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
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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
Pop Trash Movie
Duran Duran Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Overnight sensation
Smiling for cameras from all around the world.
If I rewind back to yesterday
And stop the tape there
No one knew who you were but now
They're at your door.
We star together in every scene
We'll all be famous for just a few minutes
Part of a celluloid dream.
Watch in slo-mo going frame by frame
Might have blurred my vision
Your life went flashing by where
Did it all go wrong?
I'm living in a pop trash movie
We star together in every scene
We'll all be famous for fifteen minutes
Part of a celluloid dream.
I'll wait in the wings for you
I'll read your lines to you
But now the script is final
You know it's time to go
So we'll have to say goodbye.
I'm living in a pop trash movie
We star together in every scene
We'll all be famous for those fifteen minutes
Part of a celluloid dream.
We star in every scene
And it's never quite what it seems
Neva. . .
I'm living in a pop trash movie
You know we'll make it with that pop trash
Yeah. . .
We'll all be famous for fifteen minutes
Part of a celluloid dream.
Ohhhh....ohhhhhh...ohhhhhh
The song "Pop Trash Movie" by Duran Duran revolves around the idea of fame and the way in which society has become obsessed with celebrity culture. The lyrics describe a pretty face that has suddenly become famous overnight, appearing on camera for the entire world to see. The singer reflects on how just the day before, nobody knew who this person was, but now they are instantly recognizable.
The title of the song, "Pop Trash Movie," conveys the idea that our lives have become a movie, where we are all stars, but only for a brief moment. The singer feels as though he is living in this "pop trash" world of superficiality, where everything is transient and fleeting. He sighs at how everyone will be famous for just a few minutes before fading back into obscurity. The song further delves into the dark side of fame, where people appear to be in control of their lives on the surface, but really have no influence over the way things turn out.
Overall, "Pop Trash Movie" stands as a critique of society's obsession with celebrity culture, and how it has led us to live in a world that values superficiality and fleeting fame over substance and longevity.
Line by Line Meaning
Saw a close-up of your pretty face
I caught a detailed glimpse of your attractive features
Overnight sensation
You became a popular figure very suddenly
Smiling for cameras from all around the world.
You were posing with joy for photographers from different parts of the globe
If I rewind back to yesterday
And stop the tape there
No one knew who you were but now
They're at your door.
Had I gone back to the past, nobody would recognize you whereas now you have people flocking to you.
I'm living in a pop trash movie
We star together in every scene
We'll all be famous for just a few minutes
Part of a celluloid dream.
I feel like I am in a low-quality, guilty-pleasure sort of film where we're the leads, and our notoriety will last briefly and only exist in our minds.
Watch in slo-mo going frame by frame
Might have blurred my vision
Your life went flashing by where
Did it all go wrong?
If I slow down and examine your life closely, I might distort how I view it. Where did things take a turn for the worst?
I'll wait in the wings for you
I'll read your lines to you
But now the script is final
You know it's time to go
So we'll have to say goodbye.
I'll wait backstage to support you and remind you of your dialogues. However, the tale is now set in stone, and you must exit the scene. Therefore, we have to bid our farewells.
We star in every scene
And it's never quite what it seems
Neva. . .
We appear in all scenes, but things are never as they appear, never...
You know we'll make it with that pop trash
Yeah. . .
You understand that our crude, low-quality content will succeed.
Ohhhh....ohhhhhh...ohhhhhh
Indescribable sounds
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: NICK RHODES, WARREN CUCCURULLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Daniele Pereira
Saw a close-up of your pretty face
Overnight sensation
Smiling for cameras from all around the world.
If I rewind back to yesterday
And stop the tape there
No one knew who you were but now
They're at your door.
I'm living in a pop trash movie
We star together in every scene
We'll all be famous for just a few minutes
Part of a celluloid dream.
Watch in slo-mo going frame by frame
Might have blurred my vision
Your life went flashing by where
Did it all go wrong?
I'm living in a pop trash movie
We star together in every scene
We'll all be famous for fifteen minutes
Part of a celluloid dream.
I'll wait in the wings for you
I'll read your lines to you
But now the script is final
You know it's time to go
So we'll have to say goodbye.
I'm living in a pop trash movie
We star together in every scene
We'll all be famous for those fifteen minutes
Part of a celluloid dream.
We star in every scene
And it's never quite what it seems
Neva. . .
I'm living in a pop trash movie
You know we'll make it with that pop trash
Yeah. . .
We'll all be famous for fifteen minutes
Part of a celluloid dream.
creates100
this and medazzaland should be on the streaming services
Greg McKinney
You mean I’m not alone in my adoration of Medazzaland and Pop Trash? I love these albums more now than ever. Pure joy.
Randy Lever
These two amazing albums are now on spotify etc. !!
M Brew
Medazzaland was the best post JT effort
M Brew
Miss Medazzaland so much.
Patrick Lauer
creates100 I agree
D. MC
I really like the melody especially the beginning. The notes in the vocal have an interesting relationship. I've always enjoyed DD's music. I confess that this is the only album I didn't check out by them, and I'm glad I'm hearing it now at lest. These guys always find a unique sound. They shouldn't be so hard on themselves and 'trash' this album. It is very creative. Bands in general need to be fearless like this. I applaud DD here. Albums like this help them to keep their creative edge, even when they bring some of these ideas back to their pop material.
ogam5
One of the ONLY songs (aside from those on Thank You) NOT written by Simon or any other band member they've ever recorded.....
Kyach Distent
Totally agreed. A wicked album. Came to it late myself. Beats the hell out of their weakest period-1983's "Seven Ragged Tiger". People pretend it's better than it is just cos all 5 were together, but it was rushed, overworked and little inspired. This just rocks. I love them best when they experiment-never been afraid to do it, even if certain segments of the audience never gets it.
robert Larson
My favorite album from Duran Duran!