Fun Boy Three – The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)

"The Lunatics (Have Taken Over the Asylum)" is a song by Fun Boy Three, released in 1981 as the debut single from the band formed by former Specials members Terry Hall, Neville Staple, and Lynval Golding. Built around tribal drumming and chant like vocals rather than the ska sound of their previous group, the song was originally written with The Specials in mind and served as a protest against the political conservatism of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. It reached number 20 on the UK Singles Chart and appeared the following year on the band's self-titled debut album. In 2019, Hall and Golding revisited the song as "The Lunatics" on the reformed Specials' album Encore, and its rhythm was later sampled on Akon's 2005 single "Belly Dancer (Bananza)."