Duran Duran (1981 album)

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Duran Duran
File:Duran Duran (1981 album).png
Studio album by
Duran Duran
Released15 June 1981 (1981-06-15)
RecordedDecember 1980 – January 1981
StudioRed Bus and Utopia (London); Chipping Norton (Oxfordshire)
Genre
Length39:42
LabelEMI
ProducerColin Thurston
Duran Duran chronology
Duran Duran
(1981) 		Rio
(1982)
1983 US reissue
File:Duran Duran debut 1983 US cover.jpg
Singles from Duran Duran
  1. "Planet Earth"
    Released: 2 February 1981
  2. "Careless Memories"
    Released: 20 April 1981
  3. "Girls on Film"
    Released: 13 July 1981

Duran Duran is the debut studio album by the English new wave band Duran Duran, which was released on 15 June 1981 by EMI. After signing a record contract, the band recorded the album at several London studios between December 1980 and January 1981, with production by Colin Thurston. Although the instrumental tracks were recorded quickly, singer Simon Le Bon initially struggled to sing in the studio; this led to discussions about replacing him before EMI employee Dave Ambrose intervened.

The band were influenced at this time by a variety of artists, including David Bowie, the Human League, Ultravox, Roxy Music, Japan and Chic. Duran Duran has a mixture of synthesiser-led pop tunes and more atmospheric experimental tracks; some also have elements of disco, punk and dance music. Le Bon's cryptic lyrics cover a variety of topics, from youthful torment and confusion to the band's goals and ambitions. The cover artwork for the album and singles was designed by Malcolm Garrett, who would do so for the next five years.

Duran Duran initially received mixed reviews. Critics felt that the band did not stand out from their contemporaries, although some praised the singles. EMI released three from the album: "Planet Earth", "Careless Memories" and "Girls on Film". Each single was promoted with music videos, which helped the album reach number three in the UK and remain in the top 100 there for 118 weeks. The sexually-provocative video for "Girls on Film" was controversial, and generated publicity for the new MTV channel in the United States. Despite the album's commercial success in the UK, its initial US release on Capitol subsidiary Harvest Records was unsuccessful; a reissue there during the height of the band's fame in 1983, however, reached the top ten of the Billboard chart.

Retrospective reviews for Duran Duran have been more positive, with critics complimenting the band for creating a modern sound which spearheaded the New Romantic movement; Rolling Stone called the album a classic in 2021. It was remastered and re-released in a 2010 special edition, with bonus demo and live tracks. The remaster was criticised by fans as a victim of the loudness war.

Background

A smiling John Taylor on stage
Nick Rhodes, looking serious on stage
John Taylor (left, in 2015) and Nick Rhodes (in 2012) founded Duran Duran in 1978.

Childhood friends John Taylor and Nick Rhodes formed Duran Duran in Birmingham, England, in 1978 with Taylor's art-school friend Stephen Duffy. The trio, which began with Taylor on guitar and vocals, Rhodes on synthesisers and Duffy on vocals and bass, was influenced by David Bowie, the Human League, Ultravox, Lou Reed and Kraftwerk.[2] On 21 October 1978, they named the band after Dr. Durand Durand (Milo O'Shea's character in the 1968 science-fiction film Barbarella) the day after the film's broadcast on BBC1. The trio made their first recordings above Rhodes' mother's toy shop in Birmingham, and played their first gig on 5 April 1979 at Birmingham Polytechnic.[3] The band played several gigs that year as their lineup changed with the departure of Duffy and the addition of singer Andy Wickett and drummer Roger Taylor. Duran Duran then recorded demo tapes at Bob Lamb's studio in Birmingham, one of which included an early version of "Girls on Film" written mostly by Wickett. John Taylor and Rhodes showed the demos to a number of record companies, who unanimously turned them down. The year ended with Wickett's departure and the arrival of guitarist Alan Curtis.[a][3]

With Scent Organs' singer Jeff Thomas replacing Wickett, Duran Duran continued recording demos and playing live in early 1980. John Taylor and Rhodes, looking for a performance venue, submitted tapes to Birmingham's Rum Runner nightclub. After making the club one of the city's most popular venues for upcoming artists, owners Paul and Michael Berrow were interested in managing a local band. Paul recalled, "I'm not saying what they played me was great, but what it had, was an aesthetic."[4] With the Berrows' support, Duran Duran became the Rum Runner's resident band and used the club to develop their sound; Rhodes became its primary DJ. Curtis and Thomas soon departed, and guitarist Andy Taylor was hired after answering an advertisement in Melody Maker. Rhodes said about Andy, "We wanted someone who could play atmospheric stuff like Pink Floyd's [David] Gilmour, who had the power of Mick Ronson and was funky like Carlos Alomar."[b][4]

Duran Duran continued rehearsing without a lead singer until drama student Simon Le Bon was hired through an ex-girlfriend who worked at the Rum Runner in May 1980. Le Bon struggled to sing at first (later calling himself a "god-awful singer" at the time) and did not fit the band's desire for a singer who, according to Rhodes, "was a cross between Lou Reed and Iggy Pop and David Bowie mashed into one".[4] The band were impressed with Le Bon's skill with melodies, however, and he had written poems and stories during his childhood; he composed the lyrics and vocal line for "Sound of Thunder" during his first audition. Andy Taylor told a journalist, "Simon came in with this book of poetry and kept coming up with these ideas and melodies. We were like, 'This guy doesn't even know what his potential is.' There was an innocence to it all."[4] Duran Duran's first performance with the lineup of Le Bon, Rhodes and the three Taylors was on 16 July 1980 at the Rum Runner.[5][6]

Development

The thing which makes us all work well together was that we are five very different individuals. We all have strong personalities. Sometimes this fact means that there's a lot of tension between us, because we all have conflicting ideas. But that only seems to make us work better.[6]

—Nick Rhodes, 1981

Shortly after their live debut, Duran Duran spent two months writing songs and developing their sound with occasional live performances. According to biographer Steve Malins, John Taylor was an integral part of the group during this period: "the sensitive, charming, ad-libbing pop star to Rhodes's more controlled Pop Art alter ego."[6] Rhodes worked creatively with Andy Taylor, who gave him the opportunity to be the "ideas man" and played around Rhodes's patterns; this solidified the melodies. Malins writes that Andy's skill as an arranger assisted in forming the band's "rough, undisciplined mixture[s]" of punk, disco and electronic styles into tight, cohesive structures; Roger Taylor's "compact, unshakable drumming" provided a backbone for the group.[6][7]

John Taylor writes in his memoir, In the Pleasure Groove, that grooves, chord progressions and melodies were primarily derived from jam sessions.[8] The band had debuted songs such as "Night Boat", "Late Bar", "Girls on Film", "Sound of Thunder" and an early version of "Tel Aviv" during their first live show before further developing them. Andy later said, "In the beginning that worked because as we wrote the songs we'd all be pitching in and experimenting."[6] John recalls that "Night Boat", in particular, arose from a "drifting keyboard sample" by Rhodes with Andy Taylor's Roland guitar synthesiser.[8] Le Bon was a quick writer, coming up with the lyrics to "Girls on Film" after receiving the first version.[8] Andy said about Le Bon, "there are very few people on this planet ever who have written so many beautiful melodies as that man has."[6] During the writing period, Duran Duran agreed to credit all songs to the band and split all earnings evenly; John credits this as the reason for the band's longevity.[9]

By the end of summer 1980, Duran Duran had written all of what would become their first studio album. They continued recording demos at Lamb's studio before going to London's 24-track AIR Studios in late summer to tape demos of "Girls on Film" (with Michael Berrow on saxophone) and "Tel Aviv"; these differed from the released versions. In September and October, the band continued performing live while Paul Berrow worked on attracting record-label attention. London agent Rob Hallett booked performances at well-known venues in the city, including the Marquee Club and the Lyceum Theatre, opening for Pauline Murray.[6][9][10] Berrow secured Duran Duran an article by Sounds magazine's Betty Page, who aligned them with the rising New Romantic movement and drew comparisons with the London-based new wave band Spandau Ballet. They supported Hazel O'Connor on a tour from 18 November to 6 December 1980, during which the band's provocative clothing sparked a backlash from audiences.[6][11][12] With Duran Duran's performances finally attracting attention, the Berrows arranged for record-label executives to meet with the band. After a bidding war between EMI and Phonogram Records in which Phonogram offered more money, Duran Duran signed with EMI due to the label's stature in the industry.[12][13]

Recording

The band recorded their debut album over a six week period beginning in December 1980.[14] EMI's new A&R director, Dave Ambrose,[c] recommended Colin Thurston as producer. Since Thurston had co-engineered Bowie and Iggy Pop's 1977 Berlin-era albums (Low, "Heroes", The Idiot and Lust for Life) and produced Bow Wow Wow, the Human League (Reproduction) and Magazine (Secondhand Daylight), the band knew that he was the right choice; Thurston was happy to work with Duran Duran after hearing the demo of "Girls on Film".[10][5] John later said, "Colin was absolutely the right producer for us. He knew how to take what was best about us and magnify it, and boy, did he take our sound to another level."[15] Thurston initially booked a month at London's Abbey Road Studios, but initial work was insufficient; recording moved to West London's Red Bus Studios,[10] a favourite of his. "Planet Earth" was chosen as the debut single with "Late Bar" its B-side, so the single was tracked first and sent to pressing plants before the remaining tracks.[15]

Simon Le Bon onstage, arms outstretched
Lead singer Simon Le Bon initially struggled to sing in the studio, leading to discussions about replacing him before EMI A&R director Dave Ambrose intervened.

Recording began at a brisk pace, with all the rhythm tracks completed within two weeks.[10] In his memoir, John Taylor identifies "Careless Memories", "Night Boat", "Anyone Out There", "To the Shore", "Faster than Light", "Tel Aviv" and what would become "Khanada" as recorded at Red Bus.[16] Thurston gave each member individual attention with, according to John, "no preferential treatment".[15] Andy Taylor later called him the band's best producer, who played a pivotal role in establishing the band's early sound: "This is where Duran Duran came to life. Colin was the filter that allowed us to come together as a whole."[10] Rhodes became enthusiastic about music production, observing Thurston behind the mixing desk while the producer gave him insight into his methods.[10] The band returned to Birmingham for a Christmas Eve show at the Cedar Club,[15] after which Andy Taylor and Rhodes travelled back to London to mix "Planet Earth" with Thurston on Boxing Day at Utopia Studio.[13] In addition to the album version, the band recorded an extended version of "Planet Earth" for use in nightclubs. The "night version" featured a longer middle section and a four-on-the-floor bass drum-driven intro, with additional percussion by Roger and slap bass by John. The "Gosport Horns" (Andy Hamilton on sax and Spike Edney on trombone) added, in John's words, "bluster and funk".[16]

The sessions continued in January 1981 at Chipping Norton Recording Studios in Oxfordshire to record the guitar parts, keyboard overdubs and vocal tracks.[13][16] The music was recorded quickly but the vocal tracks proved difficult, primarily due to Le Bon's inexperience;[10] he initially struggled to sing in the studio due to the difference between singing live and singing into a microphone while wearing headphones.[13] Andy later said, "Colin ... was a nice man, but he could be a bit pedantic. He was very rough on Simon and kept asking him to redo things."[10] With the label adamant about recording at a frantic pace, Le Bon felt great pressure (particularly when EMI executives arrived to check on progress). The Berrows were initially concerned that they would have to replace Le Bon before Ambrose intervened, telling the singer: "You know it's your first album and everyone has got to find their feet. If you've never done it before you just have to take your time – and don't forget, it's all about the songs."[13] Paul Berrow told Le Bon during a Rum Runner band meeting to stop drinking and smoking or he would be kicked out, and the singer obliged.[10] Recording was finished after the band's first national tour.[17]

Music and lyrics

It's one of the most honest albums ever, in my opinion. [...] There wasn't a thing on that album that was contrived. We worked so hard and wished and prayed and put everything we had into that record ... All our musical ideas from when we were fifteen or sixteen years old.[14]

—Nick Rhodes, 1982

The songs on Duran Duran present the band's wide range of influences, including Bowie, Ultravox, Roxy Music, Japan, Giorgio Moroder and Chic, for an album with a mixture of synthesiser-led pop tunes and more atmospheric experimental tracks.[14][5][1] Andy Taylor later said, "We wrote the first album to kind of make up what we were going to be, what this futuristic sound was."[11] Writer Annie Zaleski describes this sound as "space-age keyboards, post-punk guitars, disco-inspired bass lines and Le Bon's vocal croon."[1] Malins finds the album "full of melodic, dance-floor synthesizer pop delivered with youthful flair and the odd arty twist", at times similar to the "disco-rock" of Blondie's "Call Me" and Japan's Quiet Life (1979).[14] Billboard magazine noted its dance rhythms against a pervading "rock disco mix".[18] Punk elements are present on "Planet Earth" and "Careless Memories".[5][15]

Zaleski highlights the cohesive-yet-contrasting musical styles of Andy's guitars and Rhodes's synthesisers. Playing in a number of cover bands before joining Duran Duran, Andy's primary influences were heavy blues rock bands which included AC/DC and Van Halen. He later said, "[Nick] would do Eno and I would do Jeff Beck or Jimmy Page."[11] John Taylor believes that Andy's influences were responsible for developing their sound and enabling them to break out in America.[8] Malins notes that the album has no guitar solos; Andy contributes "melodic and punchy" work, particularly on "Girls on Film" and "Friends of Mine".[14] In addition to their instruments, the band incorporated additional sounds into some tracks: the sound of Paul Berrow's Nikon camera opening "Girls on Film"; foghorns, humming motors and buoy bells on "Night Boat", and a string section conducted by Richard Myhill at AIR Studios on the instrumental "Tel Aviv".[19][20]

Le Bon's cryptic lyrics cover a variety of subjects, from youthful torment and confusion to the band's goals and ambitions. The sexually exploitative "Girls on Film" is a critique of modeling culture, and "Sound of Thunder" tells the story of a man who begins World War III. "Friends of Mine"'s social commentary includes a line celebrating the release of George Davis, an armed robber who was the subject of a cause célèbre.[14][5][19] "Planet Earth" briefly acknowledges the band's association with the New Romantic movement, which Rhodes later called a form of irony.[6] According to music journalist Stephen Davis, some fans believed that the song (with lines such as "there's no sign of life") was about the arrival of aliens; Le Bon later said that it may have been about the moment a child is born.[19] In his memoir, John Taylor called "Planet Earth" "a celebration of youth, of the possibility of youth, about feeling good to be alive".[15] Lost love and angst are explored on "Anyone Out There" and "Night Boat", respectively; "To the Shore" is a power ballad filled with, according to Davis, lyrical neologisms such as "gorging your sanhedralites".[19] Le Bon shouts at one point during "Careless Memories". In his book, Please Please Tell Me Now, Davis writes: "the fear of whispers and unwanted thoughts gives depth to the anxious lyrics, and Simon Le Bon sounds harsh and bitter notes that wouldn't be heard from this band again for a long time."[19]

Release and promotion

"Planet Earth", backed with "Late Bar", was released as the group's debut single on 2 February 1981.[14][17] Its artwork was designed by Malcolm Garrett, who would design the band's album covers, singles and memorabilia for the next five years.[14] The single received mixed reviews and, to the band's dismay, missed the top ten on the UK Singles Chart (peaking at number 12). However, its chart position earned them an appearance on BBC's Top of the Pops. According to Malins, their "dandified [and] overdressed" appearance secured their place in the New Romantic movement in the minds of adolescents.[14][21] The band promoted "Planet Earth" with a music video directed by Russell Mulcahy. Showcasing the band's unique fashion choices, the video helped "Planet Earth" top the charts in Australia and Portugal; the single also sold well in Sweden.[14] John Taylor was initially hesitant about the music-video format: "I didn't really get it, it was certainly at odds with the whole punk ethic".[14] Capitol Records, the band's American label, released "Planet Earth" (backed with "To the Shore") in the US on its Harvest Records subsidiary; due to a lack of promotion, the single failed to chart.[22]

As "Planet Earth" charted in the UK, Duran Duran launched a media campaign of interviews and photo shoots with Smash Hits, Mates and Patches magazines; articles on the band also appeared in The Face, i-D and New Sounds, New Styles.[14] EMI released the band's second single, "Careless Memories" (backed with "Khanada"), on 7" vinyl on 20 April 1981; a 12" vinyl edition included a cover of David Bowie's "Fame". The single stalled at number 37 after three weeks.[23] Ambrose later called it was a mistake: "I think in a way it was the marketing people's fear that the band was getting too commercial too fast. [...] 'Careless Memories' didn't get any airplay, which was a bit scary. It didn't lock in."[14] To promote the single, the band appeared on the cover of Smash Hits for the first time; magazine reviewer Mark Ellen, however, was unimpressed. Its music video, directed by Perry Haines and Terry Jones, was later called "the worst video we've ever made" by Rhodes; Malins described it as "a folly of New Romantic pretension".[14]

EMI released Duran Duran on 15 June 1981,[14][21][24] with its cover photograph by Fin Costello. According to John Taylor, the band disliked the chosen photo but approved of Garrett's design.[25] On 29 June, Duran Duran began their 11-date "Faster than Light" tour at the Brighton Dome. Taylor said that the band were greeted by "screaming, screeching kids stretching out for a touch of us", which greatly surprised them. Although the shows did not sell out, Le Bon said that their headbands inspired a short-lived "national fashion".[14] Two days after the tour ended on 13 July, "Girls on Film" (backed with "Faster than Light") was released as the third single.[26] Reaching the UK top five and receiving substantial airplay on Radio 1, Malins writes that the single made Duran Duran one of the biggest new bands of 1981.[14] According to Andy Taylor, the band knew that "Girls on Film" would be a bigger hit than "Planet Earth" but wanted to wait until they were established to release it.[13]

Individual photos of Kevin Godley and Lol Creme on stage
Godley & Creme directed the music video for "Girls on Film".

The single helped Duran Duran peak at number three in the UK and spend 118 weeks on the chart, going platinum by December 1982 and selling 1.6 million copies worldwide.[14][27] The album topped the chart in Portugal,[28] reached number two in New Zealand, number three in Sweden and number nine in Australia.[29][30][31] It was released later in the US, since Capitol wanted to see how it performed in Europe and Australia.[21] Released in late June on Harvest,[18] the single replaced "To the Shore" with the "night version" of "Planet Earth" and was unsuccessful.[14][5] EMI released a four-track, 12" EP entitled Nite Romantics in Japan, which featured the "night versions" of "Planet Earth" and "Girls on Film".[21]

The music video for "Girls on Film", directed by Godley & Creme and filmed in August 1981, featured several semi-nude women performing sexually-suggestive acts in what Roy Shuker describes as "soft porn".[32] Paul Berrow said that the video was made "strategically" for the American audience, who believed that Duran Duran were a "gay band". Ambrose said, "It was very provocative, the first semi-pornographic long-form video which really shook everyone up in the clubs. And that's what started to break [the band] in America."[14] The American channel MTV, which premiered two weeks before the video was filmed, initially appeared in only three states and repeatedly screened the video. MTV co-founder John Sykes found it an effective way to generate publicity for the fledgling channel: "[It] was something that could never be played on broadcast networks, but we could play it on MTV. So it brought a lot of people over to cable and MTV, to not only discover the cool new bands but also this art form that was not yet ready for prime-time television."[14] It was banned by the BBC in England; a heavily-edited "day version" was made for airing on MTV, and the band capitalised on the controversy.[14][32]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[20]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[33]
Record Mirror[34]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[35]
Spin Alternative Record Guide8/10[36]

Duran Duran initially received mixed reviews.[14] After enjoying the band's first two singles, the NME's Chris Bohn was unimpressed with what he considered "a sensibly-packaged, respectively safe and self-consciously worthy record that belies the promised glamour of their two earlier singles."[37] Bohn wrote that the group lacked the skills needed to separate themselves from other New Romantic artists (such as Depeche Mode), mimicking Ultravox in composing disco-rock songs embellished by synthesisers and guitars. Praising "Friends of Mine", he concluded that Duran Duran "collapse through their weighty lifelessness" partly attributed to Thurston's "lacklustre" production which "reduces stridently colourful highlights to fit the densely homogeneous whole."[37] In Melody Maker, Steve Sutherland wrote that the album worked better as background music and is "actively better not to listen to". Sutherland called the band "painlessly pointless, bouncy, bright and brilliant".[38] Simon Tebbutt of Record Mirror was interested in the "stylish and sophisticated dance beats" paired with the "youthful edge" of the lyrics: "these new sound waves are light and poppy without being superficial and worthy of serious consideration without overblown pretension."[34] Sounds magazine called Duran Duran an "incredible, mature debut bristling with prospective hit singles".[14]

