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:
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http://www.facebook.com/pages/Duran-Duran
http://www.youtube.com/DuranDuran
http://www.youtube.com/07duranduran
http://www.myspace.com/duranduran
Girl Panic!
Duran Duran Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To general Chelsea mayhem
Then going on to somewhere
Yes I was going somewhere
A single random meeting
With your eyes and I am beaten
And now I'm going nowhere
I know I'm going nowhere
With all the voices in my head
The clever words I never said
Of all the things to happen
In a girl panic
That's driving naked through my mind
It's a crush panic
She's got me atomized
You beg me to get closer
Dress falling off your shoulder
Then heat is wrapping round us
This city strapped around us
'Cause now I sense your mission
Is my coming demolition
And you just hold me under
I know I'm going under
With all the voices in my head
The clever words I never said
And you just let it happen
In a girl panic
That's driving naked through my mind
It's a crush panic
She's got me atomized
In a girl panic
The midnight traffic in her eyes
Like a hypnotic
And I am mesmerized
You know you know I want you
I know you know I want you
With all the voices in my head
The clever words I never said
And you just let it happen
In a girl panic
That's driving naked through my mind
It's a crush panic
She's got me atomized
In a girl panic
The midnight traffic in her eyes
Like a hypnotic
And I am mesmerized
In a girl panic
A crush panic
She's a hypnotic
It's a girl panic
In Duran Duran's song "Girl Panic!" we see the singer being captivated by a woman he just met. He came to a place where there was “general Chelsea mayhem” but he was going somewhere. Then he meets this woman who mesmerizes him with her eyes. Despite the fact that he knows he is going nowhere, he allows himself to fall under her spell. The voices in his head, the clever words he never said before, he lets it all happen as he surrenders to the girl panic. As the night goes on, he notes that the heat between them is wrapping around them and the city is strapped around them. He begins to sense that the woman’s mission is his coming destruction and that he is going under.
This song is about lust and being consumed by desire. The singer has fallen under the mesmerizing power of a woman he has just met, and he finds himself driving naked through his mind. It’s as if he is in a state of panic because he cannot control his desire for this woman. The lyrics play with the idea of the power that women have over men and the resulting panic that men experience when confronted with their own desire.
Line by Line Meaning
I came by invitation
I was invited here by someone
To general Chelsea mayhem
To the chaos and excitement of Chelsea
Then going on to somewhere
Leaving this place and moving towards another
Yes I was going somewhere
I had a destination in mind
A single random meeting
I met you by chance
With your eyes and I am beaten
Your eyes have captivated me
And now I'm going nowhere
I feel lost and directionless
I know I'm going nowhere
I acknowledge that I'm lost
With all the voices in my head
I'm overwhelmed by my thoughts
The clever words I never said
My unexpressed feelings and thoughts
Of all the things to happen
Out of everything that could have happened
You beg me to get closer
You ask me to come closer to you
Dress falling off your shoulder
Your dress is slipping off your shoulder
Then heat is wrapping round us
We're feeling a strong attraction towards each other
This city strapped around us
We're caught up in the energy of the city
Cause now I sense your mission
I suspect that you have a hidden motive
Is my coming demolition
You want to destroy me emotionally
And you just hold me under
You're making me feel trapped and suffocated
I know I'm going under
I know I'm becoming overwhelmed by my feelings
You know you know I want you
We both know I'm attracted to you
In a girl panic
Overwhelmed with feelings for this girl
That's driving naked through my mind
My thoughts are raw and unfiltered
It's a crush panic
I'm having a crush-induced panic
She's got me atomized
I'm feeling completely disintegrated by my feelings for her
The midnight traffic in her eyes
Her eyes have a captivating, hypnotic quality
Like a hypnotic
Her eyes are mesmerizing
And I am mesmerized
I'm completely entranced by her
She's a hypnotic
She has a hypnotic quality
It's a girl panic
I'm overwhelmed with feelings for this girl
In a girl panic
Overwhelmed with feelings for this girl
A crush panic
I'm having a crush-induced panic
It's a girl panic
I'm overwhelmed with feelings for this girl
Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DOMINIC (GB) BROWN, SIMON JOHN CHARLES LE BON, NICK RHODES, NIGEL JOHN TAYLOR, ROGER ANDREW TAYLOR, MARK RONSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
kemekoist
After more than ten years, this music video still shines and gives me tingle.❤🎉❤🎉❤
Alessandro Maia
I love this one
Disco Tetris
I think it's cool how they featured the 90s super models, they're miiiiles away from modern-day models... these women are iconic. I honestly can't think of many modern-day models that have such status, that are still remembered -- they're not washed out celebrities, or 'has-beens' -- still cool, still relevant, still awesome, with their own personalities, with their own flavor. Like Duran Duran :)
Drew F
I think my favourite part of this video is what incredible performances the ladies give. They just completely sell the whole deal. The confidence is so cool.
Sigil
The casting is perfect, every model fits their Duran and they totally abandon themselves to the part. I love that Naomi is Simon's alter ego. it just seems right.
Uffe K.
I can't believe this song and album is almost 11 years old now. This was such a powerful return to form, in my opinion. And I've been listening since 84' :-)
Currently Future Past is on heavy rotation and it's a GREAT album too! Thank you DD!
Richard Jeffreys
They are doing Album 1 and 2 favourites.. We ARE LOVING IT!!! x
Jacob Patrick Poulsen
Duran Duran is so underrated now and their last couple of albums were still great. I really love Duran Duran and their music. They don`t follow the trends, because they already did it all before. I really like Mark Ronson`s production on the "All You Need Is Now" album. It reminds me a lot of the production on the "Rio" album, but it still sounds fresh and modern. :) Love how they brought back the supermodels in this video, because back in 1980´s and 1990´s (especially) there were a lot of music videos that featured the different supermodels. :)
chrisbacos
In the tradition of the best British bands Duran Duran got better with age.
Dan DeMerchant
This is the most sexy, compelling and clever music video I have ever seen. I have to revisit it every time I need a dose of inspiration to think bigger and live glamorously in my mind. Thanks Duran Duran for producing such a mind-blowing clip, bringing the glamour that we all enjoy!