What? Another song with no story or background information?

It’s not that The Godfathers are a mystery group like some of our other entries — there’s just not that much to tell. Inspired by The Beatles, glam rock, and punk, the band formed in London around 1985, scored a few indie hits in the early days, but barely cracked the mainstream UK pop chart in the following years. Somewhat surprisingly, however, their 1987 single, “Birth, School, Work, Death,” managed to become a small hit in the US thanks to college radio play and MTV.

They broke up in the 1990s and reformed in the 2000s, surviving as a band through relentless touring rather than big money from hits.

And that’s about it. So where do we go?

Let’s take an entirely different tack.

Since his film debut 70 years ago, how many songs have referenced the actor Michael Caine?

Need a minute?

Well, there’s this one I’m writing about for a start. Otherwise, the question would be incredibly random, wouldn’t it? Just completely out of nowhere.

Madness probably has the best known song since they went ahead and titled it “Michael Caine.” But there are over two dozen more featuring the eminent actor’s name somewhere in the lyrics, ranging from dance pop (Cathy Dennis) to alt rock (Catherine Wheel) to rap (bbno$) to New Romantic (Adam and The Ants) to something Swedish (Kent).

Sometimes he’s mentioned only once, and sometimes he’s a repeating hook.

Come to think of it, I’m not sure if any other actor shows up more in lyrics. Caine’s name is good for rhyming in a way that Humphrey Bogart’s isn’t. So… maybe?

Anyway, The Godfathers….. here they are taking us through the life cycle: