Created by Nick Rhodes (keyboards) and John Taylor (bass) in Birmingham, England in 1978, it later add took in Roger Taylor (drums), Andy Taylor (guitar), and Simon Le Bon (lead vocals). The band has sold more than 100 million records over their more than 40 years of existence, making them one of the best-selling groups in history.
Their songs are often vivid, hook-laden pieces dance pop that have fared well on the radio, but what many remember best about Duran Duran is their iconic music videos. Though many of the videos were tongue-in-cheek, the band has never quite escaped the glamorous and decadent 'jet set' image that their early videos projected. Their flashy outfits and strident, art rock influenced music showed an immense debt to 70s English glam artists such as David Bowie and Roxy Music, yet the band grasped a sense of their own identity and became one of the keystones of the new romantic movement.
Their first singer and one of their original founding members was Stephen Duffy, and their original bassist was Simon Colley. Several drummers and guitarists were subsequently tried, as well as a handful of vocalists, after Duffy left Duran Duran early in 1979. The band felt that they had something special with vocalist Simon Le Bon, and the group smashed into the pop scene shortly afterwards when "Planet Earth", their debut single, was released on 2 February 1981.
"Planet Earth" became an immediate hit in the band's native U.K., reaching #12 on the U.K. Singles Chart on 21 February, and it did even better in Australia, hitting #8 there. Being Duran Duran's first Top 10 hit anywhere in the world, the song showed the group's interest in international stardom. The band's eponymous debut album came out promptly afterwards in June 1981. 'Duran Duran' hit #3 on the album charts and remained in the U.K. Top 100 for 117 weeks, achieving platinum status by December 1982. The initial United States release failed to generate much interest at first, but the group was a British sensation due to their strident mix of pop rock and electronic music.
Music videos for hit singles "Planet Earth" and "Careless Memories" were filmed in December 1980. As they also experienced considerable success with "Girls on Film", which hit #5 on the UK Singles Chart and #11 on the Australian Singles Chart, the group firmly grasped the opportunity to make a name for themselves in musical television. As their fame grew, some fans worried that Duran Duran could have peaked too early. They headed into AIR Studios in London in early 1982 anxious to somehow top themselves.
Band member John Taylor came up with the new album's title, 'Rio', as a product of his fascination with the flaunting sexuality and diverse atmosphere of Brazil. He later said, "Rio, to me, was shorthand for the truly foreign, the exotic, a cornucopia of earthly delights, a party that would never stop." The band had their own plans and ambitions for promotion and reunited with director Russell Mulcahy (who was behind the video for "Planet Earth") to plan out the release of a full length 'video album'— eleven videos in total. Totally dedicated to on-site filming, guitarist Andy Taylor even contracted a tropical virus and ended up hospitalized, thankfully getting better relatively quickly.
'Rio' was, simply, a commercial juggernaut. The band's second studio album, originally released worldwide on 10 May 1982, reached #2 in the UK and #1 in Australia. Massively popular in the U.S., it earned a gold disc on 1 March 1983 and went platinum on 26 April 1983, eventually reaching double-platinum status. As songs such as "Hungry Like the Wolf" and "Rio" received considerable airplay, critical acclaim also grew for the release. With MTV heavily playing the band's music videos, the album is still held as one of the best new wave albums ever. In April 2013, 'Rio' was even voted #3 in BBC Radio 2's 'Top 100 Favourite Albums of all time' list.
In 1985, Duran Duran performed "A View To A Kill" for the the James Bond film of the same name. The song appeared in the movie's title sequence and was also a best-selling single in its own right. In 1987, "Out Of My Mind" was featured at the end credits of the drama film 'The Saint' as well.
Like Depeche Mode, Duran Duran was among the earliest bands to work on their own remixes. From the very beginning, the band had a keen sense of style, and worked with stylist Perry Haines and fashion designers such as Kahn & Bell and Antony Price to build a sharp and elegant image, soon growing beyond the ruffles and sashes of the pirate-flavoured New Romantic look.
Although the group never disbanded, it went through several line-up changes over the years - American guitarist Warren Cuccurullo (formerly of Missing Persons) was also a member of the band from 1989 to 2001, and drummer Sterling Campbell was a member from 1989 to 1991. John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Andy Taylor all returned in 2001 and created a stir among music media and the band's fans. Duran Duran released the first album from the reunited line-up, Astronaut, in 2004, which was in turn followed up by many sold out shows in England, most notably Wembley Arena, where a live DVD of the tour was filmed in 2004/2005.
In October of 2006, it was announced on Duran Duran's website that Andy Taylor had left the band. The band's latest album, 'Red Carpet Massacre' was released in November 2007. They performed the album live in New York City on Broadway at the Barrymore Theater, for what was originally scheduled as an unprecedented 10-night run. A stage hand union strike shortened the run by a few nights, but Duran Duran were able to re-schedule the shows elsewhere. They went on to tour the world, ending their successful run in December of 2008.
2008 also saw the release of a new DVD that documents the making of their now-classic "Rio" album (called "Classic Albums: Rio (Collector's Edition)"), and a book called "Would Someone Please Explain?"- a compilation of questions from the "Ask Katy" area of their popular website.
Duran Duran returned at the end of 2010 with their 13th album, the digital and self-released album All You Need Is Now which debuted at number one on the iTunes charts in many countries (including the USA). The physical version of the album will be released with bonus tracks in February 2011. The album was produced by Mark Ronson.
2015 saw the band return with the album Paper Gods, which was led by the single "Pressure Off" featuring Janelle Monae and Nile Rodgers. The album was the band's first top 10 chart success in the U.S. in over 20 years, and also reached number 5 in the U.K.
Official Websites:
http://www.duranduran.com
http://twitter.com/duranduran
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Duran-Duran
http://www.youtube.com/DuranDuran
http://www.youtube.com/07duranduran
http://www.myspace.com/duranduran
Ball And Chain
Duran Duran Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Early Morning
As the day is dawning
You're street gutter crawling
When the sun comes up
Baby Crying
But she's always lying
And that's a ball'n'chain
You got the ball'n'chain
You're in the ball'n'chain gang
Coz you're the ball'n'chain man
Bruises for breakfast
Ain't nobody's business
But pain's a lonely mistress
And you can't give up
(That's a ball'n'chain)
Flame burning
Money that you're earning
And you will be returning
With a ball'n'chain
(chorus)
Why do you love me
When you don't need me
Why do you want me all of the time ?
In my whole life, didn't get no peacetime
And I don't care if I live or die
(that's a ball'n'chain)
You got the ball'n'chain
You got the ball'n'chain
You got the ball'n'chain
You got the ball'n'chain
You got the ball'n'chain
You got the ball'n'chain
You got the ball'n'chain
You got the Ball'n'Chain
You're the one to blame
You got to love that pain
The lyrics of Duran Duran's song, Ball and Chain, tell the story of a person who is trapped in a cycle of addiction and pain. The singer describes someone who begins their day crawling in the gutter, possibly from a night of heavy drinking or drug use. A baby's cry is heard, but the singer implies that this is a regular occurrence and that the woman is lying about being in distress. They attribute her behavior to the ball and chain of addiction that she cannot break free from.
The second verse continues this theme of addiction and its consequences, with the person bruised and in pain from the previous night's activities. The loneliness of pain is emphasized, but the addiction persists, as the person must continue to earn money to sustain it. The chorus repeats the idea of the ball and chain, with the singer questioning why the person they love continues to cling to this cycle of pain and addiction. The final verse implies that the singer themselves may be struggling with addiction and pain, asking why they never experienced any peace in their life, and seeming ambivalent about living or dying. The repetition of the refrain reinforces the idea of being trapped and unable to break free of the ball and chain.
