Madness - 7

7 is the third studio album by British ska band Madness, originally released in October 1981 via Stiff Records.

Madness are an English ska band that formed in 1976 and broke through with their debut album One Step Beyond (1979), released via the Stiff Records label. The album yielded three successful singles “The Prince”, “One Step Beyond” and “My Girl”. Their second album Absolutely (1980) continued their chart success in the UK and yielded another three successful singles “Baggy Trousers”, “Embarrassment” and “The Return Of The Last Palmas 7”.

By 1981 with the release of their third album 7, the band started to show signs of changing direction, adopting a more pop oriented approach to their music, which was demonstrated on the non-album single “It Must Be Love” released in 1981.

Most of the tracks on the album 7 were recorded in the Bahamas in the summer of 1981 and the album had three singles “Grey Day”, “Shut Up” and “Cardiac Arrest” reach the Top 20 in the UK. The album reached #5 on the UK and #35 on the Australian album charts.

This album is a 2021 reissue on 180 gram heavyweight black vinyl with a printed inner sleeve, pressed in UK via Union Square Music and BMG.