In the US, Billboard magazine noted the album's dance rhythms; its rock-disco mix was complemented by the production and "explosive hooks". The reviewer grouped Duran Duran with Spandau Ballet and "similar acts in that genre".[18] In Trouser Press, Ira Robbins wrote that the album "contains more creative and diverse noises and thoughts than all the real and would-be Spandau Ballets put together"; as a band, however, Duran Duran was stylistically inferior to other bands in the genre.[39] The band were also viewed in a mixed light by their musical peers. Gary Numan voiced his support, but Ultravox's Midge Ure was an outspoken critic; Martyn Ware, founder of the Human League and Heaven 17, saw Duran Duran as a "glamour puss band" who had "no sense of originality or art about them".[14]

Retrospective reviews of Duran Duran have been more positive. Twenty years after its release, Courtney Taylor-Taylor of the Dandy Warhols said: "If you go back to the first record, they smoked everybody. It's incredible! Disco bass-lines, Japan textures and mixed by the guy who did the Iggy Pop records."[14] For AllMusic, Eduardo Rivadavia wrote that the album "artfully coalesced the sonic and stylistic elements of the burgeoning new romantic movement they were soon to spearhead". He called the band's choice of singles "ultra-smart" and, combined with their "groundbreaking" music videos, Duran Duran secured the band as frontrunners of the MTV generation – "cementing their status as one of the decade's most successful pop music icons".[20] In a 40th-anniversary retrospective, Zaleski described the album as "art-school unorthodoxy meets pop futurism" which still feels modern[1] and called it the work of a "glamorous and modern young band".[11] In a 2021 article discussing the band's contemporary album Future Past, Rolling Stone called their debut album a "classic" which introduced "a radical new style of art-glam punk-disco swagger".[40]

Reissues

US 1983 Capitol reissue

During the height of the band's fame after the release of their second album, Rio, Capitol Records reissued Duran Duran in the US in late April 1983[41] and added "Is There Something I Should Know?" (the band's current single) to the track listing.[42][43] This release reached the top ten of Billboard's Top LPs & Tape chart in August 1983,[44] a few weeks after "Is There Something I Should Know?" reached number four,[43] and reached number 24 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart.[45] The band were successful throughout the year; by the time Duran Duran released their third album (Seven and the Ragged Tiger) in late 1983, Duran Duran and Rio were still high on the charts.[43]

The album also featured updated cover art designed by Garrett,[43] using the newer "double D" band logo featured on the Seven and the Ragged Tiger cover and "Is There Something I Should Know?" single. The new image positioned each band member equally close to the camera and depicted their varied looks, from tanned adventurers to rouged androgynes. This reflected the band's teen-focused marketing, which promoted the image and personality of its individual members: "everyone is someone's favourite".[46][47]

Special edition

Duran Duran was reissued in a special edition on 29 March 2010,[48] with remastered audio engineered by Andrew Walter at Abbey Road Studios. It contained the original album and a number of bonus tracks, including the band's AIR Studio and Manchester Square studio demos recorded on 29 July 1980 and 8 December 1980 respectively. The special edition also included a BBC radio session, recorded on 19 June 1981, and a DVD with BBC footage and the band's music videos from the era.[49] The remastering had a negative reaction from fans as a victim of the loudness war. Listeners particularly cited "Girls on Film" as containing a defect which is not present in any other mastering of the song.[50] Andy Taylor (who had left the band)[51] criticised the remaster, saying that it "sounds like it was done down the pub" and condemning EMI for promoting the demos as bonus tracks: "they should be gifting them to fans after 30 years of support...shame on all involved". EMI acknowledged the defect at the beginning of "Girls on Film" (calling it a result of master-tape deterioration), but refused to recall the reissue because complaints about its sound quality were "by far in the minority".[50]

Track listing

All songs written by Simon Le Bon, Andy Taylor, John Taylor, Roger Taylor and Nick Rhodes.

Side one

  1. "Girls on Film" – 3:32
  2. "Planet Earth" – 3:57
  3. "Anyone Out There" – 4:03
  4. "To the Shore" – 3:50
  5. "Careless Memories" – 3:56

Side two

  1. "Night Boat" – 5:26
  2. "Sound of Thunder" – 4:07
  3. "Friends of Mine" – 5:46
  4. "Tel Aviv" – 5:22

Notes

  • On the original US release, "Girls on Film" and "Planet Earth" switch places and the "night version" of "Planet Earth" is used instead.
  • The 1983 US reissue adds "Is There Something I Should Know?" to the end of side one.
  • "To the Shore" is not included on either of the aforementioned US releases.
  • The original CD uses the 1983 US reissue version. However, the 1993 UK Parlophone CD adds "To the Shore" to the end of the disc.

Personnel

Album credits adapted from AllMusic:[52]

Duran Duran

Production

  • Colin Thurston – production, engineering
  • Ian Little – production ("Is There Something I Should Know?")

Charts

Certifications

Sales certifications for Duran Duran
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[62] Platinum 50,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[63] 2× Platinum 200,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[64] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[27] Platinum 300,000^
United States (RIAA)[65] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Notes

  1. ^ Wickett, who wrote most of "Girls on Film", signed the song over to Duran Duran in July 1981 for £600.[4]
  2. ^ Ronson and Alomar were guitarists for David Bowie.[4]
  3. ^ Ambrose had signed the Sex Pistols.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Zaleski, Annie (15 June 2016). "The Story of Duran Duran's Self-titled Debut Album". diffuser.fm. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  2. ^ Malins 2013, chap. 1.
  3. ^ a b Malins 2013, chaps. 1–2.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Malins 2013, chap. 2.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Zaleski, Annie (15 June 2021a). "40 Years Ago: Duran Duran Take First Steps to Fame on Debut LP". Ultimate Classic Rock. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Malins 2013, chap. 3.
  7. ^ Taylor 2008, chap. 2.
  8. ^ a b c d Taylor 2012, chap. 21.
  9. ^ a b Taylor 2012, chap. 22.
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i Davis 2021, pp. 94–99.
  11. ^ a b c d Zaleski 2021b, chap. 1.
  12. ^ a b Taylor 2012, chap. 23.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Taylor 2008, chap. 3.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z Malins 2013, chap. 4.
  15. ^ a b c d e f Taylor 2012, chap. 24.
  16. ^ a b c Taylor 2012, chap. 26.
  17. ^ a b Taylor 2012, chap. 27.
  18. ^ a b c "Top Album Picks" (PDF). Billboard. 27 June 1981. pp. 37, 70. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 February 2022. Retrieved 4 June 2022 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  19. ^ a b c d e Davis 2021, pp. 103–105.
  20. ^ a b c Rivadavia, Eduardo. "Duran Duran – Duran Duran". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  21. ^ a b c d Davis 2021, pp. 109–112.
  22. ^ Davis 2021, pp. 106–107.
  23. ^ Davis 2021, pp. 104, 111.
  24. ^ Evans, Jim (13 June 1981). "Duran Duran debut on EMI" (PDF). Music Week. p. 2. ISSN 0265-1548. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 May 2022. Retrieved 5 June 2022 – via worldradiohistory.com.
  25. ^ Taylor 2012, chap. 28.
  26. ^ Davis 2021, p. 117.
  27. ^ a b "British album certifications – Duran Duran – Duran Duran". British Phonographic Industry. 8 December 1982. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  28. ^ a b "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 19 January 1982. p. 71. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 October 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
  29. ^ a b Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  30. ^ a b "Charts.nz – Duran Duran – Duran Duran". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  31. ^ a b "Swedishcharts.com – Duran Duran – Duran Duran". Hung Medien. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
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Sources

External links

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