# 7 (Madness album)

Professional ratings :
| Review scores ||
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | |
| Record Mirror | |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Smash Hits | 8/10 |
7 (also known as Madness 7) is the third studio album by the English ska and pop band Madness. Released in October 1981, it peaked at No. 5 on the UK Albums Chart. All but one track was recorded at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas in the summer of 1981, the exception being "Grey Day" which was recorded in London earlier in the year. Although in 2011 co-producer Alan Winstanley stated in the Guided Tour of Madness boxed-set that much of the album was re-recorded in London when they returned from Nassau.

## Track listing

There were several different versions of the album released throughout the world. Some territories removed the not so tourist-friendly "Day on the Town" while others replaced it with "Never Ask Twice (a.k.a. Aeroplane/Airplane)", which was issued on the "Shut Up" 12" single in the UK. In Belgium "Never Ask Twice" was issued on a one-sided 7" single with initial copies of the album. France renamed "Day on the Town" as "A Place in the City". Australia added "It Must Be Love" and "Never Ask Twice", Spain replaced "Cardiac Arrest" with "It Must Be Love" and Japan added "In the City", which was issued there as a single after it was initially written for and used to promote Honda City cars in television commercials.
Initial vinyl pressings featured different mixes of some tracks (most notably "Mrs Hutchinson" and "Day on the Town"), which haven't been used since.

### 2010 reissue

In 2009 and 2010, Madness re-released their entire back catalogue of studio albums up until 1999's Wonderful with a bonus CD and extra tracks. 7 was reissued by Union Square Music's collector's label Salvo on 12 April 2010.

#### The original album

    *The first disc contains the thirteen tracks from the original album plus four promo videos.

#### The promo videos

* Grey Day
* Shut Up
* It Must be Love
* Cardiac Arrest

#### CD 2
## Personnel

Madness
* Graham "Suggs" McPherson – lead vocals
* Mike Barson – piano, organ, vibes, marimba, tubular bells
* Chris Foreman – guitar, sitar
* Mark Bedford – bass
* Lee Thompson – saxophones, burps, squeaks, lead vocals on track 10
* Daniel Woodgate – drums, congas
* Chas Smash – backing vocals, trumpet
Technical
* Clive Langer – producer, engineer
* Alan Winstanley – producer, engineer
* Arun Chakraverty – mastering
* Stella Artwork – cover
* C-More – cover
* Mike Putland – photography
2010 reissue
* Dale Griffin – producer on Richard Skinner session
* Mike Engels – engineer on Richard Skinner session
* Tim Turan – remastering
* Martin 'Cally' Callomon – art direction, design
* David Quantick – liner notes

## Chart performance
### Album

| Chart (1981) | Peak position | Total weeks |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 5 | 17 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 41 | 1 |
| UK Albums Chart | 5 | 28 |

### Singles

| Date | Single | Chart | Position |
| Apr 1981 | Grey Day | UK | No. 4 |
| Sep 1981 | Shut Up (edited to 3:26 for issue as a single) | UK | No. 7 |
| Feb 1982 | Cardiac Arrest (remixed for issue as a single) | UK | No. 14 |

## Certifications and sales

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | Gold | 100,000$^^$ |
| $^^$ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |||