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
Do You Believe In Shame?
Duran Duran Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you believe in shame?
And if love can conquer all then why
Do we only feel the pain?
I heard you speak my name.
Heard you singing The Stones
Maybe heard you laughing in a line of static
On my telephone.
Inside a case of rust?
And did you have to change all your poet's fire
To frozen dust.
I try to justify it
To learn from your mistake.
But where's the stupid lie that has to make its point
With such a pointless waste?
Come out
Do you believe in shame?
Do you believe in love?
And if they taste the same would you love again
Or abandon both?
I don't think I ever can believe my friend is gone
Keep saying it's all right, I'm gonna bring you back
But I know I'm wrong.
There's nothing I can say
There's nothing left to do
It's just that lately I've been so damn lonely when
I think of you.
And it may seem selfish now but I'll hold on to
The memory until all this fear is washed away.
Do you believe in love?
Do you believe in life?
Cause I believe a little part of you inside of me
Will never die.
Cause I believe a little part of you inside of me
Will never die
Cause I believe a little part of you inside of me
Will never die.
Cause I believe a little part of you inside of me
Will never die.
Oooooo-hey
Oooooo-hey
Oooooo-hey
The lyrics to Duran Duran's song Do You Believe in Shame seem to focus on the emotions that arise from love and the impact it can have on our lives. The opening lines ask two poignant questions: do we believe in love and shame, and why do we only feel the pain if love can conquer all? The singer then talks about hearing the person they love singing The Stones and laughing on the phone, but now their eyelids are closed and their fire has turned into frozen dust. The singer tries to justify this change and learn from it, but is struggling to understand why it happened. They express their loneliness and their desire to hold on to the memory of the person they love until the fear and pain is washed away.
There is a sense of sadness and loss in these lyrics, as if the singer is trying to come to terms with someone they deeply cared about no longer being there. They struggle to understand why things turned out the way they did and why their love wasn't enough to conquer all. The repeated lines at the end about a little part of the person they love never dying show that the singer's emotions are still raw and they still have hope that they will be reunited.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you believe in love?
Do you have faith in the intense emotion of love?
Do you believe in shame?
Do you believe in the feeling of guilt or remorse for doing something wrong or embarrassing?
And if love can conquer all then why
Do we only feel the pain?
If love is capable of triumphing over all obstacles, then why does it still bring us sorrow and heartbreak?
I heard you speak my name.
Heard you singing The Stones
Maybe heard you laughing in a line of static
On my telephone.
I've heard traces of you in my life, from hearing you say my name, to hearing you singing along with The Rolling Stones, and even hearing your laughter faintly through a static phone line.
So why your eyelids are closed
Inside a case of rust?
And did you have to change all your poet's fire
To frozen dust.
Why are you shutting your eyes from life and letting yourself decay? Did you decide to abandon your passion and creativity that once burned brightly and let it become stagnant and dead?
I try to justify it
To learn from your mistake.
But where's the stupid lie that has to make its point
With such a pointless waste?
I attempt to rationalize and gain wisdom from what you did wrong. But where is the deceitful and meaningless act that has to be committed just to prove a pointless point?
Do you believe in shame?
Do you believe in love?
And if they taste the same would you love again
Or abandon both?
Do you have faith in love and shame? And if they bear the same bitter taste, would you attempt to love someone again or let go of both love and guilt?
I don't think I ever can believe my friend is gone
Keep saying it's all right, I'm gonna bring you back
But I know I'm wrong.
I don't think I can ever truly accept that my friend is no longer with me. Although I keep telling myself that everything will be okay and that I'll somehow bring them back, I am aware that such thinking is wrong and unrealistic.
There's nothing I can say
There's nothing left to do
It's just that lately I've been so damn lonely when
I think of you.
There are no words or actions that can change the past or bring you back. It's just that recently I've been feeling incredibly lonely and pensive whenever I think of you.
And it may seem selfish now but I'll hold on to
The memory until all this fear is washed away.
It may appear self-centered to maintain a grip on the memory of you, but it is my source of comfort and hope that all my anxieties and fears will eventually dissolve and fade away.
Cause I believe a little part of you inside of me
Will never die.
I have faith that you will always live on, as a small yet significant part of you still resides within me and will never expire.
Oooooo-hey
Oooooo-hey
Oooooo-hey
Humming or vocalizing sounds of indeterminate meaning or significance.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ELEANOR BROADWATER, DALE HAWKINS, STANLEY J LEWIS, NIGEL JOHN TAYLOR, NICK RHODES, SIMON JOHN CHARLES LE-BON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@patrickstocks3986
Do you believe in love?
Do you believe in shame?
And if love can conquer all then why
Do we only feel the pain?
I heard you speak my name
Heard you singing The Stones
Maybe heard you laughing in a line of static
On my telephone
So why your eyelids are closed
Inside a case of rust?
And did you have to change all your poets fire
To frozen dust
I try to justify it
To learn from your mistake
But where's the stupid lie that has to make its point
With such a pointless waste?
Come out
Do you believe in shame?
Do you believe in love?
And if they taste the same would you love again
Or abandon both?
I don't think I ever can believe my friend is gone
Keep saying it's alright
I'm gonna bring you back
But I know I'm wrong
There's nothing I can say
There's nothing left to do
It's just that lately I've been so damn lonely when I think of you
And it may seem selfish now but I'll hold onto
The memory until all this fear is washed away
Do you believe in love?
Do you believe in life?
Cause I believe a little part of you inside of me
Will never die
Cause I believe a little part of you inside of me
Will never die
Cause I believe a little part of you inside of me
Will never die
Cause I believe a little part of you inside of me
Will never die
Oooooo-hey
Oooooo-hey
Oooooo-hey
@creatrixinc
I'm just loving rediscovering DD now in my 50s. I missed most of their '90s comeback stuff and had NO IDEA that they had done so many albums since then. It's really a pleasure to be able to say they're still my faves. They've got such a wonderful discography, even the undersold albums have real gems.
@kristaturner6470
Yes! Having the same experience! Delighted to find such depth in their catalogue - joy again!
@MrDrum1969
I have followed Duran from the beginning , always eagerly waiting for a new album .
They have beautiful gems hidden in every album .
@jamiefoyers2800
Some Duran tracks are underrated and deserve a second chance and dusted off for the world to hear. This is one of them. Great lyrics and it's a different kind of vocal for Simon Le Bon to sing.
@PauloRoberto-nt7mh
Penso assim tbm!
@lelani9251
Lyrics are always deep with these guys! Never disappointed ❤️❤️❤️
@tombillard5264
Yes they never get credit for the lyrics thought of putting a few on some t-shirts
@claulmars3255
tenia 12 años cuando en 1984 me hice fan de duran duran y hoy tengo 50 y lo sigo siendo! geniales siempre e innovadores!! nunca me cansaron! genios!
@teevee6141
All said here below. Underappreciated, some of the deepest cutting lyrics and melodies ever. Simon singing " cause I believe a little part of you inside of me will never die" across from the World Trade Center in this video is an unexpected haunting touch 12 or so years before that day.
@davidestradameza1884
Tremenda canción, una de las tantas joyas que nos regaló y regala aún mi banda de siempre y digan lo que digan "big thing" es una maravilla de álbum, grande DURAN DURAN y regresen a Perú