It was written by Mike Barson and Suggs and was also included on the 1980 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 is often used by Madness to close live concerts, and "Night Boat" has passed into cockney rhyming slang as a term for a giro, or unemployment benefit cheque.

The video featured the band dressed in fezs and stereotypical British colonial attire, including short trousers and Wolesley pattern pith helmets, in front of a chroma keyed backdrop of an Egyptian pyramid; the lyrics appearing on screen in "bouncing ball" style as Suggs sang them.

[4] 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.