The Return of the Los Palmas 7

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Last update: 20 September 2005

This is an attempt to identify and date all the clips in the video for "The Return of the Los Palmas 7" by Madness. The single was released in January 1981, so obviously all the clips are earlier than that. If you can supply me with any more information about any of the clips, I'll be very grateful - you'll even get your name in the credits! Clips marked with '*' are in black and white; those marked otherwise were identified by others, as follows:

TimeClipEstimated Date
0:00Silly introduction
0:45Camera enters restaurant
1:15*Rocket launches - presumably one of the Apollos1969-72
1:18Spaceship - Millennium Falcon from Star Wars? - leaves planet1977
*Vintage car tries to jump over a line of other cars but crashes
1:19Band in formal dress in restaurant again
1:26"Waiter!"
1:30*Football crowd hold up scarves
1:32Björn Borg serves at Wimbledon1976-1980
1:33Paraglider on river, viewed from boat
1:34Skier gets legs in a tangle1980 Winter Olympics? Is this chap called Arturo?
Grand National
1:36Restaurant again - Suggs waves chicken leg
1:40Lee plays sax on table
1:47*Cut from 10 shilling note to 50p piece 1971, when Britain's currency went decimal
1:48*Swingometerprobably 1970
1:49Tie fighter from Star Wars1977
1:50Ballroom dancing
1:51Vet with interesting large rabbit
1:52Eric'n'Ernie with OBE's1976
1:53Harold Wilson waves outside no. 10 1974, or it might be 1964 or 1966
1:54*Chap bellyflops in wet street - Trafalgar Square at New Year?
1:55Band walk towards camera in cowboy outfits
2:01Poster of "Law and Order", with Ronald Reagan (full poster here)1953
2:04Band as cowboys again
2:08(+) Scottish football fans, or maybe Bay City Rollers fans1970s
2:09West Ham United (+) footballers celerate after a goal
2:10Cricketer (probably Geoff Boycott (*)) hits a ball
2:11Suggs watches clip of "One Step Beyond" and grins at camera
2:13Large crowd waves, probably connected to the next clip1977
2:14Royal family appear on balconyprobably Jubilee year, 1977
Ted Heath kisses a woman on the cheek
2:15Skateboarder performs artistic moveprobably 1977
2:17More shots of the band as cowboys
2:21Band in formal dress in restaurant again

It gets very fast here - there are 50 clips in the next 20 seconds.

TimeClipEstimated Date
2:37(+) Bobby Moore playing football for Fulhamearly 1970s
2:38*Car rolls over
*Two cricket officials in suits chat; (*) these are Garry Sobers (WI) and Ray Illingworth (Eng) at Lords'1969
*Concorde flies overhead1970 or later
*Mick Jagger, after being acquitted from trial?1968
That th*tch&r woman waves outside #101979
2:39*Two people in a vehicle - looks like wartime footage of civilans
2:40*Spaghetti Junction, Gravelly Hill, near Brimingham1960s
(+) Frank McLintock (Arsenal captain) and Bob Wilson collect the FA Cup1971
2:41*Woman in large hat - Bianca Jagger? ???
*US president being sworn in ((+) looks like Nixon)
2:42(+) BOAC Boeing 747 airliner on tarmac1971-1974
*Very quick shot of seated woman's miniskirted legs1964-ish
*John and Yoko at press conferenceprobably 1970
2:43(+) Flying Scotsman goes from Liverpool to US by ship1969
*South African leader???
2:44(+) Ted Heath is applauded on stageearly 1970s
*Very quick shot of (+) Liverpool football scarves
*King Kong does something threatening1933
2:45People line a street, presumably waiting for the Queen1977
Horses land on the grass after a jump in a race
2:46"Embarrassment" brass section
*Unidentified woman
Goalkeeper takes goal kick ((+) total guess, Pat Jennings of Tottenham Hotspur)
2:47(+) Jeremy Thorpe, Liberal party leader, with election rosetteearly 1970s
*Important-looking people outside a building
2:48*Woman smashes champagne bottle against a ship
Three soldiers with rifles grinning
2:49Jimmy Carter? meeting (+) James Callaghan?late 1970s
Emcee approaches mike at a dinner function ((+) Peter Sellars?)
(+) Jane Fonda in Vietnamlate 1960s - early 1970s
2:50Female hockey players about to start match
Han Solo with laser gun in Star Wars1977
2:51Björn Borg holds up Wimbledon trophy1975-1979
*Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
The Grand National trophy
2:52*Dulux English Sheepdog Competition entrants!!!
*E.R.N.I.E. - the Premium Bonds machine, as immortalised in song by Madness1954?
2:53Tabloid headline "Wilson Resigns"1976
*military jump-jet
*very brief shot of football shooting into goal
2:54*young female gymnast, presumably at Olympics
band in restaurant
*car hits tree
2:55band member bends spoon
Spacemen disembark
2:56*Scottish football fan proudly holds piece of Wembley turf aloft1977, of course
2:57(+) Princess Anne & Capt Mark Phillips getting married1974ish
Chas Smash in porkpie hat at piano
band leave restaurant
3:15old chap in red hat waves goodbye