Gen X-er living in a time machine, high on nostalgia. Flashbacks is the debut album by Peach on a beach, a tribute to growing up in Dartmouth, NS during the 80s. Available on streaming and CD. Check out YouTube videos for "Beeping and Bleeping", "Pizza Corner", "Before Call Display", "Anticipation Street" and "Boogeyman Trail". Released on Feb. 16, "Rabbit Hole", is a tribute to alternative artists The Cure and Skinny Puppy. Official website: https://www.peachonabeach.ca/
With already a couple of catchy singles and epic videos under its belt, Duran Duran went on to top those with the sweeping ballad "Save a Prayer".
The dreamy synths immediately draw me in before the flute takes over.
Filmed among the pristine beaches and the ruins of Buddhist temples of Sri Lanka, the surreal video flows perfectly to the synth-pop gospel. Dancing children, crashing waves and five buddies on a trip.
But it wasn't all sunsets and one-night stands.
During the elephant clips, the intoxicated guitarist Andy Taylor apparently fell into water used as an animal latrine and ended up being hospitalized with dysentery. Save a prayer, indeed.
Those of us in junior high at the time will remember the playful decadence in this cutting edge video.
Some watched for the girls. Some watched for the boys. Some for both. We all came for the fantasy and breath-taking scenery.
What sometimes gets lost in the shuffle is that the fab five played the instruments and wrote the songs. "Rio" sports one of the catchiest bass lines of all time.
"Rio" hooks us in with the grandiose intro before giving way to a bouncy, maniacal John Taylor bass line and Andy Taylor's timely guitar riffs, setting up the iconic singalong chorus about the mystical Rio dancing on the sand. The song changes gears a few times, including an amazing sax climb before the last chorus. Back to Rio: does she really exist? Well, yes...as a metaphor. According to SongFacts, Duran Duran explained on the VH1 show True Spin that Rio is a metaphor for America, and the song expressed their desire to succeed there, which they of course did.
I'd always thought LeBon said "...evidently run you down... in the lyrics during the bridge : "Hey now (wow) look at that did he nearly run you down. Before Google we experienced dozens of similar examples. "Rio" is still a favourite at Duran concerts, and often during an extended version when Simon LeBon introduces band members to the audience. I was fortunate to have seen it played in the encore of their 2011 gig at Montreal's Bell Centre.
The iconic video for "Hungry Like the Wolf" came out in junior high, wooing North American teenage girls and boys alike with its exotic adventures and irresistible new wave sound.
I howl and I whine... about why these guys don't get the credit they deserve.
Duran Duran are kinda like the Stones in a way; they both don't often get a lot of respect in the industry. Mislabeled as a 'boy band' in the mid-80s, some people forget band members actually played their instruments. And wrote their songs.
Looking back, I think the critics were jealous because they were good looking guys who could play. Oh, snap.
"Hungry like the Wolf" was the gateway to the band, and to the new wave genre for many of us a little too young to notice the music trends unfolding in the late 70s.
Besides the grandiose chorus, "Hungry Like the Wolf" features the iconic "Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo" and an intriguing instrumental bridge.
A band known for its hooks and looks, "A View to a Kill" by Duran Duran was just another grand video to add to its growing repertoire
Recorded as the theme for the James Bond film of the same name, the clip is stylish and slick, featuring the boys playing roles as spies and assassins while lurking around the Eiffel Tour.
I love thelow budget 80's cheese of the clip, especially the "flying camera getting shot out of the sky" effect.
And at the end of the video, Le Bon does a parody of James Bond, smarmily introducing himself as "Bon. Simon Le Bon."
According to Wikipedia, Duran Duran was chosen to do the song after bassist John Taylor a lifelong Bond fan, approached producer Albert Broccoli at a party, and somewhat drunkenly asked "When are you going to get someone decent to do one of your theme songs?
"A View to a Kill" was the last song recorded by the original five-member lineup until the band reunited in 2001.
Those of us in junior high will remember the playful decadence on display in this cutting edge video. What sometimes gets lost in the shuffle is that the fab five played the instruments and wrote the songs. "Rio" sports one of the catchiest bass lines of all time.
"Rio" hooks us in with the grandiose intro before giving way to a bouncy, maniacal John Taylor bass line and Andy Taylor's timely guitar riffs, setting up the iconic singalong chorus about the mystical Rio dancing on the sand. The song changes gears a few times, including an amazing sax climb before the last chorus. Back to Rio: does she really exist? Well, yes...as a metaphor. According to SongFacts, Duran Duran explained on the VH1 show True Spin that Rio is a metaphor for America, and the song expressed their desire to succeed there, which they of course did.
I'd always thought LeBon said "...evidently run you down... in the lyrics during the bridge : "Hey now (wow) look at that did he nearly run you down. Before Google we experienced dozens of similar examples. "Rio" is still a favourite at Duran concerts, and often during an extended version when Simon LeBon introduces band members to the audience. I was fortunate to have seen it played in the encore of their 2011 gig at Montreal's Bell Centre. Other favourites from 1982:
With a couple of catchy singles and epic videos under its belt, Duran Duran went on to top those with the sweeping ballad "Save a Prayer".
Filmed among the beaches and temples of Sri Lanka, the surreal video flows perfectly to the synth-pop gospel.
The dreamy synths immediately draw me in before the synth flute takes over. Dancing children, crashing waves and five buddies on tour.
It wasn't all sunsets and one-night stands: guitarist Andy Taylor apparently fell into water used as an animal latrine during the filming of the video and ended up being hospitalized with dysentery.
Fave lyric: "Some people call it a one night stand but we can call it paradise"
Those of us attending junior high at the time will always remember the playful decadence of the "Rio" video, shot while the band was on holiday in Antigua. But let's not forget the tune was a cracker, too. "Rio" sports a grand intro before giving way to a bouncy, maniacal John Taylor bass line and Andy Taylor's timely guitar riffs, setting up the iconic singalong chorus about the mystical Rio dancing on the sand. The song changes gears a few times, including an amazing sax climb before the last chorus. Back to Rio: does she really exist? Well, yes...as a metaphor. According to SongFacts, Duran Duran explained on the VH1 show True Spin that Rio is a metaphor for America, and the song expressed their desire to succeed there, which they of course did.
I'd always thought LeBon said "...evidently run you down... in the lyrics during the bridge : "Hey now (wow) look at that did he nearly run you down. Before Google we experienced dozens of similar examples. "Rio" is still a favourite at Duran concerts, and often during an extended version when Simon LeBon introduces band members to the audience. I was fortunate to have seen it played in the encore of their 2011 gig at Montreal's Bell Centre.
I howl and I whine... about why these guys don't get the credit they deserve.
Duran Duran are kinda like the Stones in a way; they both don't often get a lot of respect in the industry. Mislabeled as a 'boy band' in the mid-80s, some people forget band members actually played their instruments. And wrote their songs.
Looking back, I think the critics were jealous because they were good looking guys who could play. Oh, snap.
"Hungry like the Wolf" was the gateway to the band, and to the new wave genre for many of us a little too young to notice the music trends unfolding in the late 70s.
The video came out in junior high, wooing North American teenage girls and boys alike, with their exotic and adventurous videos and irresistible new wave sound.
Besides the grandiose chorus, "Hungry Like the Wolf" features the iconic "Do do do do do do do dodo dododo dodo" and an intriguing instrumental bridge.
How good were these guys in the early 80s?
Between gallivanting halfway around the world to create the classic trio "Hungry like the Wolf", "Rio", and "Save A Prayer" just before their Mad Max phase ("New Moon on Monday", "Union of the Snake", "Wild Boys"), they were asked by their record label to come up with a single to keep up a presence on the charts. Well, they winged it with what looked like a fifty dollar budget for "Is There Something I Should Know" (inspired by the video game Q*bert?), just because they could.
