{{short description|1979 single by Madness}} {{Infobox song | name = Night Boat to Cairo | cover = Madness - Night Boat to Cairo.jpg | alt = | caption = Artwork for 1993 UK rerelease | type = single | artist = [[Madness (band)|Madness]] | album = [[One Step Beyond...]] ''and'' [[Work Rest and Play]] | released = 1980 / 1993 | recorded = 1979 | studio = | venue = | genre = *[[Ska]] *[[Pop music|pop]] *[[Two-tone (music genre)|2 tone]] | length = 3:31 | label = [[Virgin Records|Virgin]] | composer = [[Mike Barson]] | lyricist = [[Graham McPherson]] | producer = *[[Clive Langer]] *[[Alan Winstanley]] | prev_title = [[My Girl (Madness song)|My Girl]] | prev_year = 1979 | year = 1980 | next_title = [[Baggy Trousers]] | next_year = 1980 | misc = {{Extra chronology | type = single | prev_title = [[The Harder They Come (song)#Madness version|The Harder They Come]] | prev_year = 1992 | title = Night Boat to Cairo (re-release) | year = 1993 | next_title = [[Lovestruck (Madness song)|Lovestruck]] | next_year = 1999 }} }} "'''Night Boat to Cairo'''" is a song by British [[ska]]/[[Pop music|pop]] band [[Madness (band)|Madness]] from their debut 1979 album ''[[One Step Beyond...]]''. It was written by [[Mike Barson]] and [[Suggs (singer)|Suggs]] and was also included on the 1980 [[Extended play|EP]] ''[[Work Rest and Play]]'', which peaked at number six on the [[UK Singles Chart]] and reached the top 30 in Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands. The song was later re-issued in the UK in 1993 following the success of the re-issued version of "[[It Must Be Love (Madness song)|It Must Be Love]]" but failed to reach the top 40, peaking at number 56. It was remixed slightly for inclusion on the band's eponymous 1983 album compiled for the United States. The song is featured in the 2011 [[Wii]] video game ''[[Just Dance 3]]''.
The song is often used by Madness to close live concerts, and "Night Boat" has passed into [[cockney]] [[rhyming slang]] as a term for a [[Giro (banking)|giro]], or unemployment benefit cheque.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Ultimate Cockney Geezer's Guide to Rhyming Slang|last=Tibballs|first=Geoff|publisher=Ebury|year=2008|isbn=978-0091927486}}</ref>
== Background and composition == The song was composed as an instrumental by Barson, but was expanded when Suggs added lyrics.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters|last=Rachel|first=Daniel|publisher=St. Martin's Griffin|year=2014|isbn=978-1250051295}}</ref> The song has an unusual structure, with a single long verse followed by an even longer instrumental section, heavily sax-based. At one point, after a key change from C to F, the instrumental slows right down and momentarily stops, then the opening notes of the song are repeated before the tempo picks up again. Suggs has described it as "miles of introduction, a couple of verses then miles of instrumental, no chorus and the title isn't even mentioned apart from me shouting it at the beginning. It's an atmosphere with great music and words- of course it IS a song, but not a traditional one."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Madness- One Step Beyond|last=Edwards|first=Terry|date=13 August 2009|publisher=2009|isbn=978-0826429063}}</ref>
==Music video== [[File:Night Boat to Cairo - Screen Capture.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Lee Thompson plays saxophone]] After the decision to issue the ''[[Work Rest and Play]]'' EP, a promotional [[music video]] was needed. However, there was not enough time to make an effective video before the record was released,<ref name="madness80">{{cite web|url=http://www.madness.co.uk/1980.html |quote=March 28th |title=The Ascent of Madness |access-date=2010-02-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100409071952/http://www.madness.co.uk/1980.html|archive-date=9 April 2010}}</ref> so a low-budget karaoke-type video was hastily filmed in a studio instead.
The video featured the band dressed in stereotypical [[British colonial period|British colonial]] attire, including [[short trousers]] and Wolesley pattern [[pith helmets]], in front of a [[chroma key]]ed backdrop of an [[Egyptian pyramid]]; the lyrics appearing on screen in "[[bouncing ball (music)|bouncing ball]]" style as Suggs sang them.<ref name="madness80" /> During the long instrumental sections of the song, the band ran and jumped around the set, marching and performing their signature "Nutty Train".
Despite – or perhaps because of – the poor effects and editing, and all-round unprofessional feel, it became very popular with fans, perhaps also due to the carefree nature and fooling around of the band onscreen that can be attributed to the large amount of alcohol they consumed while filming.<ref name="madness80" />
However, this music video was not used with the 1993 reissue and remixes.
==Appearances== In addition to its EP release and appearance on the album ''One Step Beyond...'' "Night Boat to Cairo" also appears on the Madness collections ''[[Divine Madness (Madness album)|Divine Madness]]'' (a.k.a. ''The Heavy Heavy Hits''), ''[[Complete Madness]]'', ''[[It's... Madness Too]]'', ''[[The Business - the Definitive Singles Collection|The Business]]'', ''[[Our House: the Best of Madness|Our House]]'', ''[[Madness (Madness album)|Madness]]'' and ''Ultimate Collection''. Most compilations contain the album version of the track.
==Formats and track listings== These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Night Boat to Cairo".
*'''7" single''' #"Night Boat to Cairo" ([[Mike Barson|Barson]]/[[Suggs (singer)|McPherson]]) - 3:31 #"Night Boat to Cairo (Paul Gotel Rude Edit)" (Barson/McPherson) - 3:45
*'''12" single''' #"Night Boat to Cairo (Paul Gotel Rude Mix)" (Barson/McPherson) - 7:59 #"Night Boat to Cairo (Paul Gotel Rude Edit)" (Barson/McPherson) - 3:45 #"Night Boat to Cairo (Well Hung Parliament Dub Edit)" (Barson/McPherson) - 5:35 #"Night Boat to Cairo (Paul Gotel Rude Instrumental)" (Barson/McPherson) - 7:54
*'''CD single''' #"Night Boat to Cairo (Barson/McPherson)" - 3:31 #"Night Boat to Cairo (Paul Gotel Rude Mix)" (Barson/McPherson) - 7:59 #"Night Boat to Cairo (Paul Gotel Rude Edit)" (Barson/McPherson) - 3:45 #"Night Boat to Cairo (Well Hung Parliament Dub Edit)" (Barson/McPherson) - 5:35 #"Night Boat to Cairo (Paul Gotel Rude Instrumental)" (Barson/McPherson) - 7:54
==Influence== The song inspired the Israeli hit "Rakevet Laila (Le-Kahir)" ([[Hebrew]] for "Night Train (to Cairo)" / [[:he:רכבת_לילה_(שיר)|רכבת לילה]] ) by the Israeli rock group [[Mashina]].{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}
The song was covered by the British [[Death metal]] ensemble Monoptera. ==Charts== {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !Chart (1980) !Peak<br>position |- {{singlechart|Flanders|25|artist=Madness|song=Night Boat to Cairo|rowheader=true|access-date=14 January 2020}} |- {{singlechart|Ireland2|12|song=Night Train to Cairo|rowheader=true|access-date=14 January 2020}} |- {{singlechart|Dutch40|21|year=1980|week=30|rowheader=true|access-date=14 January 2020}} |- {{singlechart|Dutch100|29|artist=Madness|song=Night Boat to Cairo|rowheader=true|access-date=14 January 2020}} |- {{singlechart|UK|6|date=19800412|rowheader=true|access-date=14 January 2020}} |} {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !Chart (1993) !Peak<br>position |- {{singlechart|UK|56|date=19930227|rowheader=true|access-date=14 January 2020|refname="uk1993"}} |}
==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Madness|title=Night Boat To Cairo|award=Silver|type=single|relyear=2009|certyear=2024|accessdate=14 June 2024|id=20068-259-1}} {{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{Discogs master|type=album|841525|name=Night Boat to Cairo}}
{{Madness}}
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[[Category:1979 songs]] [[Category:1980 singles]] [[Category:1993 singles]] [[Category:Madness (band) songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Mike Barson]] [[Category:Songs written by Suggs (singer)]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Clive Langer]] [[Category:Song recordings produced by Alan Winstanley]] [[Category:Songs about Egypt]] [[Category:Songs about cities]] [[Category:Songs about boats]] [[Category:Songs about rivers]] [[Category:Virgin Records singles]] [[Category:History of Cairo]] [[Category:Works about the Nile]]