There's a Ghost in My House

"There's a Ghost in My House" is a song written by Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, and Eddie Holland of Motown Records, together with R. Dean Taylor. It was originally recorded by Taylor in 1966, and it reached No. 3 in 1974 in the UK.

"There's a Ghost in My House"
Single by R. Dean Taylor
B-side	"Don't Fool Around" UK: "Let's Go Somewhere"
Released	April 1967 UK: 1974
Genre	R&B, pop
Label	V.I.P. 25042 UK: Tamla Motown TMG 896
Songwriter(s)	Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland, R. Dean Taylor
Producer(s)	Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier
Official audio
"There's a Ghost in My House" on YouTube

Background

"There's a Ghost in My House" was produced by Brian Holland and Lamont Dozier. It was released as a single on the Motown subsidiary V.I.P. label in April 1967,^[1] but was not a hit. However, after it had become a popular dance song in Northern soul clubs in Britain, such as the Blackpool Mecca and Wigan Casino, R. Dean Taylor's record was reissued on EMI's Tamla Motown label with a B-side of "Let's Go Somewhere",^[2] and reached No. 3 on the UK Singles Chart in 1974.^[3]

Charts

R. Dean Taylor

Chart (1974)	Peak position
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[4]	30
UK Singles (OCC)[5]	3

Covers

Versions were later recorded by British bands, Yachts (1980), B.E.F. (British Electric Foundation) featuring Paul Jones (1982), and the Very Things (1987).^[6][7] A version recorded by the Fall in 1987 became their first single to reach the top 50 in the UK, peaking at No. 30,^[8] and was included on their album The Frenz Experiment.^[9] Graham Parker recorded a version released in 2000 on Loose Monkeys: Spare Tracks and Lost Demos.^[10]

References

1. "45 Discography for V.I.P. Records". Globaldogproductions.info. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
2. "R Dean Taylor". 45cat.com. Retrieved October 7, 2011.
3. Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 773. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
4. "R. Dean Taylor – There's a Ghost in My House" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
5. "R. Dean Taylor: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
6. "Original versions of There's a Ghost in My House by B.E.F. featuring Paul Jones". SecondHandSongs. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
7. Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate Books, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 42
8. Betts, Graham (2004). Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004 (1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 271. ISBN 0-00-717931-6.
9. Ned Raggett. "There's a Ghost in My House - The Fall | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-11.
10. "There's a Ghost in My House - Graham Parker | Song Info". AllMusic. 1999-01-20. Retrieved 2015-10-11.