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
Liberty
Duran Duran Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
At your liberty
If you wanna be with me
At your liberty
Yeah, oh
I'll tell you something
Just what you mean to me
Thank you for fine times
We nearly made it all the way but no
It wasn't meant to be
You say we feel the same
There ain't no blame to decide
But if a little time could change your mind
I'll be here
And you can call me
If you wanna stay with me
At your liberty
You can hold me
If you wanna be with me
At your liberty
Do you, do you, do you remember? Remember
How lovers ripe on summer's heathen night
Would never seem to end?
And does December December
Come stirring with that finger of desire desire
To feel it once again?
You worry 'bout your friends
But if they find what's going on what's going on
But if you wanna try to make it come alive
I'll be here
And you can call me
If you wanna stay with me
At your liberty
You can hold me
If you wanna be with me
At your liberty
And you can call me
If you wanna stay with me
At your liberty
And you can touch me, girl
If you wanna run to me
At your liberty
Help me out
I live in doubt
Sort me out
Yeah
Don't make it every night
Don't want to be the love of your life
So if you are inclined
To spend a little time
I'll be here
And you can call me
If you wanna stay with me
At your liberty
You can hold me
If you wanna be with me
At your liberty
And you can call me
If you want to stay with me
At your liberty
And you can touch me, girl
If you wanna run to me
At your liberty
Touch me, girl
If you want to stay with me
At your liberty
Help me out
If you wanna be with me
At your liberty
Search me out
If you wanna come to me
At your liberty
Oh you can set me free
If you wanna run to me
At your liberty
If you wanna stay with me
At your liberty
If you wanna be with me
At your liberty
If you wanna stay with me
At your liberty
If you wanna run to me
At your liberty
At your liberty
At your liberty
The lyrics of Duran Duran's song "Liberty" seem to be a plea from a lover to another, willing to let the latter be in control of the relationship. The singer suggests that if the other person wants to be with him or stay with him, they should do it at their own liberty, without any pressure or obligation. He then goes on to remember the good times they had together and how they didn't quite make it through, no matter how close they got. The singer then tries to assure his lover that he'll be there for them if they need him, regardless of whether they want to stay with him or not. The lyrics are a mix of nostalgia, heartbreak, and hope.
One notable aspect of the song is the use of sexual imagery in the lyrics, particularly in the lines "Touch me, girl / If you want to stay with me / At your liberty". The song seems to suggest a casual and non-committal relationship, with the singer willing to give up control to his lover.
Line by Line Meaning
If you wanna stay with me
I'm letting you decide if you want to be with me, no pressure.
At your liberty
You have the freedom to choose what you want, and I'll be here for you.
If you wanna be with me
I'm open to being with you, but it's entirely up to you.
I'll tell you something
I want to express my feelings to you.
To let you understand the way I feel
I want to make sure you know how I feel.
Just what you mean to me
I want you to know how important you are to me.
Thank you for fine times
I appreciate the good times we've had together.
We nearly made it all the way but no
Our relationship was close to something more, but it didn't quite work out.
It wasn't meant to be
It seems our relationship was not meant to progress any further.
You say we feel the same
You think we have a connection and understand each other well.
There ain't no blame to decide
There's no need to blame anyone for the way things turned out.
But if a little time could change your mind
If you need some time to think about things, I'm willing to wait.
I'll be here
I'll be waiting for you to decide.
And you can call me
You can contact me whenever you want.
You can hold me
If being close to me is what you want, I'm willing to do that too.
Do you, do you, do you remember? Remember
Do you remember the great times we shared together?
How lovers ripe on summer's heathen night
Remember when we were passionate and in love during a hot summer night?
Would never seem to end?
Those great times felt like they would last forever.
And does December December
Now as winter approaches,
Come stirring with that finger of desire desire
Do you feel that desire for passion again?
To feel it once again?
Do you want to feel those great times of passion and love once again?
You worry 'bout your friends
I know you're concerned about what your friends think about us.
But if they find what's going on what's going on
If your friends realize that we have the potential to be something more, that's okay.
But if you wanna try to make it come alive
If you're willing to give it a chance, so am I.
Don't make it every night
We don't have to be together every night.
Don't want to be the love of your life
I'm not asking to be the most important person in your life.
So if you are inclined
If you feel like being with me,
To spend a little time
Even if it's just for a little while,
I'll be here
I'm always here if you want me.
Help me out
I need your help with something, even if it's just clarity of our relationship.
I live in doubt
I'm unsure about our relationship and where it's headed.
Sort me out
I hope you can help get our relationship sorted out.
At your liberty
You have the freedom to choose if you want to be with me or not.
Search me out
If you're looking for me, I'm here.
Oh you can set me free
You have the power to decide if we continue our relationship or move on.
If you wanna run to me
If you feel like coming to me,
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Warren Cuccurullo, Simon John Charles Le Bon, Nick Rhodes, John Nigel Taylor, Sterling Campbell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@depecheddurand
I'll tell you something
To let you understand the way i feel
Just what you mean to me
Thank you for fine times
We nearly made it all the way but no
It wasn't meant to be
You say we feel the same
There ain't no blame to decide
But if a little time could change your mind
I'll be here...
And you can call me
(if you want to stay with me)
At your liberty
You can hold me
(if you want to be with me)
At your liberty
@supremeobliterator
Very underrated song as well as album. One of Duran Durans most underappreciated works.
@sharoncurtis5820
Agreed!!! I always thought this was a great album.
@kyachdistent1301
@@sharoncurtis5820 You are right, but half right. You don't need to think it, you KNOW it. But I hold my head up as I finally got hold of it during their 1997 split with John, and it seemed like Duran were over, and I started prioritising other 80s acts I wanted songs (though not necessarily albums) by. But some 5 years later, after a slow start, the album really got in there, and I've known for a long while now it's not only far better than what the majority of so-called fans say it is, but it's also far ahead of some of their others, especially that virtual nonsense one from 1983!
@fedecasares
@@sharoncurtis5820 I agree. Liberty, as an album with all their songs, is much better work than several records from the 90's. Not even The Wedding Album, as an album, is better.
@TheSason666
And just right now and right here we are to appreciate it !!!
In 2021.
@kyachdistent1301
@@fedecasares That's an intriguing last comment you make, and I utterly concur. "The Wedding Album" has 'Ordinary World' and 'Come Undone', as people never cease saying, but 2 songs do not maketh the whole record. It's a fine record, though bettered several times since 2007 (with another 'big surprise' for fans with the excellent "Red Carpet Massacre" I shout aloud), and all-round, "Liberty" does trump "Wedding", which is no slouch an album in itself, but it does show just how cool "Liberty" is!
@LateBarLondon
Fabulous, fabulous song! This, Violence Of Summer, Serious and My Antarctica were the 4 tracks I loved on this album.
@RodLucanor
LateBarLondon me2
@shawnporter3478
I also loved all along the water
@brucewayne3602
tres bien toujours !!!