To cap off the band's highly successful 1983/1984 "Sing Blue Silver" World Tour, EMI released a live album, which according to the sleeve was "Recorded Around The World 1984".
The album featured most of the band's big hits in a live environment, as well as some album tracks from Rio (1982) and Seven and the Ragged Tiger (1983), and a new studio track "The Wild Boys", which was produced by Nile Rodgers, who had previously remixed the single "The Reflex", and had been a member of the disco/funk group Chic.
"The Wild Boys" single was issued with six separate covers - one featuring each individual band member and one of the band collectively.
At the time of release, critics were suspicious that the mix was too polished for a live album, as most of the audience was muted. Other criticism arose from the omission of some of the band's biggest songs like "The Reflex", "Girls On Film" and "Rio". However, Arena still managed to peak at #6 in the UK (24 November) and #4 in the US (1 December).
The album was eventually re-issued 1 June 2004 and included two bonus tracks "Girls On Film" and "Rio". It had also been reissued in 1999 in the EU as a budget release by Dutch EMI affiliate Disky.
Arena would be the only full-length live Duran Duran release until the 2003 Encore Series of official bootleg recordings from shows in Japan and the West Coast of the USA.
Capitalising on the band's success, EMI turned the album's release into a multimedia event. The concert film Arena (An Absurd Notion), released on long form videotape and broadcast on MTV, was quickly followed by The Making of Arena. These videos featured Duran Duran performing live in Oakland, California between 12–15 April 1984. Milo O'Shea reprised his role as the evil Dr. Durand Durand from the movie Barbarella (1968).
The Arena video also featured the extended video for "The Wild Boys", directed by Russell Mulcahy. It was meant to be a teaser for a full-length feature film of the same name, based on the 1971 novel The Wild Boys: A Book Of The Dead by William S. Burroughs. The film was never made.
Also released were a board game called Into The Arena, a series of collectible cards, the video tour documentary Sing Blue Silver, and a book about the tour featuring photography by Denis O'Regan, also called Sing Blue Silver. Both the Sing Blue Silver documentary and Arena (An Absurd Notion) were reissued on DVD in 2004; the Arena DVD features The Making Of Arena as an extra.
A differently edited version of Arena (An Absurd Notion) called As The Lights Go Down, essentially just the music with the 'plot elements' cut out, was released for broadcast only.
Two further live cuts from the 1984 world tour were released as B-sides to singles in 1984: "New Religion (Live in LA)" on the North American single for "The Reflex" and the live "Cracks in the Pavement (1984)" on "The Wild Boys".
"New Religion" was recorded 9 February at The Forum, Los Angeles, and "Cracks in the Pavement" was recorded at the 5 March 1984 show at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. This is the same concert where the video for "The Reflex" was filmed.
Is There Something I Should Know?
Duran Duran Lyrics
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Please, please tell me now
Please, please tell me now
Please, please tell me now
I made a run, I run out yesterday
Tried to find my mountain hideaway
Maybe next year, maybe no go
I know you're watching me every minute of the day, yeah
I've seen the signs and the looks and pictures
That give your game away, yeah
There's a dream that strings the road
With broken glass for us to hold
And I cut so far before I had to say
Please, please tell me now
Is there something I should know?
Is there something I should say?
That would make you come my way
Do you feel the same 'cause you don't let it show (ooh)
People stare and cross the road from me
And jungle drums they all clear the way for me
Can you read my mind, can you see in the snow
And fiery demons all dance when you walk through that door
Don't say you're easy on me, you're about as easy as a nuclear war
There's a dream that strings the road
With broken glass for us to hold
And I cut so far before I had to say
Please, please tell me now
Is there something I should know?
Is there something I should say?
That would make you come my way
Do you feel the same 'cause you don't let it show
Please, please tell me now
Is there something I should know? (please, please tell me now)
Is there something I should say? (please, please tell me now)
That would make you come my way (please, please tell me now)
Please, please tell me now
Can you see what makes me blow? (please, please tell me now)
Can you see how much I die? (please, please tell me now)
Every time it passes by (please, please tell me now)
Please, please tell me now
What it takes to make you show (please, please tell me now)
Is there something I should know? (please, please tell me now)
Is there something I should say? (please, please tell me now)
The lyrics of Duran Duran's song "Is There Something I Should Know" speaks of unrequited love and the confusion that it brings to the singer. The first and second verses talk about the singer's attempts to get away from the situation but ultimately being unable to do so. He knows that he is being watched, with signs and looks giving away the other person's game. The singer then poses a series of questions, asking if there is something he should know or say to make the other person come his way. He wonders if they feel the same but do not show it.
The third verse speaks of the other people around him, staring and cross the road from him. He wonders if the other person can see into his thoughts and the fiery demons dance when the other person walks in. The final plea is again for the other person to tell him what to do, to show him what it takes to make the other person show their feelings.
Overall, the song is a plea for the other person to reveal their true feelings, and the confusion and anxiety caused by their silence.
Line by Line Meaning
Please, please tell me now
The singer urgently wants to know something and is repeatedly pleading for an answer.
I made a run, I run out yesterday / Tried to find my mountain hideaway / Maybe next year, maybe no go
The singer tried to get away from something or someone but it's uncertain if they'll be able to do so in the future.
I know you're watching me every minute of the day, yeah / I've seen the signs and the looks and pictures / That give your game away, yeah
The singer is aware of someone constantly watching them and has seen various hints that reveal this person's motives.
There's a dream that strings the road / With broken glass for us to hold / And I cut so far before I had to say
The path to achieving a dream is difficult and potentially painful, and the singer has encountered obstacles before reaching a breaking point.
Do you feel the same 'cause you don't let it show (ooh)
The singer suspects that someone has feelings for them but this person is hiding it and not being transparent.
People stare and cross the road from me / And jungle drums they all clear the way for me / Can you read my mind, can you see in the snow / And fiery demons all dance when you walk through that door / Don't say you're easy on me, you're about as easy as a nuclear war
The singer feels like an outcast and observes others reacting to their presence, while also questioning if someone can truly understand them. They believe that the person they're addressing is not easy to deal with and can be explosive.
Please, please tell me now / Is there something I should know? / Is there something I should say? / That would make you come my way
The singer is still pleading for answers as to what they need to do to bring someone closer to them.
Please, please tell me now / Can you see what makes me blow? / Can you see how much I die? / Every time it passes by / Please, please tell me now / What it takes to make you show / Is there something I should know?
The singer is expressing how much they're affected by certain things and is again asking for insight on how to get closer to someone.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Andy Taylor, Simon Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Taylor, Roger Taylor
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind