a full remix but found that the double-length rough mix had already been sent for mastering before they got the opportunity.[2]
The song is often used to begin live performances by the band.
