Seven and the Ragged Tiger

Seven and the Ragged Tiger
An image of five young men surrounded by a caramel-coloured border.
Studio album by
Released21 November 1983 (1983-11-21)
RecordedApril–October 1983
Studio
Genre
Length37:36
Label
Producer
Duran Duran chronology
Rio
(1982)
Seven and the Ragged Tiger
(1983)
Arena
(1984)
Singles from Seven and the Ragged Tiger
  1. "Union of the Snake"
    Released: 17 October 1983
  2. "New Moon on Monday"
    Released: 23 January 1984
  3. "The Reflex (Remix)"
    Released: 16 April 1984

Seven and the Ragged Tiger is the third studio album by the English pop rock band Duran Duran, released on 21 November 1983 through EMI and Capitol Records. Co-produced by Alex Sadkin, Ian Little and the band, recording sessions took place in France, the Caribbean and Australia between April and October 1983 following Duran Duran's decision to record outside the UK as tax exiles. Unlike their previous two studio albums, the sessions were marred by a lack of productivity and tensions rose between the band members over its direction.

Wanting a change in direction from their previous album Rio, Seven and the Ragged Tiger is a synth-pop and dance-driven record, with emphasis on synthesiser-based textures. The lyrics are ambiguous and cover a variety of topics; lead vocalist Simon Le Bon described the album as "an adventure story about a little commando team".[1] The title refers to the five band members and their two managers; the "ragged tiger" means success. The cover artwork was shot at the State Library of New South Wales and designed by Malcolm Garrett.

The album received poor critical reviews but was a commercial success, becoming the band's first and only UK number one album. It also charted at number eight in the US, eventually going double platinum. It yielded three singles: "Union of the Snake", "New Moon on Monday" and a remix of "The Reflex" by Nile Rodgers, a UK and US number one. Duran Duran supported the album with a worldwide concert tour that yielded several concert films and a live album. It was the last studio album with the original lineup until 2004's Astronaut. In later decades, Seven and the Ragged Tiger has received mixed reactions, with critics finding weaker songwriting compared to their first two records. It was reissued by EMI in 2010.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference RSHenke was invoked but never defined (see the help page).