Overall, the lyrics of Ball and Chain paint a portrait of the cycle of addiction and pain, and the difficulty of breaking free from it. The tone is melancholy and resigned, with the singer recognizing the destructive nature of addiction but unsure of how to escape its clutches.
Line by Line Meaning
Early Morning
The start of a new day
As the day is dawning
As the sun begins to rise
You're street gutter crawling
You're wasting your life on the streets
When the sun comes up
You're still out there struggling
Baby Crying
Your child is in distress
Says today she's dying
She's telling you she's not going to make it
But she's always lying
You don't believe her anymore
And that's a ball'n'chain
The constant worry is weighing you down
You got the ball'n'chain
You're trapped in a cycle of pain and struggle
You're in the ball'n'chain gang
There are others like you, who are also caught in their struggles
Coz you're the ball'n'chain man
You're the one who's responsible for your own problems
Bruises for breakfast
You're used to waking up in pain
Ain't nobody's business
No one else knows or cares what you're going through
But pain's a lonely mistress
You're alone in your suffering
And you can't give up
You have to keep fighting no matter how much it hurts
(That's a ball'n'chain)
That pain is always with you, weighing you down
Flame burning
Your passion is intense
Money that you're earning
You're making a living, but it's never enough
And you will be returning
You'll have to keep coming back to this life of struggle
With a ball'n'chain
With the constant worry and pain
(chorus)
Repeating the cycle of pain and struggle
Why do you love me
Why do you bother with me?
When you don't need me
When you know I'm not good for you
Why do you want me all of the time ?
Why do you keep coming back to me, knowing it's going to hurt?
In my whole life, didn't get no peacetime
You've never known a life without struggle
And I don't care if I live or die
You're so weighed down by your struggles that you've lost all hope
(that's a ball'n'chain)
You're trapped in this life, with no way out
You got the ball'n'chain
The constant worry and pain is always with you
You're the one to blame
You know that you're responsible for your own struggles
You got to love that pain
You've become so used to the pain that it's almost comforting
Contributed by Grayson O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Christopher Saxon
I love this song because it brings back and reminds me of the CLASSIC rock and roll songs, especially the music, THAT PEOPLE SAY IS DEAD! Thanks Duran Duran for this song! I love Rock and Roll! I want to hear more like this! Bring more rock and roll type songs back! This was great!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Also, I loved the Thank You album, the songs remind me of this one! It was one of the greatest albums Duran Duran made and I don't care what the critics say. The album was awesome, I GET IT AND AS A FAN THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS, OVER 100 MILLION RECORDS SOLD LATER!!!!
Jan-Peter Granlund
Why should DD be about rock? I get your point, but I am opposite :)
CrabOfDoom
It'll never stop making me smile how a song that goes this hard has a swing tempo. No matter what other genres of music you're into, you'll eventually find a D2 song in that style, if you go through the discography.
Elle Anna
They provide groove. I thank them so much for this, it's a touch of style and subversive for rock seriousness 😁
INVISIBLE
Medazzaland sounds great even after all these years, still one of my fave album!
Maria Aparecida
Pra sempre Duran Duran 🇧🇷👏😍 eu amo ❤️
Mauro B
Really love this song and Medazzaland album too... Amazing Warren Cuccurullo on guitar... 🎸
Ron Farney
wow wow wow wow wow brilliant awesome amazing band 👏👏 happy 25th anniversary Duran Duran to a awesome album medazland!!!! what a fantastic brilliant awesome year you av archived keep up this awesome amazing work!!!! good luck with the release of this awesome album!!!! waiting for my x2 CDs and x2 pink vinyls one of each to open and keep in my collection 😍 since 1981 and still collecting everything you are doin at present 🎁 brilliant
Aislinnmomma
Love this Duran Duran sound. Medazzaland is underrated.
ono1dij
Medazzaland deserves so much recognition that it had at the time... Incredible album!!!