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 studio album Rio, Seven and the Ragged Tiger is a new wave and synth-pop 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". 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.

By 1983, Duran Duran had established themselves as one of the most successful bands in the world. They were negatively received by the press and their musical peers but enjoyed commercial success following the release of Rio (1982): the non-album single "Is There Something I Should Know?" spent three weeks at number one in the United Kingdom in March 1983. Capitol Records also reissued the band's 1981 self-titled debut album in the United States with an updated sleeve photo and replacing "To the Shore" with the new single to capitalise on its success. Duran Duran underwent an exhaustive press tour and live performances for Rio from March to April before recording commenced on their third studio album.

At the decision of their managers, Paul and Michael Berrow, Duran Duran opted to spend a year away from the UK as tax exiles to avoid paying the high tax rates successful British musicians were required to pay. To start writing their third studio album, the band moved into a three-story château in Valbonne, France on the Côte d'Azur in April 1983, utilising the 24-track RAK Mobile recording truck rented from RAK Studios in North London. According to author Stephen Davis, the idea was for work to ensue amidst the lavender-scented hills above the city. This attracted tabloid criticism. In an interview with The Times in 1995, bassist John Taylor stated:

We were recording in the south of France and pretending we were the Rolling Stones when we were only making our third record. We'd just barely moved out of our parents' homes. We didn't know anything about tax years but our managers did and that's why we were there. And that really began a negative roll of publicity.

Duran Duran escaped some of the large media hype surrounding them, which their photographer Denis O'Regan attributed to the château's relaxed atmosphere. The band had parted ways with Colin Thurston, the producer of their first two albums, so Ian Little, the co-producer of "Is There Something I Should Know?", was brought in to produce the sessions. At the château, the instruments were set up in a large empty room upstairs and wired to the recording equipment outside, forcing the musicians to travel back and forth in between takes to verify it was taping properly. The group worked on demos and ideas for three months, although initial reports state it took six weeks. Like their previous albums, the rhythm tracks were recorded first, with lyrics written and taped at a later date.

The sessions commenced slowly due to a lack of new material; John Taylor said that all their material had been used up for the first two albums. The musicians were burned out, so creativity was low. Little later verified that "nothing had been written in advance, so the biggest starting point they'd ever have would be another song". Workdays did not start until 4 p.m. due to the antics of the band members, particularly John, and only lasted a couple of hours. The musicians briefly went to Cannes to visit the music video set of Elton John's "I'm Still Standing", directed by Duran Duran's own video director Russell Mulcahy. On several occasions, the band members individually flew back to the UK for other commitments. Reflecting in his 2008 memoir, guitarist Andy Taylor stated that "it was the start of the megadamage" due to the acceleration of his and John Taylor's cocaine addictions.