The Return of the Los Palmas 7

"The Return of the Los Palmas 7"
Single by Madness
from the album Absolutely
B-side	"That's the Way to Do It" "Swan Lake"
Released	16 January 1981 (1981-01-16)
Recorded	1980
Genre	2 Tone ska pop
Length	2:33 (single version) 2:03 (album version)
Label	Stiff
Songwriter(s)	Mike Barson Daniel Woodgate Mark Bedford
Producer(s)	Clive Langer Alan Winstanley
Madness singles chronology
"Embarrassment" (1980) "The Return of the Los Palmas 7" (1981) "Grey Day" (1981)

"The Return of the Los Palmas 7" is a song by British ska/pop band Madness, written by Mike Barson, Mark Bedford and Daniel Woodgate.^[1] The song was Woodgate's first credit as a songwriter, and was released as the band's seventh single on 16 January 1981.^[2] The single reached number 7 in the UK and remained in the charts for 11 weeks.^[2] The single release is slightly different from the track on the album Absolutely, upon which it is listed as "Return of the Los Palmas 7" and is approximately 30 seconds shorter.^[3]

The song is mainly instrumental, except for some ad-libbing by Chas Smash at the beginning, the sound of "Waiter!" approximately 42 seconds into the track and "Good night!" at the very end. Dave Robinson, head of Stiff Records, was keen on Madness recording another instrumental track, especially after the success of "One Step Beyond...".^[2] The resulting song was not as ska-influenced as were their earlier songs, but was played heavily on BBC Radio 2.^[2] This helped Madness gain a new generation of older fans.^[2]